Del & Dawg (Del McCoury & David Grisman), IBMA Guitar Player of 2017 Molly Tuttle, and rising Boston trio Honeysuckle wrap up the Back Porch Festival in Northampton, Mass., with a Sunday-afternoon concert.
COMPTON & NEWBERRY w/ Peppermint Endurance Co. Mike Compton and Joe Newberry, virtuosos of old-time mandolin and banjo/guitar, dig deep into early country music and blues. Their duet-singing, two-man string band ranges between traditional songs, instrumentals, ‘mother’ ballads and original tunes. It’s not about the number of notes with Compton and Newberry, but telling the truth and respecting the song. Mike Compton is a Grammy Award winner, IBMA Mandolin Player of the Year nominee, a steady sideman for John Hartford from 1994 until Hartford’s death in 2001, and mandolinist for the Nashville Bluegrass Band. Compton is inarguably the world expert on Bill Monroe-style bluegrass mandolin, and is also steeped in old-time fiddle tunes, early string band music and Delta blues. He has entertained at Carnegie Hall and the White House. Known far and wide for his powerful banjo playing, Joe Newberry is a prize-winning guitarist, songwriter, and singer to boot. In addition to his work with Mike, Joe plays with old-time music legends Bill Hicks, Jim Watson, and Mike Craver, performs with guitarist Jon Shain, and was a frequent guest on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion. He won the songwriting prize for “Gospel Recorded Performance” at the 2012 IBMA Awards for his song "Singing As We Rise" and was co-writer, with Eric Gibson, of the 2013 IBMA Song of the Year for "They Called It Music". Peppermint Endurance Co. (opening the night) Peppermint Endurance Co. pays tribute to the songs and spirit of legendary songwriter and bluegrass innovator John Hartford. This group of skilled acoustic musicians is dedicated to bringing Hartford's music alive for audiences, performing tunes from his vast catalogue ranging from whimsical newgrass to heartbreaking ballads to searing old-time fiddle tunes. Comprised … Read More »
Northampton, Massachusetts is the setting for a spectacular weekend of American roots music, with Saturday night designated for bluegrass. Jerry Douglas and The Earls of Leicester will headline, with Town Mountain and Boston-based Twisted Pine (Americana Artist of 2018 by Boston Music Awards) all w/ Special Guest Danny Barnes. Come for the weekend or come for the night. Here's info: www.backporchradio.com/backporchfestival
The 6th annual Back Porch Festival returns with all-star line-ups of American roots artists at The Academy of Music and The Parlor Room in Northampton, MA and Gateway City Arts in Holyoke, MA. The Back Porch Festival takes it's name from the long running Sunday morning radio program on 93.9 The River and hosted by Signature Sounds president, Jim Olsen. The festival is curated to present some of the favorite artists featured on the Back Porch radio program.