| SUZY BOGGUSS
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2
7:00 PM
GOSHEN THEATER
$25 ($10 for children 12 and under)
|
“Multi” might be the best adjective to describe talented singer/songwriter Suzy Bogguss: multi-award-winning, multi-platinum, and multi-faceted. Her 2011 release American Folk Songbook is the natural progression of an artist who has demonstrated skill and passion for all types of music in her career. Songs like “Aces,” “Drive South,” “Someday Soon,” “Outbound Plane,” and “Letting Go” took her to the top of the country music charts. Along the way she won raves from critics and peers including winning a Grammy in 2005 for Traditional Folk Album, the Country Music Association’s Horizon Award in 1992 and Album of the Year Award in 1994. 2007’s Billboard Jazz Chart-topping Sweet Danger, the universally praised album Swing recorded in 2003 with Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel, and Simpatico, her beloved collaboration with Chet Atkins, showed the world Bogguss was willing to embrace tradition while continuing to grow and challenge herself as an artist. That appreciation for tradition really shines through on American Folk Songbook. The album is filled with songs that are the very fabric of American musical history, and Bogguss reclaims this history and revives it with a fresh and beautiful take on classics like “Shenandoah,” “Wayfaring Stranger,” and “Red River Valley.” Not content to present the songs as dusty museum pieces, she chose instead to breathe new life into them with contemporary arrangements and a crack squad of Nashville’s acoustic A-listers. Ultimately, though, it’s the voice that lovingly weaves through the guitars and mandolins to find the new in these old songs. Bogguss has always shown an ability for blending songs of substance and depth with wide audience appeal. This concert will be no different. Prepare to be enchanted.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
|
GOLDMINE PICKERS
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25
7:00 PM $15
GOSHEN THEATER
| |
Weaving together roots with bluegrass, jazz, folk, and Irish traditions, this young, energetic four-piece band has magnetized audiences with border-crossing Americana acoustic music. Goldmine Pickers jumps into tradition with respect and then lights the fire of originality with a fresh attitude, experienced fingers, and vocal harmonies that blend distinctively. “We’re definitely not purists,” agree the band members. “We play Indiana music. From other places.” Bringing together consummate musicians from across northern Indiana and neighboring Michigan, the group is closely attuned to the concerns and experiences of their audiences. Founding member Lukas Simpson explains: “I’d say we’re inspired by our surroundings. We do go try to tap into what’s happening on the local scene, and we’re inspired by all different types of music.” Members Sean Hoffman (ukulele, fiddle, guitar, vocals), Lukas Simpson (vocals, guitar, mandolin, banjo, harmonica, bouzouki, bass), Adam Carter Nafziger (vocals, banjo, guitar, baritone ukulele, fiddle), and Seth Sutton (upright bass, flat-top guitar, vocals) trace different paths into the hybrid aesthetic that they perform, with each member bringing a slightly different specialty and interest to the stage. If you are one of those rare persons that have yet to hear the Goldmine Pickers perform, reserve a ticket and be ready to turn into an instant fan.
Opening for the Goldmine Pickers will be West Michigan’s Midnight Cattle Callers. Since 2009, this band has been carving out its own unique style of country music. It’s swingy, much like the 30’s/40’s big band era that they pull influences from, but with a distinct Telecaster growl behind them, their songs are too twang not to be country. With the release of their first studio album, the band won the Great Lakes Acoustic Music Association band competition and a few months later received a “5 out of 5” star review and was chosen to be May 2011’s album of the month from Country Music People magazine.
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
|
| KENNEDY’S KITCHEN
SATURDAY, MARCH 17
8:00 PM $15 at the door
GOSHEN THEATER
|
Talk about the luck o’ the Irish: for the first time ever we have Kennedy’s Kitchen on St. Patrick’s Day itself! Back for their ninth appearance at LVD’s, this much beloved local band performs tear-up-the-floor, beautiful break-your-heart Irish music: traditional dance tunes, pub songs, and their own original pieces. It’s truly kitchen music – from the home, the hearth, and the heart. Add in some stories, jokes, and well-embellished tall tales and you’ve got one of the top Irish bands in the Midwest – and a concert that always sells out. Committed traditional musicians John Kennedy, Rob Weber, Chris O’Brien, Jacob Turner, and Nolan Ladewski are the heart of the band. Together since 1998, they play a variety of instruments including fiddle, flute, whistles, mandolin, bouzouki, guitar, and bodhran. The band appears frequently in local venues such as Fiddler’s Hearth, Kate O’Connor’s, The Box Factory for the Arts, and The Acorn Theatre, as well as at national Irish festivals such as Michigan Irish Fest, Erin Fest in Peoria, IL, and Chicago’s Irish American Heritage Center’s Annual Fest. For the perfect St. Paddy’s Day celebrating, you’ll find this is partying and dancing music at its best.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
|
This four-member band, based in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, is rooted in musical styles that explore the territories between blues and bluegrass, old-time sing-alongs, and foot-stompin’ fiddle tunes. A truly Americana band, these deft musicians are subtle innovators, respecting the past but decidedly forging a new sound. Dirty Linen writes, “The Steel Wheels travel along a path through the listener’s ears and aim directly for the heart.” There is a purity and a power in their sound that few others come close to tapping. Their songs recall a more familiar time and yet sound fresh and creative. Lead vocalist and acoustic guitarist Trent Wagler has been a scene staple in Virginia for nearly a decade. Multi-instrumentalist Jay Lapp was born there and, after touring with several successful Midwest bands, began a musical partnership with Wagler that showcases his remarkable and unmistakable mandolin style. Rounding out the group are upright bassist Brian Dickel and fiddler Eric Brubaker. 2010 was a breakout year for The Steel Wheels with five nominations from the Independent Music Awards and numerous placements on “Best of the Year” lists. Their song “Nothing You Can’t Lose” won the 2010 IMA “Country” Song of the Year. The band has quickly built a following across the U.S. and Canada that appreciates its honest and deceptively simple sound, and it has headlined at such well-known venues as NPR’s Mountain Stage, Eddie’s Attic, The Ark, Bluebird Café, and Club Passim among others. The band shines exceptionally in its live shows with a charisma that causes toes to tap and audiences to hang on every word
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
|
| THE HILLBENDERS
SATURDAY, APRIL 14
7:00 PM $15
GOSHEN THEATER
|
Undeniably the hottest young band on the acoustic scene, The HillBenders have been winning over audiences from coast to coast with an “all their own” style, original compositions, and relentless drive. These five buzz-worthy bluegrass whiz-kids are quickly rising above many of their peers and gaining international recognition for their aggressive combination of contemporary influences with traditional inspiration and instrumentation, as well as their infectiously energetic stage performances. Some say it’s newgrass, some say it’s bluegrass, some say it’s neither, but everyone says that whatever it is, it’s incredible! Claiming the championship title at the 2009 Telluride Bluegrass Band Competition helped put The HillBenders on the map, and their victory at the 2010 National Single Microphone Championships proved that they continue to be a force to be reckoned with. Formed in the spring of 2008, The HillBenders hail from distant corners of the U.S. but now base themselves in Springfield, MO. Band members include Mark Cassidy on banjo, Gary Rea on bass, Jim Rea on guitar, Nolan Lawrence on mandolin, and Chad “Gravy Boat” Graves on dobro. This will be a truly unique experience far from the typical bluegrass fare.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
|
THE SWEETBACK SISTERS
FRIDAY, APRIL 27
7:00 PM, $15
GOSHEN THEATER
| |
Sweetback Sisters Emily Miller and Zara Bode may not be blood relations, but their precise, family-style harmonies recall the best of country music from the Everlys to The Judds – as well as the spirited rockabilly energy of Wanda Jackson, one of the band’s role models. Like the artists they admire, the Sweetbacks are concerned with the traditional subjects of heartbreak, revenge, remorse, and staying strong in the face of relationships gone wrong, albeit with a contemporary sensibility. “We’re a renegade retro band that mixes up country, swing, and honky tonk,” explains Bode. “Sometimes what we deliver is straight out of the 50’s; other times it’s BR549 meets the B52s.” Included in this sextet of musical geniuses are Stefan Amidon on drums, Peter Bitenc on doghouse bass, Jesse Milnes on fiddle, and Ross Bellenoit on electric guitar. Roger Lilly of the Charleston Gazette calls the music “…basically retro-Western swing on amphetamines.” Blogcritics.com writes, “…think Indigo Girls meet Sweethearts of the Rodeo and get possessed by the ghost of Patsy Cline while riding shot gun with Bob Wills in a 1939 Ford Pickup.” How can you not want to hear music like that?
Opening for the Sweetback Sisters is Michiana-based band Everyday People. Playing a mix of country and country-rock, this four-member band includes new and contemporary tunes along with classics by the pioneers of country music. They’ve opened for country music legends Loretta Lynn, Neal McCoy, Randy Travis, and Terry Clark and been the headliner at numerous local events.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
|
|
