CENTRAL

ASSOCIATION Member IBMA

May 2017 Volume 39, Number 5

© 2017 Central Texas Bluegrass Association

Sam Bush played Friday night on the Hill Country State of the 30th Anniversary Old Settler’s Music Festival in Driftwood, TX. Sam and the guys played….well...that pretty much says it all. It was a more high-energy music than most ears are entitled to hear in one sitting. Backing up Sam are Scott Vestal on banjo, Chris Brown on drums, Todd Parks on bass, and Stephen Mougin on guitar. Photos by Bob Vestal.

INSTRUCTION FOR BANJO, GUITAR, AND MANDOLIN Private Lessons in North and South Austin

Eddie Collins

www.eddiecollins.biz 512-873-7803

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CTBA Bands centraltexasbluegrass.org/bands.html

Better Late Than Never Missing Tradition The Rusty Razors Austin/Round Rock Dan & Diana Ost Patrick Davis Duane Calvin 512-845-8749 515-802-7438 512-835-0342 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] One Eye Open The Sieker Band Black Diamond Max Zimmet Rolf & Beate Sieker Austin www.oneeyeopenband.com 512-937-4496 Chuck Middleton [email protected] www.siekerband.com 512-203-4574 [email protected] Out of the Blue Shawn Spiars Rob Lifford Shawn Spiars Eddie Collins 512-422-7706 512-627-3921 Eddie Collins www.outoftheblue.ws www.banjohangout.org/my/ 512-873-7803 [email protected] sspiars www.eddiecollins.biz [email protected] [email protected] Pearl and the Polka Dots Rachel Bates The Texas Honeybees Four Fights Per Pint 817-239-5624 Leslie Collier Jay Littleton www.facebook.com/ 512-328-0144 512-- 848-1634 pearlandthepolkadots [email protected] www.facebook.com/ [email protected] FourFightsPerPint West of Waterloo [email protected] Pine Island Station Austin & Hill Country Gary & Janine Carter Michael Sanders Hot Pickin 57s 936-520-2952 512-673-9095 Max Zimmet www.pineislandstation.com [email protected] http://hotpickin.com/ [email protected] [email protected] Wood Street The Piney Grove Bloodhounds The Lost Pines Ramblers Oak Park, IL, Robert Becker Talia Bryce Wayne Brooks 708-714-7206 512-814-5134 512-699-8282 www.woodstreetbloodhounds.com www.lostpinesband.com 877-899-8269 [email protected] [email protected] www.pgramblers.com [email protected]

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Peter Rowan played the Hill Country Stage at this year’s 30th Anniversary Old Settlers Music Festival in Driftwood, TX. Rowan kept the crowd hoppin’ as he and the boys from Wood & Wire showed us what bluegrass is all about. Members of Wood & Wire are Billy Bright (mando), Tony Kamel (guitar), Dom Fisher (bass), and Trevor Smith (banjo). Photo by Bob Vestal.

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Not sure what this young feller is pointin’ at unless he’s meaning to say that he thinks he’s found some really good bluegrass music or maybe he’s trying to tell me that his CTBA cap is about worn out and he needs a new one! Oh, wait, that’s Alan Munde, having a good time listening toWood and Wire play on the Blue- bonnet Stage at this year’s Old Settlers Music Festival. But still, maybe it is time for a new cap. Just sayin’. Photo by Bob Vestal.

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OLD SETTLERS DOES IT AGAIN BY JEAN SPIVEY The 2017 edition of Old Settler’s Music Fes- tival was a resounding success.

Old Settler’s started 30 years ago as a small, one-day bluegrass festival in Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock. This small festival has grown into a four-day, nationally-respected tradition, showcasing the best in bluegrass, Americana, and roots music.

We proudly maintained our heritage with bona-fide bluegrass legends like Del McCoury and Peter Rowan, as well as the best new bluegrass in the genre like The Lil’ Smokies, Wood & Wire, and Billy Strings. And, we have broadened the scope to include artists like the Lone Bellow, the California Honeydrops, and .

We are delighted to play a role in encouraging young artists with our youth competition, campfire jams, and performance workshops. I can’t tell the Old Set- tler’s story without mentioning Sarah Jarosz, who won our first youth competi- tion in 2002 and won two Grammy awards this year, or Shakey Graves, who got his name around the Old Settler’s campfires and, at one time, served on our vol- unteer trash crew.

We’re pretty lucky to have a strong, core group of volunteers. Judy Knopp in art- ist relations has been with the festival since its inception. Many other volunteers come back year after year. The sense of community among the volunteers is one of the festival’s strengths. We’re also blessed with a supportive group of spon- sors and attentive, dedicated fans who love music.

This year we had to rearrange the entire festival footprint because the Salt Lick had asked us to move our Bluebonnet Stage away from the lawn by the creek where they hold weddings and receptions. We have had several rain years and each time had torn up the grass – it was impossible to fix it by the next week when they needed it for a wedding. We moved the Bluebonnet to the back of the property and moved the larger stage across the field, giving us one big backstage area. That worked great – eliminating golf cart traffic between the two stages and making production so much more streamlined. We were also able to greatly improve the backstage experience for VIPs and Platinum ticket buyers. So, it was challenging, but it worked.

All in all, it was one for the books, and even though I haven’t finished putting the festival to bed, I’ve already put out some offers for 2018!

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Talk about team work! Ten Bluegrass Associations and Bluegrass-supporting groups across Texas worked together to compile the funds needed to put on the 2017 Bluegrass Instrument Contests for banjo, guitar, and mandolin and help continue the tradition of having Texas State Champions for each of those instruments this year. Those organizations generously agreed to contribute the funding that will provide for the Cash Priz- es, Awards, Judges Compensation, the Winfield Accreditation, and the Texas Champ entries to the National Competition and Festival. The venue this year is the Pearl, Texas Community Center, centrally located in the middle of the state (see http://www.pearlbluegrass.com/NEWSmugMug-Files/NEWMap/MAP-to-Pearl/n-VpCpWV ) and will be provided for free. The contests will be held in conjunction with thePearl Bluegrass Jam & Stage Shows held on the first Saturday of each month. Following is the schedule. • June 3rd – Texas State Mandolin Championship • July 1st – Texas State Guitar Championship • Aug 5th – Texas State Banjo Championship • Sept 13-17 - National Competition at Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas The Cash prizes for the first three places in each of the contests (banjo, guitar, mandolin) will be: First Place: $500; Second Place: $350; Third Place: $200. 100% of the funds contributed will be used for the contest. No one except the contestants and judges will be paid. Volunteers from Pearl Bluegrass and Bay Area Bluegrass (BABA) will help run the contest, coordinat- ed by Lynn Holbrook, the BABA Contest Chairman. Rick Kirkland, the BABA President, is maintaining the relationship with the Winfield National Competition organizers and managing the incoming con- tributions and cash awards. Think about any musicians you know who may be interested in representing your area at the State Championship along with a fun time of jamming, free Stage Shows ,and “Bluegrass in the Country” at Pearl. See the flyer on the next page. Complete info is available on the Bay Area Bluegrass website at http://bayareabluegrass.org/Contest.php

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One of the hardest working bluegrass groups in Central Texas, Hot Pickin Bluegrass, has officially changed its name to Hot Pickin 57s. The group started out as a pure bluegrass group, but has morphed into a band that at any given moment might break into Texas Swing, Classic Country, Americana, Gypsy Jazz or Old-Time Rock 'n Roll. The 57 part of the name is a reference to the varie- ty of music they play, like the old Heinz slogan that identified the total number of products they sold, Heinz 57. It also harkens back to one of the greatest years ever of classic American-made cars, 1957, which makes sense, since just about all of their music is American made, including their many originals. Bluegrass fans seem to love the variety of the group. All the music is performed on acoustic instru- ments - Max Zimmet on guitar and mandolin, Eddie Collins on banjo, guitar, and mandolin, Mike Mont- gomery on fiddle, and Vance Hazen on upright bass. You can find all the info and show schedule on their website at http://hotpickin.com Photo by Lisa Rich.

Got word from Dave Moore that the Boerne Pickers jam is alive and well. Dave says, “We are an acoustic jam focusing on traditional bluegrass and fiddle music, Gospel, Irish tunes, and a smattering of other styles. Our purpose is to play awesome music, introduce and exchange new songs, and learn together. We welcome musicians from the NW side of San Antonio, Boerne, Comfort, and surrounding areas and all others willing to brave the traffic and con- struction on -I 10. Friends, family, spouses, significant others, onlookers, and coffee drinkers are welcome!” You can bring your instrument(s), music stand (optional), and a few copies of any music you'd like to share with the group. The jam happens the 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month, 6:30-8:30 PM at Electric Coffee, 215 W. Bandera Road (aka Hwy 46) in Boerne. From I-10, take Exit 540 and go east about two blocks to the shopping cen- ter on the right. Electric Coffee is the fur- thest right shop in the strip mall.

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The Texas Blueberry Festivalkicks off Friday night, June 9th, with the Blueberry Bluegrass Concert in the Park, from 6 to 10 p.m. June 9 at Festival Plaza in downtownNacogdo- ches. Rex Perry Autoplex is sponsoring the family-friendly event that will feature four musical acts: The Purple Hulls, The Baker Family, The Blake Brothers and The Sabine River Bend Band. The concert will also feature food vendors, including some local farmer's market favor- ites selling homemade items, as well as catfish, barbecue, snowcones, blueberry lemonade and lots of water. Organizers en- courage attendees to bring blankets and lawn chairs. The event is family-friendly, so no coolers or alcohol will be allowed. Parking will be available downtown; howev- er, some downtown streets will be closed, so concert-goers are urged to visit www.Facebook.com/bluegrassnac or www.tbf.nacogdoches.org/page.php?id=60 for parking instructions. Parking with free shuttle service to the concert venue will be available at First Baptist Church, 411 North St. Handicapped parking will be available behind Regions Bank, ac- cessed via S. Mound St. to E. Pilar St. Van and RV parking will be at the Nacogdoches City Gar- age location at 114 W. Cox St. Organizers are grateful for the enthusiastic partners that make the concert possible, especially Rex Perry Autoplex and the City of Nacogdoches.

A NEW PLACE TO PLAY

Word from Gene Varley by way of Dave Stritzinger that a new Monday night jam is trying to get formed at 300 Bluff Springs Drive, behind the First Baptist Church in Buda. Some folks have been there twice when the Texican was being used for a banquet. Now, the facility is available to them every Monday night for all. Hope you can make it. They love to play and usually start around 6:30 pm. Note that this does not replace the Texican jam; just a new jam hoping to get folks who live in the area to come and play.

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Membership and Advertising Rates

Join the CTBA: www.centraltexasbluegrass.org/join.html

Memberships Advertising rates

Individual $25 Ad size Price Band $35 Full page $30 Student $15 1/2 page $15 Family $35 1/4 page $12 Business $50 1/8 page $10 Lifetime $300

Take $5 off the advertising rates if you are already a business member. Copy deadline is the 15th of the month. Advertisers assume liability for ad content and any claims arising therefrom. Send ad copy as .jpg, .png, .docx, or .pdf file [email protected] and send payment to:

Merchandise ATTN: Treasurer Compilation CD of member bands, vol 2 $10 Central Texas Bluegrass Association CTBA logo T-shirt (black, white, orange) $15 Box 9816 Austin, Texas 78766-9816 Earl Scruggs design T-shirt $20 Mona Lisa design T-shirt $20

Join today. Help keep bluegrass going strong in Central Texas!

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CTBA Area Jams centraltexasbluegrass.org/jams.html

AUSTIN FAYETTEVILLE LLANO Every Sunday, 3 PM-??, CTBA Sunday 2nd Saturday, Fayetteville Picking 4th Saturday, 2:00 PM, jam at Fuel jam at Hill’s Café, 4700 S. Congress; Park jam Jan.-Nov. beginning at 1:00 Coffee House, 106 East Main St.; 325- 512-851-9300. PM on the courthouse square. 247-5272; www.fuelcoffeehouse.org Acoustic only. 2nd and 4th Saturday, 3-5 PM, beg./ [email protected] MAGNOLIA int. jam at Wildflower Terrace, 3801 1st Saturday, West Montgomery Berkman Drive; Steve Mangold, GARLAND County Community Development Cen- 512-345-6155. Every Saturday, Bluegrass on the ter on Friendship Drive, 5:00 PM. Square, March- November, between Info: Bill Ingram, 1st Thursday, 7-9 PM, beg./int. jam, Main and State Sts. at 6th, 7:30 PM to [email protected] Northwest Hills area; Steve Mangold, 1:00 AM. 512-345-6155. MEDINA GLEN ROSE 2nd Tuesday, all gospel jam, 6 PM at Every Thursday, 6-9 PM, beg./int. jam, 3rd Saturday, Oakdale Park, Paluxy First Baptist Church; contact Linda Texican Café, 11940 Manchaca Road; River Bluegrass Association, free stage Barton, 830-589-2486. Dave Stritzinger, 512-689-4433. show, jam; and potluck Friday night 2nd Friday, jam at 6 PM, Masonic before. Jim Chapman 469-231-6616, Lodge; Maude Arnold, 830-796-8422. 2nd Thursday, bluegrass jam at Texas www.paluxybluegrass.com Barber Services, 2301 E. Riverside Dr, PEARL #400A; Kurt Phillips, 512-330-4895. HOUSTON 1st Saturday: Jam all day/night, stage 1st Tuesday, Fuddruckers, show, 12:15 PM-6:15 PM; food and RV Every Tuesday, 8-10 PM, Texas Old 2040 NASA Rd 1, 281-333-1598 hookups available. Pearl Community Time Fiddling, Scholz Garten, 1607 San Center, on FM 183, 7 mi. south of Jacinto; 512-474-1958. JOHNSON CITY Purmela; [email protected]. Check website for show schedule: 3rd Saturday except in December, 2-6 www.pearlbluegrass.com BANDERA PM, jam at The Dome, 706 W. Main

4th Friday of each month except Good St., Hwy 290 W; Charlene Crump, Friday, November, and December at 512-632-5999. ROUND ROCK Silver Sage Corral – east of Bandera. 3rd Saturday, 2-5 PM except Novem- Starts at 6 PM. For more info call Last Saturday of each month, ber and December, jam at Danny 830-796-4969, 2:00 PM, Dally’s Down Under Ray’s Music, 12 Chisholm Trail; 512- www.silversagecorral.org. 9097 US-290, Johnson City. Info: 671-8663. www.dannyraysmusic.com Cliff Robbins 701-770-8962 or BELLVILLE [email protected] SAN ANTONIO 4th Sat., Texas Bluegrass Music jam/ Every Monday, 6:30-8:30 PM, at The show Jan. through September, 4pm LEAGUE CITY (BABA) Barbecue Station, 1610 NE Loop 410 jam, 6:30 pm show. Coushatte Recrea- 3rd Saturday: Jam 5:00 PM, Stage at Harry Wurzbach exit; tion Ranch, 2812 Nelius Rd. 936-697- show 6:30 PM Jan- Nov., League City 210-824-9191. 5949, [email protected], Civic Center, 300 W. Walker St. 281- www.TXBluegrassMusic.com. Plenty 636-9419. Sponsored by Bay Area SCHULENBERG of RV camping, restrooms, showers. Bluegrass Association. 1st and 3rd Tuesday, 6 :00 PM, jam at Schulenberg RV Park Community Cen- BLANCO LEANDER ter, 65 N. Kessler Ave. Laretta Baum- First Saturday, 2-5 PM at Buggy Barn 1st Sunday, 2:00 - 4:00 PM, CTBA Be- garten, 979-743-4388, Museum, 1915 Hwy 281 N; contact ginner/Intermediate Bluegrass Jam, at [email protected] Deanna Dosser, 830-554-0006 Leander Public Library, 1011 South Bagdad Road. Bob Vestal, TOMBALL 2nd & 4th Sunday, 3:00-6:00 pm, Old 512-983-5031 4th Saturday, 4:00 PM, bluegrass jam 300 Barbecue, 318 4th St, Info: Tibby at Kleb Woods Nature Center and Armke 830-660-5734. LILLIAN Preserve, 20303 Draper Road, Tom- 2nd Saturday, 4:00 PM jam, 7:00 PM ball, 281-373-1777 or 281-910-4396. BOERNE show, First Baptist Church, $4; 2nd & 4th Thursday, 6:30-8:30, at Dale Brawner 97-935-4525. Electric Coffee, 215 W. Bandera Road (Hwy 46), Info: Dave Moore, 210-846-9745, [email protected].

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Each year, the Bugle Boy Foundation( http://thebugleboy.org and http://www.facebook.com/thebugleboy ) joins with Songwriters Serenade to allow performing songwriters to showcase their skills before their peers, a panel of esteemed judges, and an enthusiastic crowd of music lovers. Fifteen finalists from eight states will compete for $7,000 in prize money. This year's contest is held Saturday, May 6th from 11am-5pm at The Parish Hall in Moravia, Texas. After the contest in Moravia, The Bugle Boy will host a Satur- day evening concert with the 2017 winner, opening for Songwriter Serenade judges Susan Gibson, Carrie Rodriquez & Walt Wilkins. Ken Gaines will emcee and judges are Walt Wilkins, Susan Gibson, and Carrie Rodriguez. Susan Gibson was the lead singer for the alternative country band, The Groobees, but is best known for writing the Dixie Chicks mega-hit, Wide Open Spaces. Carrie Rodriguez is a prodigious fiddler, a soulful singer, and a probing songwriter who has recorded and/ or performed with , , , Los Lonely Boys, , , Los Lobos and . Singer/Songwriter/Producer Walt Wilkinsâ compositions have ended up on albums by such artists as Eric Church, , Pat Green and Kenny Rogers. The Bugle Boys Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

A not-for-profit family festival, Farmgrass hosts a celebration of community and foot-stomping music with proceeds supporting local farmers. Bring a tent, bring your kids, BYOB! More details at farmgrass.org. 2017 Lineup:  8:30 Shinyribs  7:15 Whiskey Shivers  6:00 Hot Club of Cowtown  4:45 The Lost Pines  3:30 High Plains Jamboree  2:15 Sour Bridges  1:00 Lil Darlin  12:00 TBD Contest Winner Camp Friday or Saturday & enjoy an outdoor screening of "O Brother, Where Art Thou?". BYOB and bring the kids (12 and un- der are free; we'll provide the entertainment). Join us for a full day of music on Saturday with food selections from delicious lo- cal trucks. Ticket info is at http://www.farmgrass.org/buy-tickets.html The Facebook event is at https://www.facebook.com/events/1372621926121228

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The Central Texas Bluegrass newsletter is published monthly by the Cen- Organization tral Texas Bluegrass Association (CTBA), a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt Texas nonprofit corporation. Contributions are deductible as charitable and ed- Serving the Central Texas ucational donations. Work published in this newsletter is used by permis- Bluegrass community since 1978. sion of the writers, artists, photographers, and contributors, who retain all copyrights.

Jamie Stubblefield, president Jason Pratt, vice president

Sam Dunn, board member Central Texas Bluegrass Association Mike Hurlbut, membership chair P. O. Box 9816 Nan Hurlbut, secretary Austin, TX 78766-9816 Alice Moore, board member Lenny Nichols, treasurer Bob Vestal, editor www.centraltexasbluegrass.org Cheryl Wagoner, board member Jim Wiederhold, board member , webmaster

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PARTING SHOTS

Here’s the world-famous banjo player Scott Vestal (r), backstage after playing with at this year’s 30th Anniversary Old Settler’s Music Festival. Don’t know who the old guy who sneaked in with him is but at least he seems to like Texas...and that’s a good thing. Photo by Jean Vestal.

CTBA MUSIC SCHOLARSH IP

CTBA established the Willa Beach-Porter CTBA Scholarship Fund with income used to pay for scholarship awards to students who have demonstrated a serious interest and performance tal- ent in bluegrass music, and who show a need for financial assistance to support their musical studies. This scholarship is named after Willa Beach-Porter, a long-time supporter of bluegrass music and of the Central Texas Bluegrass Association. Your membership or donation will help us continue this great program. Go to centraltexasblue- grass.org and click Join at top right then contact us to assure your contribution goes to the schol- arship fund. If you know a young person who would benefit from the scholarship, you can download theAp- plication (.pdf) and submit his or her name. Please note that the applicant must be a Texas resi- dent in order to qualify.

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