Four Lakes Traditional Music Collective is delighted to announce that not one, but two Grammy® Award-winning artists will be appearing at this years Sugar Maple Traditional Music Festival.

Bluegrass legend J.D. Crowe, along with his band the New South, won the 1983 Best Country Instrumental Performance for the tune “Fireball”. Though he officially “retired” from touring in 1988, Crowe’s tour schedule shows that he still has a lot of music left to play, and he continues to electrify audiences around the world.

Bill Miller won Best Native American Music Album for 2004’s “Cedar Dream Songs”. A Wisconsin native, Miller is an award-winning recording artist, performer, songwriter, activist, painter, and world-class accomplished flute player. In addition to the Grammy award, Miller’s recent activities include producing two incredible albums and leading Wisconsin’s La Crosse Symphony Orchestra, a member of the League of American Orchestras.

These two acclaimed artists will make the 6th Annual Sugar Maple Traditional Music Festival one to remember!

Sugar Maple Alumni Caleb Klauder returns to Madison Wed, July 15th, at the High Noon Saloon with a new band, The Caleb Klauder Country Band. The Portland based songwriter, vocalist and instrumentalist has been performing professionally for over fifteen years and has contributed to a number of successful musical groups, most notably Foghorn Stringband.

Caleb grew up on Orcas Island, Washington, in a small, rural community where the lives of the islanders were intermingled and there were no strangers. Music was the focal point of many social gatherings, and Caleb grew up listening to fellow islanders play folk, rock and jazz music.

Caleb fronts his all star Country Band, drawing on his diverse musical background to create a sound that is simple and pure. With pedal steel, fiddles, mandolin, acoustic guitar, upright bass and drums, the Caleb Klauder Country Band captures the sounds of Honky Tonk, Old-Time, Cajun, and Western Swing.

To kick off the show as a special treat for the High Noon Saloon and Sugar Maple Fest Fans, Nadine Landry joins Caleb Klauder and Stephen “Sammy” Lind as the Foghon Trio in their only appearance on this Midwest tour.

The Onion’s Decider has marked the Sugar Maple Traditional Music Festival in their Summer Show Guide. Here’s what they have to say…

Fulks is also on the bill for the Sugar Maple Traditional Music Festival (July 31-Aug. 1, Lake Farm County Park), which always pulls together an esteemed lineup from across Americana’s various genres. J.D. Crowe made his name beginning in the ’70s, mixing bluegrass with other styles like rock and blues, and Shotgun Party is a sassy Western-swing trio from Texas. Adding yet more Cajun spice to the summer is Marc Savoy and his band.

We officially announced the 2009 lineup for the Sugar Maple Festival at the Kickoff Concert this past Saturday at the High Noon Saloon. We would like to thank everyone for coming out and making it a huge success! We would also thank the bands, Art Stevenson & Highwater, Joel Paterson and Sloppy Joe, for their fantastic music. Thank you all!

So, without further ado, this year’s lineup will include:

• JD Crowe & the New South - Bluegrass
• Marc Savoy family - Cajun
• The Combine w/ Chirps Smith, Dave Landreth, Fred Campeau and Dot Kent - Old Time
• Robbie Fulks & Nora O’Connor - Folk
• Shotgun Party - Country Swing
• Joel Paterson (solo set) - Country Blues
• KG & the Ranger - Cowboy Songs and Rope tricks
• Dave Landau - Children’s Entertainer
• and more TBD

The Four Lakes Traditional Music Collective will be hosting this year’s Sugar Maple Kick-off Concert Saturday, April 18th at the High Noon Saloon (8pm). The show, sponsored by Rutabaga Paddlesports, will feature three great bands and offer one night only early-bird Sugar Maple Festival weekend tickets for only $20!!! We will also be officially announcing this year’s fantastic Sugar Maple Festival
lineup.

Tickets for the show are $10 in advance or $12 at the door. You can purchase advanced tickets online or at the High Noon Saloon.

Band Schedule:
8 pm Art Stevenson & Highwater
9 pm Joel Paterson (a rare solo appearance)
10 pm Art Stevenson & Highwater
11 pm Sloppy Joe

Come on down and see some great music, and get a great price on some Sugar Maple Festival tickets!

Friend of the festival and Bluegrass Legends Concerts promoter Chip Covington made an appearance on WTTW Public Tv’s “ChicagoTonight” this past Wednesday. He talked about the Chicago bluegrass scene and his launching of the Chicago Bluegrass Festival. His band Bubbly Creek Bluegrass Band also performed a couple of simple numbers for your dining pleasure…

Bluegrass Legends Concerts are produced in cooperation with the American Legion Hall, Post 42, in Evanston, IL (just north of Chicago). Bluegrass Legends Concerts are the only running bluegrass music concert series in the Chicago area that features national touring talent.

On the way to their show at the Frequency, the hitch on James King’s trailer broke, leaving it immobile. Madison’s Pam & Warren Nevar offered to help and were able to temporarily repair and store the trailer until the Band could get it home and have it permanently repaired.

We would like to offer a special thank you to Pam & Warren for all their help. It is most appreciated.

“Everyone” told me I should go see the James King band. I mean everyone. Wendy actually said “they could bring a tear to a glass eyeball.” And I believed her. After all, it was part of the Sugar Maple Concert Series, which is a local gold standard I’ve come to trust.

I decided to check out the James King Web site. I was immediately struck by the pleasing lack of marketing savvy and the distinct aura of authenticity. I read the description on the main page and thought to myself, “really, who doesn’t love a good ole foot stomper??” And so it was I attended the James King band at the Frequency on Wednesday night. And I feel lucky to have enjoyed him at such an intimate location.

James King is the vocalist and guitarist of his namesake band. Like so many good things in life, the James King band is the raw, unfiltered and unmanufactured. He seems to spring like a pure untapped natural resource from the Appalachian hills. This should be no surprise from a man who is an official member of Ralph Stanley’s Clinch Mountain Boys. (He played with Stanley in the 80s.)

But I can’t totally focus on King himself, as he has an impressive line-up in the band as well. Each member deserves kudos, but in this short article, let me focus on what struck me as the highlight: Fiddle player Greg Moore is totally flawless and fierce! We thought he might saw that fiddle in half with his vigorous attack on several numbers. He helped deliver the foot-stompin’ promised and raised the level of rhythm exponentially.

However the band also particularly shined when it slowed down. They were capable of an intense burn that at times gave me chills, especially when James King approached what he called the “sad and pitiful numbers.” With a voice straight from the hills of Virginia and the heart of a born storyteller, he wrings feeling out of every syllable. In “Long Black Veil,” “Bed by the Window,” “Crazy Heart” and others, I found a purity that cut directly to the emotion bone, wherever that is located.

There is a freight train quality to this band that you can’t deny or ignore. They give breath to Appalachian folk music with strength and power. James King brings to life to bluegrass stories that might seem trite or esoteric in another man’s hands. But King is a skilled master and we are indeed his subjects.

Editor:
In addition, we would like to thank our sponsor for the show, the Eldorado Grill, for their delicious food. James said “This meal itself was worth coming and playing the gig!”.

Madison will get a rare opportunity to see great gospel and bluegrass music when the James King Band hit’s the stage at the warm and intimate Frequency just off the capitol square (map). The show is Wednesday, March 18th, from 6pm. Tickets are $8 in advance, $10 at the door.

James King is considered among the leading voices in traditional bluegrass, summoning timeless echoes of Appalachia with a voice that is equal parts urgent, yearning, and tender. King’s interpretations of bluegrass gospel classics both vintage and modern are so uniquely suited to the powerful longing and commitment that underpins every note he sings.

“In an age where much bluegrass and country music is a product of stacked harmonies and polite, well-mannered vocals, James King is a rarity: an honest-to-God mountain soul singer who likes it loud and hard, who’s not afraid of emotion and sentiment. James King has carried his heart songs to festivals all over the country, and won his share of rave reviews and industry awards. Like generations of Virginia singers before him, he does best what great singers have always done: he finds a good song, and he tells a good story. Even Carter Stanley could not have asked for more.” –Charles Wolfe

The Four Lakes Traditional Music Collective is a non-profit organization supporting the art of traditional music and dance throughout the greater Madison community. We provide educational and performance opportunities that bring together people of all ages to celebrate diverse musical tradition.

Literacy Network 35th Anniversary Celebration Concert

Literacy Network will celebrate its 35th anniversary with a concert by several great local roots musicians this Sunday, March 1. Music will begin at 3:00 pm at the High Noon Saloon, 701 E. Washington Ave, Madison.

Schedule of artists:
3:00 - John Fabke and Dan O’Brien
4:00 - Cork N Bottle String Band
5:00 - Kristy Larson Trio
6:00 - Bill and Bobbie Malone
7:00 - Richard Wiegel and Tom McCarty of The Midwesterners
8:00 - Josh Harty
9:00 - Blake Thomas
10:00 - The Oak Street Ramblers

Suggested minimum donation for the March 1 event is $10.00 per person.

Please join us in a great celebration of music and literacy at theHigh Noon Saloon!

More information at www.litnetwork.org.