August 11 - 14, 2022 El Rancho Manana, 27302 Ranch Rd, Richmond, MN 56368
2022 Full Schedule - TBA On the Main Stage this year!
| 2022 Main Stage: Appalachian Roadshow Appalachian Road Show is a visionary acoustic ensemble, bringing new-generation interpretations of traditional Americana, bluegrass and folk songs, as well as offering innovative original music, all presented with a common thread tied directly to the heart of the Appalachian regions of the United States. GRAMMY-nominated banjoist Barry Abernathy, joins forces with GRAMMY-winning fiddler Jim VanCleve, fresh off of his recent stint touring with multi-platinum country artist Josh Turner, as well as esteemed vocalist and mandolinist Darrell Webb, who has recorded and toured with Dolly Parton and Rhonda Vincent, among many others. The group also includes 26-year-old “old soul” guitarist Zeb Snyder, whose fierce and versatile playing recalls Doc Watson and Norman Blake as readily as it does Duane Allman and Stevie Ray Vaughn. “With this group, we want to bring to light the culture and lifestyle of the Appalachian music we grew up in,” says Abernathy. “We immersed ourselves in our native culture by way of sound and further educated ourselves to our own roots, those which are found all throughout the Appalachian music we grew up with,” says VanCleve. Ready to share its authentic and fresh approach with the public, the band went into the studio in the summer of 2018 and recorded its debut album, Appalachian Road Show. The project landed three multi-week number one songs on Bluegrass Today Weekly Airplay charts and garnered the band a New Artist of the Year nomination and Song of the Year nomination (“Dance Dance Dance”) at the 2019 International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Awards. Appalachian Road Show invites us to come and sit a spell on its porch as the band shares its dynamic musicianship through songs and stories emanating from the mountains and hollers of North Carolina and Virginia, to the coal mines of West Virginia and Kentucky. On its eponymous debut album, the band delivers powerful songs that range from the gospel-esque “I Am Just a Pilgrim” and “Little Black Train,” to the reeling, kick-up-your-heels “Dance, Dance, Dance,” to the ballad of love and loss “Anna Lee.” “All of these songs came from the Appalachian mountains and from the coal mining regions of Appalachia,” says Abernathy. “They confront topics such as logging, coal mining, trains, a sweetheart that took off, and so on. There’s something universal in the music and its expressed themes. There’s something for everyone.” 2022 Main Stage: Blue HighwayHighly esteemed bluegrass band Blue Highway has earned a collective 28 IBMA Awards, 6 SPBGMA Awards, one Dove Award, and three Grammy nominations as a band. The group came together in 1994 as Alison Krauss & Union Station alumnus Tim Stafford decided to inquire about forming a "weekend band" with Wayne Taylor, a Southwest Virginia coal truck driver and musician. The two got together with a few other musicians to play and have fun. Sometime that summer mandolinist/fiddler/vocalist Shawn Lane, who had most recently performed with Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, called Tim to see what he was doing. Tim called Rob Ickes, who had tagged along on a few tours with AKUS while Tim was in the group and was then finishing up a run with Lynn Morris. Stafford, Taylor, Lane and Ickes picked informally with different banjoists, including Jason Burleson, who had sat in with a group Tim previously played in, Dusty Miller. Burleson joined the group, which signed with Rebel Records and played its first show Jan. 31, 1994 in Kingsport, TN at the First Night Celebration. The band's first record, "It's a Long, Long Road" on Rebel was named IBMA's Album of the Year in 1996, and the group was named Emerging Artist of the Year. By that time, the group had recorded another record, "Wind to the West," and was touring steadily as a full-time outfit! The band went on to record with Ceili Records and signed with Rounder in 2001, eventually recording 8 albums and one compilation over 20 years with the Massachusetts label. In the same period, Blue Highway signed with Keith Case and Associates in Nashville and remain affiliated with former Case agent Lee Olsen's CMC Artists. Along the way, producers Ricky Skaggs, Jerry Douglas, Alan O'Bryant and Scott Rouse helped guide the band, but the group has self-produced its last five all-original Rounder albums. The hallmark of the band over its span has been and remains consistency and originality. Four of the original members remain from 1994 (Burleson left the band briefly in 1999 but returned in 2001), while dobroist Rob Ickes departed in 2015 and was replaced by Gaven Largent (2015-18), Justin Moses (2018) and finally Gary Hultman (2019-present). The band is fiercely dedicated to original material. Blue Highway celebrated their 25th Anniversary of Touring in 2019, with four of its original members still intact. As momentum continues to build for the 25 year strong powerhouse band, Blue Highway is rolling on with a rich legacy, carried on by three powerhouse songwriters and vocalists in Tim Stafford, Wayne Taylor, and Shawn Lane, whose harmonies soar over the dynamic banjo of Jason Burleson and the tasteful dobro of Gary Hultman. 2022 Main Stage: Della MaeDella Mae is a GRAMMY-nominated, all-women string band made up of founder and fiddle player Kimber Ludiker, lead vocalist/guitarist Celia Woodsmith, guitarist Avril Smith, bassist Vickie Vaughn, and mandolinist Maddie Witler. Hailing from across North America, and reared in diverse musical styles, they are one of the most charismatic and engaging roots bands touring today. They have traveled to over 30 countries spreading peace and understanding through music. Their mission as a band is to showcase top female musicians, and to improve opportunities for women and girls through advocacy, mentorship, programming, and performance. Formed in Boston in 2009, with ambitions of disrupting the male-dominated bluegrass scene, the band has proven undeniably ahead of their time placing women at the forefront — an element evident in the origin of their name. “Della Mae is a woman who pops up in a lot of bluegrass songs and who’s a victim of physical abuse—she done her man wrong, and now he’s gonna get her,” Ludiker explains. “From the beginning, this band has been about reclaiming her story and changing the conversation for women, especially those whose stories haven’t been told.” Over the years, Della Mae have worked toward that goal by teaming up with the U.S. State Department, and traveling to over 30 countries in an effort to improve opportunities for women all across the globe. "Advocating for women's rights is the backbone of this band, and we realized that adding public service work to our touring was an important way we could make a difference."
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2022 Main Stage: Brotherhood of Birds
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Brotherhood of Birds (BoB) is a Twin Cities-based, Minnesota progressive acoustic string band whose original compositions bring together traditional and modern styles.
After hatching in January 2021, the group released 2 EPs entitled “Caged Vol. 1 & 2”. In the same year they played the historic First Avenue Main Room, Blue Ox Music Festival, Shangri-La Music Festival, and were featured in Bluegrass Standard magazine as well as on 88.5 Bluegrass Saturday Morning. The bands tag team style line up makes every show unique while show casing some of the premier players in the genre that the twin cities has to offer.
BoB’s core lineup consists of brothers Willie Christianson on guitar, & Cole Christianson on banjo, as well as Gavin Haskin on mandolin. The group has a number of rotating local players including fiddlers Chris Forsberg, AJ Srubas, & John Lane, multi instrumentalists David Robinson & Mike Hedding, along with upright players Matt Blake, Joe Barron, & Joe Sheehan.
Hello Heartache plays your favorite Honky Tonk hits as well as some rare unheard gems from the '50s, '60s and '70s.
Vocals, Guitar / Sarah York
Vocals, Guitar, Fiddle / Aaron Tacke
Bass, Vocals / Rina Rossi
Pedal Steel Guitar, Fiddle / AJ Srubas
Drums / Andrew Bartelson