Reservoir Hill Park ~ Pagosa Springs, CO
June 4-6, 2010

schedule subject to change

FRIDAY, JUNE 4

FREE Friday Concert - Everyone welcome!
June 4, 2010 • 5:00 PM • Pagosa Springs Town Park

Greg Schochet of Halden Wofford & the Hi-Beams

Sophie Quebe of The Quebe Sisters Band

Friday Late Night Acoustic Stage
Reservoir Hill Festival Grounds

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SATURDAY, JUNE 5
Reservoir Hill Festival Grounds

Main Stage

Rendezvous Stage (Acoustic)

Saturday Late Night Stage

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SUNDAY, JUNE 6
Reservoir Hill Festival Grounds

Main Stage

Rendezvous Stage (Acoustic)

Schedule subject to change.

The Badly Bent
The Badly Bent has been entrenched in the bluegrass music scene since 1997.  Based in Durango, Colorado, The Badly Bent has proven its musicianship through the winning of prestigious music competitions and receiving accolades from many of its peers in the bluegrass industry.  These boys are not newcomers to either the bluegrass scene or performing in front of large audiences.

The Badly Bent does not present itself as one of the new pseudo-bluegrass jam bands.  Although their musical prowess allows them to explore the edges of traditional music, the listener will find that the music never strays far from the roots established by the fathers of the genre.  Their love for the genuine bluegrass sound is evident every time they take the stage. But, don’t be surprised when they pull a song out of the hat that everyone says, “Now, where have I heard that before?”  Their repertoire will please even the most discriminating listener.

The Badly Bent started in Durango with a group of well-known musicians gathering to become the top of the bluegrass scene.  The configuration of the band evolved to its current form in 2003. Sharing lead vocals are Pat Dressen (guitar) and Mark Epstein (banjo).  Harmony vocals by Robb Brophy (mandolin) and Jimmy Largent (bass), combined with the sought-after sound of Bill Adams (dobro) rounds out the ensemble of The Badly Bent.

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The Black Lillies

Born in the rumbling cab of a stone truck and aged in the oak of Tennessee’s smoky night haunts, The Black Lillies have come to the forefront of the Americana scene in little more than a year. Founded by multi instrumentalist and vocalist Cruz Contreras, co-founder of Robinella and the CCstringband, The Black Lillies have created their own unique brand of country, roots, rock and blues via Appalachia. The group, formed in 2008, also includes bassist Taylor Coker, electric guitar and pedal steel whiz Tom Pryor (the everybodyfields), and drummer Jamie Cook (the everybodyfields).

In April, The Black Lillies released Whiskey Angel, their debut recording. The album was recorded live in Cruz’s living room by Sparklehorse drummer Scott Minor, and features Billy Contreras on fiddle. The band has toured regularly throughout 2009, with highlights including two performances at the Bonnaroo Music + Arts Festival, two performances at Bristol's Rhythm & Roots Reunion, and appearances on the Music City Roots and Tennessee Shines live radio shows. The host of Tennessee Shines, legendary songwriter and musician Jim Lauderdale, called The Black Lillies “a true Americana supergroup.” The band kicked off their first national tour in November in front of a packed house at the storied Ryman Auditorium, the "Mother Church of Country Music."

The Black Lillies have developed their own style of Americana music in true East Tennessee fashion. They may not fit any industry norm, but where they’re from, that’s a good thing.

Listen to The Black Lillies on MySpace

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Bearfoot
A mere two years after their initial meeting as camp counselors, Bearfoot earned one of roots music’s most prestigious awards – Telluride Bluegrass Band Champions – an honor they share with artists like Dixie Chicks and Nickel Creek.  Now, after years of national touring at top theaters and festivals, Bearfoot joins these iconic pop peers, with the broad horizon of the Americana frontier in their souls.

Bearfoot is deeply American music.  Airy Northern ballads are tempered by back-alley Southern blues, while jazz stomp meets Appalachian breakdown, the whole fused with a signature sexy bluegrass passion. Boasting five distinctive lead voices, the group showcases a remarkable breadth of rich, original songs.  Their arrangements soar with smoky, spacious lyricism.  The rhythmic bounce and precision of their instrumentation is fiery and inventive, with an earthy focus on blend, harmony, and tone.  Bearfoot is sophisticated, vital music.  Contemporary guitar voicing set against melodic purity; youthful grit encounters harmonic romance.

Bearfoot – the name slyly nods to the wilds of their native Alaska, conjuring images of rural string-band musicians, and, in its simple elegance, elevating the quintet to the top of a cultural mountain where they overlook the past, present, and future of Americana music.

Listen to Bearfoot on MySpace

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Belleville Outfit

Based out of Louisiana’s finest music and arts city, but with hometowns littered across the United States, the Belleville Outfit serves up a truly unique mix of gypsy swing, big band jazz, and roots Americana/Bluegrass. Both innovative in their combining of genres, and true to their musical roots, the Belleville Outfit, though young, has already solidified itself as a tour-de-force in the world of acoustic music.

Band members Rob Teter, Marshall Hood and Jeff Brown toured extensively with a group based out of South Carolina called the DesChamps Band, an all acoustic swing/bluegrass group that has shared stages with such prestigious acts as The Waybacks, Junior Brown, the Del McCoury Band, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, the Duhks, and Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, as well as released two full length records.

Now, as the Belleville Outfit, with the additional talents of Phoebe Hunt on violin, Connor Forsyth on piano, and Jonathan Konya on the drums, the group is poised to introduce their inventive sound into the ears of anyone and everyone who will listen.

“… their instrumental virtuosity … and sophisticated songwriting touch moves their music beyond fun revivalism. ... They're capable of moving in most any direction they wish.” - Nashville Scene

“… the sextet is one of Austin’s most musically accomplished and adventuresome, mixing gypsy swing, big-band jazz, a touch of bluegrass and some Walter Hyatt covers into a unique mix that flows like a whiskey river.” - The Austin Chronicle

“Mix hot-saucy Texas honky-tonk, city-slicker indie pop, jam-grass mischief, cool jazz and big-band swing, and you’ve about half-described this hot Austin band …” - The Boston Globe

“…an Austin band that captures the best of the hippie-friendly roots string band zeitgeist, without succumbing to it… this really is a band to watch.” - No Depression

Listen to the Belleville Outfit on MySpace

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Darol Anger & the Republic of Strings

Somewhere beyond or behind all musical borders lies a creative terrain where bluegrass, jazz, classical, pop, and various world musics mingle, played by musicians who care more for inspiration than they do for genre. If that place has a name, it's surely the Republic of Strings, for no one knows its contours better than these musical veterans. The Republic of Strings is Darol Anger, with cellist Mike Block, 5 string violinist Lauren Rioux and guitarist Scott Law.

Together they have created the visionary musical landscape of the Republic, exemplified on their two recordings, Republic Of Strings and Generation Nation, for Compass Records. Drawing from an array of sources that includes bluegrass, Celtic and Appalachian music, Ornette Coleman, Scandinavian string bands, Aretha Franklin and the quartet's own members, Generation Nation documents a unique intergenerational exchange. Compelling musical textures, elegant solos and vocals all emanate from this startlingly diverse group of musicians. The Republic Of Strings has appeared at major music festivals all over the US including Rockygrass, Grey Fox, and Wintergrass. They have toured extensively in all parts of the country and have developed a deep empathyamong the group's members from nearly eight years of concert appearances, teaching residencies and informal exchanges.

“Darol Anger is the sort of musician who refuses to concede that musical boundaries even exist. Surrounding himself with up-and-coming musicians of the absolute top rank, Anger has upped the ante of string-band music almost off the charts.”–Amazon.com

Listen to The Republic of Strings on MySpace

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Darrell Scott

Born on a tobacco farm in London, Ky., in 1959, and raised in E. Gary, Indiana, Darrell was part of a musical family. His father Wayne, a steelworker by trade but a songwriter in his heart, moved his clan to Southern California when Darrell was 11. Soon Darrell and brothers Denny, Dale, Don, and David were part of their dad’s band, getting on-the-job training in country music as they played its hits on the stages of roadhouses and taverns as far north as Alaska.

Darrell eventually left the band and California, paying some more musical dues in Toronto and in Boston and earning a degree in poetry from nearby Tufts University, where he also studied literature. With his lyric skills sharpened and his abilities on guitars, banjo and other instruments already road-tested, Darrell followed his muse to country music’s Ground Zero, Nashville. His key to entering Music Row’s inner circles was, at first, his string-slinging skills – starting in 1992, he appeared on albums by alt.country mavericks Guy Clark and Steve Earle, Randy Travis, Patty Loveless, and dozens more.

As his "day job" as a picker flourished, Darrell channeled his other creative energies into his own songwriting and recordings. By the time he had released his debut CD, Aloha from Nashville (1997), its follow-up Family Tree (1999), and Real Time (2000), a duo album with “newgrass” trailblazer Tim O’Brien, Darrell’s original songs were much in demand by singers looking for more than "big hat" bragging or slick country-pop. The Dixie Chicks’ recording of “Long Time Gone” from Real Time was not only a hit for the Chicks but garnered a 2003 Grammy nomination for "Best Country Song"; "The Second Mouse," a Scott/O’Brien tune from Real Time, was a Grammy finalist as “Best Country Instrumental Performance” in 2001. That same year, Darrell was named Songwriter of the Year by the Nashville Songwriters Association International, an honor repeated by ASCAP in 2002.

USA Today praised his “brilliantly clever songs”; Entertainment Tonight raved about his “powerful songwriting, passionate vocals and masterful picking”; Rolling Stone listed his 2003 CD, Theatre of the Unheard, in their list of Critics’ Top Albums and compared him to Clark and Springsteen “at their best.” Performing Songwriter went all the way, dubbing him “the best of the best.”

For the past two years, Darrell has been the “artist in residence” with Orchestra Nashville (members appear on Modern Hymn’s “Joan of Arc”), creating what he calls “diverse musical happenings – the odder the better,” mixing the string section with such guests as Sam Bush, jazz guitarist Bill Frisell, and other musicians from many genres.

Listen to Darrell Scott on MySpace

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Halden Wofford & The Hi-Beams

Halden Wofford and the Hi-Beams’ classic style of honky tonk has a language and culture all to itself, but only takes one quick lesson to learn how to love for a lifetime. The twang of the steel guitar, snap of the snare drum, thump of the stand-up bass and rippin’ electric guitar solos mix with Wofford’s distinctive vocals to create a sound that is familiar yet purely original. Ringing out all along the Front Range of Colorado and beyond, Wofford’s wavering tenor conjures up images of Hank Williams Sr., Buddy Holly and Bob Wills.

Listen to Halden Wofford on MySpace

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Honey Don't

Honey Don’t plays American Stringband Music from the heart of Colorado and the Rocky Mountains.  They write and perform original songs as well as unique covers both new and old.  The music ranges from Americana to Folk, Country, Old-time, Bluegrass and good old Rock-n-Roll. 

The band members include Bill Powers  (guitar) and Shelley Gray (bass), perhaps better known as one-half of the Paonia, Colorado based old-time bluegrass band, Sweet Sunny South.   They can be found performing as a duo, trio or quartet both acoustic and electric.  On the CD they are joined by Ryan Drickey of The Expedition Quartet and Gabrielle Louise on fiddle and Greg Schochet of Halden Wofford & the Hi-Beams and Swing State on mandolin and guitar. 

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Matt Flinner Trio

Multi-instrumentalist Matt Flinner has made a career out of playing acoustic music in new ways. Starting out as a banjo prodigy who was playing bluegrass festivals before he entered his teens, Flinner later took up the mandolin, won the banjo contest at Winfield Kansas in 1990, and took the mandolin award there the following year. Flinner’s decision to focus on eight-stringed instruments, especially the mandolin, was primarily a function of opportunity. He explains, "I was getting more work on the mandolin." Sugarbeat, an eclectic quartet that also featured banjoist Tony Furtado, lead vocalist and guitarist Ben Demerath and bassist Sally Truitt allowed him the opportunity to master the mandolin in a contemporary folk and bluegrass context.

Flinner is now widely considered one of the hottest mandolin players on the acoustic scene. He tours actively with his own group and as a member of the new acoustic trio Phillips, Grier & Flinner with bassist Todd Phillips and guitarist David Grier. Flinner’s 1998 debut solo release The View From Here drew on such diverse inspirations as Miles Davis, David Grisman and Celtic artists the Bothy Band and was one of the most highly praised acoustic albums of the year. In the words of Bluegrass Now, Flinner’s debut was "a musical feast for the ears."

Although he lives in Nashville these days, Flinner believes that his early years spent in the Rocky Mountains had a very real impact on his music. "There’s an American harmony in classical music that’s this big wide-open sound -- Aaron Copeland’s work, for example," Flinner says. "So I think there could be something to that, that your surroundings reflect your music." With his singular combination of taste, tone and time, Flinner has created a sound that is unique to his vision and makes an important statement in the evolution of acoustic string band music. An accessible yet original ensemble, the Matt Flinner Trio is the rare band that plays with all the power of an electric outfit while retaining the sensitivity and empathy of the finest acoustic jazz and bluegrass outfits.

Listen to Matt Flinner on MySpace

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Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper

Considered one of the premier bluegrass fiddlers of his generation, Mike picked up a fiddle at age four, and his talent was recognized early. In 1993 he was chosen to be part of the Bluegrass Youth All Stars at the IBMA's award show. Later that year Mike made his Grand Ole Opry debut as a guest of Alison Krauss. His list of guest apperances over the years is a who's who of bluegrass legends including Bill Monroe, Jim and Jesse, Ralph Stanley, Mac Wiseman, Doc Watson, Larry Sparks, Doyle Lawson, and J.D. Crowe.

After high school Mike briefly toured with then-named Dale Ann Bradley and Coon Creek before joining Rhonda Vincent and The Rage in 2000. At the 2001 IBMA awards, Mike took his first Fiddle Player of the Year award, and shared the title of Entertainer of the Year with Rhonda Vincent and the Rage. In 2002 Mike rejoined The Dale Ann Bradley Band. That year he won the Fiddle Player of the Year award and again in 2004. Mike's first project as a Rounder recording artist, Flame Keeper, was released in February 2002 and was chosen the IBMA's Instrumental Album of the Year. In 2004, Mike shared the Instrumental Album of the Year award with Tom Adams for Tom Adams and Michael Cleveland Live at the Ragged Edge, an album of fiddle and banjo duets.

In September 2006 Mike took home his fourth Fiddle Player of the Year Award from the IBMA, and his second solo album on Rounder Records, Let 'Er Go, Boys!, won Instrumental Album of the Year. A year later, in 2007, Mike won his fifth fiddle player award. In 2008 he won the award a sixth time, and a seventh in 2009. Today Mike is a sought-after guest and has performed with Vince Gill, Marty Stuart, The Mark Newton Band, J.D. Crowe and the New South, Audie Blaylock and Redline, Melvin Goins and Windy Mountain and The Wildwood Valley Boys. He is also an active studio musician.

Flamekeeper is Jesse Brock on vocals and mandolin; Tom Adams on vocals and guitar; Marshall Wilborn on vocals and bass; and Jessie Baker on banjo.

Listen to Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper on MySpace

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Missy Raines & the New Hip

It’s sometimes said that great bass playing vanishes, supporting the music without drawing attention to itself. But history also shows us that when the best bass players step forward as bandleaders, remarkable things can happen -- and it does in the case of Missy Raines and the New Hip. Missy, a trailblazer in her field for as long as she’s been playing music, formed this dynamic quintet to bridge the musical worlds of newgrass, jazz, singer/songwriter and any others they take a notion to explore. The New Hip’s name is at once a subtle tribute to Birth Of The Cool, the heraldic 1950 album by Miles Davis that Raines cherishes, as well as a wry joke about a life-changing surgery that has allowed Raines to play in her famously physical style without pain for the first time in decades. That liberation resembles the musical freedom enjoyed by this young and vibrant band. The New Hip lets Raines compose and exchange ideas with four players ranging in age from 18 to 28 who grew up enthralled by traditional American roots music and its modern offshoots, just like their boss.

The project’s first recording project, Inside Out, was released on Compass Records on February 10. Their live show, slated for prestigious stages in 2009 and beyond, is a balanced diet of the arranged and the improvised, the sung and the picked.

Raines is the most decorated bass player in the history of the International Bluegrass Music Association and a popular figure in the bluegrass community for her warmth and her passion for the music and its practitioners. She spent years as a valued member of the Claire Lynch Band and half of a remarkable duo with guitarist Jim Hurst.

Assembling the new band took years of diligent recruiting and rehearsing, and the journey led her to the bluegrass world’s growing cadre of amazing and eclectic young players.

“We’ve only begun creating new sounds,” Missy says. “Everybody in the band writes, and I sought them out for that reason, because I wanted a band sound. I’ve always imagined it having the input of everybody and featuring everyone’s talents.”

The New Hip puts Raines on a path trod by bass player/band leader/composers like Ray Brown, Charles Mingus and Edgar Meyer. If her past is any indication, she’ll be one more shining example of why it’s not wise to underestimate the musician – male or female – back there in the band with the big, low instrument.

Listen to Missy Raines & the New Hip on MySpace

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The Quebe Sisters Band

When Grace, Sophia and Hulda Quebe (pronounced kway-bee) take to a stage to play and sing their vintage-style three-part harmony, audiences are mesmerized. Add the swinging rhythm guitar of World Champion fiddler Joey McKenzie and the upright bass of Drew Phelps, and the Quebe Sisters Band becomes a force of nature.

Reaction is the same wherever the Fort Worth-based group goes, and it's been around! Highlights include the Grand Ole Opry, the Kennedy Center, NYC's Lincoln Center as well as major festivals, concert halls and corporate events across North America and Canada.

Performing a refreshing blend of their favorite styles of music - whether it's a western swing classic a la Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, a hot jazz or swing standard (Benny Goodman), vintage country shuffle or western anthem that would do the Sons of the Pioneers proud, the QSB is phenomenal. The house comes down, too, when they launch into bluegrass or a traditional, Texas style fiddle tune.

Recently named Group of the Year by the Academy of Western Artists and recipient of the Crescendo Award by the Western Music Association, as well as nominations for Country group of the year by both the Dallas Observer and Ft. Worth Weekly, the QSB is performing coast to coast in support of their latest CD, Timeless.

Timeless, the band's debut album on FiddleTone Records, features the Sons' "So Long to the Red River Valley" along with Duke Ellington's "Take the 'A' Train," Spade Cooley's "Shame on You" and Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell's "Georgia on My Mind" — a collection of band members' favorite tunes by their favorite artists, given the QSB-style golden touch.

Listen to The Quebe Sisters Band on MySpace

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