CLD CONTEST WEEK, Continued!
Contest #2: Win passes and CDs from Grey Fox Bluegrass, July 16-19
Our contest week got off to a great start Monday with a chance to win indiefolk tribute compilation Before the Goldrush. Entries for all contests won’t close until midnight on Monday, July 6, so there’s still time to throw your hat in the ring.
But don’t leave just yet. Because today, we up the ante by bringing you not one but four chances to win, thanks to the wonderful folks at Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival and their sponsor Sugar Hill Records. Prizes include a pair of Grey Fox festival passes for Friday, a second pair of passes for Saturday, and CDs from new bluegrass sensation Sarah Jarosz and cajun string band the Red Stick Ramblers. And we’re letting them go as separate prizes, so even if you can’t make the shows, you can still enter to win the CDs!
The Northeast’s preeminent bluegrass fest kicks off two weeks from tomorrow, so clear the calendars, make some room in the CD changer, and read on for details and tunes.
As I predicted last year, the 2008 relocation of the long-standing Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival to a new festival site on the edge of the Catskills proved to be a stunning success. Now, like most bluegrass fans in the NY/New England area, I’m itching to get back to the laid-back community, with its multiple stages, idyllic country setting, and powerhouse acts from the broad reaches of the bluegrass world.
Of course, much of my excitement springs from the fact that some of my favorite artists will return this year, from the chilling Kentucky-based blues-driven Steeldrivers to newgrass folk quintet Crooked Still. Old-timer Del McCoury will be back, as will Claire Lynch, Peter Rowan, David Bromberg, and Tim O’Brien; those names alone represent a huge part of the modern bluegrass canon, and each is worth seeing more than once in a lifetime.
Add Ricky Skaggs, The Gibson Brothers, The Waybacks, and the easygoing stories and song of long-time festival hosts Dry Branch Fire Squad to the list, throw in dance tent favorites like old-school cajun & western stringband Red Stick Ramblers, and you’ve got a veritable who’s who of modern bluegrass, from high energy countrygrass and old-timey performers to old-school newgrass balladeers and singer-songwriters.
I’m constantly on the lookout for rising stars, too, and as always, Grey Fox has young talent aplenty. Rising sensation and freshly-minted high school graduate Sarah Jarosz, who we featured here in April in anticipation of the release of her debut CD Song Up In Her Head, will be doing a main stage set sure to please. So will new Berklee barnburners The Boston Boys, who I celebrated here after seeing them tear up a small church basement back in May.
I’m especially eager to hear more from Brooklyn-based post-traditional stringband King Wilkie. I just received their new album King Wilkie Presents: The Wilkie Family Singers, which frames itself as the product of music therapy session of a fictional musical family not unlike a dysfunctional Carter Family come to life; the conceit seems odd on the screen, but in the ears, the album is a masterwork from start to finish, rich enough in talent and style to rival such lofty predecessors. And it boasts plenty of talent, from the band members themselves to special guests Robyn Hitchcock, banjo experimentalist Abigail Washburn, and long-standing masters Bromberg and Rowan.
Overall, this year’s Grey Fox promises to be one of the best regional events in ages. And to help you get there, in body and in spirit, thanks to the ever-generous Grey Fox folks and their sponsor, long-standing go-to bluegrass label Sugar Hill Records, we’re giving away an unprecedented set of FOUR separate prizes:
- A pair of day passes for Friday
- A pair of day passes for Saturday
- A copy of the new Sarah Jarosz CD Song Up In Her Head
- A copy of the new Red Stick Ramblers CD My Suitcase Is Always Packed
To enter, merely leave a comment OR send an email with the subject line GREY FOX CONTEST letting me know who your favorite bluegrass artist is. FOUR lucky winners will each get a taste of the best ‘grass around; two will get to bring a friend. If you’ve got a preference, or you just can’t make it this year, make sure you let me know whether you’d prefer tickets, a CD, or whatever you can get your grubby hands on.
For the lucky ones, and for the rest of us, here’s a short set of sample tunes to whet your appetite for Grey Fox. Together, they define the extraordinary breadth and talent we’ve come to expect from a great festival.
- Tim O’Brien & Rob Ickes: Can’t Find My Way Home (orig. Blind Faith)
- Claire Lynch: If Wishes Were Horses (orig. Gretchen Peters)
- Peter Rowan & Tony Rice: Shady Grove (trad.)
- The Chieftains and the Del McCoury Band: Rain and Snow (trad.)
- Red Stick Ramblers: Some of These Days (orig. Clifton Chenier)
- Sarah Jarosz: Shankill Butchers (orig. The Decemberists)
- The Waybacks w/ John Cowan: Ramble On (orig. Led Zeppelin)
- Crooked Still: Orphan Girl (orig. Gillian Welch)
- The Gibson Brothers: Somewhere Trouble Don’t Go (orig. Buddy and Julie Miller)
- Dry Branch Fire Squad: Bring It On Home To Me (orig. Sam Cooke)
- David Bromberg: It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry (orig. Bob Dylan)
- Bonus live video sample: King Wilkie covers old bluegrass standard Dear Old Southern Home
Whether you can make it, or you’re just in it for the tunes, don’t forget to check out artist links above to support the folks that make our heads nod and our hearts sing. And if you’re in the region, or ready to head out to the fields, pitch a tent, and stick around for the whole weekend, check out the Grey Fox Festival site for tickets, directions, and more. See you on the hill July 16-19!
PS: Don’t forget to come back later this week for the final installment of Cover Lay Down’s CONTEST WEEK. Trust me, you won’t want to miss this one!
Category: Uncategorized
July 3rd, 2009 at 3:43 pm
I love me some Crooked Still, sad they’re not returning to FRFF this year.
July 3rd, 2009 at 9:33 pm
[...] WEEK’s Grand Conclusion! Contest #3: Win Two Passes to Falcon Ridge Folk Fest, July 23-26!CLD CONTEST WEEK, Continued! Contest #2: Win passes and CDs from Grey Fox Bluegrass, July 16-19Cover Lay Down CONTEST WEEK! Contest #1: WIN Indie cover compilation Before the GoldrushR.I.P. [...]
July 5th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
[...] WEEK’s Grand Conclusion! Contest #3: Win Two Passes to Falcon Ridge Folk Fest, July 23-26!CLD CONTEST WEEK, Continued! Contest #2: Win passes and CDs from Grey Fox Bluegrass, July 16-19Cover Lay Down CONTEST WEEK! Contest #1: WIN Indie cover compilation Before the GoldrushR.I.P. [...]
July 6th, 2009 at 9:31 am
Also, CD only please, won’t be in the area until a couple days later.
July 6th, 2009 at 11:47 am
CD ONLY
I don’t know whether you consider the Avett Brothers bluegrass enough for your tastes, but I sure do lurve those guys!
July 6th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
CDs Only
And my favorite bluegrass artist is… God, I don’t know. That’s a tough one. The Chieftains, probably.
July 13th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
On “Some of These Days,” the original is a LOT older’n Clifton . . . that one goes all the way back to Sophie Tucker, who recorded it in 1911 for Edison, and it was written in 1910 by Sheldon Brooks (1886-1975), who also wrote “Darktown Strutter’s Ball.”
July 13th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Thanks for the correction, Marchbanks…I’ll send it along to whomever did the liner notes for the Red Stick Ramblers album!
August 5th, 2009 at 12:02 am
[...] Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, which last year included both the Infamous Stringdusters and Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow [...]