Friday, May 16, 2014

YBA SPRING SHOWCASE

It has taken me a full week to get this post on line. It seems bluegrass music can wait, but bluegrass growing in my lawn can't. In all truth most of my bluegrass is long gone and has been taken over by rougher grasses, but everything had really grown with all the recent moisture including many shrubs and trees that badly needed pruning.
Any way the May 9th YBA Showcase went off quite well at the Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch chapel building. A good crowd showed up for the free event and although the bands had dropped from an original nine to seven, but they all sounded good and those in attendance appeared to enjoy the show. Here are a few photos of the bands as they performed:









There was quite a bit of "country" in the first two groups. Almeda Bradshaw specializes in western style tunes and her set was mainly done as a trio until the final number in which she brought up a mandolin, banjo and fiddle as shown above. The "Anything Goes" band of YBA President Sharon Karlson also featured mainly country vocals. The real bluegrass really kicked in when the "Maverick String Stretchers" stepped on stage. Those boys don't hold anything back and they can play along side any bluegrass band in Montana. The other groups did quite well, too. Janney Kirk of Kirk Violins managed to squeeze a Shetland Isles fiddle tune in as she has specialized in Scottish fiddle music for many years. On the subject of fiddlers this may have been our final opportunity to hear fiddle champion Hannah King as she performed with "Song Dog Serenade." She is heading for the West Coast to pursue her fame and fortune. We wish her well in her future endeavors. Trent Indreland was able to patch his gear into the Chapel sound system and their large ceiling mounted speakers reproduced the music nicely.  The acoustics of the Chapel work well for bluegrass music. Trent also has a big baritone voice and plays a darn good mandolin as well.  The YBA owes a huge debt of gratitude to Trent for the free use of his sound equipment and technical expertise. Hiring a professional group would make these showcases virtually impossible to produce. Thanks from all of us, Trent.

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