Happy Springtime bluegrass music fans!

We have a great issue this month with some live concert reviews, jamming on the other side of the world, updates on CBMS outreach, an interview with the owner of McAwesomeFest and much more!

John Pierce - President, Colorado Bluegrass Music Society

Buffalo Commons

Band review By John Pierce

Buffalo Commons is one of those bands many call “bluegrass adjacent”.  I don’t think they are doing anything that could be considered straight bluegrass, but they do have all the normal bluegrass instruments plus a drummer, and they are playing acoustic music. They pull from bluegrass of course, but also from country, jazz, pop, soul and funk.  They are a band with their own definition and sometimes they call themselves “Soul Grass”.

This is a band you must see live.  The energy in their live shows is off the charts and there is a reason everyone in the place is dancing and singing along.

I have been hearing for years from friends how BC might be one of the best bands in Colorado.  But for one reason or another, I kept “missing” them.  Finally, about a year ago I saw them at McAwesome Ranch and I was hooked.  I soon bought their album, and it quickly went into rotation with my favorite music. 

Their new album “Patterns” is spectacular.  Well recorded with a diverse selection of what they do. From the iconic “Cannonball Jones” (a live concert favorite) or the infectious  “Addy”  or the catchy “My Way Home” - go have a listen on your favorite streaming service and you will see what I mean.

I recently saw BC at Cervantes and this just reinforced to me how good this band is and how popular they are on the Front Range of Colorado. This band is very tight and every single one of them has their instrumental space in the music. The harmonies are excellent, and as I said before, this band is highly “danceable”. Tyree Woods’ guitar playing is very tasteful and fits perfectly with his lead vocals.  Watching Eric and Randy call-and-response between fiddle and mandolin, you can tell this is a band that fits together!  Danjo Harris just might jump off an amp while playing banjo; Tyler Cain’s drumming is right in the pocket, perfect for every tune and Denton Turner’s bass is absolutely seismic as he walks that doghouse around the stage like it’s nothing.  They are all great musicians and singers, but most of all, they “gel”.

In my opinion, they are one of the best musical acts in Colorado today.   This is not a cover band; this is original Colorado music at its finest.  No, they are not traditional bluegrass, but they will show you a great time!

— John

Buffalo Commons on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/buffalocommonsmusic

Buffalo Commons Website: buffalocommonsband.com

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FEATURED FESTIVAL - McAwesomeFest

May 26-29 - Castlerock, Colorado

Interview with Matt McMurray by Nadine Sekerez

Private festival (Invitation only)

Featuring: Chicken Wire Empire, Pert Near Sandstone, Chatham Rabbits, Arkansauce, Tall Poppy String Band, Pick & Howl, Ragged Union,  and Back to the Mountain. SEE SCHEDULE BELOW.

Matt McMurray kindly took some time to answer some questions about his AWESOME festival. Whether you have attended this private event or not, you will appreciate the hard work and giving spirit that goes into this great Colorado Bluegrass event. Enjoy the read!

What are the specifics for the festival? Dog friendly? Kid-friendly?

We have chosen to host the festival over Memorial Day weekend each year (Friday, May 26 @ 3:00pm – Monday, May 29 @ 12:00pm). There is open camping for your tent, camp trailer, and/or RV in the 5-acre field, and we designate the horse arena as a quiet/non-picking/family option. We welcome kids here as part of our community, and we do not ask for donations for kids under 15 years old. We also welcome people to bring their well-behaved dogs. All dogs MUST BE ON LEASH, and for the safety of our friends and your dogs, no dogs are allowed in the amphitheater (top tier is okay...) or in the barn. We invite people who are camping for the weekend to show up Friday afternoon to set up camp in our field. Everyone is invited to participate in our welcome potluck in the barn @ 5:30p followed by a Chicken Wire Empire performance in the amphitheater starting around 7pm. The Saturday and Sunday schedules have music in the amphitheater starting at 3 PM and going until 11 PM. On Saturday night after the headliner, we decided to continue hosting a Nightgrass set inside the barn, and this year it will be open to everyone attending. We are also fortunate to have professionally guided yoga meditations this year over the weekend, as well as having the opportunity to schedule a massage from one of our group members!

When and how did the first festival come about?

I suppose it started shortly after moving to the property in 2014.  My friend Sarah McCarthy and I started planning a barn pick/campout for the coming spring. We invited a handful of local musicians and friends, enjoyed a bunch of home-brewed beer/cider, picked a bunch of songs in the barn, and had a blast. That was the night I formed a clear vision aimed at hosting a private festival aimed at supporting bands in the local bluegrass community. I always thought the ampitheater/barn had great potential to host events, and it has evolved into a pretty special place.

What makes your Bluegrass festival unique? Do you have particular goals when booking the lineup? Any particular focus on how you decide which bands you book? Is there a focus on Colorado-based bands?

Wow! I feel like there are so many answers to that question. Some festivals feel so impersonal; the music is great but deep connections can sometimes be hard to fabricate with thousands of people around.  We host this festival on our private property, not at a commercial venue. We are 100% focused on creating a space where people are able to build authentic relationships with the artists and guests that attend. By not being a public event, we’ve been able to maintain a home-grown community feel where the people that attend are truly connected to each other, even after they leave the property. Those types of relationships always manifest some incredible stories and collaborations. We’ve had several songs written in the field, been privileged to have artists choose to play their new music for the first time in front of our audiences, and after forming an all-female collaboration to play a special set at our festival a couple years ago, had them decide that they liked playing together so much that they wanted to tour nationally. It’s fun to see their popularity rising…

We have always sought to primarily focus on high-quality Colorado-based acoustic bands for the festival. Understanding that our community is very diverse, we try to book a variety of styles throughout the weekend. You can always count on music coming from a few pop-ups with after-party picking in the field until the dawn’s early light...

What motivates you to continue hosting McAweseome year after year?

COMMUNITY! At last year’s festival, I was standing outside a pop-up tent listening to a dozen friends making music together at 2 am when a first-time attendee expressed how McAwesomefest felt so different to her from other festivals. “I’ve never felt this kind of community.” I was so taken by this comment. Connection is a fundamental need that we all have, and live music melts away our differences allowing us to be present in the experience. McAwesomefest is all about the musicians, supporting the people and music we love, and strengthening our bluegrass community.

How many people generally attend your event?

Capacity is an interesting issue for us. We had nearly 500 people on the property one year for the festival and quickly realized we needed to seriously consider how our capacity impacts the purpose and experience of the event. This event is for the performing musicians and our music-loving friends.

One of the special things about McAwesome is the intimacy you get to experience as a result of its smaller size, and we don’t ever want to lose that. We’ve set aside aspirations of becoming a big festival, and instead want to be the highest-quality example of a grass-roots festival aimed at supporting our local musician community.

Funding your event is a little different than most events--can you tell us how that works?

Quite a bit goes into hosting hundreds of people on your property for the weekend! We’re a private festival aimed at financially supporting the musicians. McAwesome Ranch does not profit from the music events that we host; the time/money/effort we invest in the festival each year is our way of giving back to the people that we love. Since the first festival nine years ago, I have personally fronted all the costs in the months leading up to the festivals. My ongoing hope is that enough people will see the value in this type of community event that they would donate in advance to help me hedge the financial risk that hosting a festival requires. These attendee donations help offset the costs associated with the festival including the guaranteed band compensation, porta-potties, beverages, professional sound, trash, etc. I believe there is a reciprocal emotional benefit when the money you donate goes directly to the community that you love, and the spirit of asking for donations is to provide an opportunity for our friends to support the hard work and art of our local musicians.

Do you have help planning and running the event?

It takes a lot of energy to create something special. From the countless hours of practice from the artists to the volunteers and benefactors that willingly donate their time and resources to help us all have a better experience. This community is what makes events like ours so special. For anyone who’s ever tried to host a festival, you understand that there are only so many hours in a year, and you can’t do everything yourself for very long before you burn out. After hosting Billy Strings at the Ranch, McAwesomefest really started getting some attention, and I tried to lean into that… to my own detriment. I started feeling a lot of pressure to make the festival more amazing year-over-year, and chasing that ghost is exhausting. Fortunately, my friends and family recognized my tendency to lean out over my skis a little too much and had a type of intervention on my behalf demanding that we share the responsibilities.

I honestly don’t know how I managed the festival prior to having the support of my partner Michelle and my friend, Rachel Peterson. From running our family & business to ordering the merchandise, Michelle’s ability to help keep our lives organized is how I’m able to dedicate the time and energy required for the festival. In addition to being our Emcee, Rachel has helped coordinate almost every aspect of the festival from booking the musicians to scheduling the volunteers. I joke that this festival should really be called, “Rachelfest!” I wouldn’t want to run this festival without the support of these two amazing people.

We’ve also received substantial support from several of the local breweries that demonstrate their appreciation for the bluegrass community through contributing their resources (Stem Ciders, Beyond the Mountain, Old 121, 105 West, Rockyard Brewing, Burly Brewing).

Who generally attends your festival? We see in photos from the event that a lot of picking is going on. Are your guests almost exclusively musicians? Are most of your guests "lifers"--friends who return each year?

We started the festival by inviting our friends and encouraging them to invite their friends too. I like this model because it has resulted in everyone at the festival being closely connected to each other. I think it has also helped set the environment as a place for connection and deepening relationships. This is certainly demonstrated in the established “camps” that routinely form in the field from our repeat attendees. I estimate that nearly half of the people that attend the festival bring instruments; I am so grateful for the musicians that attend the festival. Many of the band members choose to camp in the field for the weekend with everyone else because they are friends with everyone who attends. This reminds me of a conversation I just had with a past performer who mentioned how surreal it was to perform their set of music for the audience, and then immediately switch roles as they came off the stage to enjoy watching their friends play the rest of the weekend. If you have attended previous events at McAwesome Ranch, please feel free to invite your friends to the McAwesome Ranch Facebook group for this festival and future musical events and updates.

Do guests share in chores for the event?

People seem to really enjoy volunteering to help make the festival run smoothly, and it literally takes an army. Last year we had 57 volunteer shifts that were filled by guests including pre-festival property prep, checking people in when they arrive, manning the merch table during the music, etc. We’ve also been very fortunate to have a respectful circle of friends and guests who follow the Leave No Trace principle. Last year our “micro-trash patrol,” walked the entire field before leaving on Monday. That kind of community is very special.

How is your event received by your local community, particularly your neighbors?

I imagine seeing 400 people erect a tent/camper city right behind your back yard initially gave some concern for the neighbors that border our property! That said, the respectful way our guests conduct themselves has been noticed. A few years ago after the festival one of my neighbors reached out to me to thank our guest for doing such an amazing job picking up trash, even on their side of the fence! On the other hand, I’ve also had neighbors call the sheriff because they were concerned we were having too much fun. Ironically, after the officers realized we weren’t breaking any ordinances, they parked their cruisers near the property so that they could listen to the late-night picks happening throughout the field. This started a tradition where we make sure to holler, “goodnight Holmby Court” to the neighbors each year at the close of the festival. In general, we want the community members who love and support what we’re doing here to participate.

Thank you for taking the time to tell us about your great festival, and for giving so much to our Colorado Bluegrass community! -Nadine

Photo credit - Scott SIefert

 Friday night: 5/26/23
 6-8:30 - (Potluck Dinner Concert- Chicken Wire Empire) This year all guests are invited to the welcome potluck and Friday music set at the barn starting around 6PM! Bring a dish to share and enjoy the music!

 Saturday: 5/27/22
 3:00-4:30 - Back to the Mountain
4:50-6:20 - Ragged Union
6:40-8:10 - Chatham Rabbits
8:30-10:30 - Pert Near Sandstone
11:00-1:00 am – (Nightgrass w/ Chicken Wire Empire) The Night Grass set will be open to everyone this year.

 Sunday: 5/28/22
 3:00-4:30 - Pick & Howl
4:50-6:20 - Tall Poppy String Band
6:40-8:10 - Arkansauce
8:30-10:30 - Pert Near Sandstone

 Monday: 5/29/22
 12:00p - Head home and enjoy your Memorial Day!

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Jammin’ in Jakarta

By Franziska Zenhäusern

When I found out that I would spend a month in Indonesia for work in March, I immediately decided to find opportunities for jamming. I was inspired by my banjo-playing friend Kyler who went on a business trip to Germany a few months earlier and found a pick in Munich. So why not Indonesia? Facebook to the rescue. I started by searching Indonesian groups that played country music, and it turned out that there was a small but mighty group of folks in a variety of cities across Java that were all well connected. Once they started following what we were doing here in Colorado, they started posting bluegrass songs, to show off their impressive skills. That’s also how I knew that they had upright basses to use, which is the only string instrument I play passably. I told them that I would likely spend some time in Jakarta, so they connected me to a music teacher named Tono (on Facebook as “Sanggar Merah Putih”, if you scroll down to March, you’ll find some videos of us playing together).

With the help of Google Translate, I sent a WhatsApp chat when I arrived in Jakarta, and we set up a time for me to come over to his house - two blocks up from Mosque X, behind Hospital Y  in a city of 11 million people - piece of cake! Imagine a 6 foot by 12 foot long cement living room with a plastic round table and five chain smoking dudes at a balmy 95 degrees playing their hearts out - Tono and Boyke on guitar, Zen and sometimes Tono on fiddle, Daniel on Banjo, Erroll on Mando, and me on the bass that Saul usually plays. Thankfully two of them knew a little bit of English and music is universal when you know how to pronounce keys in the German/Spanish way of Ah, Beh, Tseh, Deh, Eh, Ef, Geh. 

When I was first handed the bass, I tried to tune it, which was mostly fruitless. The nylon strings were strung on pegs that were so old and rusty, two of them didn’t move at all. The other ones moved but didn’t stay in place for long. Imagine a beginning bass player figuring out how to adjust to playing notes in different places from where they would normally be and stay in key! It turns out I wasn’t the only one needing to get creative. Daniel used a screw on his banjo to adjust the tuning. 

They were very patient with me and luckily the format lent itself to plenty of practicing. Tono ruled the room as a stern music teacher would. This was not a pick, more like their nightly band practice. We played a song three to four times as he arranged breaks, and then when he declared it was ready he called in a younger student to come and videotape the performance for social media. 

They were all so tuned in to each other, carefully listening to each other, it felt magical being a part of their group. We played a mix of songs that first night such as Rolling in My Sweet Baby’s Arms, Will The Circle Be Unbroken, Rocky Mountain High, Sleep with One Eye Open, Uncle Pen, Whiskey Before Breakfast, Flowers of Edinboro, and Baby Blue. Hoping for a little breeze, we ended up playing out on the street, with the whole neighborhood coming out to watch. What  a blast!  I left around midnight ready for some street food and an air-conditioned hotel room, but excited to come back the following week to do it again. Now, back in the US, I’m begging my supervisors to send me over more than once a year for the chance of playing together again.

Seeing how they opened up their home and heart to a complete stranger, I’m hoping I can support their endeavors with a bit of love and support from the Colorado bluegrass community. As you can imagine, they have no way of buying supplies for banjos and mandolins such as strings, picks, straps, or capos in Indonesia. Bass, violin, and guitar strings are available, but double the price from the US and definitely not in the budget for music teachers, radio engineers, and hospital technicians like them. I have colleagues going back to Indonesia in August and will happily pay for an extra suitcase if you have spare equipment lying around. There are also some used double-basses for sale in the $600-800 range in Jakarta. If you have equipment or even instruments to donate to the music school (wouldn’t that be an amazing surprise!), please reach out at gramuesi@gmail.com. My Venmo is @gramuesi if you are able to make a financial contribution (put Indonesia in the comments). 


And now some pics!

Featured band — AJ Lee and Blue Summit at Cervantes

Concert review by John Pierce

The first band I reviewed for this issue is decidedly more on the progressive and less bluegrassy side of things, so let’s get a bit more traditional. AJ Lee & Blue Summit is not a Colorado Band.  But they sure “feel” like one!  I’ve seen them three times this year already; once at the Midwinter Bluegrass Festival, once at Cervantes and once at the Boulder Fox Theatre. 

This band is surely one of the best musical acts traveling the country today.  You want traditional bluegrass?  Nobody is doing it better.  Plus, AJ’s smoky, bluesy voice just grabs you the very first time you hear her.  One of the great voices in bluegrass today for sure. 

Her band is full of hot-shot musicians that add their own dimension to every song. Sully Tuttle is an incendiary guitar player – most people who are familiar with him know that.  But have you heard him sing?  He has this sort of Johnny Cash type vibe to his voice which travels a quite different road than AJ’s singing.  Great stuff! 

So, she has a great guitar player right?  No, she has TWO.  Scott Gates has his own style, different from Sully’s, but when they face off, it’s an instrumental treat to be sure!  Plus, he is a great lead singer too and when he yodels through a song it captures the entire audience.  Berkeley-trained Jan Purat can play any kind of bluegrass you want to talk about, but he can sprinkle in some gypsy fiddle, blues, jazz or whatever is needed. Forrest Marowitz holds down the bass with total precision and adds great harmonies. Full of hot-shot musicians? Check. Great vocals and harmonies? Check. Super tight and versatile.

There will be another opportunity to see AJ Lee & Blue Summit at Rockygrass in July and I’m definitely going to see them, you should too! 

Yep, they are not a Colorado band, but they can come stay at my house anytime.

 

AJ Lee & Blue Summit Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/BlueSummitmusic

AJ Lee & Blue Summit website
bluesummitmusic.com

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The first CBMS beginner jam of 2023 was a HUGE success!

By Amy Martin

As announced on our social media pages, CBMS is now hosting a monthly BEGINNER’S JAM the 2nd Tuesday of each month at The American Music School in Lakewood. Our first one took place in April and was a huge success!

Hosted by John Pierce and Amy Martin, board members and seasoned players, this jam’s main focus and goal was to increase the comfortability and confidence of those who have not spent a lot of time (or no time at all) playing music with others in a jam. We played at a slow tempo, explained each song before we started, and called out the chords as we went along. We had folks ranging in age and ability, and all had a lot of fun. Some participants called songs, some did not, but all expressed how comfortable and safe the space felt to learn and improve.

As one of our missions here at CBMS is to continue the traditions that come along with Bluegrass, this was a BIG focus for us this year, and we were thrilled to see it come to fruition. It’s true, one of the coolest things about the bluegrass community is that you can show up to a picking circle, make music with complete strangers, and walk away with an entire new group of friends. We feel honored to be able to carry on this tradition and help others discover this ability they already have as a musician growing inside of them.

Bring a bluegrass instrument and join us for the next one on May 9th!


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CBMS Presents: beyond the grass!

Colorado Bluegrass Music Society will celebrate 51 years of history by kicking off a fundraising series, CBMS Presents: Beyond the Grass! on Thursday, May 18 at Roots Music Project in Boulder. Beyond the Grass will be an intimate, single-mic show with interviews, conducted by Neil Smart (of KGNU’s Old Grass GNU Grass).


The first of this series will feature performances by Blue Canyon Boys, Pete and Joan Wernick, and Jake Leg. General Admission is $35. Limited VIP seating, $50. Showtime is 7 pm. Doors at 6:15. There will be a silent auction and other fun activities. A cash bar and The Fed food truck will be available. So come early!


Silent Auction items include:

  • RockyGrass -Two 3-day General Admission Passes

  • Rhythms on the Rio -Two 3-day General Admission Passes

  • Rail on the River - Two 3-day General Admission Passes

  • A Framed Billy Strings poster

  • OZO- 2 Travel mugs, Gift cards, 10 free drinks card

  • Franziska Zenhausen- Cheese making class

  • Gift from Western Stars Gallery & Studio

  • Watercolor Painting of Jon Pickett (Chain Station)

  • More to come!


We are honored to feature Pete. Back in 2006, Dr. Banjo was chosen to be among the first four Coloradans inducted into the Bluegrass Hall Of Honor by CBMS. Here is an excerpt from a post on Pete’s website, written by John Lawless.


“Recipients were chosen for their demonstrated love of the music, and dedication to its furtherance.”

Pete is quoted on his website as responding:

“I am definitely honored and I sure appreciate this recognition. That”s very good company I’m in there. The Colorado bluegrass scene is in great shape, with a lot of diversity and musical energy. I”ll continue to help people understand and respect bluegrass traditions while adding their own touches to make it live for them. I love the music and I love the community, and I feel very fortunate to have the life in music that I do.”

Also selected in this first round of honorees were Jerry Mills, Dick Pierle, Ken Seaman, and Suzie Solomon. Good company, indeed!

Please note this exciting offer to our members, one time only!

CBMS members can receive a code for $10 off of the May 18th show admission. We will be sending out a special email to our members with this code. If you do not receive it, or become a member after it is sent, please contact Nadine at upstreamconcertsbooking@gmail.com and she will gladly give you this code!


Why be a member?

Colorado Bluegrass Music Society is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that was formed in 1972. Its mission is to promote and encourage the growth and preservation of traditional Bluegrass while embracing the evolution within the genre. Memberships help us with general administrative costs. While our Board Members are volunteers, there are still some operating expenses to cover. Personal membership is only $20, and a band or membership is only $50. We are happy to support non-member bands, but members get a great listing on our website with links to their website or socials! Our website and email are used OFTEN as a resource for people looking to book.


Why support this fundraiser?

Yes, many of us donate our time and resources to further the mission of CBMS. We would also like to do more OUTREACH for our community–more bluegrass education in the schools, perhaps. We would love to represent and showcase our bands at the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) conference. What would you like to see CBMS accomplish? We would love to hear from you! Raising funds creates more possibilities!


Tickets are available at:

CBMS Presents: Beyond the Grass! Tickets, Thu, May 18, 2023, at 7:00 PM | Eventbrite


We look forward to seeing you at the show!

This month for our “Power Pickin’ from the Past” image we have the very first Midwinter Bluegrass Festival poster!

Contributors to this month’s newsletter:

  • John Pierce — President, CBMS

  • Kevin Slick - Board member and former President of CBMS, member of Orchard Creek Band

  • Nadine Sekerez — Board member of CBMS and owner of Snowygrass Music Festival, member of Lost Penny band

  • Amy Martin — Board member and social media honcho for CBMS

  • Franziska Zenhäusern - Local musician and bass player for Smörgåsgrass