The Solar Sisters at the 2024 Midwinter Bluegrass Festival

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What's Happening in Bluegrass

By John Pierce - President CBMS

Greetings fellow bluegrassers! Here’s what’s going on in our bluegrass community:

Holding on at Midwinter Bluegrass Festival

By David Smith

The tree of life that grows within a bluegrass festival has roots that give the event strength. Digging deep into a festival’s foundation are the roots of the lineup, the venue and sound, the picking scene, lodging, volunteers, and the audience. Sometimes an event has one withering root and it’s palpable as the days wear on. In the worst case, the grounding is so poor that you walk away wondering how much longer the tree will stand. But in the best case, the roots have given life, and the fruit is abundant. This abundant life is the growth of the Midwinter Bluegrass Festival.

Taking place just north of Denver every President’s Day Weekend, this year’s festival had a spreading whisper with an increasing volume: “Have you seen the Slocan Ramblers yet?” “You need to check out the 3rd floor pick right outside the elevator!” “Those sound guys really have that room dialed in.” And of course, “What the heck is Bluegrass Karaoke?!?”

With the understanding that you must experience Bluegrass Karaoke to truly know Bluegrass Karaoke, let’s dive into a few of these other festival roots that came together to give the weekend an unending level of enjoyment from the opening hotel lobby pick through the final stage notes of Sunday evening.

First the headliners. Each night brought a closing set by many of the best in modern-day bluegrass. Instrumentation, vocals, songwriting, arrangement, innovation… The Becky Buller Band, Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen, and Missy Raines and Allegany represent the highest level of skill and entertainment in the genre today.

Becky Buller is pure joy on stage. Relatable and fun, yet you’re in awe of her many talents. She’s a trifecta of singing, fiddling, and songwriting. Within her two sets she hinted at an upcoming album release titled, “Jubilee.” Never one to shy away from the emotions behind her music, Buller shared with the audiences her struggles through the pandemic times and how writing the songs of “Jubilee” was cathartic in finding peace in those dark times. As the album is written and arranged to give a listen from start to finish, at times she presented melodies of songs flowing one into the other, a movement portraying the blessings of life that pull us through to the next day. “Jubilee” will be medicine for the spirit!

Those in the know were prepared (if you can prepare) for the onslaught of instrumental prowess from Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen. Solivan is straight-up incredible. Banjo player, Mike Munford, is a legitimate living legend of the instrument. After years of witnessing the talents of Chris Luquette, the absolute fire on the fretboard from Jack Dunlap on guitar was a welcomed new utensil in the Dirty Kitchen. And the band as a whole – with Jeremy Middleton locked in the groove on e-bass and belting soaring tenor – this quartet is the closest this generation can come to being transported to 1986 and standing before Pat Flynn, Sam Bush, John Cowan, and Bela Fleck.

Missy Raines and Allegheny hit the stage in a bright, red leisure suit with bedazzled music notes embroidered on the flared bellbottoms. Her music brought the same fire as her outfit. Something noticeable from all the three headliners was that even though the band names rightfully bear their individual names as the bandleaders and bluegrass stars that they are, there is a welcoming of interplay, honoring of talent, and an honest nod to the other musicians on stage. This could be seen again and again as Raines let fingers on fretboards fly and vocal harmonies rise. This was all a treat to those in the audience who have fond memories of Tristan Scroggins on many a Midwinter Bluegrass Festival stage (as well as stages across Colorado). Scroggins has developed into a mandolin picking and lead and harmony singing dynamo. A total pro. His back-up cross-picking, melodic tremolo, and commanding leads were felt throughout the music, and Raines didn’t hesitate in laying down her incomparable groove for him to shine (as well as Ellie Hakanson on fiddle, Ben Garnett on guitar, and Eli Gilbert on banjo).

While not a festival night closer in the sense of being a headliner, the other band traveling from afar and bringing music of the utmost quality and enjoyment was The Slocan Ramblers. To quote their band bio, “Rooted in tradition, fearlessly creative and possessing a bold, dynamic sound, The Slocans have become a leading light of today’s acoustic music scene.” So true and so awesome. Frank Evans on banjo, Adrian Gross on mandolin, Darryl Poulsen on guitar, and Charles James on bass – and with two and three-part harmonies abounding – they had the audience enthralled with each note sung and played.

Headliners aside, a unique and time-honored tradition of the Midwinter Bluegrass Festival is the booking of many of the finest bluegrass, folk, and acoustic Americana bands in Colorado. The state is in good rapport with the trusted lead vocals of Martin Gilmore, the solid and draw drop instrumentation of The Cody Sisters, the high lonesome singing (and it really is) of The Fretliners, the unguarded emotions of Bonnie and Taylor Sims, the heartstring pulling song selections of The Solar Sisters, the longtime presence of friends with Tenderfoot Bluegrass and Orchard Creek, the educational connections of the University of Northern Colorado Bluegrass Ensemble – and last but certainly not least – the song-forward orchestrated jams of the Stillhouse Junkies.

We end as Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen ended the festival on Sunday night, with enough tears of joy and thankfulness from the crowd to add to the moisture level of the Front Range snowpack: “We’ve got to hold on, we’ve got to hold on, we’ve got to hold on to each other, hold on to what we have!”

Denver Jamgrass: Celebrating 10 Years!

by Amy Martin

“This Week In Grass”

You know the post. The post we all love from Denver Jamgrass that tells us about all the grassy-musical happenings in Colorado for the week. But did you know that post comes from one solo man who spends hours making sure it happens? That sometimes this man has to redo the entire post because Facebook doesn’t like all of those tags in one place? Or that sometimes he gets put in Facebook jail for his tactics? The man, the myth, the sometimes anonymous legend behind this post is none other than Kirk Hubbard, founder and creator of all things Denver Jamgrass. He’s a humble man, and he will hate (in the nicest way) that he’s being praised for all his work, or that he’s the center of an article at all, but he deserves recognition, and quite frankly, a round of applause. So we’ll ask for forgiveness later. 

Kirk grew up in the Ohio River Valley and has lived in West Virginia, so his bluegrass roots planted early. He has always been a lover and supporter of music and art, and he has lended himself to both for many years. He is a photographer and videographer, and is most often seen at shows behind the lens of his camera. He is a family man and a community man, always doing what he can to help those around him. If Kirk sees a friend, a stranger, or a band in need, he springs into action. It’s how Denver Jamgrass got its start, Kirk saw certain needs in the bluegrass community and wanted to fill them. He wanted new bands to have good photos and audio who couldn’t afford it, he wanted venues to have good ticket sales so they’d continue to book these bands and pay them well, and he wanted a safe space where bands could self-promote and be promoted by others. He wants absolutely nothing in return. He doesn’t care for notoriety or recognition, and he prefers to do his good deeds quietly, so we can’f even tell you all the ways he has helped our community because we are sworn to secrecy. But he has, and some of you know. 

It has been TEN YEARS since Kirk brought Denver Jamgrass to this scene, which has over time produced professjonal-quality live performance photos for bands at no cost, granted relief funds during the Covid shutdown (a great team and community effort!), recorded podcasts, interviews, live streams, promoted local venues and musicians, connected touring musicians to local gear or housing needed, and of course, THE LIST. Ten years of volunteer work that this man has done with so many of us benefiting in one way or another. Perhaps you were in one of these bands and still love that photo he took or you went to a great show last Thursday because you saw it on the list. 

We certainly reference the Denver Jamgrass list often at CBMS, which is where Kirk focuses a lot of his energy these days, and know that many people rely on it when making their plans. It’s why we wanted to take a moment to give Kirk Hubbard a shout out and to say THANK YOU for everything you do and have done. Happy 10 year anniversary Kirk! Happy Ten Year Anniversary Denver Jamgrass. We appreciate you so much.

(Editor notes: If you want to be on the list, create an event on Facebook and invite this man. That’s how it works.)

Luthier Interview: Geoff Burghardt

by John Pierce

Geoff Burghardt is a fixture in the Denver music scene. I met him about 10 years ago at Luke Blaser’s Park House jam. He was playing a unique looking A-Style mandolin, so I asked him about it when he took a break and told me he made it himself. Geoff is very outgoing and always willing to discuss musical instruments. I was immediately impressed with his knowledge of the mandolin and over time, I’ve ended up owning two of them.

He has been a luthier for about 21 years and he does instrument setups, pickup installations, nut cutting and many other tasks for stringed instruments in addition to building his own mandolins under the brand name iii mandolin (pronounced triple-eye mandolin). He primarily works on mandolins, but also works on guitars & basses, both acoustic and electric and also ukuleles in his shop at the back of his house.

Geoff has been building mandolins since 2003 and is constantly evolving his craft. He builds an average of 3-4 instruments per year, although one year he did build 9 instruments. These days Geoff has been heavily involved in the analysis of what makes mandolins sound the way they do. He measures dimensions, weights, evaluates the type of bridge, tuners and tailpiece used and taps on various parts of the instruments recording the tones with a microphone to analyze peaks and values in the response. Kind of “The mad scientist of mandolins”. To date, Geoff has analyzed 80 different mandolins of all makes/models included Collings, The Loar, Eastman, Gibson, Gilchrist, Ellis and many others. He gathers up to 70 different measurements for each instrument and has all the data organized in a giant spreadsheet along with sound files and wave patterns for each mandolin.

Geoff says he is most interested in resonances and deflection (stiffness) and in the thicknesses of the top and back. He also likes to see the comparison between different types of wood; mahogany, maple, rosewood, etc. Has taken a lot of his analytical direction from Gore and Gilet guitar makers in Australia and Don Macrostie of Red Diamond mandolins, two makers who also have a very data-driven approach to creating great sounding instruments. Geoff’s goal is to develop different recipes for his customers when building a mandolin. Do they want it to cut in the midrange, or be heavier on the bottom? Personally, he is looking for a deep, resonant sound which doesn't get tinny when played on the higher frets.

In the early 2000’s, Geoff was a teacher at Red Rocks College where in addition to math he taught mandolin building. He has collaborated with Robbie O'Brien to make a mandolin building instruction video which is 12 hours of detailed instructions for those wishing to build their own mandolin.

For my final questions, I asked Geoff what are his current favorite strings on a mandolin - he said D’Addario J74.

I also asked him what is the most common problem people have with mandolins? He said a lot of people are afraid to adjust their bridge. Don’t be afraid, try it. Slack the strings, turn the wheels on the bridge up and down. Go down until it buzzes when fretted, then back it off until it doesn't buzz.

If you have tuning or buzzing issues you can't resolve, then take it to Geoff. He will take care of the problem and make that stringed instrument sound better plus be easier to play. If you are interested in one of Geoff’s hand-built custom mandolins, you can go to his website or see one of his new mandolins at the Old Town Pickin’ Parlor in Arvada. Geoff will also be bringing several mandolins to the Denver guitar show later this month on March 24th.

Finding Geoff:

On Facebook
On the Web
Mandolin building course

Colorado Junction String Band

Big Hooray

Find them at: Big Hooray on Facebook

SLAY at Seven Grande Denver

The Reckless Folk

Jake Leg

The Red Mountain Boys

This month for our “Power Pickin’ from the Past” image we have the 7th annual Rocky Mountain Bluegrass festival poster from 1979!

Contributors to this month’s newsletter:

  • John Pierce — President, CBMS

  • David Smith - Long time member of the bluegrass scene and contributor to CBMS

  • Amy Martin — Banjo player / instructor and knower of all-things-banjo