Dorrigo get ready! A triple treat of music is coming your way as the Dorrigo Folk and Bluegrass Festival proudly presents to you a trio of dynamic and uniquely different performers across one week in March. You will not have to leave the plateau to see these three groups who are all about to start tours appearing at major festivals along the eastern board of Australia. Our visiting musicians have all appeared in Dorrigo before to full houses and we are delighted that they have asked to return to share their latest music. To begin this magical week , we have Luke Plumb and the Circuit playing at Megan Hall on Saturday 14th March . Megan concerts have a special individual atmosphere that keeps bringing supporters back. We begin with a shared meal at 6.30 around the trestle table , our local legend Bill Marks introduces the evening with a short selection of tunes on piano and then we have two sets from our featured performers.Mandolin virtuoso Luke Plumb’s (Shooglenifty, Andy Irvine) innovative new band fuses tradition and dance grooves. Together with Eamon McNelis( Flap,Big Idiot Band), Kate Burke (Trouble in the Kitchen) and Robyn Martin (The New Graces), Plumb showcases his skill as a lyricist. “Lyrically, this album was written well after I had the instrumental parts completed but they follow themes that I have been grappling with for a long time; the story our era will tell future generations looking back; the nature of belonging and what constitutes home; places to look for optimism in troubling times” The striking use of the feature instruments,mandolin and trumpet will astound you.
Second up on the 18th of March, in the Old Gazette Theatre, we have direct from the Mountains of Virginia USA our friends, The Whitetop Mountaineers.
For fans of American old time mountain music (and roots music lovers alike), the Whitetop Mountaineers are the genuine article. Martha Spencer and Jackson Cunningham return to Australia by popular demand. On their previous 5 visits the duo stunned and delighted audiences across the country with their performance of American mountain song & dance, old school country music– bluegrass and beyond, they are the ‘real deal’. Both are skilled multi-instrumentalists – Jackson on guitar, mandolin & claw hammer banjo, and Martha on fiddle, guitar & banjo. They are both strong vocal performers and their close harmonies are indicative of the old time and bluegrass traditions from which they draw their repertoire. The concert will start at 7.OOpm.
To wind up this magical week we have the lads from Penzance, Cornwall UK back! In The Old Gazette Theatre on Saturday the 21st of March. Flats & Sharps are a high-energy contemporary Bluegrass band, from Penzance, in the South West of England, known for their own highly original songs as well as their blistering renditions of Bluegrass classics. These four incredible young musicians, Mikey Ponsford (mandolin), Danny Hart (fiddle & banjo), Josh Warner (guitar), and Liam Fitzharris (double bass), honed their skills in hundreds of live performances over the past eight years, charming and wowing audiences along the way. They’ve come a long way from their humble beginning busking in Penzance as 17 year-olds, to performing at the Proms in Hyde Park, London, and at scores of festivals throughout the UK, Ireland, Europe and Australia. In 2018 they were invited to the home of Bluegrass, the USA, to represent the UK in the International Bluegrass Music Association’s “World of Bluegrass”.
Such is their popularity in the land of Oz, that their 2020 tour here marks the fourth year in a row that they’ve been invited back down under!
Now, three gigs in one week is a bit like going to a festival and if you come along to all three you will be in the running for a Full Weekend ticket to the Dorrigo Folk & Bluegrass Festival 23rd-25th October 2020.
Luke Plumb and The Circuit, $20.00. Whitetop Mountaineers $30.00. Flats and Sharps $30.00. Bookings can be made on 0438849227/0428415078. email:Bridget.rees24@gmail.com.
Www.lukeplumb.com www.flatsandsharps.net www.thewhitetopmountaineers.com