Here are Professor Share's top picks for Wintergrass--
Alas, Wintergrass has moved to new digs in Bellevue, but I’d still encourage people to make the trek—Wintergrass is one of the premiere bluegrass music venues in the country, with an impressive lineup of musical acts, and an wide array of music workshops. It takes place next weekend, February 25-28.
People regularly ask me who I would recommend seeing at Wintergrass. That is a hard question to answer, but here are my admittedly biased recommendations:
· The Infamous Stringdusters: A bunch of young, virtuosic, award-winning “newgrass” musicians, who appeal to a lot of younger fans.
· Tim O’Brien: A magnificent singer and player who fronted the one of the top bands of the 1970s and 1980s, Hot Rize, and who plays a variety of musical styles.
· The Steep Canyon Rangers: The band that recently toured with Steve Martin, this is a hot young group with stellar vocals and great all-original material.
· The Seldom Scene: One of the country’s legendary bluegrass bands over the last several decades, known for wonderful country-bluegrass material.
· Jo Miller and Her Burly Roughnecks: A honky-tonk dance band (with Dave Keenan, banjoist with the Downtown Mountain Boys slaying the electric guitar). Dancers should be sure to catch this late night dance concert.
Of course, there are dozens more wonderful bands, ranging from country to swing, and including alt-country and old time music. You’ll hear some pretty good musicians jamming outside of the formal concert venues. You can find out more information at http://www.acousticsound.org/
