Bluegrass will reign at annual Darrington fest
Published 1:47 pm Thursday, July 19, 2007
The award-winning Rhonda Vincent and The Rage as well as David Davis and The Warrior River Boys will headline the 31st annual Darrington Bluegrass Festival this weekend.
Vincent’s trophy case dates back to 1973 when she won the Missouri State Fiddle Championship. From 1981-2006, except for one year, Vincent has won at least one annual award from the International Bluegrass Music Association or the Society for Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America, including seven consecutive Female Vocalist of the Year awards from IBMA.
She’s one of the most popular bluegrass performers on the strength of her vocal and instrumental performances, songwriting, band-leading and producing talents. This year she’s touring with music from “All American Bluegrass Girl.”
Frontman mandolinist Davis’ musical roots date back to the 1930s, when his father and two uncles performed in the brother style of early country music in Alabama; his maternal grandfather also played the fiddle. One uncle joined Bill Monroe as the first Blue Grass Boy in 1938.
Davis taught himself how to play the mandolin by watching video footage of Monroe.
Other performers include Country Current, Rural Delivery, Ohop Valley Boys, Hotwire, Lee Highway, Country Grass, Digger Davis and Tombstone, Three Generations, Great Northern Planes, Queens Bluegrass and The Combinations.
Julie Roberts: The country singer played festivals in three states as a teen, accompanied by her mother and aunt, and earned her musical stripes by singing in nursing homes, school choirs, beauty pageants, summer music camps and a theme park.
After college, Roberts worked at Mercury Records and continued to work on music until she was signed by Mercury.
Her mix of country and blues delivered with a deep, bluesy voice is setting her apart in a crowded field. Roberts’ debut “Break Down Here” CD earned her several country music nominations.
She’ll be opening for Randy Travis in Europe later this year. Today, Stanwood.
Real Folk: Musicians just want to play, but sometimes finding a venue can be difficult, especially for indie artists. But Real Folk found just the right one, Wired and Unplugged in Snohomish. Then two of the trio, Kim Longmore and Paul Henderson, bought it.
Longmore, Henderson and Dennis Griffiths celebrate with a concert in their home base, drawing from originals and covers in the folk, blues, bluegrass, classic rock and world music styles. Saturday, Snohomish
Latin Expression: The 13-piece salsa orchestra started in Seattle in 1986. It features four vocalists, four horns and a five-piece rhythm-and-percussion section that covers rhythms from the Caribbean, including salsa and Afro-Cuban. Thursday, Everett.
The Higgins: The sibling trio from Delta, B.C., combines country roots, rock influences and a Celtic family background to create its signature sound of melodies and harmonies. In a relatively short time, they’ve gone from singing at home to showcasing at the Canadian Country Music Awards. Today, Marysville.
Aaron Meyer: Concert rock violinist has bridged the classical and popular music worlds with a blend of both, a Grammy-recognized Classical Crossover category. He’s performed with orchestras, Smokey Robinson, Aaron Neville and Everclear. He’s arranged and performed scores for PBS programs as well as Pink Martini’s CD “Sympathique.” Thursday, Marysville.
Craicmore: The band plays contemporary and traditional music from Scotland and Ireland behind contralto Nancy Johnson. Driving rhythms, percussion and wind instruments turn out jigs and reels. Sunday, Everett.
Out and about: Soul Provider (Wednesday, Cromwell Park, Shoreline), a tight, professional band will kick the funk out of the musical bag and not stop until the closing note … The contemporary swing band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (today, Tulalip Amphitheater) got good mileage from singles “Go Daddy-O” and “You and Me and the Bottle Make Three Tonight” …
Ace of Spades (today, Jimmy Z) covers music of the British metal band Motorhead …
Clinton Fearon and Boogie Brown Band (Thursday, St. Edwards State Park, Kenmore) presents reggae music … Wicked Tinkers (Wednesday, McCormick Park, Duvall) returns with bagpipes, drums, didgeridoos and men in kilts.
