The European Bluegrass Blog

Thanks to Olaf Gläsmer, the Grassroot Philosopher, for this news:

Roots Experience [left] has organised a harmony singing workshop in the town of Alfter near Bonn, Germany on April 1st. A couple of slots are still open. The number of participants is limited to 24.

Sue Thompson, harmony vocal teacher par excellence, will teach this one-day workshop. It will take place from 10.00 a.m. to around 5.00 p.m. Check out her website.

No note reading, no bogging down in music theory, and no need for someone else to teach you your part! In the morning you´ll learn how your vocal harmony parts fit together and how to figure out harmony intuitively, plus some licks and tricks that make it easy. You´ll also learn techniques for blending your voice with others and for singing without strain. After a lunch break at the venue En de Hoett you´ll have a chance to practice in smaller groups and get personalised coaching from Sue.

The day closes out with a jam session where you can show what you´ve learned that day. Bring your instruments!

Price is €55 (excluding catering). Don´t miss the opportunity.

For further information e-mail Olaf Gläsmer or Gabi Weber, or call Olaf at +49-(0)176-50428385.

Kabel 87.5 MHz - Omroep Venray - Ether 90.2 MHz:
Peelgrass Country Programme 2937 (11 Mar. 2012)
The programme supports the European World of Bluegrass Festival, which will next take place on 17-19 May 2012.

Radio Vrolek, 107.7 MHz; local cable 105.5 MHz; Information TV-channel 2:
Country Music Round-up, Tues. 19.00-20.00, Sat. 12.00-13.00

Radio Free FM Ulm, UKW 102.6:
Americana* 422 (12 Mar. 2012)
Antistatic Country Time, 30 Jan., 27 Feb. 2012
* Programmes in this series are broadcast live on Radio Free FM and Countrymusic24.com and are repeated on Countrymusic24.com on Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. (European Continental time).
Antistatic Country Time can be heard on Radio Free FM's live streaming Digital Audio Lounge.

Butler's Boudoir Bluegrass, 1/2 Mar. 2012, UK Country Radio (Facebook)
Lynne Butler's Eurograss, week commencing 5 Mar. 2012, on Bluegrass Planet Earth at 9.00 p.m. British time, 4.00 p.m. EST

Playlists and links to streaming radio for the Swiss Bluegrass Music Association's radio show are on the SBMA website.

Coolradio 1, Ingolstadt: Hillbilly Gasthaus, 14 Mar. 2012, 8.00-11.00 p.m. (live every Wednesday; repeated on Sundays at the same times)

'Criffel Creek' playlist (18 Mar. 2012), Alive Community Radio (107.3 FM), Dumfries, Scotland; broadcast 10.00 a.m.-12 noon on alternate Sundays

Thanks to Horse Mountain from Germany for this photo of them with Appalachian Studies scholar Prof. Richard Blaustein (right) at his home in Johnson City, Tennessee. Richard recently retired from his tenure at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) where he was (and still is) one of the driving forces behind ETSU's Bluegrass, Old-Time & Country Music programme.

Horse Mountain are keeping busy: their schedule shows them taking part in a 'Harmony by Ear' workshop with Sue Thompson at Bülach, Switzerland, on 25 Mar. 2012, after which they will be touring in Tennessee and Virginia before returning to Germany to open for Alecia Nugent at Tübingen on 7 May. Full details are here.

Thanks to Ben Wright, banjo-player of the Chicago-based bluegrass band Henhouse Prowlers, who toured as a four-piece band in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany in March last year (see the EBB for 14 Feb. 2011).

The band has changed guitar players and added a fiddler, and the full new five-piece lineup - Ben Wright (banjo), Starr Moss (guitar), Jon Goldfine (bass), Grant Ziolkowski (mandolin), and Dan Andree (fiddle) - is shown in the photo. Their brief bio reads:

The Henhouse Prowlers hail from Chicago, IL, and are one of the hardest touring bands in bluegrass. With 220+ shows a year under their belts, these guys are both great pickers and songwriters. The band shows serious respect for traditional bluegrass, all while incorporating themes of modern city life. The Henhouse Prowlers have won multiple prestigious awards including the RockyGrass band competition and several Chicago Music Awards.

The full tour dates now showing on their schedule, including Sunday double-headers, are:

6 Apr. Stone Valley Music, Lichtenvoorde (NL)
7 Apr. The Pub, Zonhoven (BE)
8 Apr. Fagot, Ingelmunster (BE) / Roskam, Brussels (BE)
9 Apr. Den Eik, Gierle (BE)
10 Apr.
11 Apr. De Stek, Arendonk (BE)
12 Apr. Bacchus, Geel (BE)
13 Apr. N9, Eeklo (BE)
14 Apr. Hoppin’ Around Vorselaar (BE)
15 Apr. Crossroads, Antwerpen (BE) / Ace Cafe, Rumst (BE)
16 Apr. Au Sans Nom, Schaerbeek (BE)
17 Apr. Merlo, Brussels (BE)
18 Apr. Burgerweeshuis, Deventer (NL)
19 Apr. McBoll, Olen (BE)
20 Apr. Sjor, Roggel (NL)
21 Apr. Antiq Cafe, Wolfersheim (DE)
22 Apr. Willem 2, Den Bosch (NL) / Turnhout (BE)

The band is also on Facebook.

Chris Sepic reports from Bochum in the Ruhr area of north-west Germany:

I am trying to start a local Sacred Harp singing group in Bochum (Ruhrgebiet) if there is any member or blog subscriber at EBMA who lives in/near Bochum and wants to help out. I am an American who has a few years experience singing in local US groups in Ohio and Virginia as well as attending annual conventions in three US states.

I am working on building a website and have been in contact with Harald Grundner of the Bremen Sacred Harp singing group, as well as participating in a UK/US Sacred Harp singing workshop in Frankfurt am Main in October 2011. I would like to start a group in my region to help link together the Irish, English, Polish, and German groups.

I would be very grateful for any support from you or your members to get in touch with people in Bochum or the surrounding area to help form a singing group here.

E-mails sent to the European Bluegrass Blog arrive without attachments or the sender's address, so we are grateful to Harald Grundner at Bremen for info enabling EBB readers to contact Chris at Bochum by e-mail. Harald also sends the appropriate e-mail address for the Bremen Sacred Harp group.

Links on the UK website include a group in Paris, and the BerlinShapeNote group, whose main website image appears above; the introduction to their website includes the words: 'Discover the beauty of Old-Time Country and Mountain music...'

Banjoist, guitarist, singer, and bandleader Danilo Cartia reports from Italy that he will be taking part in the Much More Blues concert presented by the Defrag on Saturday 17 Mar. 2012 at Via delle Isole Curzolane 75, Rome.

Doors open at 22:00, and other artists taking part include Piero Frisani (fingerstyle blues guitar), the 'house band' Vintage Factory, Leno Landini (electric harmonica), and the electric blues band Rollin’ and Tumblin’. The evening ends with the Much More Blues Special Jam.

Danilo Cartia website; MySpace; Facebook: Danilo Cartia; e-mail; ph./fax +39 06 8273332; mob. +39 339 6908450

Thanks to Sven who reports that support is needed for a documentary film on Peter Rowan, made by South 40 films in the San Francisco area of the USA, and entitled The Tao of bluegrass: a portrait of Peter Rowan.

Full details can be found on the South 40 website, and donations can be made through the Kickstarter project. The film has been seven years in the making, and Christine Funk, director and producer of the film, has included much live and archive footage of this major and pivotal bluegrass figure (well known for his performances in Europe), together with interviews with many other musicians. A trailer for the film can be seen on both the South 40 and the Kickstarter websites.

A sum of $19,000 needs to be raised for funding by Kickstarter, of which $17,681 (87%) has already been pledged. However, the deadline for funding is now only a week away (21 Mar. 2012). In return for a $25 donation the donor receives a digital download of the film (and thanks by name on the South 40 website), and there is an increasing scale of rewards for larger donations. Full details are on Kickstarter.

The EBB regrets that a Taoist-themed image of Peter Rowan was not available; we hope that the 'Blue Buddha' image is acceptable.