Podunk Bluegrass Festival Aug 11-14
Gates open Wednesday 8/10 for weekend ticket holders! Day tickets available.
- Round the clock field pickin’
- Kids activities
- Dancing
- Workshops
- Yoga
- Vendors and so much more!
Thank you to Ralph S. Molinario and Royalton Community Radio for this amazing Podunk Bluegrass preview program!
Click here to preview music from the artists playing at this year’s festival. Happy listening!
Kids Activities will be having a decorated procession around the grounds in celebration of our 25th year. Before the event we will be meeting to decorate your bikes, wagons, strollers, pets or yourselves. Some items provided but limited. Use your imagination and bring supplies!
Kids’ Academy Registration is open! Free to children ages 7-17. Kids play the main stage on Sunday!
Steel Drivers at Wall Street Theater – Aug 26
Norwalk, CT
On Friday, August 26, WST welcomes Grammy Award-winning, hard-edged bluegrass band The SteelDrivers to our stage. Get your tickets before they’re gone!
TICKETS: https://the-steeldrivers.eventbrite.com/?aff=fbtrk
Ricky Skaggs at Wall Street Theater Sept 1
Norwalk CT
Fifteen-time GRAMMY® Award-winner Ricky Skaggs’ career is easily among the most significant in recent country music history. Legendary guitarist Chet Atkins once credited Skaggs with “single-handedly saving country music.”
Dan Tyminski Band at Daryl’s House
Thursday, Sept 1, 2022 – Pawling, NY
Throughout his 30+ year career, Dan Tyminski has left his mark in every corner of modern music. Tyminski’s voice famously accompanies George Clooney’s performance of the Stanley Brother’s classic song, “I’m A Man of Constant Sorrow,” in the film, Oh Brother, Where Art Thou and his vocal collaboration with Swedish DJ Avicii on the song “Hey, Brother” was a global smash, having been streamed over 1 billion times to date.
More Live Bluegrass
-Punch Brothers August 18, 2022 American Acoustic: College Street Music Hall, New Haven, CT
-Greensky Bluegrass Thu • Aug 11 • 7:00 PM Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater, Bridgeport, CT Tickets Here
Ashokan Bluegrass Camp – August 8-12
“A Warm, welcoming environment a safe place to try new things“
Registration is under way for a week of Bluegrass music instruction, from musicians who have performed with Steve Martin, David Grisman, Sam Bush, Tony Trischka and Darol Anger, in a setting that inspired the timeless anthem, “Ashokan Farewell.”
In August, the Ashokan Center, at the foot of New York’s Catskill Mountains, in the heart of the Hudson Valley, will welcome musicians of all proficiency levels for five days of Bluegrass instruction. Click here to learn more.
The Ashokan Center Bluegrass Camp Aug. 8-12 will be anchored by instructors of guitar, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, bass, vocals and songwriting. Structured workshops and classes will be complemented by late-night jams around campfires and informal, early morning duets and trios in rocking chairs on porches.
Bluegrass Camp Organizer Kimber Ludiker is a three-time national fiddle champion and member of the GRAMMY-nominated, all-women string band Della Mae who has performed with Darol Anger and toured with Steve Martin and Martin Short. Kimber will serve as host for the week and teach fiddle.
Deep-dive courses of study will be offered by additional instructors, including:
Mandolin player Casey Campbell, who has performed and recorded with Ricky Skaggs, Del McCoury, Chris Stapleton, Vince Gill, Dierks Bentley; and thrilled audiences at the Ryman Auditorium, Country Music Hall of Fame, The Station Inn, Bonnaroo, Grey Fox, MerleFest and IBMA World of Bluegrass.
Banjo player Greg Cahill, founder of The Special Consensus who has recorded with Sam Bush; taught at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago; appears on soundtracks for the “Oprah” show; performed on “The Jerry Springer Show;” and served as Vice Chairperson of the IBMA Board of Directors.
“We’ll cover it all,” Greg said. “Licks, chords, Scrugg Style, and even some single string. We’ll also try to find some fun roll patterns. So y’all come! We’ll look forward to seeing you!”
Bassist and Vocalist Vickie Vaughn is a Western Kentucky native who stomped into Nashville with a fistful of original material and desire to play bass and sing with the best of them. In 2015, Vaughn released her debut EP under the production of Bluegrass royalty Ronnie McCoury, before heading out on the road singing background vocals with Patty Loveless. She has performed at the Bluegrass fan favorite festival ROMP, singing in a trio with fellow Kentuckians Ricky Skaggs and Patty Loveless. Two Grand Ole Opry appearances later, Vickie tours with GRAMMY-nominated Della Mae. Vickie is also proud to be on the Rebel Records roster with two-time IBMA Emerging Artist nominee, High Fidelity.
Guitarist Grant Gordy, who played guitar in the David Grisman Quintet for six years and has worked alongside Edgar Meyer, Steve Martin, Tony Trischka and Darol Anger. Grant has also performed at Carnegie Hall, the Montreal Jazz Festival, Jazz at Lincoln Center and Bonnaroo.
Jambassador Tessa Schwartz, a vocalist and fiddle player who founded a bluegrass music program at King Middle School in Berkeley, California; served on the IBMA’s Youth Council; and is a former Youth Ambassador for the California Bluegrass Association and Bluegrass Pride.
Lodging for Bluegrass Camp is available in rustic longhouse bunks; private rooms; and at campsites located within steps of the Ashokan Center bathhouse. Meals are enjoyed in the communal setting of the dining hall, with picking and strumming encouraged at all times. Everything unfolds on the 385-acre Ashokan Center campus, a serene, bucolic environment immersed in nature that revolves around arts and environmental programs.
The president and CEO of the Ashokan Center is legendary fiddle player Jay Ungar, known around the world for composing the tender melody, “Ashokan Farewell”, which established the texture and tone of the Ken Burns PBS documentary, “The Civil War.” Jay wrote this tune decades ago as a way to bid adieu to participants of Ashokan Music & Dance Camps.
The Ashokan Center property once served as a field campus for the State University of New York at New Paltz. After hosting dance and music camps on the land for decades, Jay Ungar and his wife and musical partner, Molly Mason, launched the nonprofit Ashokan Center in 2008. The site illustrates that which lies at the heart of the Hudson Valley’s spirit and beauty—artistic inspiration in a compelling natural environment.
Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival
Labor Day Weekend
Bluegrass Coffeehouse
Sunday, Aug 28 Jam and Performance by Amber Anchor and friends
Jam Camp North
Sept 15-18 2022
Prindle Pond Conference Center, Charlton MA Thank you so much for supporting
Mandolin and Banjo Camps this spring! Registration will open 7pm June 29th
We’ll be staffing with New England folks
More information coming soon on our website.
https://musiccampsnorth.com/2022-jam-camp-north-registration-information/Jam Camp
Festival and Jam Class in Guildford CT
Silver Bay Bluegrass Camp
August 21-26, 2022
9am-12:30pm: Daily classes for banjo, guitar, fiddle, mandolin, dobro, bass…AND… Coached small jam groups, intermediate/advanced.
1:50-5pm: coaching on harmony singing (one coach per trio), classes on songwriting, basic music theory, practice “boot camp”, playing under pressure, stagecraft, and more!
Activities every evening: fiddle tune jam, open mics, karaoke, history, jamming, beautiful sunsets!
Organized Bands: $395 each member
For band members registering together, to work together as a band throughout the week: $65.00 off each member’s tuition. Bands will have opportunities to perform and get performance coaching including working with a sound system on stage (band lab), band cohesion, rehearsal guidance, band decision-making, “how to make a band work”.
Band members must first contact Pete as a group, for approval of the group members’ band discount, and then they can each register with the discount.
Level 1 and Level 2 Camp available for beginner-advanced players
Weekly Bluegrass Jam Class Bethel CT
Wednesdays in September-October 6:45-9PM
Looking for Mandolin, Fiddle, Banjo, Bass, Guitar, Dobro Lessons? The best place to learn is in community with others. Sign up for this weekly Wernick Method Bluegrass Jam Class in Bethel
Public Jams
Sunday, Aug 28
Ridgefield First Congregational Church
2-3PM
Fourth Thursdays
Charter Oak Brewery – Danbury CT
6:30 – 9 PM
Fourth Thursday
Next Door Pizza – New Haven CT
6:30 – 9 PM
Bethel (Note Kitchen) and Ridgefield (Nod Hill Brewery) to continue in September
Connecticut Bluegrass Association 