9th Annual Farmington Valley Acoustic Festival Oct 19

The 9^th Annual Farmington Valley Acoustic Festival is returning on Saturday, October 19th from 11:00am 6:00pm at Winding Trails in Farmington. This fall event is presented by Lodestar Energy. Set amongst the beautiful 380 acres of forest and fall foliage on Dunning Lake, there will be music on two stages, with a beer garden at the beach featuring free samples from local breweries, and food trucks. 

The headliner is Driftwood along with Grain Thief, Mari Black & Cory Pesaturo, and Breakin Strings on our Lakeside Pavilion Main Stage is presented by Thomaston Savings Bank.  The Boathouse Stage is sponsored by McLean Care and will feature Eric Paradine, Kerrie Stelly w/Carrie Johnson, Tom Turci, Josh & Jaela Black, Fire Poppies, and Peter Lehndorff. 

A beer garden is presented by  Clark-Hirth Accountants will feature numerous craft beers from around CT.  Free samples will be available, while supplies last. Food and additional refreshments are available for sale or attendees may BYOB and picnic. 

Date: Saturday, October 19th  (Rain or Shine)

Time: 11:00am 6:00pm

Where: Dunning Lake Beach at Winding Trails

Ticket Prices: $40.00 for Adults, $10.00 for Children 10 -15 years old (Kids under 10 years old are free)

Member Discount Tickets: $30.00 for Adults, $5.00 for Children 10 -15 years old (kids under 10 years old are free)    

On the Trail in Westport Oct 6

On the Trail will perform a free concert at 3 PM on Sunday, October 6th at Saugatuck Congregational Church, Westport CT.

On the Trail is a modern acoustic band that explores everything from bluegrass to contemporary pop, from stunning instrumentals to beautiful traditional songs. The group was founded through their love of bluegrass and the band the Punch Brothers. They have already gained recognition and praise for their exploration and strong execution of the challenging music, as well as for their new original music. Most recently, On the Trail had the honor of winning the 2022 Thomas Point Beach Band Competition after participating in 2021’s Telefunken Battle of the Bands at the Podunk Bluegrass Festival.  They also were selected as an Emerging Artist at Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival 2023. On The Trail features Austin Scelzo (fiddle and vocals), Tom Polizzi (mandolin and vocals), Charlie Widmer (guitar and vocals) and Matt Curley (upright bass and vocals). Their debut self-titled EP On the Trail is also available for streaming on all platforms.

Twisted Pine Album Release Show October 25

Fri, Oct 25 – Sat, Oct 26

StageOne at FTC, Stageone, 70 Sanford St Fairfield, CT

Tickets Available Here

Twisted Pine

“Praised by NPR for their “upbeat, poppy vibe; energetic, driving rhythms; and virtuosic solos,” Twisted Pine takes traditional music in exhilarating directions. Bassist Chris Sartori writes, “We’re rooted in bluegrass, continually inspired by explorers like Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, and Sierra Hull. Right Now takes this heritage into a new dimension. Our bluegrass is jazzy, our indie folk is poppy, our grooves are funky.”Twisted Pine [Kathleen Parks, fiddle; Dan Bui, mandolin; Chris Sartori, bass; Anh Phung, flute] grooves with fearless improvisation and intricate arrangements. “They were once bluegrass,” wrote The Boston Globe, “but … this Boston band has become something else, a wider version of string band, boundary jumpers akin to outfits like Punch Brothers, Nickel Creek, and Crooked Still.”

The album: “Goodnight Blue Moon“

Blending rich vocal harmonies with lush orchestrations, Goodnight Blue Moon has created a sound that is steeped in tradition, yet entirely current. GNBM is known for their energetic, honest, and dynamic live performances, offering a refreshing take on Americana roots music.

Awarded Best Roots Act in the 2016 New England Music Awards, and Best Folk/Traditional Act in the 2018 and 2013 Connecticut Music Awards, Goodnight Blue Moon has cemented their place as one of New England’s premier groups. They have shared the stage with indie-folk heavyweights Hurray for the Riff Raff, Spirit Family Reunion, Wild Child, Joe Fletcher and the Wrong Reasons, and Mother Falcon among others, in addition to creating a diverse and devoted following of their own. Goodnight Blue Moon has been regularly featured on WNPR’s Where We Live and NEXT with John Dankosky. Their festival credits include CT Folk Festival, LAUNCH Music Festival, MUSIKFEST, Podunk Bluegrass Festival, I AM Festival and Block Island Music Festival. Goodnight Blue Moon’s third studio album Dawning Dream was released April 2018.

Bluegrass Show at Killingly Grange – Nick Anderson and Shady Creek

Come to the Killingly Grange and enjoy Bluegrass music in Eastern Connecticut.
Hosted by Nick Anderson & Shady Creek
This is the second show in a series: the 4th Saturdays in Oct 2024, Nov 2024, Jan 2025, Feb 2025, Mar 2025 and Apr 2025

Doors open at 6:00pm; show starts at 7:00pm
Donations: $15.00
Refreshments will be served by the Killingly Grange 

Learn to Sing Harmony with Austin Scelzo (Oct 7)

October 7 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pmThe Granite Church 5

N. Main Street, Redding, CT, United States
Good three-part vocal harmony can be the most exciting part of bluegrass and folk music. Learn the basic terminology of folk style harmony singing (Lead, Tenor, Baritone), how to find your first note, how to “stay in your lane” and not sing what the person next to you is singing, and how to blend.

Sign up at: AustinScelzo.com/harmony

Bluegrass Jam Class with Austin Scelzo (Mondays Oct-Dec)

Mondays, October 28 – December 16 at 6:30 PM

All bluegrass instruments are welcome. No jamming experience is necessary. You will be jamming in the first class!

• Friendly, encouraging, knowledgeable teaching
• Hands-on learning in large and small groups
• Gentle tempos! Mistakes expected!
• Music/tab reading is not needed or used
• Singing is not required, but encouraged and taught
• Soloing is not required! “Faking” solos taught.

Do you qualify? It’s easier than you may think!

If you play guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, bass, or dobro, you can be part of a bluegrass jam. The only requirements: be able to tune your instrument and change smoothly between G, C, D, and A (or the notes that work on bass and fiddle.)

Tuition is $285 for 8 sessions. You will be sent the student materials as soon as you register, including the Class Preparation Guide, Bluegrass Jam Favorites Playlist Guide, Recommended Resources, JAM Songbook, and more.

Sign up here.

Fiddle Hell Westford MA Nov 7-10

Fiddle Hell is a 4-day, hands-on, traditional music festival for musicians of all ages and ability levels to meet, jam, listen, learn, and have fun. Fiddlehell.org

New Bluegrass and Old Time Jams

Bluegrass, Old Time and Country jams at the Katonah Library: Check out the schedule:

Disaster Support for Bluegrass Musicians affected by Hurricane Helene

Many of our friends in the bluegrass community have been affected by Hurricane Helene. That’s why we wanted to invite you to join us in supporting the IBMA Trust Fund. “The IBMA Trust Fund was established in 1987 as a means to offer financial assistance to bluegrass music professionals in time of emergency need The Trust Fund is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable institution governed by an autonomous five-person board of trustees appointed by the International Bluegrass Music Association.”

Learn More and Donate Here