Bluegrass At Dickinson College July 11

Coming Event: July 11, 2009

College to Host Bluegrass on the Grass Festival July 11 Dickinson College will host the annual Bluegrass on the Grass Festival Saturday, July 11, from 1 to 9 p.m., outdoors in front of Bosler Hall on West High Street between West and North College streets. The festival, which will feature five nationally recognized bluegrass bands, is free and open to the public. Visitors are encouraged to bring lawn chairs.

The festival, which began in 1995, is sponsored by Dickinson College, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and hundreds of businesses and individuals listed in the program. As many as 3,000 people are expected to attend. Food will be available for purchase throughout the day.

The following bands will each perform twice during the day:
•Big Country Bluegrass, 1 p.m., 5 p.m.
•The Grass Cats, 1:45 p.m., 5:50 p.m.
•The Chicken Chokers, 2:35 p.m., 6:35 p.m.
•The Dismembered Tennesseans, 3:25 p.m., 7:25 p.m.
•The Steep Canyon Rangers, 4:15 p.m., 8:15 p.m.

Big Country Bluegrass has a sound is reminiscent of hearing Bill Monroe and Lester Flat & Earl Scruggs. Formed by husband and wife Tommy and Teresa Sells in the late 1980’s the band took its name from Tommy’s coon-hunting buddy Jimmy Martin’s instrumental, “Big Country.” They have long since abandoned the competition circuit and have concentrated on festivals and concert dates, developing a large and devoted following all over the U.S. and abroad, including Great Britain and Australia.

The Grass Cats, formed 11 years ago, present a show which appeals to bluegrass fans as well as people that may be hearing the music for the first time. Though careful never to lose their traditional bluegrass footing, the Cats also perform cleverly arranged covers of songs from artists as diverse as Eric Clapton, Duke Ellington and Johnny Cash. The band’s 2002 release, “The Blues Are Back In Town,” received a highlight review in Bluegrass Unlimited magazine and garnered the CATS a number one single, “Bluegrass Man.” The CD was also named to County Sales’ Top Five Traditional Bluegrass Recording list for 2002.

The Chicken Chokers combine a string pounding four-man rhythm section, crazed fiddling, air-raid siren vocals and the hallmark Chicken Choker Big Boy Chorus. The Chokers, who recorded two albums in the 1980s, combine the unvarnished, primitive energy of the early years with mementos from five separate musical journeys.

The Dismembered Tennesseans formed in 1945 by teenagers who sang their way through school and, more than 60 years later, continue to perform across the country, from the annual Chattanooga Riverbend Festival to the Kennedy Center. The group has appeared on stage with many of the top bluegrass music stars and has been featured in segments that aired nationally on ABC and NBC.
The Steep Canyon Rangers base their sound around a catalogue of original songs, drawing on the sounds of early bluegrass, honky tonk and blues. In 2006, the International Bluegrass Music Association voted Steep Canyon Rangers the Emerging Artist of the Year. The past year also saw the title track “One Dime at a Time” rise to the top of Bluegrass Unlimited magazine’s National Bluegrass Survey. Last October, the Grand Ole Opry welcomed the Rangers for a debut performance at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn. The Steep Canyon Rangers have built a reputation as a powerful, engaging quintet seasoned by constant touring. Their willingness to carry bluegrass to music-lovers worldwide has put the band on stage at Americana and Bluegrass festivals in the U.S. and overseas.

For more information, email tracy@dickinson.edu, or check this web site.