Four Lakes Traditional Music Collective in collaboration with SWBMAI is proud to sponsor Steep Canyon Rangers, in concert Friday, Mar. 2 at 8pm at the First United Methodist Church, 203 Wisconsin Ave, Madison.

Tickets are $20 each, and may be purchased at the SWBMAI website via paypal, or in person at Lane’s Lutherie, 2345 Atwood Ave. in Madison. Seating is limited so please purchase your tickets in advance.

The Steep Canyon Rangers have been performing together since 2001, when they started picking during their college days at Chapel Hill, SouthCarolina. In recent years they have toured as a quintet, and also with actor and bluegrass musician Steve Martin. They have released six cds as the Steep Canyon Rangers with a seventh to be released by Rounder Records this March.

They are currently nominated for a Grammy and are reigning as 2011 IBMA entertainers of the year.

Please join us Friday, Aug 19, 2011 at 9pm at the Crystal Corner Bar for an evening of rockabilly, roots, & Bluegrass from Nashville with Sugar Maple fest alumni Jeff & Vida! This is their first show in Madison since their debut at the 2007 Sugar Maple Traditional Music Festival. And this time, they have their full, five-piece band as featured on their 2010 release “Selma Chalk” heralded by Bluegrass Unlimited “contemporary bluegrass at its finest.” Sharing the stage is Madison’s native folk son, Josh Harty, and his band!

The first 40 Festival Volunteers & Friends (ages 21+) sporting an official Sugar Maple t-shirt get FREE admission! And perhaps a party favor, or two, but you’ll have to join us to find out. Grab your Sugar Maple shirt, and a friend or two, as we celebrate the volunteers and friends who make the Sugar Maple Trad. Music Fest a huge success!

If you’re a fan of traditional Bluegrass, you’re a fan of Joe Mullins (or about to be). You may have seen him as a founding member of Traditional Grass or heard on of his recordings with Longview. Joe and the Radio Ramblers are the real deal and kick out some powerful Bluegrass!

Joe and the boys play two sets Saturday. You can catch Joe’s and Bruce Molsky’s workshop for Bluegrass and Old-time banjo. You’ll also hear Evan McGregor as part of our Fiddlers in the Round workshop.

Sugar Maple Fest is proud to present our Friday Night Headline act, Greg Brown w/ Bo Ramsey. Greg moves audiences with warmth, humor, a thundering voice and his unpretentious musical vision. He’s the folksinger of his generation, and a gifted spokesman for it. His roots run deep: to the land, to family, and to the richest and oldest veins of American music. Hillbilly country, black blues masters, and the history of American folk resonate together in his songs. Brown’s songwriting has been lauded by many, and his songs have been performed by Willie Nelson, Carlos Santana, Michael Johnson, Shawn Colvin, and Mary Chapin Carpenter. He has also recorded more than a dozen albums, with One Big Town earning three and a half stars in Rolling Stone, chart-topping status in AAA and The Gavin Report’s Americana rankings and Brown’s first Indie Award from NAIRD (National Association of Independent Record Distributors). Don’t miss this opportunity to catch Greg Brown in an intimate setting under Sugar Maple Festival’s tent.

This just in… Bo Ramsey will be playing with Greg Brown Friday night!

Get your tickets!

Charlie Parr captures the intense sound of the folk music of America’s frozen north. His raw voice, lightening finger picking and plaintive but wry songs have made him one of the most important contemporary protagonists of the American folk tradition. Listen for Charlie this Sunday (July 24) on Simply Folk on WPR. And then catch him live at this year’s Sugar Maple Traditional Music Festival.

Joe Mullins (2011 Sugar Maple artist) will be on the air tomorrow morning at 10:15 with Chris Powers of the Mud Acres Bluegrass Special on WORT-FM (89.9). Joe will be talking about his upcoming appearance with the Radio Ramblers at the Sugar Maple Traditional Music Festival. Be sure to tune in!

Chulrua (pronounced cool-ROO-ah) is an internationally acclaimed trio of the most respected and unique exponents of Irish traditional music. Their music, which is comprised of the old instrumental dance melodies of Ireland: jigs, reels, and hornpipes, will transport you to the Emerald Isle and make you dream of Erin. Button accordion icon Paddy O’Brien is a true master and is revered by Irish music aficionados worldwide. Together with Dale Russ (fiddle) and Brian Miller (guitar and vocals) they have almost 70 years of experience performing at community fairs and festivals, colleges and universities, folk clubs, and a variety of other venues—doing concerts, workshops, dances, and school residencies all over the United States. Chulrua concerts are in keeping with the old tradition—music in a relaxed, intimate atmosphere, and tunes offered as they were handed down from generation to generation in Ireland. Prepare to be enchanted and delighted. You may even catch yourself doing a jig.

You can catch Chulrua several times during the festival-performing on the Main stage and in a more intimate, workshop setting on the Roots & Reasons stage Friday night!