Some looked forward to 2009 as the year of change, while others argue it’s the same-old, same-old. Ironically, the two themes will fuse December 10 when the Four Lakes Traditional Music Collective presents two innovatively charged, traditional music groups at the High Noon Saloon in Madison.

Mountain Heart (from Nashville, TN) and The Hot Seats (from Richmond, VA) simultaneously illustrate their own breakthroughs in traditional music, while reaching deep into the genre’s roots. Perhaps each groups’ sound is not your average pick-and-grin, but rather the echo each others holler across the wide
gorge from which they came.

Both bands make their Madison debut as part of the 2009/10 Sugar Maple Concert Series. Advance tickets are available for $12 at www.high-noon.com, or at the door for $15. Ages 21 and over only.

Sugar Maple Fest Alumns Bob Black (banjo) and Paul Kienitz (fiddle) will be playing two shows featuring all of the tunes from the classic album Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe,” which has been called “one of the best bluegrass records of all time.” Black was the banjo player on the original recording. The band will play a variety of songs and tunes as well in the second set.

The special live tribute will be performed Friday, November 6th at Mother Fool’s Coffehouse in Madison and Saturday, November 7th at the Richland Auditorium.

Bob Black is a master of the five string banjo and a veteran of Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys. He has also performed with Ricky Skaggs, The Whites, Emmylou Harris, Norman Blake and Rhonda Vincent and played the Grand Ole Opry. Paul Kienitz is one of the finest traditional bluegrass fiddle players in the upper Midwest. Paul has been a long standing member of the award-winning Nob Hill Boys and was a featured performer with a reunion of Blue Grass Boys at the 2008 Sugar Maple Festival.

Bob and Paul will be joined by Mark Hembree on bass (veteran of Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys as well, and also the Nashville Bluegrass Band and the Dreadful Snakes with Bela’ Fleck and Jerry Douglas). Brian Ray on mandolin ((This is the) Squirrel Hunters) and John Fabke on guitar (Nob Hill Boys) will complete the line-up for this special Tribute.

Friday, November 6, Mother Fool’s Coffeehouse, 1101 Williamson St., Madison, WI, 8pm – Admission: $10.

Saturday, November 7, Richland Center City Auditorium, 182 N. Central Ave., Richland Center, WI., 7:30pm.

Advanced Tickets: Auditorium Antiques, 182 N. Central Ave., Richland Center, WI Info: 608-649-3456.
*A portion of the proceeds goes to RCPAC (Richland County Performing Arts Council) to fund the Auditorium Rehabilitation Project.*
Tickets: $10.

Listen to Bob Black talk about the show on WRCO! (starts about 6:15)

A quick video clip from last night’s Volunteer Holler featuring Frank Solivan II and Dirty Kitchen.

Saturday, October 3rd at 7pm. Sugar Maple Alumni Mike Compton and David Grier will take the stage at the Wil-Mar Center, 953 Jenifer Street on Madison’s near east side. Advance tickets are available online for only $14.99 or on the day of the show for $20.

If you haven’t heard these two wonderful artists together in concert, prepare to be dazzled! John Hartford once said that Mike Compton knows more about Bill Monroe style mandolin than the Father of Bluegrass himself. We have been fortunate to have Mike in Madison a few times over the past four years, but he always leaves us wanting more. David Grier, athree-time IBMA guitar player of the year, is partnering with Mike on a long overdue reunion tour. Their duet album, “Climbing the Walls”,set the bar for mandolin-guitar duets. Now 20 years have come and gone… Mike has played with the Nashville Bluegrass Band, John Hartford and he won a Grammy award for the “O Brother Where Art Thou” album. David has appeared on two Grammy- winning recordings: “True Life Blues-A Tribute to Bill Monroe” and “The Great Dobro Sessions.” They have both made an indelible mark in acoustic music and we are more than lucky to find Madison on their tour schedule.

This is a show that cannot be missed, but seating at the Wil-Mar is limited, so advanced tickets are strongly recommended.

Named for grain-harvesting machinery, The Combine is a powerful driving string band built to fuel great dances. A combination of forces from two renowned Illinois bands, the Volo Bogtrotters and the Allen Street String band, The Combine features fiddlers Lynn “Chirps” Smith and Fred Campeau, Dave Landreth on banjo, and Steve Rosen on guitar. All are prizewinning old-time musicians and veterans of countless dance events and workshops. The Combine first joined forces to play for Seattle’s Wannadance Uptown, then moved cross country for Pinewoods American Dance Week. They are well loved throughout the Midwest and beyond: “mowing your wheat, mowing your clover — nine ways ‘til Sunday.”

Lynn “Chirps” Smith started out playing old-time music on mandolin in the 1970’s with the venerable Indian Creek Delta Boys. Through extensive seeking out and field recording of older fiddlers in rural Illinois, the band preserved a vanishing repertoire of tunes from the pre-radio era. Chirps has continued to share this wealth of traditional dance tunes through his work with the Volo Bogtrotters, New Bad Habits and the myriad musicians of the Chicago Barn Dance Company, and aspiring fiddlers across the country.

Fred Campeau has been a favorite performer of old-time, folk and blues music around Chicago since his early days hosting open mike sessions in the 1970s. He has played with the Chicago Barn Dance Company since its inception in 1978. Equally at home on all string band instruments, he played banjo with the CBDC’s touring band The Polecats. In 1985 he joined with Chirps in creating the double fiddle sound of the Volo Bogtrotters. With The Combine, Fred and Chirps continue to explore and expand the interplay of melody, harmonies and rhythm that make a tune exceptionally danceable.

Dave Landreth has toured and taught old-time banjo for over two decades, as a solo performer and with the Allen Street String band, appearing at festivals, dances, workshops and venues of all sizes. Though based in St. Louis, MO (a long way from Chicago), Dave crossed paths with the Volos often, and the late night jam sessions were truly great. Drafted for The Combine, Dave speedily incorporated his masterful picking into the ensemble’s sound, providing a rolling momentum and lift to the dancing.

Tim Foss will be playing the guitar though he is very well known as an outstanding fiddler. He is form Wisconsin and is a revered treasure. He also plays in New Bad Habits with Chirps and Dave. He is a multi instrumentalist as can be witnessed on his solo cd “The Cat Came Back” where he plays all of the instruments.

The Combine play the Old-Time dance Friday night and at various workshops and jams on Saturday. Bring your dancin’ shoes, and instrument, or both!

Dave Landau is a guitar player with a twinkle in his eye, a song in his heart and a handle on the younger set, This former grade school teacher left the classroom and has devoted the past several years to performing music for kids in schools and theaters across the state. Dave teases and engages his young audience with a variety of stories and songs designed to appeal to the young and the young at heart.

Make no mistake, this talented guitar player and singer has all it takes to keep everyone entertained. Dave writes original material of his own, but also draws on his experience as an original member of Madison’s wildly popular Cork ‘n’ Bottle String Band. He has a lengthy repertoire of songs to delight young and old. You won’t want to set aside Dave’s show as “just for the kids”. Believe me, there is something for everyone who wants to walk away with a smile.

Kids under 12 get in FREE at the Sugar Maple Fest and Dave performs both days.

Joel Paterson provides the headline name for Joel Paterson and The Modern Sounds. The band is a Chicago based rhythm trio featuring Paterson on guitar, steel guitar and vocals, Beau Sample on string bass and vocals, and Alex Hall on drums and vocals. This big little band is dedicated to performing many styles of traditional American music, specializing in hot jazz, western swing, rockabilly, classic blues and everything in between. The Modern Sounds are on the cutting edge of the Atomic Age – bringing you the best of the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. As a testament to their popularity and immense talent, Joel Paterson and The Modern Sounds have just won the Chicago Reader’s “Our Reader’s Choice” award for “Best Jazz Act” (Best of Chicago, 2009 Issue)

Joel “Fats” Paterson hails from Madison, Wisconsin, and has lived in Chicago for many years, performing with various bands including Jimmy Sutton’s Four Charms, The Wabash Jug Band and Kelly Hogan’s Wooden Leg. He currently fronts The Modern Sounds and Joel Paterson’s Blues Roundup. He can also be seen playing pedal steel for the honky tonk band, The Western Elstons.

Joel will be playing a rare solo set Saturday at the Sugar Maple Fest and also teaching a guitar workshop.

Robbie Fulks, although born in Pennsylvania and spent much of his childhood there and in Virginia and North Carolina, is a Chicago mainstay. The singer-songwriter moved to Chicago in 1983 and joined the bluegrass band, Special Consensus (a Sugar Maple concert series alum). He played guitar on their 1989 Grammy nominated album, Hole in my Heart. Bloodshot Records released Fulks’ solo debut, Country Love Songs, in 1996, followed by South Mouth in 1997. To many fans, it was this second album that cemented Fulks as an alternative country artist. In fact, Fulks is known for his disdain of mainstream modern country and the country music industry.

As a songwriter Fulks is difficult to pigeonhole, which is part of his charm. Many of his compositions are silly, funny or satirical songs, while others are serious country songs. One album, 2001’s Couples in Trouble from his own company, Boondoggle Records (distributed by Bloodshot), comes off more as an experimental rock album than as country. He followed it up later that year with 13 Hillbilly Giants, a covers collection that spotlighted lesser-known songs from country’s earlier days. Most recently, Fulks’ recorded an innovative collection of fifty songs, 50-Vc Doberman, only available online as high-quality DRM free MP3 downloads.

This will be Fulks’ second appearance at the Sugar Maple Traditional Music Festival. His live performances feature improvised rearrangements of his original songs, off-the-cuff musical humor, and covers of songs by Michael Jackson and Cher, among others. This year, Nora O’Connor will join him on the main stage.

Nora O’Connor, who sometimes went by the name Nora Black as a member of the Blacks, appeared on-stage and on record with Andrew Bird, the New Pornographers, the Aluminum Group, Chris Mills, Otis Clay, Jeff Tweedy, Neko Case, and Mavis Staples. As a first generation Irish-American born and raised on the South side of Chicago, O’Connor’s father began her love of music by teaching her a wealth of Irish traditional dance tunes. As O’Connor’s diverse interests indicate (not only is she a talented singer-songwriter and guitarist, but a doula, bartender, and ordained reverend as well), she would not be satisfied with performing only Irish traditional music.

In 1994, O’Connor joined the Blacks, which brought her to the attention of the alternative country crowd. While taking a break from the band in 1996, O’Connor released her first solo album, Cerulean Blue. She rejoined the Blacks in 1998 to record their debut album, Dolly Horrorshow on Bloodshot Records. This coincided with the release of I Wanna Be Kate, a Chicago-based tribute album in honor of Kate Bush that featured O’Connor’s version of “The Saxophone Song.” By 2000, the Blacks disbanded, but O’Connor was in high demand as a guest vocalist, frequently performing with Andrew Bird. By 2004, O’Connor signed with Bloodshot Records as a solo artist and in August of that year released Til the Dawn. Nora O’Connor will be guest starring with the New Pornographers for a stint of their tour later this year.

Robbie Fulks and Nora O’Connor have performed together on numerous occasions, as well as on several recordings, such as “Because You Can” and “Just Too Easy to Cry” off of Fulks’ 50-Vc. Doberman. We are lucky to have them on the same stage at this year’s Sugar Maple Traditional Music Festival. We hope to see you there!

Robbie Fulks and the Flat Five (which includes Nora O’Connor) perform “Think About Your Troubles”.

Robbie Fulks and Nora O’Connor cover Michael Jackson’s “The Girl is Mine” for the 25th Anniversary of Thriller.