Shotgun Party returns to Madison to headline the 2010 Sugar Maple Festival Kick Off Concert at the High Noon Saloon, Friday, April 30th. The show also features Frog Water (2009 alumns) and Jim James and the Damn Shames. During the show we will be announcing the lineup for the 2010 Sugar Maple Fest and you’ll be able to purchase the ever popular extremely early, early bird special price on a weekend pass for only $20! The Kickoff Concert starts promptly at 8pm (21 and up) and is a modest $10 cover charge.

The original Shotgun Party trio met in a little Texas dive bar in 2006. They got their start performing weekly at Austin’s own Continental Club. Sparks flew and now Shotgun Party, the Austin based trio, really knows how to fire up a crowd! Their original songs are beautiful and timeless drawing influences from early blues, country, bluegrass and depression era swing. Katy Rose Cox’s fearless fiddling is simply virtuosic. Miss Jenny Parrott’s gorgeous vocals and addictive songs will bring you to your knees. … and introducing Shotgun Party’s newest member, (and Madison native) Andrew Austin-Petersen on show stopping upright bass!

With tight harmonies and lively stage antics, Shotgun party will leave you with a smile ear to ear. Don’t miss ‘em!! Frogwater features a cross-pollination of musical styles: Celtic, Bluegrass, old-time, and blues. Their performances are particularly influenced by their love of Irish and Scottish music. Alongside Susan’s flashing fingers on the fiddle, John adds his prowess on Celtic, Blues, and fingerstyle guitar. Jim James and the Damn Shames will start things off with their tunes that suit the front porch to the main stage.

Fresh from the magical digits of Mrs. Allyson Casey, the official 2010 Sugar Maple Traditional Music Festival poster is here! And not only can you bask in it’s beauty, but you can download and print high rez PDFs of the poster to hang up and show your Sugar Maple pride! We also have smaller 4-up handouts that you can… well… hand out if you wish.

The Wisconsin State Journal published a nice piece on the Sugar Maple Fest today, calling the fest a “charmer”…

Like the sounds it celebrates, Madison’s Sugar Maple Traditional Music Festival maintains its charm and grassroots spirit as the event enters its sixth year. The two-day, family-friendly event specializes in old-fashioned tunes, songs that sound like they were originally aired on bulky radios before television’s launch. ~ Tom Alesia

And from the Onion’s Decider comes more kind words…

In a town that doesn’t hesitate to show its affection for bluegrass, folk, Cajun, or country music, the Sugar Maple Traditional Music Festival is looking pretty strong going into its sixth year. The annual event (which returns Friday and Saturday to Lake Farm County Park) consistently manages to feature respected artists from across America’s genres of acoustic music, as well as workshops that allow musicians like Madison-raised guitarist Joel Paterson to share their craft in greater depth. Granted, names like this year’s headliner J.D. Crowe And The New South might not mean much at first to those new to these kinds of music, but that’s why Sugar Maple is a good place to start exploring. ~ Scott Gordon

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.

Frogwater is Susan Jeske Dermody & John Nicholson. Susan has been playing violin since her classical music and Suzuki classes as a child. In 1989, she turned from classical violin to “fiddle” and joined the Milwaukee Celtic ensemble, the Glenghillies. The Ghillies, as they became known, developed a popular following among all age groups and backgrounds. They played pubs and festivals throughout the US and Canada. On occasion, they even shared a stage with the Ireland Chieftains.

In 1995, John Nicholson returned to Milwaukee from California and joined the Ghillies, bringing banjo, guitar and vocals to the group. After the group dissolved in 1997, Susan and John continued playing together and co founded Frogwater. This new venture featured a cross pollination of musical genres; Celtic, Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Blues. Their performances are particularly influenced by their love of Irish and Scottish music. As they add an emphasis on old-time American music, Frogwater frequently includes another Milwaukee musician, Li’l Rev, on harmonica, guitar and ukelele.

For the past several years, Frogwater has performed regularly at Milwaukee’s Summerfest, Irish Fest, Bastille Days and Rainbow Summer. They also perform at numerous other fairs and contra dances across the state and Midwest. They received honors as best band in the Bluegrass and Country categories in WAMI (Wisconsin Are Music Industry) awards two years running, and are winners of other readers’ polls, as well. In addition to their performance schedule, John teaches guitar at UW-M Extension, and Frogwater has found time to write original material, and record two CDs.

Frogwater kicks off this year’s Sugar Maple Fest Friday night at 5pm!

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.