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!