The border country of Texas is a rich tableau for multicultural traditional music.  Belen Escobedo grew up in San Antonio listening to a savory stew of Norteño, Tejano, mariachi and classic Texas country music.  The old songs left an impression in her mind as she learned violin in school and the local traditional fiddle styles on the side.  Many of the songs she plays are an eclectic mix of waltzes, polkas and other traditional forms brought by early German and East European settlers to Texas, in which the fiddle playing the melody lines came to be replaced in more conventional versions of this music by the accordion. 

Today, Belen is one of the few remaining practitioners of authentic fiddle-based Conjunto music, and Sugar Maple is excited to present her and her band, Panfilo’s Güera, for their first appearance in the Upper Midwest.  Belen was presented the Master of Texas Fiddling Award at the 2017 Festival of Texas Fiddling in recognition of her significance in maintaining this distinctive Texas musical style.  She and her band were recently featured in concert at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville.  Panfilo’s Güera includes Ramon Gutierrez on tololoche (bass) and Virginio Castillo on bajo sexto.  Their new self-titled live album showcases 17 traditional songs of the Texas borderlands.

~written by Brad Wolbert

On Saturday, Aug. 1, Appalachian Roadshow will play the 17^th Annual Sugar Maple Music Festival. Appalachian Roadshow honors the music, traditions and history of the Appalachian people and regions. The group is comprised of banjoist Barry Abernathy, mandolinist-extraordinaire Darrell Webb, Grammy-award winning fiddler Jim Vancleve, and legendary upright bassist Todd Phillips. On guitar is Zeb Snyder, a young phenom taking acoustic guitar circles by storm.

~written by Kimberly Schmitt

We’re excited to bring the Amythyst Kiah Trio to the stage for their very first Sugar Maple Music Festival performance. Born in Chattanooga and based in Johnson City, Amythyst Kiah’s commanding stage presence is matched by her raw and powerful vocals—a deeply moving, hypnotic sound that stirs echoes of a distant and restless past.

Accompanied interchangeably with banjo, acoustic guitar, or a full band, her eclectic influences span decades, finding inspiration in old time music, alternative rock, folk, country, and blues.

Our Native Daughters, her recent collaboration with Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla, and Allison Russell (Birds of Chicago), has delivered a full-length album produced by Rhiannon Giddens and Dirk Powell, Songs of Our Native Daughters (out now on Smithsonian Folkways). The opening track, “Black Myself”, written by Amythyst, was recently nominated for a Grammy for Best American Roots Song.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, Aug. 1 when the Amythst Kiah Trio takes to the 17h Annual Sugar Maple Music Festival stage.

~written by Kimberly Schmitt

Fronted by banjoist, singer and songwriter Gina Furtado, the Gina Furtado Project lays heavy emphasis on catchy, relatable, original material that spans the gamut from bluegrass to swing to gypsy jazz and beyond. 

Twice nominated for the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Banjo Player of the Year, Gina began touring up and down the east coast in her tween years with her siblings, earning countless ribbons from fiddlers conventions, a strong reputation in the regional bluegrass scene, and a stamp from Bluegrass Today as “absurdly talented”. 

Her debut album, True Colors, was released in September 2017 and debuted at #13 on Bluegrass Billboard Charts, and boasts two #1 songs on Bluegrass Today Charts. Never one to drop the ball, she followed quickly with a second album, “I Hope You Have a Good Life”,  which was released in September 2019 and debuted at #6 on Bluegrass Billboard Charts. No Depression promptly declared the project to be “fun, energetic and riveting.”

Don’t miss the Gina Furtado Project at the 2020 Sugar Maple Music Festival on Saturday, Aug. 1. 

~written by Kimberly Schmitt

Looking for a great holiday gift for the music lover in your life? Then we have the gift for you!

Sugar Maple Music Festival 2020 tickets will be on sale for one day only this year – Cyber Monday on Dec. 2. For just $20, you’ll be able to purchase a weekend pass for the July 31 and Aug. 1, 2020 event.  It will cost you $50 at the gate, so mark your calendar and don’t miss this chance to get huge savings.

Tickets go on sale here at 12:01 a.m. Monday, Dec. 2

Confirmed artists for the 2020 Sugar Maple Music Festival include the Amythyst Kiah Trio! Born in Chattanooga and based in Johnson City, Amythyst Kiah’s commanding stage presence is matched by her raw and powerful vocals—a deeply moving, hypnotic sound that stirs echoes of a distant and restless past.

Accompanied interchangeably with banjo, acoustic guitar, or a full band, her eclectic influences span decades, finding inspiration in old time music, alternative rock, folk, country, and blues.

Our Native Daughters, her recent collaboration with Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla, and Allison Russell (Birds of Chicago), has delivered a full-length album produced by Rhiannon Giddens and Dirk Powell, Songs of Our Native Daughters (out now on Smithsonian Folkways). The opening track, “Black Myself”, written by Amythyst, was recently nominated for a Grammy for Best American Roots Song.

This year’s line-up also includes Appalachian Road Show, a group honoring the music, traditions and history of the Appalachian people and regions.  The group is comprised of banjoist Barry Abernathy, mandolinist-extraordinaire Darrell Webb, Grammy-award winning fiddler Jim Vancleve, and legendary upright bassist Todd Phillips.  On guitar is Zeb Snyder, a young phenom taking acoustic guitar circles by storm.

And we have confirmed Robbie Fulks will be back at the Sugar Maple fest performing a Doc Watson Tribute!  Robbie Fulks is a singer, recording artist, instrumentalist, composer, and songwriter. His most recent release, 2017’s Upland Stories, earned year’s-best recognition from NPR and Rolling Stone among many others, as well as two Grammy nominations, for folk album and American roots song (“Alabama At Night”).  Robbie is a long-time friend of the festival (2004, 2007, 2009 and 2012) and we’re thrilled to welcome him back.

Any one of these performances would be worth the ticket price alone!

More artists to be announced…stay tuned!