Just a few more hours to get your early-bird two day passes to the 15th Annual Sugar Maple Music Festival!  On sale here through May 31.

Mid-2017, The Tillers holed up at Candyland Recording Studio in Dayton, KY with producer Mike Montgomery (Jeremy Pinnell, The Breeders) and tracked ten new songs, live to 2” tape. The recordings showcase the diversity of their writing and musicianship, from hard-tackle thump to tender graceful melody – lightening-fast banjo to intricate guitar flat picking, plaintive fiddle, deep anchoring bass and clear tenor harmonies. Fueled by life, family, history, travel and politics, the new self-titled LP is the band’s most engaging record to date. Singer-songwriter-guitarist Sean Geil says of the new record, “This album is definitely more aggressive than past efforts. At our core we are still a traditionally rooted string band, but I’d say our punk rock roots are more visible on this album. And the addition of Joe Macheret on fiddle has added a new dynamic and allowed us to explore new territories as well as fill out the overall sound.”

Catch the Tillers at the Sugar Maple Fest Friday, August 3.

What if you could combine the instrumental artistry and youthful vigor of the Punch Brothers, Crooked Still and the Dave Rawlings Machine?  Turns out it would sound like Hawktail, the acoustic instrumental supergroup featuring four of the most influential and talented musicians in bluegrass and roots music today.  Brittany Haas (fiddle), Jordan Tice (guitar), Dominick Leslie (mandolin), and Madison native Paul Kowert (bass) have established knockout reputations as bandmates, collaborators, songwriters and and performers in the uppermost echelons of the acoustic music world.

The previous version of the band, Haas Kowert Tice, became Hawktail with the addition of mandolin virtuoso Leslie late last year, and their first album as a quartet, this year’s Unless, is already receiving rave reviews.  Read more at No Depression, The Journal of Roots Music. You will be hearing about this band and these musicians for years to come—and one of their first stops will be at the Sugar Maple festival this year!

–written by Brad Wolbert

Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY,  Hubby Jenkins got his start as a professional musician busking around the country playing old-time American music. A talented songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, he plays guitar, mandolin, 5-string banjo, and bones.  During his travels he crossed paths with the Grammy Award winning Carolina Chocolate Drops and officially joined the group in 2010.

His solo performance showcases his passion for and knowledge of old-time traditional American music inspired by artists such as Charley Patton, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Blind Blake, and Skip James. To round all this off he shares honest and personal stories that give the audience a glimpse into this music’s rich and complex history as well as candidly highlighting the current political climate and need for social responsibility.

Catch Hubby at the Sugar Maple Music Festival on Saturday, August 4, 2018.

–written by Pam Lockstein and Peggy Lewis

Making their first-ever Sugar Maple appearance, Saturday’s headliners The Travelin’ McCourys bring an unmatched pedigree and an effervescent, adventurous spirit to the festival stage.  Ronnie (mandolin) and Rob (banjo) spent 20 years on the road with their father, the bluegrass legend Del McCoury.  Together with Jason Carter (fiddle), Alan Bartram (bass), and Cody Kilby (guitar), they are artfully bending their mastery of traditional bluegrass stylings toward exciting new combinations of old and young, traditional and inventive.

The Travelin’ McCourys have collaborated with the Allman Brothers Band, Phish, Dierks Bentley and Keller Williams, among others, yet they always manage to maintain the tight, sometimes joyful, sometimes high and lonesome vernacular that is the essence of bluegrass.  It helps that each of the five band members have been recognized by the International Bluegrass Music Association as the best at their instrument, with bassist Alan Bartram winning the award most recently in 2018.

For a taste of the Travelin’ McCourys’ unique approach to a bluegrass standard, listen to their blistering version of “John Henry” from DelFest 2016…

…or how they can slow it down and adapt nontraditional material with their soulful take on the Grateful Dead’s “Loser”:

Expect the best of traditional bluegrass, and a healthy dose of the unexpected, with the Travelin’ McCourys at this year’s Sugar Maple Festival.

–written by Brad Wolbert

The Sugar Maple Music Festival is pleased to sponsor the Simply Folk 2018 Shindig!

Wisconsin Public Radio is taking the show Simply Folk on the road for an evening of music featuring three great Wisconsin bands: Art Stevenson & High Water , Joseph Huber and Nickel&Rose.

Great live music, food, drink and a lively dance floor combine for a festive evening celebrating music and community in Wisconsin.

Hosted by WPR’s Dan Robinson, the show will be recorded for later statewide broadcast.