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! The group became an instant sensation at the 2009 Sugar Maple Music Festival!

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 Nicholson’s flashing fingers on the fiddle, husband John adds his prowess on Celtic, Blues, and fingerstyle guitar.

Jim James and the Damn Shames started playing together in Madison in 2002. UW Grad Student and freelance arts & science writer James Travis leads the quartet’s original Americana Rock tunes that suit the front porch to the main stage.

8PM: Frogwater
9PM: Jim James & The Damn Shames
10PM: Shotgun Party

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.