The accolades keep coming for Noel McKay and Brennen Leigh, both as individual Nashville-based songwriters and artists, and in their joint incarnation as a witty and wry country duet.  When an American songwriting icon like Guy Clark is gushing over the music you’re creating, you’re definitely doing something right (Clark included a McKay co-composition on his 2014 Grammy-winning My Favorite Picture of You, and has noted that “Brennen Leigh plays guitar like a [well, his word is unprintable, but about as emphatic as it gets]”).   Both Leigh, a Minnesota native, and McKay, who hails from Lubbock by way of the Texas Hill Country, have attracted cult followings in their own right in Europe and the US.  Before The World Was Made, the classic album they made together in 2013, overflows with timeless, traditionally melodic country tunes, crossed with a modern lyrical sensibility, full of heart and humor.

Don’t miss McKay & Leigh at the 2019 Sugar Maple Music Festival on Friday, August 2.

~written by Brad Wolbert

In the music of Milwaukee’s breakout roots-country group Buffalo Gospel one hears the timeless qualities of the best traditional American country music. It’s stripped-down, authentic and incisive.  It tells stories of the human condition: of love and loss and broken dreams and the power of dogged persistence to overcome misfortune and heartache, in spare, direct discourse that cuts straight through to the core of our shared experience. Band founder, guitarist and singer Ryan Necci absorbed the records of his youth – the honest ballads, the trucker country anthems, the heartfelt weepers – and then found himself living the stories told by these songs. With a pair of critically acclaimed albums (including 2018’s “On The First Bell”) and a lineup brimming with top musical talent, this is a band at the peak of its powers.  The 2019 Sugar Maple Festival is pleased to present Buffalo Gospel, back home in Wisconsin after a tour of the Southeast US and ready to make believers out of everyone who hears them.

~written by Brad Wolbert

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Larry Sparks is as close to Bluegrass royalty as it’s possible to get. With a pedigree that includes a stint as the guitarist for the Stanley Brothers and the lead vocalist for Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys, many appearances at the Grand Ole Opry, a place in the Bluegrass Hall of Fame and a even a line of guitar strings that bear his name, Larry, along with his band, the Lonesome Ramblers, is one of the leading exemplars of the true bluegrass sound and tradition. It doesn’t get any more authentic than Larry Sparks. His straight-ahead, soulful vocal style, inspired songwriting and impeccable musicianship has won him a bumper crop of awards and secured his place as a living musical legend.

—written by Brad Wolbert

Were you at this year’s Sugar Maple Music Festival? Or are you among those who haven’t yet attended?

Either way, check out our new video, shot during our 15th annual festival this past August. You might just see yourself – or you might see what you missed and decide you need to attend next year!

A huge shout-out to Tack Video Production for bringing our fun, family-friendly festival to life.  From the stellar musicians to the Roots and Reasons stage workshops to the jam sessions, Tack Video captured it all.

Watch the video to see what makes the Sugar Maple so special, then mark your calendar for August 2 and 3, 2019!

On Sunday, July 1, Tennessee-based bluegrass band Circus No. 9 spent the day with music students in Madison, Wisconsin. Specifically, the band members led a workshop sponsored by the Sugar Maple Music Festival and the Goodman Community Center and organized by Music con Brio, a local nonprofit that gives music lessons to young people, regardless of ability to pay.

As part of Music con Brio’s summer workshop series, Circus No. 9 illustrated the basics of bluegrass tunes, shared the history of the genre, and taught students the basics of bluegrass jamming and improvising.

The day culminated in a free community concert that included the professional musicians and students performing together.

In addition to staging the annual Sugar Maple Music Festival, the Four Lakes Traditional Music Collective (the nonprofit behind the festival) also supports music education for youth and others.