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August 2 - 3
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After more than two years of limited opportunities to gather and hear live music, the 19th annual Sugar Maple Music Festival presents more than 10 mainstage performances August 5-6 at the beautiful W.G. Lunney Lake Farm County Park in Madison.
Audience engagement is what sets the Sugar Maple Music Festival apart, and this year, in addition to the mainstage performances and Roots & Reasons stage workshops, professional-musician-led jams and a variety of children’s activities are back.
From bluegrass to blues to rockabilly to swing to Latinx music, here’s a look at the talented performers coming to the August 5-6 festival:
FRIDAY 05 AUG
MAIN STAGE5:00-5:50 The Fly Birds
6:15-7:05 Bailey Dee with Joel Paterson
7:30-8:35 Tish Hinojosa
9:00-10:30 Henhouse Prowlers
Root & Reasons Stage6:00-6:25 Dave Landau sings songs for the kids
6:45-7:30 The Henhouse Prowlers on being Bluegrass Ambassadors
8:15-9:00 The Fly Birds encore set
SATURDAY 06 AUG
MAIN STAGE12:00-1:00 MadFiddle
1:15-2:15 Joel Paterson
2:40-3:40 Steam Machine
4:05-5:05 AJ Lee and Blue Summit
5:30-6:30 Old Fashioned Aces
6:55-8:15 Miss Tammy Savoy and the Rhythmaestros
8:40-10:00 The Best Westerns
Root & Reasons Stage10:00-11:30 Bloody Mary Jam: Down from the Hills
12:15-1:00 AJ Srubas and Blake Miller: The Old Time-Country-Cajun connection and What to Listen for in the Jams
1:30-2:15 Beginner Fiddlers w/Rin & Tina
2:15-2:50 Dave Landau sings songs for kids
3:00-3:45 The guitar stylings of Joel Paterson
4:00-4:45 A conversation with Tish Hinojosa (moderated by Sile Shigley of Simply Folk)
5:00-5:45 Mark Hembree “On the bus with Bill Monroe” (moderated by Chris Powers)
6:30-7:15 AJ Lee (Meet & Greet)
Schedules may change due to unforeseen events
Tickets available on-line or at the following ticket outlets:
Admission free for children 17 and under with a ticketed adult and this year our youth activities are back!
Have questions? Check out our FAQ page
Festival organizers strongly encourage attendees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and will closely monitor and comply with CDC recommendations and best practices.
Two of the country’s most sought-after bluegrass artists will hold public workshops on the Roots and Reasons stage at the 15th Annual Sugar Maple Music Festival.
First, violin virtuoso Brittany Haas, of Hawktail, will lead a fiddle workshop in the evening on Friday, Aug. 3. Called a “a fiercely nimble fiddler” who is “one of the best fiddlers of her generation,” Haas will talk about the influences and techniques that have made her one of the most in-demand fiddle players on the scene today. This workshop is open to fiddle players of all ages and experience levels, as well as anyone else interested in fiddle music.
Then on Saturday evening, mandolin master Ronnie McCoury, winner of the International Bluegrass Music Association mandolin player of the year for eight consecutive years, will take to the Roots and Reasons stage to demonstrate his unique style, which has become the standard for modern bluegrass mandolin playing. The Travelin’ McCoury’s guitarist Cody Kilby, a former member of Ricky Skaggs’ Kentucky Thunder band, will join Ronnie in this session, which is open to all.
These two stellar workshops are among the many interactive and fun activities that will take place during the Sugar Maple Fest.
The Sugar Maple Music Festival invites you to play along! Join local fiddle phenoms Rin Ribble and Tina Thompson as they lead the Little Fiddler’s workshop designed for young fiddle players of all skill levels. Participants will learn about the musical styles they’ll hear all weekend long at Sugar Maple.
And don’t miss this chance to attend a guitar workshop with Molly Tuttle! A graduate of the prestigious Berklee College of Music, Molly might be young, but she has already earned a reputation as one of the most virtuosic guitar players on today’s bluegrass scene. In this interactive workshop, Molly will demonstrate different styles of rhythm guitar to help participants improve their own rhythm playing.
Want more chances to play along? Start your Saturday morning right at the Bloody Mary jam at the Roots & Reasons stage then move over to the jam tent where hosted and ad hoc jams continue through the day. There will be a bluegrass jam hosted by Southern Wisconsin Bluegrass Music Association, a Cajun jam hosted by T’Monde and an old-time jam hosted by Glass Mountain.
Molly Tuttle released her EP “Rise” earlier this month and the songs show Molly’s strength as both a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Ron Wray of No Depression reviewed the EP and says, “The young lady has a way of writing songs that are deceptively simple yet musically deep and with provocative picking.”
Molly is on tour this summer showcasing “Rise” and you can catch her on the Sugar Maple fest main stage Saturday August 5. Molly will also be offering a rhythm guitar workshop on Saturday at the festival’s Roots & Reason stage. Check back for workshop schedule details.
written by Jennifer Phistry
What happens away from the Main Stage at Sugar Maple? You might be surprised. At the Roots & Reasons Stage, you can participate in workshops, informative talks, demonstrations, and more. Check the schedule for details.
ROOTS & REASONS STAGE
FRIDAY, AUGUST 5TH
6:00 Blue Moon of Wisconsin – Fellow band members, Art Stevenson and Bruce King (Art Stevenson and High Water) join WORT radio host, Chris Powers, to discuss how Kentucky bluegrass made its way to Wisconsin.
7:00 Songs for Kids – Madison’s Dave Landau sings silly songs, tells jokes, and gets everyone involved in his interactive show.
7:45 Mastering the Masters – The Music City Doughboys of Nashville demonstrate country, Western swing, and everything in between. Get ready for some twin fiddle!
SATURDAY, AUGUST 6TH
12:30 Little Fiddler Workshop – Just learning to play fiddle? If so, local musicians, Tina Thompson and Rin Ribble, have something to show you.
2:00 Mike Finders Workshop -Learn how to write songs with award-winning songwriter, Mike Finders (Finnders and Youngberg) and Madison’s Evan Murdock (Evan Murdock and the Imperfect Strangers).
3:45 Exploring the Old, Weird America – Join Eli Smith of the Down Hill Strugglers and Colin Bazsali of Madison’s Cajun Strangers as they discuss the musical visionaries from Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music.
4:45 Songs for Kids – Madison’s Dave Landau sings silly songs, tells jokes, and gets everyone involved in his interactive show.
5:30 Rotating Carousel – What happens to the music when musicians play musical chairs? Find out when Cajun trio, Ed Poullard, Jesse Legé, and Charlie Terr, spice things up by swapping instruments.
6:45 Piedmont Blues 101 – New York’s Piedmont Bluz acoustic duo discusses and demonstrates the Piedmont style.
