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

Chicago native son Al Scorch brings his roots-punk string band, Al Scorch & The Country Soul Ensemble back to Madison for a 2018 two-fer: an appearance at the High Noon Saloon on March 29, 2018, and a featured spot at this year’s Sugar Maple Music Festival on Friday, August 3.  Scorch’s live performances are legendary for their energy and drive, as he and his band seamlessly combine bluegrass, punk, folk and roots into a tasty, substantial musical hot dish.

After his early days with his brother in an Irish folk-rock band, Scorch first emerged  as a solo artist and songwriter, leaving his indelible stamp on the Windy City music scene.  His subsequent formation of the Country Soul Ensemble and a series of albums, including his latest, Circle Round The Signs, produced by Bloodshot Records, have fueled Scorch’s growing recognition across the US, Canada and abroad as a perceptive and exciting force in American string music.

Al’s acknowledged musical influences encompass everything from Beethoven to Dolly Parton, from Woody Guthrie to the Minutemen.  Just when you’re catching up with one of his lightning-fast banjo riffs and well-aimed lyrics about social justice, he’ll slow it down to a silky, soulful croon about lost love, or a ballad that elegantly morphs from despair to hope.  With his huge voice and natural charisma, and the virtuoso talents of his Country Soul Ensemble, every Al Scorch show becomes an event that audiences don’t soon forget.

–written by Brad Wolbert

Kaia Kater will perform at 2017 Sugar Maple Music Festival on Friday August 4.  Born of African-Caribbean descent in Québec, Kaia Kater grew up between two worlds: one her family’s deep ties to Canadian folk music in her Toronto home; the other the years she spent learning and studying Appalachian music in West Virginia.

Her acclaimed debut album Sorrow Bound (May 2015) touched on this divide, but her new album, Nine Pin (May 2016), delves even further, and casts an unflinching eye at the realities faced by people of color in North America every day. Her songs on the new album are fueled by her rich low tenor vocals, jazz-influenced instrumentation, and beautifully understated banjo, and they’ve got as much in common with Kendrick Lamar right now as they do with Pete Seeger.

“Kater is one of the most exciting roots musicians to come along in years.” –  Matt Hendrickson, Garden & Gun 

“Nine Pin is unlike anything you’ll hear this year.” –  Rachel Cholst, No Depression 

“…plaintive, mesmerizing…writes and performs with the skill of a folk-circuit veteran…” – Rolling Stone

Saturday, April 25, the Southern Wisconsin Bluegrass Music Association, Inc. will present banjo player Bill Evans and fiddler Megan Lynch in a day of workshops and an evening concert. Bill and Megan will each give a 3-hour workshop on banjo and fiddle, respectively; a 2-hour jam workshop for all bluegrass instruments; and an evening concert. The event will be held at the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center on the east side of Madison and emceed by country music historian Bill C. Malone, host of Back to the Country on WORT FM 89.9.

A 35-year veteran of the banjo, Bill has created a varied and highly successful musical career. He toured with Dry Branch Fire Squad from 1993-1997, currently plays with Bluegrass Intentions and tours extensively with Megan Lynch. He is a regular performer at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco and also performs with the California-based Bill Evan’s Stringed Summit.

He hosts the annual NashCamp Banjo Retreat with Sonny Osborne and teaches at almost every important music camp in the U.S and the U.K.; NashCamp, California Bluegrass Associations Music Camp, Midwest Banjo Camp, and Sore Fingers Bluegrass Week to name a few. He also presents workshops at folk and bluegrass festivals across the country.

Megan Lynch is a six-time National Fiddle Champion. She is also a regular performer at the Grand Ole’ Opry. Megan has played with country star Pam Tillis as well as bluegrass greats Roland White, Larry Cordle, Jim Hurst, and Chris Jones. She is a former member of Koch recording artists 3 Fox Drive and West Coast group Due West. She is also the founder and director of FiddleStar Youth and Adult Fiddle Camps and is in high demand as an instructor for bluegrass camps across the country. “Fiddlers come out of the woodwork when they hear that Megan is leading a workshop,” states Bill Evans.

Advance tickets for the concert only are $13. Concert tickets for students with ID are $10; children under 12 admitted free. Tickets will be available in early February at locations to be announced on www.swbmai.org. You can get advance concert tickets and/or more information by contacting Julie Cherney at 608-260-2675 or cherney [at] uwalumni [dot] com. You can also download the registration form and mail it the old fashioned way.