On their sixth full-length studio release, North Carolina-based Nu-Blu delivers a set of songs that range from the melancholy to the exuberant, and at every step they prove they?ve got a knack for finding their way into the deeper parts of you. 

Hailing from Siler City, the textbook definition of a picturesque small southern town, Nu-Blu’s heart and soul is husband-and-wife duo Daniel and Carolyn Routh. Carolyn’s caramel-coated soprano is one of the band’s defining traits, at times a tender lullaby, at times a freight train headed straight for you, but always unwinding a surprising tale. Daniel is the group’s backbone, a multi-instrumentalist and backing vocalist who also runs the band’s business. Calder Baker on vocals and banjo, and Justin Harrison on mandolin and fiddle round out the quartet’s warm, layered, Appalachian sound. Together they deliver upbeat, blazing-fingers pick work just as well as gentle, heartwarming ballads, and they do it all with a natural togetherness that can’t be faked, forged over hundreds of shows on the road.

North Street Cabaret
Thursday, May 24, 2018 at 8 pm

General Admission
Advance $10
Day of show $15

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

Purchase Sugar Maple Music Festival tickets during the month of May and take advantage of the early-bird ticket price!  Two-day passes available here for $25 each.
This year’s line-up includes The Travelin’ McCourys, Pieta Brown, The Tillers, Sam Broussard, Hubby Jenkins plus more.  Any one of these performances would be worth the ticket price alone!

Mark your calendars for the 15^th annual Sugar Maple Music Festival, August 3-4 and get your early-bird tickets now!  Early-bird prices in effect through May 31, 2018.

Last year, the nonprofit Four Lakes Traditional Music Collective (FLTMC) gave a scholarship to Madison’s MadFiddle, a youth fiddle ensemble led by musician and teacher Shauncey Ali. We recently followed up with Shauncey to learn what he did with the scholarship and this is what he told us.

“I wanted to use the scholarship to impact as many young people as possible, while also touching on a youth population for which private violin lessons might be less common.

In December, I constructed a 40-minute “History of American Folk Music” presentation that was equal parts lecture and performance. It outlined a historic overview of the development of folk music in the U.S., emphasizing the impact that immigration and slavery have had on existing genres.

I presented a series of assemblies at Glendale Elementary School, to a student body that is 75 percent Hispanic, African-American and Asian.

Then in April I did a brief residency with Glendale’s fifth grade strings class, which occurs concurrently with recess. I was amazed to learn that these students had elected to learn a stringed instrument over running around on the playground. It was very special to share traditional fiddle tunes and songs with students for whom this experience was new.”

We at the Sugar Maple couldn’t be more impressed – or humbled. Glad we could play a small part in this important work that connects youth with music and history.

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.