Pickin’ in the Park 2019 FREE Bluegrass Music Festival

Saturday,  May 18, 2019 – 10AM – 6PM

Hagan-Stone Park

5920 Hagan-Stone Park Road

Pleasant Garden NC 27313

High Lonesome Strings Bluegrass Association presents the 22th Annual Pickin’ in the Park Bluegrass Music Festival at the Clyde Davis Memorial Stage in Hagan-Stone Park. There is no charge to attend and the public is invited to bring a chair or picnic blanket and come share with us a day of music. Please visit the Picking in the Park page for more details.

This year’s headliner is Williamson Branch:

Nashville based, Williamson Branch, is a high energy, high steppin’ show that features a fine-tuned variety of bluegrass, gospel and country music, accentuated by world class Appalachian clog dancing. As Pinecastle recording artists, this family fills every performance with memorable moments of love and laughter. In recent years audiences from Canada to the Cayman Islands, Maine to the Mexican border have thrilled to the soaring vocal harmonies and sparkling personalities of Williamson Branch!

“This high energy stage show features the magic of pitch perfect, organic family harmony!” The Southern Illinoisan

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High Lonesome Strings Monthly Meeting

Sunday,  April 28, 2019 – 2:30PM

Mountain Highway

Join us for an afternoon of traditional bluegrass music by Mountain Highway in the 3rd floor “Upstage Cabaret” at the Triad Stage in downtown Greensboro, NC. Hosted by the High Lonesome Strings Bluegrass Association, this performance will feature a full set of classic bluegrass hits originally recorded by musicians like Bill Monroe, Ralph Stanley, and Flatt & Scruggs.

Make plans now to attend:

    Upstage Cabaret @ Triad Stage 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM

    232 S. Elm St – 3rd Floor, Greensboro, NC

For more information about Mountain Highway, visit: https://mountainhighway.com.

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Bluegrass At The Barn / High Lonesome Strings Fundraiser

Saturday, March 30, 2019 @ 7-10 PM

Vintage Oaks Farm
209 Eastern Randolph Road
Ramseur, NC

Featuring

Nu-Blu

Admission is $15.00 per person 

The hosts of TV’s Bluegrass Ridge are coming to Vintage Oaks Farm! Nu-Blu will be performing a concert right here at the barn, so get your tickets now! This event will also be a fundraiser for the High Lonesome Strings Bluegrass Association in Greensboro, NC.

Hailing from Siler City, NC, 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. Daniel is the group’s backbone, a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist who also handles band management. Zach McCracken on banjo, and Justin Harrison on fiddle/mandolin round out the quartet’s warm, layered, American roots sound that builds to a full country sound. Learn more about Nu-Blu at www.nu-blu.com.

Tickets by Eventbrite,go to following page to purchase tickets: https://www.facebook.com/events/373981509820853/?active_tab=about  

We have been informed that there will be food and drink available to purchase.  

We look forward to seeing you there!!BRING A FRIEND or A DATE,THEY WILL BE GLAD YOU DID!!

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High Lonesome Strings Monthly Meeting

Sunday, March 24, 2019 @ 2:30 PM

Cabaret Room

Triad Stage

232 S. Elm Street

Greensboro, NC

Featuring:

Hindsight Bluegrass

The word hindsight has different meanings. One meaning in the dictionary, “understanding of a situation or event only after it has happened or developed”, came to mind after getting together to play music with friends one cold winter night. We knew we were heading into an endeavor where we could all use our talents to the fullest to create music with friends that would bring out the best in each of us. The band consists of Scott Hancock, Stan Brown, Fiddlin’ Al McCanless, Jim Boren and Julie Brown. Sit back and listen to a group that should have been formed years ago.

Scott Hancock grew up playing music with his father in Randolph County, NC. Scott has played multiple instruments but likes to stay with the guitar. His rhythm guitar playing is flawless and is the perfect support for his vocals. Scott mostly sings lead and tenor with Hindsight but can sing and arrange all of the vocal parts. He is a pleasure to hear in all aspects of the music and hears the little things that just make the music better.

Stan Brown grew up in Randolph County playing guitar and banjo at an early age with his father. After graduating from NC State he moved to Nashville to play banjo with Wilma Lee Cooper on the festival circuit and weekly appearances on the Grand Ole Opry. After leaving Wilma Lee he played with many greats such as Bill Monroe, Skeeter Davis, the Osborne Brothers and many others. After returning to North Carolina he has played with several North Carolina based bands including The Bluegrass Experience and the Outliers. Today he plays banjo and sings harmony with Hindsight Bluegrass.

Allen McCanless, aka “Fiddlin’” Al McCanless, has over 50 years of performing experience. Starting on harmonica and guitar in high school, he took up fiddle as a sophomore at the UNC-CH School of Pharmacy. He was a founding member of the legendary Newgrass group, The New Deal String Band and later was a member of the Bluegrass Experience. McCanless spent years learning Irish-Celtic fiddle tunes and has made two recordings with his group Celtic Jam. He appeared on the first Red Clay Ramblers Folkways recording, “The Red Clay Ramblers with Fiddlin’ Al McCanless.” He has also recorded with Mike Cross, Alice Gerrard and many other groups as a guest fiddler. When not making music with the Hindsight, McCanless spends his time making pottery and old time open back banjos.

Jim Boren was raised in a musical family in rural Pleasant Garden, North Carolina. Jim’s dad played guitar and sang mostly country music and his mom would join in on bass fiddle. Jim started playing guitar around the age of 12, being influenced by his dad and the music of the sixties & seventies by artists such as Graves, Brother Oswald, Mike Auldridge and, of course, Jerry Douglas. Jim has played with Southeast Express Bluegrass Band for over 20 years and well as Shortly Thereafter Band for 3 years and now plays dobro and sings lead and harmony with Hindsight Bluegrass. *As Briscoe Darling would say, “Ya Got Time to breathe, ya got time for music.”

Julie Brown grew up in Angier playing music in the school bands and tinkering with the guitar a little. Her family traveled to bluegrass festivals for weekend vacations and that put the music in her blood. In 1989 after helping her dad try to figure out some things on his banjo, she decided she needed one of those too. That was all it took. She played banjo for years after that and also took up classical upright bass in the mid 90’s, later using the knowledge to play bluegrass bass in the late ‘90’s. Julie has played with several North Carolina bands throughout the years including being a founding member of the Outliers and currently is the bassist and with Hindsight Bluegrass.

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High Lonesome Strings Monthly Meeting

Sunday, February 24, 2019 – 2:30 PM

Cabaret Room, Triad Stage
232 South Elm Street
Greensboro, NC

Featuring:

Carolina Divide

Carolina Divide is a new Bluegrass band based out of the Carolinas. The band formed in October, 2018.

Carl Patterson is originally from Clintwood, VA but makes his home in Stony Point, NC with his wife Neriah. Carl started playing the upright bass when he was in the 3rd grade. He moved to guitar in the 5th grade. He began singing in 9th grade. Carl sings lead and baritone vocals while serving as the guitarist for Carolina Divide.

Andrew Dowling is a young Dobro player out of Spartanburg, SC. He never knew what a dobro was until he saw a man (who later became his teacher) play one in his church and knew he had to have one. He got one as a Christmas present when he was 15 and it soon became his passion. He started traveling with his teacher’s band.

Daniel Schronce is a young musician out of Claremont, NC. Daniel began his Bluegrass journey in the 7th grade when he got on YouTube and learned a few chords on the mandolin. He quickly learned the basics at lessons, and began playing at multiple local jams. Soon after, Daniel started to teach himself how to play guitar and bass. He played both alto saxophone and bass in the concert and jazz band in high school. He also played bass in the pit orchestra for the high school musical productions.

Jacob Turnbill grew up in Shelby, NC and learned to play bluegrass fiddle at the age of twelve. Jacob was influenced by bluegrass fiddlers of the 1940’s and 1950’s such as Benny Martin, Bobby Hicks, Paul Warren, and Kenny Baker. Jacob considers these four men his fiddle heroes. Over the 9 years he has been playing fiddle, he has competed and placed in fiddler’s conventions throughout Virginia and NC. 

Jacob Connor is 24 years old from Conover, NC. He started playing mandolin at 12 years old. He’s played in several different bluegrass and bluegrass gospel bands in his 12 years of playing. 

Hunter Motts from Pacolet, SC has been playing banjo since he was 13. His love of bluegrass began with his Grandpa at a young age. He tries to incorporate different styles into his playing. Hunter has played with several bands over the years and most recently from 2016-2018, played professionally with The Baker Family.

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High Lonesome Strings Monthly Meeting

Sunday, January 27, 2019 2:30 PM

Stonefield Cellars Winery
Stokesdale, NC

Featuring:

Goodfellers

Expect the unexpected when it comes to the GoodFellers. Their award-winning traditional bluegrass just doesn’t tell the whole story. With a sound shaped by a variety of musical backgrounds and highlighted by rock flavored vocals, they move seamlessly through different styles, making each GoodFellers’ show unique, fun and entertaining.

From John Lawless in Bluegrass Today: The Goodfellers are a hard-driving bluegrass band from Pinnacle, NC, who make much of the gangster theme implied in their band name, though largely in a lighthearted fashion. It’s a clever, down home play on the title of the 1990 film, Goodfellas, considered a classic of the mob genre starring Robert DeNiro, Ray Liotta, and Joe Pesci. Ladies often miss the charm of this category of movies which their menfolk find so compelling, but I think anyone can get a chuckle out of a bluegrass band calling themselves The Goodfellers.

The guys have a new, self-titled album which combines their own original songs with a few well-chosen standards to showcase their contemporary sound. The four members have long experience in bluegrass, but also allow influences from outside to mark their music. You’ll hear chord changes and vocal stylings that may seem more at home in rock or newgrass, but they make it fit right into their bluegrass approach. A first single from the record is starting to get played on bluegrass radio, Blue Eyed Caroline, written by Jason Shore, who Carolina grassers may recall from the Shady Grove Band out of Chapel Hill some years back. Jason is the cousin of Goodfellers mando man Ralph McGee, and when he shared the song with the band, they decided to cut it. It’s a lost love/leavin’ song with a bluesy feel. In addition to Ralph on mandolin, The Goodfellers are Teddy Barncastle on guitar, Hersie McMillan on banjo, and Tim Hill on bass.

The GoodFellers offer a unique proposition, one that shatters that line between the trendy and the traditional. They pay little heed to the need to tow any one side of the line. Granted, their frenetic instrumental assault might simulate an old Appalachian sound, but the melodies boast a modern sensibility that obviously appeals to today’s audience. As if to prove the point, Goodfellers draws its material from distinctly diverse sources. Carter Stanley’s Last Goodbye finds a comfortable fit alongside a rousing take on Don Henley’s Dirty Laundry, segueing seamlessly in the process. Indeed, the band tastefully taps its sources, with songs from Clint Black, Rodney Crowell and Hal Ketchum inserted among their originals.

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High Lonesome Strings Monthly Meeting

Saturday, December 8, 2018  6:00 PM

Mt. Hope United Church of Christ

2400 Mt. Hope Church Rd

Whitsett, NC

Featuring:

The Hatley Family

The Hatley Family is a bluegrass/gospel group from Stanfield, NC. The members are all family, with the core band still formed around the four original siblings. Brothers Gary, Ronnie, and Donnie Hatley, play the guitar, banjo, and mandolin/fiddle respectively. Sister, Teresa Hatley Broadway, plays bass. Their performances often include a guest appearance by Gary’s wife, Sandy Chrisco Hatley who picks Dobro and an occasional banjo tune. Their father, Ervin Hatley usually joins in with the fiddle and singing. Vocal parts vary from song to song, with Teresa or Gary usually singing the lead and Donnie on bass with other members filling in the remaining harmony parts. With over 35 years together as a band, the Hatleys are thankful for their musical talents and feel that carrying on a multi-generational tradition has kept them close as a family over the years.

The group’s music has earned them multiple awards and recognitions, including a North Carolina Bluegrass Band Championship. Brother Ronnie now shares the joy of making music with others, both young and old, through his music-based business, “Ron’s Pickin’ Parlor.” There he offers instrumental and vocal lessons, as well as one of the best selections of fine bluegrass instruments in the state, including dealerships for Martin, Collings, Eastman, Deering and Sullivan. Several family members teach lessons at Ron’s, collectively serving over 100 students each week.

Several members of the next generation of the Hatleys also enjoy sharing their playing, singing and songwriting talents, and are sometimes able to join the Hatleys in their performances. Many fans will remember these youngsters performing as “The Hatley Sweethearts” or “Nashville Bound.” The younger two of Gary and Sandy’s three daughters, Kacie Lauren Hatley and Kellie Hatley Sides, now perform as the alternative folk duo, “Lauren and Lane”, based on their middle names. Accompanied by Kellie’s husband, Brandon on bass, their performances share a growing collection of original songs, accompanied by their musicianship on guitars, banjo, fiddle and mandolin and vocal harmonies second to none.

When not on stage, Kellie is equally at home teaching music lessons at Ron’s Pickin’ Parlor or enjoying her 1-year-old son. Of the original “Hatley Sweethearts” cousins, all are now grown, with five now married, and blessing the family, to date, with four precious members of yet another generation of music lovers.
The Hatleys offer several recorded projects, most available in CD and cassette, including Christmas and a-cappella recordings, and a live video. Producing their latest project, “Christmas With The Hatleys,” was a very special experience, shared with the multi-talented Greg Luck in his Lake Tillery studio. It is a carefully selected collection of Christmas songs featuring performances by the band and the “grandchildren.”

The Hatleys are noted for their four part harmonies, particularly in their a-cappella singing. Their project, “Heaven is my Home,” is a collection of these un-accompanied harmonies, and has received a tremendous response from both gospel and bluegrass fans alike.

The group can perform sets of exclusively gospel music, or include a variety of secular bluegrass songs and instrumentals. The Hatleys’ music will move your feet and their harmony will warm your heart. Don’t miss a chance to hear the Hatleys when they are in your area. Join them as they worship the Lord Jesus Christ in song.

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