2001 newsletters and Schedule
Be sure to see the June 3, 2001 article by Willy in the Rutland Herald and Times Argus. It a great description of the Plowboy's adventures in Russia and it's the cover story for the Sunday Magazine.
Concert Flash! Sunday, Sept. 9. in Winooski
Nitty
Gritty Dirt Band founding members John McEuen and Jimmy Ibbotson
will be joined by Banjo Dan and the Mid-nite Plowboys, Gopher Broke Bluegrass,
The New Bremen Town Musicians and other popular Vermont musicians for a special
concert this Sunday, September 9, to raise money and awareness for Clear Path,
an organization devoted to the elimination of land mines around the world.
The concert takes place at the Higher Ground nightclub in the Champlain
Mill complex in Winooski, Vermont, beginning at 7 PM.
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, one of the all-time great performing and recording groups, is well-known and remembered for its tremendous blend of folk, rock, bluegrass and country blues, with scores of hits such as Mr. Bojangles, Dance Little Jean, House at Pooh Corner, and many many more. Their credits include 24 albums -- five gold, two platinum -- 20 hits, and over a million miles on the road. In the '70s and '80s they introduced countless fans worldwide to bluegrass and traditional American music with their "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" albums, featuring guest appearances by Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs, Jimmy Martin, Roy Acuff and dozens of other greats.
Sunday's concert will feature sets by the guest bands, an extended performance by McEuen and Ibbotson, and a "Circle jam" with all the artists reprising favorites from "Will The Circle Be Unbroken."
Speaking for the Plowboys and the Bremens, I can only tell you this is going to be one of the finest, most memorable shows we've ever been involved with. I can tell you further that the scourge of land mines in countries around the world is one of the most heinous crimes ever perpetrated on innocent folks -- with children among the most frequent victims -- and that we all need to do whatever we can to "clear the path" for people living in the danger zones. So, for both reasons, I hope every one of you at Higher Ground this Sunday!
Tickets are $20 in advance, available online at www.highergroundmusic.com or by calling 802-654-8888. You can also buy tickets at the door for $22 -- but get there early! Doors open at 6:30.
You can obtain further informational at www.clearpathinternational.org or by calling Martha Hathaway at 802-867-4406. Clear Path is a Vermont group that sponsors the removal of landmines and bombs in Vietnam and provides assistance to landmine accident survivors in Vietnam and Cambodia.
Newsletter Update, August 28, 2001
Summer-End Bulletin (August 28, 2001):
Hi once again to our many subscribers, and welcome new victims. This could
be the last update of the season, unless the phone starts ringing pretty soon.
We've had a terrific summer, played some mighty fine venues, and undoubtedly
changed many lives for the better. As the summer winds down we'd like to call
your attention to some special shows coming up.
First of all, the long-awaited Myllarit/Banjo Dan concert is this Sunday, Sept 2, at the Unitarian Church on Main Street, Montpelier, VT, starting at 4 PM. Tickets will be available at the door. Myllarit is the marvelous Karelian (Finnish/Russian) group that hauled us over to Russia for the Folk Marathon festival this past April. They're on tour in the northern US right now, and we can't wait to get together with them for some music this Sunday. Please come join us -- this one is special!
Also coming up pretty soon is the annual 4-H benefit festival in the striped tent at East Hill Farm in Plainfield, Vermont, on Saturday Sept 8. That one's a whole lotta downhome fun, and Topper's chicken bbq is something fine. You should call Con and Jeannette at 802-479-2723 for directions and to reserve tickets -- the tent often sells out.
The Shelburne Farms Harvest Festival (Sept 15) is a good Vermont family event, and another annual gig for us. Our show this year is at 12:45, but you should definitely plan to spend the day to catch the other music, dancing, ag exhibits, etc.
The tentative booking we had for 10/7 in Plymouth VT has fallen through, so if you were planning on driving in from California for that one, we'd advise otherwise.
We have added one more public appearance, which will be at "The Big E," otherwise known as the Eastern States Exposition, in Springfield, Mass, on Sunday Sept. 30. This is a HUGE fair. We'll be out behind the Vermont building that afternoon.
That's the news from Plowboy central. If you haven't yet read Willy's Times-Argus story on our Russia trip, check it out on our web site: www.sover.net/~daxtell/banjodan/ And remember, there are less than 90 days 'til Christmas! Banjo Dan CDs and tapes are the ideal gift for everyone on your long list. Contact Dan at banjodan@pshift.com for details. Hope to see you before the year is out. -Banjo Dan
Newsletter Update, June 24, 2001
Hi folks. It's two days past the solstice, and the days are getting shorter every day. But summer's coming on strong, and Banjo Dan and all his fun-loving Mid-nite Plowboys are looking forward to a great season of music-making. Since our last electronic message we've added some new gigs we'd like you to know about. Also, details on a few shows previously mentioned have been changed. So check out the list below and come see us soon.
And by the way, be sure to visit the Banjo Dan web site, where our friend and site manager Dan Axtell has posted Willy's recent Times Argus/Rutland Herald feature about our Russian tour. We think you'll enjoy the article. We're still high on the trip, and it's not just the vodka.
Banjo Dan and the Mid-nite Plowboys: Public Concerts, 2001 (updated)
July 13 Woodstock VT, Vail Field, behind Woodstock Inn (Pentangle Arts) -- 8 PM
July 14 Wilmington, VT -- Memorial
Hall -- 8 PM
July 15 Stratton Mountain, VT -- 2-5 PM
July 19 Westport, NY -- Gazebo -- 7 PM
July 27 Harrison, ME -- Deertrees
Theatre -- 8 PM
July 28 Meredith, NH -- Gazebo -- 6:30 PM
August 6 Holderness, NH -- Gazebo -- 7 PM
August 12 South Burlington, VT -- Vt. National Country Club, 4-7 PM (VSO
benefit)
August 25 Burke Mountain Ski Resort, VT --
Catamount Arts' Bluegrass on the Mountain
August 25 Derby Line, VT -- Haskell
Opera House -- 7:30 PM
Sept 1 Wolfeboro, NH -- Bandstand
-- 7 PM
** Sept 2 Montpelier, VT -- Unitarian Church ** with Karelian band Myllarit
--4:00 PM**
September 8 Plainfield, VT -- East Hill Farm -- 4H Bluegrass Festival
September 9 Winooski, VT -- Higher Ground Nightclub in the Champlain Mill --
7:00 PM, Clear Path benefit with other Vermont groups and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band founders
[added]
September 15 Shelburne, VT -- Shelburne
Farms Harvest Festival --12:45 PM
September 30 Springfield, MA -- Vermont Building at the "Big
E", Eastern States Exposition [added]
December 31 St. Johnsbury, VT -- First Night Celebration, 5:30 - 7:10 p.m.
[added]
We'd also like to invite you to come hear the New Bremen Town Musicians on Sunday, July 29 in Waterbury, VT. The Bremens (with Dan and Willy from the Plowboys) will be performing for the Waterbury Congregational Church's 200th anniversary at Rusty Parker Memorial Park in the early afternoon.
As usual, a few other shows are pending, and we'll update you as more info becomes available. Have a great summer, and take in a bluegrass show or two. Live entertainment is the best entertainment. We'll see you soon....
Banjo Dan
June 2001 update
Be sure to see the June 3, 2001 article by Willy in the Rutland Herald and Times Argus. It a great description of the Plowboy's adventures in Russia and it's the cover story for the Sunday Magazine.
Greetings from Banjo Dan and all his fun-loving Mid-nite Plowboys. For many of you, this will be the first Banjo Dan newsletter you've received this year, even though we put out our usual Spring Newsletter back around mid-May. It's all because of cyberglitches that resulted in my losing most of my email address book. A couple hundred poor bluegrass fans will think we donıt love them anymore, but fortunately a few names have re-emerged, and we do have several new subscribers. More to the point, we have some corrections to the gig list.
Before I get to the concert info, let me invite any of you who did not receive the original 2001 Newsletter to let me know (by email) if youıd like a copy. I wonıt re-send the concert listings, but you might enjoy the little summary of our recent two-week tour of Russia. And by the way, Willy's account of the tour appeared as the lead story in the Vermont Sunday Magazine for the Times Argus and Rutland Herald on June 3. It's a wonderful article, and includes some fine photos. If you get right on the case you might still find a copy on a newsstand or in a nearby dumpster.
OK, gigs. Please note that the July 4 (Essex Jct) and the July 21 (Greensboro) engagements listed in the last newsletter are in fact not public concerts. My apologies. We do play wedding receptions, parties and the like, and I mistakenly included those two private affairs along with concert appearances. If you show up, I'm in trouble. I'm sorry for misleading you, and I'll probably never do it again.
On the other hand, I DO want to invite one and all to a concert by the New Bremen Town Musicians, on the beautiful lawn at the Barrows House in Dorset Vermont, this Sunday, June 10, at 4 PM. The Bremens include Dan and Willy from the Plowboys, Matt McGibney on bass, and the great trio of Nancy Mosher, Deanna Booth Kravitz and Jaye Lindner.
A few others are in the works, and weıll keep you posted. Meanwhile, Iıll close with the usual pitch for our recordings. You can still get our newest (2000) release, Some Rust, Runs Good, and our second Vermont album, The Catamount is Back!, on either CD ($16) or cassette ($11) . Just send a check to Vermont Songbag at the address above, and you will be fulfilled by return mail.
Thanks for your support, and we look forward to seeing you at a show this summer.
Banjo Dan
May 2001 email newsletter
Zdrazdvuitia.
No, that's not Willy's favorite nonsense word; it's my attempt to write the Russian word for "hello" in an alphabet you're likely to understand. In case you missed the big news, Banjo Dan and the Mid-nite Plowboys have just returned from a two-week tour of Russia. For a couple of us it was a wonderful opportunity to revisit old places and reconnect with old friends; for the rest it was a great chance to travel to a remarkable part of the world. For all of us it was an unforgettable musical and cultural experience.
Around the time you receive this message mandolinist Willy Lindner, a professional writer, will have submitted a feature article and photos to the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus. It should be coming out soon, so if you're local be sure to pick it up. Meanwhile I'll give you a quick summary.
Last fall our friend Sherry Merrick contacted us on behalf of the Karelian folk ensemble Myllarit, extending their invitation for us to participate in the second annual Folk Marathon in Petrozavodsk, Russia, near the Finnish border. This week-long international festival features groups from diverse cultures around the world. Of course, given the state of the Russian economy, there was no money to cover travel and expenses. However, the ever-optimistic Sherry was sure she could raise the money and by golly she did it! Through a combination of grants and corporate sponsorships she put together a package that covered all our expenses and even included some seed money for a reciprocal American tour by Myllarit. (Be sure to note the 9/2 Montpelier concert listing below -- the joint Myllarit-Plowboy concert figures to be the highlight of our season.) On April 12 we flew to Helsinki for a kick-off concert with two fine Finnish bluegrass bands. After just one day in Finland we headed off to the ice and snow of Russia. Our week at the festival in Petro was terrific, including not only stage shows but special performances for school groups, at orphanages, and other special settings. Of course every night we had to party down with great musicians at Myllaritıs social hall. Reluctantly leaving our Karelian hosts and friends in Petro we moved on -- always ridin' that midnight train -- to St. Petersburg (Leningrad last time we were there) and Moscow. Venues included the consulate-general's palatial home in St. Pete and the American Embassy in Moscow, along with a couple of Moscow nightclubs. For those of you who remember when we hosted the Russian bluegrass band Kukuruza, I'm happy to report that I got to see a couple of my old Kuk pals, Georgi Palmov and Andrei Shepelev, who are alive and well and picking and singing in Moscow.
We've now been home long enough to get our brains back on Eastern Daylight time. We've even played a few stateside gigs. But those Russian memories will linger a long, long time. Our great-biggest thanks to Myllarit for inviting us, to Sherry for her fundraising heroics, and to Charlie the Hoss Hosford of Project Harmony, whose organization pulled many of the details together and who was even brash enough to join us on this unforgettable tour.
Jon, Willy, Big Al and Banjo Dan are also grateful to Gene White Jr., fiddler par excellence, who joined us for our Russian tour. We're proud to say Gene, who became an expert at talking his way past customs officials suspicious of his pedigreed "skreepka" (violin) will be joining the Plowboys for many of the upcoming season's concerts. Meanwhile our old pal David Gusakov (who somehow managed to sneak off and play Prairie Home Companion with Patti Casey whilst the rest of us were slogging through the tundra) will also return to play several Plowboy dates this year.
And now a note from cyberspace. Yours truly, Banjo Dan, a confirmed moron in all things electronic, is obliged to fess up. In the course of upgrading my Jurassic computer I managed to lose almost the entire Newsletter mailing list of 300-plus email addresses. If you are reading this you are one of the select few who, because of righteous living, was not deleted. Go figure. Anyhow, if you know of other subscribers who wonder why we don't love them any more, please encourage them to contact me at my new email address, above. And please send me a heads-up if you change your e-address. We do want to stay in touch, and we do want to see you at our shows. Our electronic subscribers get not only the annual spring Newsletter, but periodic updates with additional listings and late-breaking news.
By the way, if youıve been feeling blue recently and haven't figured out the cause, it could be there's a hole in your collection of Banjo Dan recordings. Our 2000 release, "Some Rust, Runs Good," is still available, as is Banjo Dan's Songs of Vermont, Volume II, "The Catamount is Back!" Our other titles are out of print at this time, but CDs and cassettes of those two may be ordered by sending $16 per CD and $11 per cassette to Vermont Songbag at the address above. Don't hold back -- live your life to fullest and support the Plowboys while you're at it. We'll be glad you did.
That's all for now folks. Hope to see you soon. --Banjo Dan