Now that the Super Early Bird tickets for Wintergrass 2009, tickets are now available until October 31st at Early Bird ticket prices,here is the link to order your tickets http://www.ticketinspector.com/wintergrass/2009/ticket-order.asp
Check out the new photo gallery from Wintergrass 2008. This is a great slide show from Maria Camillo.This slide show provides a sample of artists,vendors,jamming,academy,kids and vendors. A great variety showing some of the highlights of the festival.And after you are done checking out her Wintergrass pictures take a look at some of her other galleries on her site. Click here for the slide show.
Wintergrass has posted a link to a survey that would help the staff in planning Wintergrass 2009 and beyond! The survey is anonymous and has a section for band suggestions. Thanks for your input!! Just click on the survey link on the website. http://www.wintergrass.com
The Hotel Murano, La Quinta and Marriott have a few rooms still available. Give them a call for specific room types and rates.
The Hotel Murano
Phone: 253-238-8000
Address: 1320 Broadway Plaza,
Tacoma, Washington 98402
The La Quinta Inn & Suites
253-272-9457 1425 E 27th St
Tacoma, WA 98421
Marriott Courtyard 253- 591-9100
1515 Commerce Street
Tacoma, Washington, 98402
This is a great site for people looking for festivals and band information of all kinds. The site is set up so you can look at several sub blogs for different genres of music or the main blog. The main blog is http://www.festivalpreview.com/ and the Roots blog is http://www.festivalpreview.com/roots.html This site has lots of current info on bands playing Wintergrass this year and bands that have played here in the past. This is an essential site for those who travel to music festivals around the country.
Two of the best instrumentalists in bluegrass will be back at Wintergrass 2008. Mark & Emory’s latest album Acoustic Rising on the Mountain Home label was nominated for the IBMA Instrumental Album of the Year. Mark plays a unique blend of clawhammer banjo in a bluegrass style and Emory plays the mandolin based in bluegrass with new age and jazz influences. Working has a duo has given these two plenty of room for unique arrangements to compliment their unique styles.
Mark Johnson-banjo, Emory Lester-mandolin and guitar
Loose Digits are a Seattle area band that has been playing together since the spring of 2006. This is how the band describes their music:
While resting on the laurels of driving bluegrass, the emotions of celtic, latin, and jazz find their way in. The result, however, is nothing generic or of the fusion persuasion, but an honest ensemble of great arrangement(s) and atmosphere. Band members are Eli West — Guitar, Vocals,Matt Herron — Fiddle, Mike Canney — Mandolin, Vocals, Jim Marsh — Bass,
Greg Maass — Dobro
Check out their myspace page for some audio and video clips.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=112130003
True North is going to be at Wintergrass 2008. A great band from the Salem, OR area. The band has released two cd’s “Pluck” and “Cobalt Miles of Sky”. Both cds feature mostly original songs. Check out some clips of this band at their website. Last year True North played at Wintergrass as part of the Sunday Gospel show. Last year they also played in Holland at the 2007 European World Bluegrass Festival
Kristen Grainger, lead vocals
Dan Wetzel, mandolin, guitar, vocals
Dale Adkins, guitar, banjo vocals
Suzanne Pearce, upright bass, vocals
Here are some reviews of the bands latest CD “Pluck”
“They [True North] are the perfect modern bluegrass band… Focusing around the terrific lead vocals of Kristen Grainger, the band shows what can happen when great songs meet great singers… This is a band making wonderful musical choices. They are going deeper than mere instrumental wind sprints and reworked standards… This is a CD you’ll want to listen to again and again. Highly recommended.”— Kate McKenzie (Red House Records artist, perhaps best known for her appearances on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion radio program.)
“Kristen [Grainger]’s vocalizing exhibits the intensity of a singer with breathtaking ability comparable to Laurie Lewis… The band is emerging in the Northwest as one of the most endearing and passionate contributors to the Northwest’s acoustic folk repertoire. Their craftsmanship and focus squarely put the emphasis on original material, deliberative arrangements, graceful guitar, and gorgeous vocals.”— Joe Ross staff writer, Bluegrass Now
“The band sounds quite good, and [Kristen Grainger’s] singing is lovely.”— Laurie Lewis Grammy award-winning artist, Rounder Records
There are a variety of ticket packages available for Wintergrass at this website.
This blog will try to inform you as much as possible about the Wintergrass Festival in Tacoma, WA and things related to it the festival!
