Rob Bishline, founder of Bishline Banjos in Oklahoma, produces some of the finest hand-crafted banjos made today. His line of beautiful instruments sound as good as they look, and come in at a price range that makes them attainable for even the average banjo enthusiast.

Rob Bishline brought his latest creation to the Colorado 2012 Mid-Winter Bluegrass Festival and demonstrated the Madera. A cross between a small guitar and a banjo, the instrument maintains the banjo feel with a much softer tone that would come from an acoustic guitar. Although the banjo twang is gone, there is still a sense of the bluegrass banjo sound.

Rob talked about the Madera at the festival. “They put banjo necks on everything, including wash tubs. This is just a banjo neck on a guitar.”

But the description simply doesn’t convey the wonderful sound that this banjo-hybrid provides. For any banjo player that has wanted to play a softer, smoother sound in a song, without the hard edge of the banjo, this is the instrument to do it with. Keeping the same banjo neck maintains the chords and fingering, including the shorter 5^th string, while giving the musician a whole new sound.

See and hear the Madera  for yourself at the Bishline website where Rob performs a couple of songs. Additional information and purchases can be made through the web site www.bishlineBanjos.com.

Jeff Scroggins and his newly formed band, Colorado, performed at the Altona Grange in Longmont, Colorado this past weekend. Scroggins, who left the Blue Canyon Boys in 2011, has pulled together a mix of Colorado bluegrass stars that pack talent and energy.

Greg Blake, front man of Mountain Holler brings his great guitar work and booming vocal talents to the group. Well known in the Colorado bluegrass circles, Greg is splitting time between the two groups. When asked about Mountain Holler, Greg says the band is still together and has upcoming performance dates.

Annie Savage, coming from Acoustic Mining Company, plays a mean fiddle and adds another strong vocal to the band. Her Linda Ronstadt inspired rendition of Different Drummer, originally written by Monkees guitarist Michael  Mesmith  lent itself very naturally to bluegrass in this arrangement. The melodic banjo work on this song is clearly Scroggins signature sound and makes this a tune you want to hear over and over. The good news is this track is on their brand new CD along with a mix of classic and original bluegrass tunes.

Video courtesy of Blue Promotions

Sebie Denson from Acme Bluegrass, who just appeared at the Colorado Mid-Winter Bluegrass Festival, stepped back from his typical lead role and cranked out a great bass performance and vocal backup. Sebie’s high energy performance on stage is always fun to watch, and with Colorado, there was no doubt he was enjoying being part of a great show.

A true highlight for Jeff Scroggins was his son Tristan with the group on Mandolin. The younger Scroggins is already a master of the mandolin at 17. Reminiscent of Sierra Hull, Tristan has proven his skill by winning awards in New Mexico and Arizona. A prolific song writer, you will certainly see more from Tristan in the future both on stage and through his tunes picked up by other bands.

Among a great list of performers at the 2012 Mid-Winter Bluegrass Festival in Denver, Colorado this year, local band Out of Nowhere had the opportunity to play to a solid bluegrass audience. The quartet, comprised of Tony Peduto, Corinne Nelson, John Lauk and Rob Tobiasen, put on a performance worthy of the prestigious festival.

Out of Nowhere has been working on their first CD and released a demo version at the festival. This six-track disc includes Bill Monroe’s catchy tune “Down The Road” and the classic bluegrass standard “Little Maggie”. Although the vocals could be stronger in some songs, which may be a simple mixing fix at the studio, the musical talent is clear and the demo CD is not far from a standard release.

The 2012 Colorado Mid-Winter Bluegrass Festival had another top-notch year giving bluegrass fans three days of music, jams and education.

Headliner Sierra Hull and Highway 111 packed the house with more than 1,000 people during both Saturday sets. Sierra, a veteran performer at 20 years old, with her equally as youthful backup band gave sparkling performances. Perhaps the highlight of the bands performances was bringing up 11 year old Bella Betts to play mandolin on Cherokee Shuffle. Like Sierra playing with Allison Kraus at the Grand Ole Opry at 11 years old, Bella had the opportunity to play with her idol andf received a standing ovation for a great performance.

Acme Bluegrass, a Colorado based band, continues to improve their on-stage performance. Well qualified to perform with the national artists who made the pilgrimage to Colorado, Acme was solid on both the main and acoustic stages.

April Verch brought more than great bluegrass to Colorado. This Canadian fiddle player combines a unique step-dancing talent with her awesome musical skills. Watching her dance and play fiddle at the same time was an amazing sight, and a performance not to miss in her next Colorado stops in 2012. April also gave a step dance workshop Saturday morning to a packed room of eager admirers.

The first performance in the Altona Grange 2011 Grass at the Grange Concert Series highlighted Loose Cannon Bluegrass and Grand Junction based Stray Grass.

Emceed by Dave Patton of Steel Pennies, both bands put on solid performances in the intimate setting of the century old Altona Grange Hall.

With a mix of traditional bluegrass and original numbers, Loose Cannon started the evening with a lively performance featuring plenty of good banjo and mandolin picking. Colorado Bluegrass Music Society (CBMS) Gary Barker rounded out the bluegrass sound on the dobro. Perhaps the highlight of the set was Lisa Astrella's strong, smooth vocals.

The four member Stray Grass group included the new addition of Denver based Rise Pacacha on the fiddle. With a very contemporary sound, and even the inclusion of a Bob Dylan tune, Don't Think Twice It's All Right, the group put on a great performance and offered an encore song at the end of their set. The addition of Pacacha's fiddle rounded out the guitar/ mandolin/ bass trio who had excellent harmony and gave an entertaining performance. 

The Altona Grange venue provides a comfortable, intimate setting to get up close to the performing musicians. Just outside of Boulder, Colorado, watch for the next concert series event on October 22.