Community Concert Hall welcomes the return of Sam Bush, Sept. 18
“One of Austin’s most interesting new bands” The Trishas opens the show
DURANGO, Colo. – The Sam Bush Band returns to Durango and the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2011, for a 7:30 p.m. show, with special guest, Austin-based band The Trishas.
A perennial Durango favorite, Sam Bush is revered for extending the musical capabilities of the mandolin and fiddle, creating a seamless blend of bluegrass, rock, jazz, and reggae. Alternately known as the King of Telluride and the King of Newgrass, Bush has been regularly honored by the International Bluegrass Music Association and was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Americana Music Association. He pioneered and guided the evolution of modern hill country music while independently continuing to explore an eclectic musical spectrum.
Recently Jon Weisberger of Nashville Scene wrote, “Bush has not only survived, but actually transcended a couple of generations’ worth of bluegrass/newgrass controversy to become a supremely relaxed and confident performer who can jam out on slide mandolin at one moment and belt out a Country Gentlemen classic the next, backed by a band every bit as adventurous and capable as he is. At this point, he’s legitimately called an icon…”
Bush was exposed to country music and bluegrass at an early age through his father’s record collection and, later, by Flatt & Scruggs’ television show. After receiving his first mandolin at the age of 11, his musical interest was further piqued when he attended the Roanoke Bluegrass Festival in 1965. A child prodigy on the fiddle, he placed first at the national fiddle contest in Weister, Idaho, three times in a row. Together with childhood friends Wayne Stewart and Alan Munde, later of Country Gazette, Bush formed a band and recorded his first album, Poor Richard’s Almanac, in 1969. The same year, he made his debut appearance at the Grand Ole Opry.
Besides helming the ever-popular Sam Bush Band, the mandolin prodigy from Kentucky has been a prodigious influence on musicians young and old. Bands including Nickel Creek, Yonder Mountain String Band and String Cheese Incident, and more, maintain their indebtedness to Bush’s example, not only in his wide-ranging choice of material and rock-based acoustic grooves, but through his captivating, high-energy live shows, which have made him an “in-demand” headliner, and fan favorite at important festivals like Telluride Bluegrass and MerleFest.
On the eve of the 2011 Telluride Bluegrass Festival, PopMatters.com wrote, “The King of Telluride. Slammin’ Sammy. The Bush Whacker. Sam the Man. The Mandolin Reign. Burnin’ Bush. The Lean Machine from Bowling Green. The dude goes by many names, which only points to the weight of expectations that must fall on Sam Bush each year as everybody – and I mean nobody misses Bush’s show – counts on him to bring the hurricane-riffing newgrass incineration that has made him the chief god in the Telluride pantheon.”
In late August 2011, the Music on the Mountaintop Festival in Boone, N.C. presented Bush with a Living Legend Lifetime Achievement Award in the form of a 1960 Harmony Mandolin. He will host the 22nd Annual International Bluegrass Music Association Awards on Sept. 29, 2011, at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.
View a sampling of Bush’s mastery with the Sam Bush Band at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pFmYwl7cRM.
The Trishas, called one of Austin’s most interesting new bands, is comprised of four women – all of whom sing but none of whom is named Trisha (although the fiddle player Trisha Keefer could be considered the fifth member of the group). Often compared to the Dixie Chicks, The Trishas have something the Chicks do not – a unique, four-part vocal harmony.
Jamie Wilson, Kelley Mickwee, Liz Foster and Savannah Welch first came together for a one-time performance at the 2009 MusicFest in Steamboat Springs, Colo., as part of a tribute to Welch’s father, famed songwriter Kevin Welch. Midway through their first practice, it became clear to all in the room that they were on to something good.
View a video performance of The Trishas at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF_3UQH1tEk.
Tickets for the Sam Bush Band, with special guest The Trishas, ($25/$40) are available on-line at www.durangoconcerts.com or by calling 970.247.7657, or at the Ticket Office in Downtown Durango at 7th St. and Main Ave. All sales final.
Showtime is 7:30 p.m., with doors to the Concert Hall and concessions, serving beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages and snacks, opening at 6:30 p.m.
The Community Concert Hall is a not-for-profit, multi-use performance venue located on the campus of Fort Lewis College. Its ability to bring a diverse spectrum of shows to Southwest Colorado is made possible through a partnership with the college, a state-supported, independent institution of higher education, and through financial and in-kind contributions from generous members of the community.
