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July, 2008 Calendar Saturday July 5, noon to 9pm, join us for our FREE, daylong celebration of traditional American music, dance and crafts at Wingfield Park---An Americana Celebration! This event will feature ten performances by national and regional Americana artists, including bluegrass, Celtic, jazz and lively dancers (click here to see pictures of the performers, and click here for a printable schedule). Bring your low-back lawn chair or blanket and relax for the day. No need to bring a picnic, there will be lots of great food vendors. Stroll through booths along the river featuring local artisans selling their unique, handmade items---pottery, woodworking, candles, wildlife photography, native American baskets and much more. Bring the whole family! There will be no alcohol allowed in the Park, but there will be lots of Goodi's Lemonade, hot dogs, burgers, cotton candy and Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream! If you get thirsty for a pint, just stroll across the footbridge to the Sierra Tap House---there's a great view of the stage from their deck. Please join us for this FREE celebration of our common heritage! Weekend of July 11-13, come on up to Virginia City for the 4th Annual Bluegrass on the Comstock Festival. This festie gets better every year! Incredible lineup featuring TWELVE bands! -- Sawmill Road, Bound To Ride, Alhambra Valley, Rosebud Blue, Dalton Mountain Gang, Wild Horse Drive, Cool River Trio, Carson Ramblers, Back Forty, Keystone, Westwind, Gritchy MaGrally. See pictures of them all here. Miner's Park in Virginia City is simply a perfect place for a bluegrass festival---intimate and cozy, but plenty of room for jamming, dancing and enjoying the cool shade while you listen to the finest bluegrass bands in the West. Don't forget your low-backed lawn chairs or blankets. The Festival grounds will have everything you need---food, beer, music. Or stroll the 2 blocks to the historic district of Virginia City and visit the antique shops, candy stores, restaurants or the Museum of Prostitution (!). Ride the steam locomotive or visit the "Bucket O' Blood" Saloon! Virginia City is WAY cool (literally!---it's 10 degrees cooler than Reno, so come on up and escape the summer heat). Only $30 for the whole weekend ($20 for Sat. only, $15 for Sun. only). Advance discount on weekend passes here. The RV Park is filling-up, so if you're planning on staying for the weekend-long jam/party, get your reservation in soon. Click here to make a campground reservation or call (775) 847-0999. Saturday, July 12, 10 am to 5 pm, Lavender Ridge, 7450 West 4th St All day open bluegrass jam. For those who can’t get to the "Bluegrass on the Comstock" festival, there will be an all day open bluegrass jam at the "Art on the Lawn" art show at Lavender Ridge in Reno, on 4th St. 2 miles west of West McCarran. For more information contact Susan Toncray at fallonmusicjam@dishmail.net. Friday, July 18, 7:00 - 9:00 pm "Slow Jam" at Cindy Gray's house. All pickers welcome! This jam is for folks who have a basic knowledge of bluegrass music, who want to work on "hot licks" or learn new songs. We stick to a moderate tempo, but still try to keep it challenging. Call 775-348-4692 for info or directions. Sat.-Sun., July 19-20th, Cold Springs (home of Don & Connie Timmer), Banjo Mini-Camp with Allen Hendricks! Three 3-hour sessions cover an amazing array of topics. $45 per session or all 3 for $120. Meals, camping and concert included! Contact Don Timmer at 775-972-3897. Check out all the details here. Saturday, July 19, 7pm Brewery Arts Center Grand Ballroom, 449 W King St in Carson City Pioneer Family Dance will be hosting a “ceili”---a traditional celebration that includes songs, music, dance, and storytelling, with both presentations and participation, and several contra dances. The celebration will include a potluck dinner. Contra Dance is easy and fun. If you can walk, then you can contra dance. The caller will teach each dance before you do it, and then call the steps throughout the dance or until everyone "has it." The dances are a simple combination of basic moves, and the music guides you. Experienced dancers are happy to help you learn and welcome you into the dance. Live fiddle music. $8 per person. Hosted by Pioneer Family Dance. More info: nevadamuse@aol.com or call 775-830-7939. NOTE: this event is also a birthday celebration for Pioneer Family Dance founder, Darla Bayer, but all folks with an interest in traditional music and dance are welcome to attend. Thursday, July 24, 9:30-11:30am, McKinley Arts & Culture Center, 925 Riverside Drive (where Keystone meets the river) “Discover The Arts” Free educational program featuring live bluegrass music and demonstrations. Hands-on activities for kids. Call 348-4692 for more info. Weekend of July 25-27, 4th Annual Battle Mountain Bluegrass Festival. Another great regional festival! Reno area bands, “Biggest Little Bluegrass Band”, “Action Sound”, “Westwind” and the “Moonlight Hoodoo Revue” will be performing. The headliner for this festival is local favorite, “Sawmill Road”. Tickets are CHEAP---only $10 per day or $20 for the whole weekend! Festival details here or call 775.635.1112 Friday, July 25, 7-9pm, Comma Coffee House, 312 S Carson St. Carson City (just across from the Legislature). Celtic/American Tune Session. Focus will be on the repertoire of "traditional" Celtic/American fiddle tunes. Open to players of acoustic melody instruments such as fiddle, mandolin, hammer dulcimer, tenor banjo, lead guitar, penny whistle, Irish flute, etc. Please review the session guidelines here More info: cdadbayer@aol.com Saturday, July 26, 7:00pm “Fiddle Tune Jam” at Cindy Gray’s house. If you’re serious about learning fiddle tunes---or if you actually know some of them!----this jam is for you! We play fiddle tunes over and over, giving breaks to those who can handle them. We start slow, but we try to work our way up to “dance tempo”. For a list of tunes that we play (with chords), go to Steve Kaufman's website and scroll down. There are about 50 tunes there, and most of the tunes we play are on this list (but you don’t have to know all 50 to come---start with 1 or 2!!). -------------------------------- If you can't make it to one of our jams, concerts or dances, get your bluegrass fix on the radio! We're very lucky to have 3 great radio shows here in northern Nevada that feature bluegrass music: Jimbo's Juke Joint & Acoustic Roadhouse Café. Sunday afternoons, 3:00-5:00 pm, FM 88.7 KUNR. Jimbo showcases his incredible collection of bluegrass and eclectic acoustic recordings---everything under the bluegrass sun (and then some!). We like to think of it as JimboGrass! AND The Risky Biscuit Hayseed Hoot with Don Darue, Saturday mornings, 8:00-10:00am FM 100.1 KTHX, The X. Dondo plays music that will definitely put the twang back in your thang! AND Into The Blue, nationally syndicated bluegrass radio show hosted by Terry Herd, Saturdays and Sundays at noon on AM 750, KHWG. |