Bluegrass Legend Ralph Stanley Plans Farewell Tour This Fall

 Dr. Ralph Stanley  will hold what he is calling his farewell tour this fall, dubbed The Man of Constant Sorrow Tour.

Stanley, 86, will be backed by his band, the Clinch Mountain Boys. The tour runs from Oct. 16 to December, and he says he will do 80 shows, although just these have been announced so far:

October 18 Rocky Mount, NC—The Dunn Center 
October 19 Morehead, NC—Morehead Center 
October 20 Alexandria, VA—The Birchmere 
October 21 Carrborro, NC—The Arts Center

For all things Dr. Stanley check out this nifty fan site

And here's an interesting 8-minute mini-documentary about Stanley's long life:

Bluegrass Legend Ralph Stanley Plans FInal Tour This Fall

 Dr. Ralph Stanley  will hold what he is calling his farewell tour this fall, dubbed The Man of Constant Sorrow Tour.

Stanley, 86, will be backed by his band, the Clinch Mountain Boys. The tour runs from Oct. 16 to December, and he says he will do 80 shows, although just these have been announced so far:

October 18 Rocky Mount, NC—The Dunn Center 
October 19 Morehead, NC—Morehead Center 
October 20 Alexandria, VA—The Birchmere 
October 21 Carrborro, NC—The Arts Center

For all things Dr. Stanley check out this nifty fan site

And here's an interesting 8-minute mini-documentary about Stanley's long life:

Groove Inside or Out This Weekend at Suwannee's Disc Jam and Monticello's Organic Americana

Tampa's Cope headlines the Suwannee Disc Jam Saturday night

You can get out by the river and springs this weekend --and play disc golf -- at the Suwannee Disc Jam at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Fla. And in the beautiful town of  Monticello, there's a cool, daytime  indoor event at the historic Monticello Opera House called Organic Americana with fine music and organic food.

The Disc Jam has a disc golf tourney in the day and music by night on Friday and Saturday. Dangermuffin headlines Friday night and talented Tampa jammers Cope headline Saturday night. festgrrl also recommends  in-the-pocket New Orleans' funksters Boukou Groove, playing Friday at 7:30 p.m.

The disc jam is a bargain with tickets at just $35 for the weekend -- and that includes eight bands and primitive camping. Its $40 if you want to enter the tourney. Here's the music schedule:

Friday Night

Dangermuffin - 11:00-1:00

The Whiskey Gentry - 9:15-10:30

Boukou Groove - 7:30-8:45

Saturday Night

Cope - 11:00-1:30

Captain Green - 9:15-10:30

New Earth Army - 7:30-8:45

Sweet Knievel - 5:45-7:00

Motha Shmuckas Budda Crackas - 4:00-5:15

The Organic Americana event happens Saturday at the picturesque Monticello Opera House in Monticello, on Highway 90 about 25 miles east of Tallahassee. Doors open at noon, and music happens from 2-5:30 pm, with The New 76ers, The Sarah Mac Band, and Craig Daniel Hardin and the Porch Lizards. The excellent locavore treasure Tupelo's Bakery restaurant will have goodies, including summer salads, gazpacho, and sandwiches. Local artists and organic purveyors will will display their wares.

Craig Daniel Hardin and the Porch Lizards play at 2  pm, The New 76ers at 3 pm, and the Sarah Mac Band at 4:30 pm. The bands will sign CDs and do a meet-and-greet at 5:30 p.m. There's a cash bar and admission is $15. 

Mando Phenom Chris Thile in Gainesville - Get Your Tickets Now!

Mandolin master Chris Thile (winner of a MacArthur Genius Grant) is coming to Gainesville Nov. 1 to do a solo performance, and tickets go on sale Monday June 24.

Thile is known for his work with the Punch Brothers, Nickel Creek, and the Goat Rodeo Sessions (with Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer -- they won the 2013 Best Folk Album Grammy -- even thought it isn't really a folk album.)

Thile will play the University of Florida's University Auditorium. 

Tickets go on sale here on Monday, June 24.

Thile is absolutely amazing to see live, and this should be a good one -- he'll be fresh off the release of a new CD of his Bach performances, which comes out August 6. Of that project, he says:


“This record to me is not about this iconic violin music played on the mandolin—like, ‘Oh boy, what fun, he’s playing a weird instrument!’ It's about Bach being one of the greatest musicians of all time, the solo violin music being some of his best work, and the mandolin having the potential to cast it in a new and hopefully interesting light."

Check out Thile shredding some Bach here: (You're welcome)

Now These Are Some Badass Festgrrls Here

String Cheese Incident To Play This Halloween at Spirit of the Suwannee!

In a brand-spanking new addition to the fall festival lineup, Colorado jazz/bluegrass jammers The String Cheese Incident will play 3 nights over Halloween weekend at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Fla.,, joined by Sound Tribe Sector Nine and Big Gigantic, with more band announcements on the way.

Early Bird tickets go on sale this Friday, June 21st at 12pm Eastern Time.

festgrrl is continually amazed by the unlikely fact that she moved to the middle of nowhere and by some sweet providence, people keep coming from all around the world to play music right here in the middle of nowhere. And now it is happening again on Halloween!

SCI last played Suwannee in 2003, so their appearance is a real treat.

No word yet on ticket prices, but I'll keep you posted. 

Bonnaroooooooooooo!

All eyes are on Bonnaroo this weekend, when the masses hit the Tennessee countryside for one of the biggest and best music festivals in the southeast. Paul McCartney, Mumford & Sons,Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers,Björk,Wilco,Pretty Lights,R. Kelly,Wu-Tang Clan and all these amazing performers will be bringing it to the mammoth crowd of fans.


If you can't make it, you can do Bonnaroo couch tour by watching the streaming shows here. The camera work for the Bonnaroo webcasts in the past has been exceptional, so hook up your speakers, grab a beer and check it out if you can.

And to get you in the mood, here's a video by Reggie Watts who is riding around Bonnaroo in a golf cart collecting quirky cool tripper girls!