2022 Bluegrass Island Music Festival program

Welcome to Bluegrass Island

We are excited you are joining us for the 11th annual Out er Banks Bluegrass Island Festival. You are now a part of one of the premier bluegrass festivals in the country. We welcome back all of you who have joined us in the past, and if this is your first time with us, you are in for a wonderful weekend.

The festivities begin Wednesday, Oct 19th with host band, Sideline, at the Lost Colony Tavern in downtown Manteo. Seating will be limited at the restaurant. Overflow seating will be available at the park across the street and the surrounding area. Please bring chairs with you.

Thursday starts with a 2 hour tick eted cruise on the Crystal Dawn and meet & greet with your host band, Sideline. An open bar will be provided as well as a lunch buffet. Must be 21 to

board. You will depart from the Man teo Waterfront docks next to Marshes Lighthouse at 12:30pm on Thursday, Oct 20th and return at 2:30pm.

The fun continues at the FREE Shin dig at the Bluegrass Island Trading Co. at 107 Budleigh St. where Schimich, Howell & Caswell will take the stage at 5:00pm followed by Town Mountain at 6:45pm, Boograss at 8:15pm and Sideline rounding out the evening at 9:15pm. VIPs will be served a delicious shrimp dinner and all festival attend ees can check in at the store to get their wristbands and lanyards allowing en trance to Festival Park. Visit our store where you can purchase your favorite bluegrass merchandise and music!

On Friday, Oct 21st, we will move just over the bridge to Festival Park. The day begins at 12:00pm with The Caleb Daugherty Band playing their

unique brand of music you are sure to love. The day continues with more fa vorites like Unspoken Tradition, Side line, The United States Navy Band Country Current, Rhonda Vincent and the Rage followed by Steep Can yon Rangers. Join us for the late night jam with Sideline behind the Tranquil House Inn and bring your instruments to play along.

Saturday, Oct 22nd starts early with a friendly Cornhole Tournament at 10:30am. You can sign up with Side line at their merchandise tent begin ning on Friday. The day’s music will start at 12:00pm with NCs own Songs From The Road Band followed by Ju nior Sisk Band, The Grascals, Breaking Grass, Sideline and We Banjo 3.

We are excited to have Caroline Ow ens singing the National Anthem and Sherry Boyd as your emcee for the

— SCHEDULE —

Wednesday, October 19 at The Lost Colony Tavern

6:00pm Sideline

Thursday, October 20 at Bluegrass Island Trading Co.

12:30pm

5:00pm

6:45pm

Bluegrass Island Cruise

Schimich, Howell & Caswell

Town Mountain

8:15pm Boograss

9:15pm Sideline

weekend. After each performance, we hope you will go by the band’s mer chandise tent and meet these world class musicians while you pick up your new favorite CD or t-shirt!

While you are here this week, we in vite you to shop with our very talent ed arts and crafts vendors surround ing the entire park. Enjoy all the great food served by some of best restau rants on The Outer Banks and beyond.

Grab your chairs, bring the one you love and get ready to hear some moun tain music by the sea. We would like to thank you for coming and look forward to seeing you on Bluegrass Island.

“Banjo’s echo through the trees, lov ers dancing in the breeze, barefoot walking to the happy sounds on Blue grass Island” – Rhonda Vincent

The Bluegrass Island Family

Friday, October 21 at Roanoke Island Festival Park - Gates open at 11:00 am12:00pm

1:45pm

3:30pm

The Caleb Daugherty Band

Unspoken Tradition

Sideline

5:15pm The United States Navy Band

7:00pm

Rhonda Vincent & The Rage

9:00pm

. . Steep Canyon Rangers 11:00pm

. . . Late Night Jam with Sideline

Saturday, October 22 at Roanoke Island Festival Park Gates open at 11:00 am 10:30am . . . . . Cornhole Tournament 12:00pm . . . . . Songs from the Road Band

1:45pm . . . . . Junior Sisk Band

3:30pm . . . . . The Grascals

5:15pm Breaking Grass 7:00pm . . . . . Sideline 9:00pm . . . . . We Banjo 3

What you need to know for Boograss!

8:15pm Thursday, October 20 at Bluegrass Island Trading Co Costume Contest

1st Place: . . . . . $500 CASH PRIZE plus two 2023 General Passes to the festival

2nd Place: . . . . Two 2023 General Passes to the

festival ($300 Value)

3rd Place: . . . . Two single day tickets to the 2023 festival ($140 Value) Pumpkin Carving Contest

1st Place: . . . . . $100 CASH PRIZE plus two 2023 General Festival Passes ($300 Value)

2nd Place: . . . . Two 2023 General Festival Pass es ($300 Value)

3rd Place: Two single day tickets to the 2023 Festival ($140 Value)

Your pumpkin must be delivered to the Blue grass Island Trading Co . no later than 1:00pm on Thursday, October 20th Judging will take place on Thursday, October 20th following Town Mountain’s performance .  This event is FREE to attend and for anyone to enter . All contestants must arrive at the Bluegrass Island Trading Company no later than 7:30pm to enter the contest

SIDELINE

FESTIVAL HOST BAND

Sideline was formed in 2012 as a “jam band” for a group of friends that played professionally in other bands. They started playing together as a fun alternative when their bands were not performing. In a short time, they discovered their own identi ty and style, and realized their tour schedule was getting full. They decided to take a leap of faith and commit to the group full time. The band was named “Sideline” by found ing member Darrell Webb, due to its origin as a “side band”. Sideline has had different configurations over the years, but the three founding members Steve Dilling, Skip Cher ryholmes, and Jason Moore led the band through it all until Jason’s untimely passing

in November of 2021. Steve and Skip decid ed to continue on with the band in honor of Jason’s commitment to the band and love for the music.

Steve Dilling and Skip Cherryholmes are joined by Jamie Harper, Nick Goad, Andy Buckner, and Kyle Windbeck. Each with a commitment to working as one unit to deliv er high-energy, innovative, hard-driving, va riety-packed entertainment night after night throughout Sideline’s lengthy tour schedule. Always seeking new breakthroughs in music, while holding to the core of their proven suc cess - A love for each other, a love for their ev er-growing loyal fanbase, and a true love and passion for the music they create.

IN MEMORY JASON MOORE

SCHIMICK, HOWELL & CASWELL

Mark Schimick, a fixture in both the bluegrass and jam grass worlds, is the lead and harmony singer and mandolin picker for the stalwart Songs From the Road Band. He had a 14 year stint with Larry Keel as well. He has written and co-written some hit bluegrass songs as of late like “Nowhere to Land” and “Molas ses”. Always ready to entertain, he’ll be

at the festival twice this week with How ell and Caswell and of course SFTRB! He will be joining local favorites Greg How ell (bass) and Aaron Caswell (guitar) who are seen regularly on the Outer Banks. Join us Thursday at the Bluegrass Island Trading Co for their performance and please follow their Facebook page to find their next one.

TOWN MOUNTAIN

Hailing from Asheville, North Carolina, Town Mountain is the sum of all its vast and in tricate influences — this bastion of alt-country rebellion and honky-tonk attitude pushed through the hard scrabble Southern Appalachian lens of its origin.

“For us, it’s all about the interac tion between the audience and the band — doing whatever we can on stage to facilitate that two-way street of energy and emotion,” says man dolinist Phil Barker. “Whether it’s a danceable groove or a particular lyric in a song, we’re projecting what we’re going through in our daily lives, and we feel that other people can attest to that, as well — it’s all about making that connection.”

“This is the sound we’ve been work ing towards since the inception of the band,” says guitarist Robert Greer. “We realized we needed to do what’s best for us. We’re being true to our selves. It isn’t a departure, it’s an evo lution — the gate is wide open right now.”

Formed by Greer and banjoist Jesse Langlais over 15 years ago on a ridge high above the Asheville skyline, the sturdy foundation of Town Mountain came into play with the addition of Barker not long into the band’s ten ure. From there, the group pulled in fiddle virtuoso Bobby Britt and bass ist Zach Smith along with drummer, Miles Miller (of Sturgill Simpson mu sical lore). Though the road has been long, it’s also been bountiful.

the CALEB DAUGHERTY BAND

Bringing together the meaningful lyrics of coun try music with the tra ditional musicianship of blue grass, The Caleb Daugherty Band has emerged as one of the most promising groups on the acoustic festival scene. Blessed with an expressive and resonant baritone, Daugherty was born and raised near Connersville, Indiana, and still calls it home. He grew up playing in his fam ily’s band and cites his father, grandfather, and great-grand father for his love of bluegrass

and country music. Daugherty’s career highlights include per forming at an all-star tribute to Keith Whitley in Nashville and playing guitar with Rhonda Vin cent at the Grand Ole Opry. Ad ditional members of The Caleb Daugherty Band, who also live in Indiana, include Zion Napi er on mandolin, Kyle Clerkin on banjo, Zach Collier on bass, and Kyle Ramey on fiddle. Following a 2019 album, Burnt the Saw mill Down, the band returned in 2020 with the single, “Daylight’s Burning.”

Sherry Boyd

Emcee

Sherry Boyd has worn many hats within broadcasting and the bluegrass communi ty. The one we like most is emcee for the Bluegrass Island Music Festival. Sherry is professional and knowledgeable. She is engaging with the audience and always keeps everyone well informed of band history, pending festivals and everything happening within the event with the food vendors, arts and craft vendors and our generous sponsors. We are thrilled to have Sherry back again this year and glad to have her as part of our festival family.

Caroline Owens

National Anthem

Caroline Owens is an IBMA nom inated Bluegrass and Gospel artist. She has performed alongside many of the music industries most accom plished artists such as: Alison Krauss, Suzanne Cox, The Isaacs, Larry Gat lin, The Malpass Brothers, Darin & Brooke Aldridge and many others. Making great strides in the music business, the future deems itself to be increasingly bright for this rising young star.

The United States Navy Band COUNTRY CURRENT

The United States Navy Band Coun try Current is the Navy's premier country-bluegrass ensemble. The group is nationally renowned for its ver satility and "eye-popping" musicianship, performing a blend of modern country music and cutting-edge bluegrass. This seven-member ensemble employs musi cians from diverse backgrounds with ex tensive high-profile recording and tour ing experience in the music scenes of Nashville, New York, New Orleans and more. In the tradition of country music, each member is a skilled performer on multiple instruments.

Formed in 1973 , the band has per formed at the Grand Ole Opry, for Presi dents Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump, and over seas in Stockholm, Nova Scotia and Bei jing. With a fun-filled and family-friend ly stage show, Country Current has been delighting its fans for nearly 50 years with their musical virtuosity and humor. A staple of the bluegrass scene, Coun try Current has shared the stage with music luminaries Rhonda Vincent, Dai ley and Vincent, Mountain Heart, Little Roy Lewis, Third Time Out, The Lone some River Band, Josh Williams, The Seldom Scene, J.D. Crowe, Doyle Law son, Ned Luberecki, Chris Jones and many others. Country Current routinely performs at bluegrass festivals such as Darrington, Windgap, Gettysburg, Lake Havasu and Grass Valley. In 2011, Coun try Current became the first military band to perform at the South by South west music festival in Austin, Texas.

Meet the Country Current:

• Guitar/Lead Vocal - MU1 Caleb W. Cox, Madison Heights, Va. and MU1 Sally L. Sandker, Kirksville, Mo.

• Banjo - MU1 Haley E. Stiltner, Bluegrass Music Director Windsor, Va.

• Guitar - MUC Joseph M. Friedman, St. Louis, Mo.

• Electric Bass/String Bass - MU1 Daniel J. Stewart, Lac eyville, Pa.

• Drums - MUC Christina M. Catalanotto, Slidell, La.

• Fiddle/Mandolin/Vocals - MU1 Patrick C. McAvinue, Hereford, Md.

• Pedal Steel Guitar - MU1 Henry A. Johns, Country Music Director, Huntington Beach, Ca.

• Audio Production Engineer - MU1 Brendon P. Lennon, Washington, Mass.

UNSPOKEN TRADITION

Western North Carolina con tinues to be fertile ground for American roots music and one of the best examples of this phenom enon is the group Unspoken Tradition.

Hailing from Asheville and Cher ryville, N.C., Unspoken Tradition focuses on creating new and original 21st centu ry bluegrass music. The group is made up of Audie McGinnis on guitar and vocals, brother Zane McGinnis on banjo and vo cals, Tim Gardner on fiddle and vocals, Lee Shuford on bass and vocals and Ty Gilpin on mandolin and vocals.

Bluegrass music has always had clear and undeniable roots in North Caroli na, especially in the western part of the state. The American roots music that

has bubbled up in the region pre-dates the creation of bluegrass in the 1940s by a century or more. That tradition con tinues today, although the nature of the culture in the foothills and mountains of the Tar Heel State has changed with the times.

Unspoken Tradition feeds off of that dynamic as not everyone who plays a banjo these days lives in a log cabin in the middle of nowhere. Still, those rural roots will always be in the music as the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Great Smoky Mountains, the foothills and Piedmont continue to inform the bluegrass genre in all of its forms.

(Taken from a mountaintimes.com article by Derek Halsey)

RHONDA VINCENT & THE RAGE

Rhonda Vincent is a firecracker of talent that powers one of the hottest bands in any genre of music today. From humble beginnings in the tiny town of Greentop, Missouri, Rhonda’s musi cal heritage traces back 5 generations of the Vincent family. Her dad would pick her up from school each day, and they would sing and play till dinner. After dinner, friends came over, and they would sing and play till bedtime. She be gan her professional music career singing in her fami ly’s band The Sally Moun tain Show. It was an imme diate “on the job training,” as they had a TV show, ra dio show, and made their first recording when Rhon da was 5 years old. She picked up the mandolin at eight, the fiddle at twelve, and learned a valuable life lesson as a teenager per forming with her family at Silver Dollar City in Bran son, Missouri. While they were playing in the pour ing rain to empty seats, and what they thought, no one listening -- a week

later they received a call from Hal Durham, general manager of the Grand Ole Opry at the time, and who just happened to be listen ing with his family around the corner. Mr. Durham loved what he heard and invited the Vincent family to appear on the Opry.

Rhonda’s life of music evolved into a successful career in bluegrass mu sic; after being discovered by Grand Ole Opry Star “Jim Ed Brown,” and lat er spending what she calls her musical college years recording for Giant Re cords; and learning about the music business from Nashville’s best like James Stroud, Jack McFadden, and Stan Barnett.

It was her pivotal blue grass album “Back Home Again” that transformed Rhonda Vincent into the All American Bluegrass Girl, and crowned the New Queen of Bluegrass by “The Wall Street Journal” in 2000.

A multi-award winner, with a 2017 Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album, an Entertainer of the Year

2001, Song of the Year 2004, and unprecedented 7 consecutive Female Vo calist of the Year awards from the International Bluegrass Music Associ ation 2000 – 2006 and an 8th win of IBMA Fe male Vocalist of the Year in 2015.

Her lifelong dream came true when she was invit ed to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry on Feb ruary 28, 2020. Rhonda waited an unprecedented 345 days and was official ly inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry on February 6, 2021.

Her powerful vocal style transcends the boundar ies of bluegrass music, as evidenced in her collabo ration with Dolly Parton on the Elton John/Ber nie Taupin Tribute Project “Restoration” 2018. This year marks her 11th con secutive performance at the Bluegrass Island Music Festival. She will be joined by Mickey Harris – bass, Hunter Berry – fiddle, Aar on McDaris – banjo, Jeff Partin – dobro and Zack Arnold – guitar.

SAVE THE DATE SMOKIN' GRASS

July 8, 2023

Information available at www.BluegrassIsland.com

STEEP CANYON RANGERS

Steep Canyon Rangers are Asheville, North Caroli na’s GRAMMY winners, perennial Billboard chart-top pers, and frequent collaborators of the renowned banjoist (and occasional comedian) Steve Martin.

The Rangers are made up of Graham Sharp on banjo and vo cals, Mike Guggino on mando lin/mandola and vocals, Nicky Sanders on fiddle and vocals, Mike Ashworth on drums and vocals, and Barrett Smith on bass, guitar, and vocals.

Steep Canyon Rangers have been on a journey that is uniquely their own. The band started in college at UNC-Chap el Hill, then dove head first in to bluegrass in its most tradi tional form, and over the years have risen to the top of the

bluegrass genre headlining top festivals such as Bluegrass Is land Music Festival, Merlefest and Grey Fox Bluegrass. Only to then be discovered by Steve Martin, famous actor and ban jo player. Martin has taken the Rangers on over a decade long tour introducing them to hun dreds of thousands of new fans and giving them prime time TV exposure. This has helped SCR become the most recognizable modern name in bluegrass mu sic. The band has continued to tour extensively on their own, without Martin, and have ex panded their genre into country, jam and Americana. The Rang ers are big players in the blue grass/country and Americana scene today. We are happy to welcome them back for the 3rd performance at the festival.

SONGS FROM THE ROAD BAND

Songs From The Road Band is an Asheville, North Carolina based bluegrass supergroup featur ing Mark Schimick (mandolin), Charles Humphrey III (bass), Sam Wharton (guitar), James Schlender (fiddle), and Gabe Ep stein (banjo). The band takes flight with virtuosic picking, singing, and grammy award winning songwriting. Several of their most recent singles have gone to the top of the Bluegrass Today Grassicana chart. They have 6 studio albums available at all musical outlets.

JUNIOR SISK BAND

Junior Sisk is widely recognized as one of today's top bluegrass vocalists and is a constant reminder that traditional bluegrass is still alive and well. A longtime resident of the Virginia Blue Ridge, his bluegrass pedigree runs deep. Influenced by a fa ther who wrote songs and played guitar and a mother who sang, Sisk first learned to play around age 14.

His early influences in cluded The Stanley Broth ers, Larry Sparks, and Dave Evans, but he often credits the Johnson Moun tain Boys with inspiring

him to pursue bluegrass professionally. Sisk first made his mark in bluegrass as a songwriter in the early 1990s.

As a member of Wy att Rice & Santa Cruz and Blueridge, he helped de fine the sound of driv ing, modern tradition al bluegrass. Sisk found ed Ramblers Choice in 1998, releasing Sounds of the Mountains on Round er Records. After leav ing Blueridge in 2006, he reformed the group and began a successful ca reer with Rebel Records. His 2011 album Heart of

a Song helped bring the band into the spotlight and eventually was named IB MA Album of the Year in 2012. He and his band now record for Mountain Fever Records and are currently promoting their third al bum for the label, LOAD THE WAGON.

The Junior Sisk Band consist of: Junior Sisk - lead vocal & guitar, Jonathon Dillon – mando lin, Heather Berry Mabeguitar & vocals, Tony Mabe - banjo, guitar & vo cals, Douglas Bartlett - fid dle & vocals and Curt Love - bass & vocals.

Gatlinburg, TN

LARRY STEPHENSON BAND

LARRY SPARKS AND LONESOME RAMBLERS

NICK CHANDLER AND DELIVERED

COMPANY

JOE MULLINS AND THE RADIO RAMBLERS

NOTHIN FANCY

WILLIAMSON BRANCH

RALPH STANLEY II & THE CLINCH MOUNTAIN BOYS

DEEPER SHADE OF BLUE

TRACK

THE

SOWELL

EFAW & BLUEGRASS MOUNTAINEERS

THE KING JAMES BOYS

HARBORTOWN Saturday MOUNTAIN HIGHWAY Saturday

PAUL WILLIAMS Special Guest

OSBORNE

LORRAINE JORDAN & CAROLINA ROAD

BILLY AND KIDS

THE GRASCALS

Great musicians will always find a way to make good music, but for great musicians to make great music, they must form a bond – one that, more often than not, goes beyond the purely musical to the personal. For The Grascals, that bond has been forged at the intersection of personal friendships, shared profes sional resumes and an ap preciation for the innovative mingling of bluegrass and country music that has been a hallmark of the Nashville scene for more than forty years.

For The Grascals, the key to enduring success for more than 15 years — success that’s encompassed recognition

with two IBMA Entertain er of the Year awards, ap pearances on prime-time and late-night TV shows and command performanc es for two presidents, not to mention those GRAM MY® nominations. Yet even as they offer a coherent atti tude toward life, the group incorporates a wide range of sounds and styles, balanc ing a powerhouse vocal trio comprised of guitarists Chris Davis and John Bryan along side bassist Terry Smith with virtuosic yet always sup portive picking from mas ter mandolinist Danny Rob erts, fiddler Adam Haynes and five-time IBMA Ban jo Player of the Year Kristin Scott Benson.

BREAKING GRASS

Known for their high energy performances and original material, Breaking Grass de livers heartfelt music with haunting har monies to match. Now in their 14th year to gether, Breaking Grass has had multiple albums reach the Top 10 Billboard Bluegrass Charts, numerous songs in the Top 10 Bluegrass Today Charts (boasting multiple number one’s) and are acclaimed nationally after performing across the globe. With influences ranging from rock, gospel, country, and soul, this group of award-winning musicians brings something for everyone to each live show.

Breaking Grass is Cody Farrar on guitar, Ty ler White on fiddle, Britt Sheffield on bass, Zach Wooten on mandolin, and Jody Elmore on ban jo. If you have never been a fan of bluegrass mu sic, it might be because you haven't heard it quite like this.

WE BANJO 3

Galway-based We Banjo 3 has one foot in Irish music and one foot in Americana music, seamlessly combining the virtuosity and precision in each genre’s traditional disciplines with the artful song-craft and infec tious live performance of today’s musical landscape.

We Banjo 3’s two sets of brothers—En da & Fergal Scahill and David & Martin Howley—share a musical intimacy that emanates in the rolling banjos, soaring fiddle and mandolin runs, and bright and vibrant guitar strums that swirl around propulsive vocals and perfect harmonies.

We Banjo 3 grew out of jam sessions among Enda, David, and Martin. Af ter Enda returned to Galway from a tour playing bluegrass and old-time festivals, he called up David and Martin and asked them to come over to his house to play some music, wanting to share with them

the music he’d learned on his tour. “We started to play, and I thought, ‘this is really fun’,” says Enda. “We didn’t think of form ing a band; it was just a passion project.” In 2009, though, the three started playing small gigs around Ireland, and since they all played banjo they called themselves

We Banjo 3. David added vocals and gui tar, bringing another dimension to their sound. A few years later Fergal joined the group on fiddle, and though the band’s instrumentation and sound were quickly evolving, their moniker stuck with them.

We Banjo 3 combines the jet-fueled tempos and rhythms of jamgrass with the swirling melody lines of traditional Irish music to get their fans up and danc ing and to lift their hearts. As David says, “We love doing this; we’re grateful our fan community loves it, too. We get to pass the energy back and forth throughout our shows.”