Saturday, January 30, 2010

YeeHaw Junction 2010 - Friday

Friday at YeeHaw Junction was warm and very pleasant.  What appeared to be a good day crowd appeared and camping rigs continued to arrive. The festive environment and good music continued throughout the day.  The slight overcast held the warmth a little later into the evening.  It's always a good thing at YeeHaw Junction when the evening temps keep from falling into the downright chilly zone.  New, and in one case, unfamiliar bands arrived and others performed for a second day.  Today's post will focus more on photos than commentary with bands covered yesterday, while I'll have some thoughts on the three new bands appearing.

Highway 41 Rehearsing in the Field
 

On Vendor's Row

The Larry Gillis Band
Larry
 

Rafe Waters

Alex Leach

David Doss
 

Rehearsal in the Wilson's Bus 
 

The Wilson Family
Katie
Clint
 

Robert and Melissa
 
Nothin' Fancy
 

Nothin' Fancy been in existance for nearly sixteen years with personnel changes only at bass.  Such longevity signals not only a level of quality achieved by few bands, but a group of musicians who enjoy working together and growing as a band.  Under the leadership of Mike Andes, who writes much of their original material, the band is one of the most entertaining and amusing groups on the circuit, reprising favorite bits while continuing to seek to tweak older ones to keep them fresh and enjoyable.  Their Country Gentlemen covers, relying on Andes' mellow baritone voice, are excellent.  Their extended comic bits, with Mitch Davis on banjo always playing the injured victim and Chris Sexton using his classically trained fiddle to provide musical jokes throughout the performance, are favorites of the audience.  Bassist Tony Shorter and tenor Gary Faris add to the fun and the high quality.
Mike Andes
 Gary Faris
 

Chris Sexton

Mitch Davis
 

Mike Andes and Tony Shorter

Gary Faris, Mike Andes, and Mitch Davis

 

Steve Dittman Bids Farewell and Thanks His Audience

The Bluegrass Brothers


The Bluegrass Brothers originated as a jam band at festivals in Virginia and have worked hard to become a hard working, blue collar, rough-edged, and enjoyable band playing covers of bluegrass standards and more recent material.  They are always high energy, and their picking and singing have consistently improved over the past couple of years.  They are a crowd pleasing favorite at many festivals. Their version of  "Grandfather's Clock" in which three members of the band take turns on the bass always works well.

Victor and Steve Dowdy
 

Donnie Dowdy

Victor, Donnie, and Steve
 

Robert Dowdy and Billy Hurt, Jr. 

 Men of the Week
 

C.J. Lewandowski and Men of the Week is a SPBGMA midwest regional award winning traditional band from Missouri looking remarkably like Carl Shifflet's Texas-based group. Emcee and lead singer C.J. Lewandowski plays guitar and balances on one foot like Shifflet, but without the moon-faced charm.  Gerald Jones was a standout on fiddle.  At least some of the audience responded by coming to the front to dance.  

Gerald Jones

C.J. Lewandowski
Tomorrow's News
 

Kalyn Hall 

Bryce Hall
Keith Bass
Victor Hall

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