Sertoma Bluegrass Festival 2019 - March 20 - 24 - Preview

Evans Media Source will present its Spring Bluegrass Festival at Sertoma Youth Ranch from March 20th - 24th, 2019. Featuring a strong lineup of sell known national bands including this year's IBMA Entertainer of the Year, Balsam Range, some of Nashville's finest, and lots of great bluegrass music from across the spectrum. Held on the Sertoma Youth Ranch, located at 85 Myers Road, just outside Brooksville, FL, the site is a well-shaded grove of live oak trees equipped with hot showers, a covered performance shed, a first rate snack bar, as well as a range of food and craft vendors. Come early to enjoy the fellowship, jamming, and early activities as well which are always a feature of Ernie and Deb Evans festivals.

The Lineup

Balsam Range

Twice IBMA Entertainer of the Year and Vocal Group of the Year, Balsam Range offers a range of musical treats from haunting ballads to heartfelt gospel to driving rock with joy and conviction. One of the two of three finest bands currently touring, they have forged a huge record of accomplishment in their, for bluegrass, relatively brief twelve your career. Don't miss this exciting band! 

Balsam Range - Hobo Blues

Nothin' Fancy

Nothin' Fancy has grown its music, reduced its once trademark clowning, and broadened its repertoire as it has moved into the top ranks of hard-touring, extremely popular bluegrass bands. While they have foresaken some of the comedy and reduced their reliance on Country Gentlemen covers, they have grown musically at every position, Their recordings have received increasing amounts of serious airplay while they have maintained and grown their core audience. Always fun!

Nothin' Fancy - The Footsteps That I Follow

The Grascals

The Grascals have been one of the most energetic and enjoyable traditional bluegrass bands touring for nearly twenty years, now. From minute to minute they can tear your heart out and make you laugh while showing remarkable instrumental versatility; Kristin Scott Benson on banjo has been named IBMA Banjo Player of the Year four times. They owe much of their sound to vintage Osborne Brothers music, while remaining instantly recognizable. They hit the stage with high energy, maintaining their drive and musicality throughout their performance. Welcome them back to EMS shows this year. 

The Grascals - Windy City

Don Rigsby

Since his early years with The Lonesome River Band, Don Rigsby's tenor voice has been one of the most recognizable in bluegrass. His performance in January with his current band was filled with energy, fine singing, and solid emcee work by Rigsby himself. As a music educator for many years at Moorehead State in Kentucky, as a singer and instrumentalist, and as a force in the music, Rigsby has stood firmly and proudly for traditional musical values of bluegrass music. 

Don Rigsby - Daddy Was a Moonshine Man

Donna Ulisse

Donna Ulisse has grown into a powerhouse performer! Her versatility as a song writer has morphed into a series of well attended workshops as stand-alone events where she works with nascent and experienced writers to grow themselves. Her performances on stage have grown from tentative to extraordinary as she takes the stage with confidence to tell her story in wonderfully melodic songs written with art and delivered with high artistry. Her IBMA award winning song writing combine with one of the most pleasing, mellow voices in any music to deliver wonderful shows. 

Donna Ulisse - Whispering Pines

t

Larry Stephenson

e

After thirty years with his own band and at least ten more with others, Larry Stephenson's clear, bright tenor voice remains undimmed. It seems to come clear and clean from somewhere deep within without ever seeming forced or difficult, as if he just opens his mouth and the notes flow out. His current, very young, band provides strong support with Nick Dauphinais on guitar. Derek Vaden has ably brought his fine banjo and strong harmony singing to the band, replacing the irreplaceable Kenny Ingram. Larry continues to add new material to the solid body of traditional bluegrass and bluegrass gospel music his many fans know and love. . 

e Larry Stephenson Band - Patches

Larry Efaw's Bluegrass Mountaineers - 

Larry Efaw and the Bluegrass Mountaineers are a Kentucky-based, traditional bluegrass band offering lots of fast bluegrass music which will set your feet tapping. Active mostly in the mid-west and mid-south, this appearance will give some people not familiar with his music a chance to get to know him. 

Larry Efaw & The Bluegrass Mount

Darrell Webb

Darrell Webb returns to Sertoma this year after last  years extremely well-received high intensity performance of his wide ranging, powerful music. He brings with him a new band, but with all the old enthusiasm. Darrell grew up in bluegrass. His music reflects the ancient tones as well as contemporary trends in the wider world of music, making him a rich resource for the bluegrass world. 

Darrell Webb - Crossroads

Rebekah Long

Rebekah Long brings her experience as a fine bass player with Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike for several years and as an experienced sound engineer working for Tom & Dixie Hall to forming and touring with her own band. We haven't seen Rebekah on a bluegrass stage in several years, but expect her to show continued growth and maybe some surprises, which very much include loads of talent!

Rebekah Long -I'll Never Make It Home Tonight

Brad Hudson

Brad Hudson, after stints with Lorraine Jordan as well as with Sideline and guest appearances with a number of other bands, has gone out on his own with his own band. He's a versatile musician, skilled on guitar and Dobro and a fine singer. 

Brad Hudson - Brand New Heartbreak

Jo Odum - Emcee

Here's a link to the entire activity schedule for the Sertoma Bluegrass Festival:

http://tinyurl.com/y5dckazj

The Details

Tickets: Four day advanced ticket prices (ends March 1) at $65.00

               Four day at the Gate is $75.00 is $75.00

               Wednesday admission is free with a three day ticket.

               Thursday tickets are $25.00

               Friday tickets are $30.00

               Saturday tickets are $35.00 

               Sunday (morning gospel sing) is free with a ticket

               Youth tickets (age 10 - 15) sell for $15.00 for the weekend or $5.00 per day

                Children 9 and under are free.

Vendors

Camping: Camping with hookups (water & electric) costs $25,00 per night

                  Dry camping is $13,00 per  night with almost unlimited space. 

                  Free hot showers and flush toilets are available.

Nearby Motels: A number of motels are clustered around the Route 98 exit of I-75 (Brooksville). The Days Inn of Brooksville is offering a Special Rate for those attending the Sertoma Bluegrass Festival. It is located 8.3. miles from the Sertoma Youth Ranch

                  

In order to arrange tickets and/or camping call or email Evans Media Sourse at:

               (386) 385-3500 or email: eanddmedia@gmail.com

               Send checks payable to Evans Media Source to:

               119 Clearwater Road, Satsuma, FL 32189

                     

How to Get to Sertoma Youth Ranch

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Ernie Evans

Deb Evans w/Berna Lu Gibson

Promises to be a great show! See you there.....

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society - A Netflix Original Film - Review

We first see writer Juliet Ashton in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society, a Netflix Original, as she's looking for a place to live in immediate post-war England, after her flat has been made uninhabitable by the German blitz. The war is over, and she's scheduled for a reading at a local book shop. Soon, she receives a letter from a reader on Guernsey Island, in the North Sea, requesting help in finding a copy of Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare, which she sends him. In the correspondence that follows, she becomes aware of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society. Sensing a story, she decides to take a brief leave from her new American fiance to explore the possibilities of a new book. When Juliet arrives on Guernsey, she is immediately captivated by its beauty and isolation. As she becomes acquainted with the members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society, however, she becomes aware that there are secrets and deep anxieties leading them to refuse her permission to write their story. The resulting sleuthing by Juliet and her increasing closeness to the quirky members of the society leads to a deeply engaging story of love, discovery, and redemption. 

Guernsey is one of a group of islands located just off the coast of France in the English Channel generally referred to as "the Channel Islands." It is self governing, having a strange relationship with England, which serves to protect the island as well not regulating it as a part of England. As such, it's largest function has become serving as a banking center for English tax-free commerce. During WW II, it was occupied by the Germans, who exported a large number of children to Germany, although most were evacuated to England before the invasion. Much of the story revolves around incidents to occurred during this occupation about which there are still mysteries and bad feelings as the movie progresses. In many ways, the theme of the film examines the characters as they cope with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This is accomplished through superb story-telling and dramatic interaction without preaching or excessive emphasis. At a little over two hours in length, The Guernsey Library and Potato Pie Society, takes its time to reveal the source of community anger and sense of loss in an entirely satisfactory manner. 

Lily James

Michael Huisman

Lily James as Juliet Ashton and Michael Huisman as the islander who first contacted her, Dawsey Adams, are restrained and pleasingly affective in their performances. A group of older acting warhorses, led by Tom Courtney (whose movie and tv credits go back to the 1950's and Penelope Wilson (perhaps best known for her role as Isobel Crawley in Downton Abbey) also a veteran character actor, provide outstanding performances filled with warmth, pain, and humor. 

I think maybe my tear ducts have begun leaking more as I grow older, but I have to admit that this story had me dripping by the end. A first rate film that hits home on the emotional as well as intellectual levels, telling a fine story with elegance and restraint while moving viewers and making them think about the many layers of human experience. 

Official Trailer