Alice Gerrard & Chris Brashear
Alice Gerrard is a performer (fiddle, banjo, guitar, voice) of legendary status, having inspired and mentored at least three generations of musicians (including such notables as Emmylou Harris, Laurie Lewis and Naomi Judd). In a career spanning more than 50 years, Alice worked with many old-time and bluegrass greats including Hazel Dickens, Tommy Jarrell, Mike Seeger, Luther Davis, Matokie Slaughter, Otis Burris and, more recently, Tom Sauber and Brad Leftwich. In 2017, she was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Association Hall of Fame, one of only a handful of women to receive this honor. In 2015, she received a Grammy nomination for her “Follow the Music” CD, produced by Hiss Golden Messenger’s M.C. Taylor. Alice founded the Old Time Herald in 1987, serving as editor-in-chief until 2003; she also curated the Traditional Stage at Merlefest for many years. She lives in Durham, North Carolina.
Downhill Strugglers
The Down Hill Strugglers (Walker Shepard, fiddle, banjo, guitar, harmonica, voice; Jackson Lynch, fiddle, banjo, guitar, voice; Eli Smith, banjo, guitar, mandolin, harmonica, Jews harp, pump organ, voice) are based simultaneously out of Kentucky, Louisiana and New York. Their five albums include recordings on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings and the soundtrack to the Coen Brothers film, "Inside Llewyn Davis" produced by T-Bone Burnett. The band formed while hanging out at the home of their mutual friend Peter Stampfel of the Holy Modal Rounders, where they also met friend and mentor John Cohen of the New Lost City Ramblers.
The Down Hill Strugglers are extending the legacy of the New Lost City Ramblers by bringing archaic sounds into the present, and challenge audiences to reject a dystopian future animated by disco beats and their ilk. The Greek legend of Sisyphus is: "Sisyphus was a king of Ephyra (now known as Corinth) punished for chronic deceitfulness by being compelled to roll an immense boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, and to repeat this action forever." The Down Hill Strugglers are the opposite, desperately struggling to keep a huge boulder from rolling down a hill.
Dos Valley Trio
Dos Valley Trio (Harry Liedstrand, fiddle; Terry Barrett, mandolin; Cindy Liedstrand, voice) features an uncanny evocation of Kenny Hall’s unique mandolin stylings by Terry Barrett, mirrored perfectly by Harry Liedstrand’s fiddle with guitar backup by Cindy Liedstrand. Their repertoire focuses on rare and previously unrecorded tunes from traditional musicians who lived and performed in the San Joaquin Valley of California between 1919, when the Crockett family arrived in Fowler, and 2013 when Kenny Hall passed in Fresno. Harry met Kenny Hall in 1967, touring nationally and recording with him in the Sweets Mill String Band for many years. Terry met Kenny in around 1975 and in 1983, they were honored with a Maestro/Apprentice grant from the California Arts Council. Terry toured and recorded with Kenny in the Long Haul String Band, living in Ireland, visiting the Balfa family in Louisiana, and playing in countless hillbilly bars and beer joints throughout the San Joaquin Valley. Cindy, who was born in Fresno, has played guitar with the Mt. Diablo String Band and with Harry in the Liedstrand Family Band. Harry and Cindy live in the Diablo Valley of Northern California while Terry Barrett lives in the San Joaquin Valley of Central California.
Alice Gerrard & Chris Brashear
Alice Gerrard is a performer (fiddle, banjo, guitar, voice) of legendary status, having inspired and mentored at least three generations of musicians (including such notables as Emmylou Harris, Laurie Lewis and Naomi Judd). In a career spanning more than 50 years, Alice worked with many old-time and bluegrass greats including Hazel Dickens, Tommy Jarrell, Mike Seeger, Luther Davis, Matokie Slaughter, Otis Burris and, more recently, Tom Sauber and Brad Leftwich. In 2017, she was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Association Hall of Fame, one of only a handful of women to receive this honor. In 2015, she received a Grammy nomination for her “Follow the Music” CD, produced by Hiss Golden Messenger’s M.C. Taylor. Alice founded the Old Time Herald in 1987, serving as editor-in-chief until 2003; she also curated the Traditional Stage at Merlefest for many years. She lives in Durham, North Carolina.
Downhill Strugglers
The Down Hill Strugglers (Walker Shepard, fiddle, banjo, guitar, harmonica, voice; Jackson Lynch, fiddle, banjo, guitar, voice; Eli Smith, banjo, guitar, mandolin, harmonica, Jews harp, pump organ, voice) are based simultaneously out of Kentucky, Louisiana and New York. Their five albums include recordings on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings and the soundtrack to the Coen Brothers film, "Inside Llewyn Davis" produced by T-Bone Burnett. The band formed while hanging out at the home of their mutual friend Peter Stampfel of the Holy Modal Rounders, where they also met friend and mentor John Cohen of the New Lost City Ramblers.
The Down Hill Strugglers are extending the legacy of the New Lost City Ramblers by bringing archaic sounds into the present, and challenge audiences to reject a dystopian future animated by disco beats and their ilk. The Greek legend of Sisyphus is: "Sisyphus was a king of Ephyra (now known as Corinth) punished for chronic deceitfulness by being compelled to roll an immense boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, and to repeat this action forever." The Down Hill Strugglers are the opposite, desperately struggling to keep a huge boulder from rolling down a hill.
Dos Valley Trio
Dos Valley Trio (Harry Liedstrand, fiddle; Terry Barrett, mandolin; Cindy Liedstrand, voice) features an uncanny evocation of Kenny Hall’s unique mandolin stylings by Terry Barrett, mirrored perfectly by Harry Liedstrand’s fiddle with guitar backup by Cindy Liedstrand. Their repertoire focuses on rare and previously unrecorded tunes from traditional musicians who lived and performed in the San Joaquin Valley of California between 1919, when the Crockett family arrived in Fowler, and 2013 when Kenny Hall passed in Fresno. Harry met Kenny Hall in 1967, touring nationally and recording with him in the Sweets Mill String Band for many years. Terry met Kenny in around 1975 and in 1983, they were honored with a Maestro/Apprentice grant from the California Arts Council. Terry toured and recorded with Kenny in the Long Haul String Band, living in Ireland, visiting the Balfa family in Louisiana, and playing in countless hillbilly bars and beer joints throughout the San Joaquin Valley. Cindy, who was born in Fresno, has played guitar with the Mt. Diablo String Band and with Harry in the Liedstrand Family Band. Harry and Cindy live in the Diablo Valley of Northern California while Terry Barrett lives in the San Joaquin Valley of Central California.
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