Previous Thread
Index
Next Thread
Print Thread
Go To
#237004 01/25/14 10:11 AM
Off-Topic
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,074
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,074
Merlefest 2014 will be happening on April 24 - April 27th
in case anybody here might want to go. Tickets tend to get sold out early, so I thought it was worth mentioning now while good tickets are still available.

If any of you plan to attend, please let me know, since Merlefest is in Wilkesboro NC (easy driving distance from Winston-Salem.)

Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas and Alan Jackson are just a few of the artists who will be there...

http://www.merlefest.org
http://www.merlefest.org/lineup

Last edited by Pat Marr; 01/25/14 10:12 AM.
Pat Marr #248096 04/24/14 09:21 PM
Off-Topic
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,074
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,074
Thursday on the Watson stage:

Junior Sisk & Rambler's Choice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se-53VDrqWE

The Duhks (Canadian group, I liked everything they played)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYrjiwLngbo

Scythian (these guys can really work a crowd!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5twnqNRg5As

Carolina Chocolate Drops (the female singer who fronts for them is a real gem of talent and personality... I really enjoyed this group)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3XsHMOEQGc

Holly Williams (talented and not hard to look at either)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QW5t9w0j1w

Alan Jackson (all-star band and surprise accompaniment artist: Sierra Hull)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s-k8Q_40cA

Pat Marr #248097 04/24/14 09:38 PM
Off-Topic
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 4,047
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 4,047
Pat,

Just listened to.
Quote:
Carolina Chocolate Drops (the female singer who fronts for them is a real gem of talent and personality... I really enjoyed this group)

What wonderful music and talent. The story in the song and your dead on for her abilities.

Watching part of their LiveSet now.... They are fun to watch, as well as their talent.

Thanks for sharing.

Last edited by seeker; 04/24/14 09:44 PM.

FrankB

Down The Street vs2015 12-03-2014
Win7, AMD QuadA8-5500,16GB,2TeraHD, Komplete 10
PG Ultra Plus 2016,Alesis 12USB, Sonar Platinum
seeker #248101 04/25/14 04:27 AM
Off-Topic
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,074
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,074
that gal can not only sing and work the crowd, she also plays a killer fiddle and banjo.

One of the members of Carolina Chocolate Drops said that when his mother heard they would be playing with Alan Jackson, she wanted to know which one of the Jacksons he was... did he come before or after Tito...? ;-)

Pat Marr #248111 04/25/14 06:29 AM
Off-Topic
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,913
R
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
R
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,913
That sounds like a great lineup.

Off-Topic
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,074
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,074
Originally Posted By: rockstar_not
That sounds like a great lineup.

yeah, and I almost skipped the opening day!

Friday's lineup includes 95 different acts, and Saturday features 92 acts spread across 13 stages!

I'm not familiar with most of them (yet)

Sam Bush plays today and tomorrow. So do Steep Canyon Raiders, which is a band Steve Martin frequently joins on stage. I'm hoping he shows up today.


Sunday Jerry Douglas performs, and it wouldn't break my heart if Alison Krauss wandered in too

Pat Marr #248315 04/28/14 10:28 AM
Off-Topic
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 10,099
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 10,099
Pat,

Here's hoping you'll continue your updates of the Merlefest activities. I've really enjoyed reading them.


Jim Fogle - 2024 BiaB (1109) RB (Build 3) Ultra+ PAK
Cakewalk - Zoom MRS-8 recorder
Desktop: i7 Win 10 build 2004, 12GB ram 256GB SSD, 4 TB HDD
Laptop: i3 64bit Win 10 build 21H2, 8GB ram 500GB HDD
Music at: https://fogle622.wix.com/fogle622-audio-home
Off-Topic
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,074
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,074
Originally Posted By: JimFogle
Pat,

Here's hoping you'll continue your updates of the Merlefest activities. I've really enjoyed reading them.


Thanks Jim! Rather than posting video snippets and information that's probably already available on the Merlefest site, I'm just going to make some personal observations about the festival.

This was my first Merlefest, and I expected a much more traditional bluegrass event. I'd say maybe 1/4 of the songs were bluegrass classics, another 1/4 were original numbers in classic bluegrass style... but all in all the bands were more progressive than I expected. Sam Bush's band even used a MIDI guitar in two songs, and they weren't BG songs, they were 70s covers.

Many of the bands used electric Bass, some used electric guitars and effects pedals were on stage almost the whole time.

I thought it was interesting that the up and coming bands all played originals, but people who had already made a name for themselves frequently resorted to cover songs that the overwhelmingly baby boomer audience loved. I interpret that to mean that the know their demographic, and have changed their set to play what the audience likes. Sam Bush of all artists at the festival has plenty of original songs that the audience knows and loves... yet they set down their acoustic instruments and played rock and roll for several songs.

Many of the younger artists played original songs that only resemble bluegrass because of the instruments played. The structure and patterns were drawn from many other genres, such as folk, alternative, rock, even classical.

There was a lot of influence from artists like Bela Fleck, with interesting time signatures, crazy transitions and banjo rolls that are recognizably different than the classic rolls


Pat Marr #248378 04/28/14 09:51 PM
Off-Topic
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 4,245
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 4,245
Pat,

I’m glad you finally made it to Merlefest, especially considering it's practically in your backyard! wink I attended the first 7 or 8 festivals there.

You’ve made numerous comments on here about how “bluegrass” isn’t open to new ideas and they demand rigorous adherence to tradition. That hasn't been true for at least the last 20 or 25 years, … maybe longer.

Hopefully the festival was an eye opener for you. I’m glad you enjoyed it.

Pat Marr #248389 04/29/14 03:06 AM
Off-Topic
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,074
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,074
Bob,
the festival was an eye-opener for sure... in a good way. I thought about you the whole time. Wanna move to Winston-Salem and start a bluegrass band?

And I plead guilty to the charge of judging the genre regarding tradition. But in my defense, there are several camps in the bluegrass world, and not all of them are as progressive as the Merlefest crowd. Local fiddler's conventions (like the one in Galax Va.) remain quite resistant to electric instruments. And I've heard from many local musicians that its a waste of time trying to play bluegrass locally unless you walk in with acoustic instruments... right down to the brand name... guitar better be a Martin, Mandolin better be a Gibson F style, banjo better be one of several blessed models... etc

The Merlefest crowd, on the other hand, tends to play a more global circuit... Berkely to Boston to Brussels... to audiences that not only accept, but require new ideas.


At least that's my quick & dirty observation. As always, there's the disclaimer of tunnel vision and biased information from my sources.

Pat Marr #248390 04/29/14 03:09 AM
Off-Topic
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,074
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,074
question for BobCFlatpicker...

I noticed that most of the people who were flatpicking did not pivot the motion at the wrist... instead they moved their whole forearm from the elbow. Same for most mandolin players. Is there a reason for this? Strength of playing? More endurance? At first glance it seems to defy the idea of economy of motion... but it sure sounds awesome, so they must all be doing it that way for a reason.

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Go To

Link Copied to Clipboard
ChatPG

Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.

ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.

PG Music News
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 Review: 4.75 out of 5 Stars!

If you're looking for a in-depth review of the newest Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows version, you'll definitely find it with Sound-Guy's latest review, Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows Review: Incredible new capabilities to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs.

A few excerpts:
"The Tracks view is possibly the single most powerful addition in 2024 and opens up a new way to edit and generate accompaniments. Combined with the new MultiPicker Library Window, it makes BIAB nearly perfect as an 'intelligent' composer/arranger program."

"MIDI SuperTracks partial generation showing six variations – each time the section is generated it can be instantly auditioned, re-generated or backed out to a previous generation – and you can do this with any track type. This is MAJOR! This takes musical experimentation and honing an arrangement to a new level, and faster than ever."

"Band in a Box continues to be an expansive musical tool-set for both novice and experienced musicians to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs, as well as an extensive educational resource. It is huge, with hundreds of functions, more than any one person is likely to ever use. Yet, so is any DAW that I have used. BIAB can do some things that no DAW does, and this year BIAB has more DAW-like functions than ever."

Happy Easter! Holiday Hours...

2024 is well underway - it's already Easter Weekend!

Our Customer Service hours this weekend are:

Friday, March 29: 8-4
Saturday, March 30: 8-4
Sunday, March 31: closed

Regular hours resume Monday, April 1st - no joke!

Convenient Ways to Listen to Band-in-a-Box® Songs Created by Program Users!

The User Showcase Forum is an excellent place to share your Band-in-a-Box® songs and listen to songs other program users are creating!

There are other places you can listen to these songs too! Visit our User Showcase page to sort by genre, artist (forum name), song title, and date - each listing will direct you to the forum post for that song.

If you'd rather listen to these songs in one place, head to our Band-in-a-Box® Radio, where you'll have the option to select the genre playlist for your listening pleasure. This page has SoundCloud built in, so it won't redirect you. We've also added the link to the Artists SoundCloud page here, and a link to their forum post.

We hope you find some inspiration from this amazing collection of User Showcase Songs!

Congratulations to the 2023 User Showcase Award Winners!

We've just announced the 2023 User Showcase Award Winners!

There are 45 winners, each receiving a Band-in-a-Box 2024 UltraPAK! Read the official announcement to see if you've won.

Our User Showcase Forum receives more than 50 posts per day, with people sharing their Band-in-a-Box songs and providing feedback for other songs posted.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed!

Video: Volume Automation in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows®

We've created a video to help you learn more about the Volume Automation options in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows.

Band-in-a-Box® 2024: Volume Automation

www.pgmusic.com/manuals/bbw2024full/chapter11.htm#volume-automation

Video: Audio Input Monitoring with Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows®

We've created this short video to explain Audio Input Monitoring within Band-in-a-Box® 2024, and included some tips & troubleshooting details too!

Band-in-a-Box® 2024: Audio Input Monitoring

3:17: Tips
5:10: Troubleshooting

www.pgmusic.com/manuals/bbw2024full/chapter11.htm#audio-input-monitoring

Video: Enhanced Melodists in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows®!

We've enhanced the Melodists feature included in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows!

Access the Melodist feature by pressing F7 in the program to open the new MultiPicker Library and locate the [Melodist] tab.

You can now generate a melody on any track in the program - very handy! Plus, you select how much of the melody you want generated - specify a range, or apply it to the whole track.

See the Melodist in action with our video, Band-in-a-Box® 2024: The Melodist Window.

Learn even more about the enhancements to the Melodist feature in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows at www.pgmusic.com/manuals/bbw2024upgrade/chapter3.htm#enhanced-melodist

Forum Statistics
Forums66
Topics81,398
Posts732,534
Members38,442
Most Online2,537
Jan 19th, 2020
Newest Members
danielsk, Mark Morgan, zagrajbarke, Ernest J, Izzy
38,442 Registered Users
Top Posters(30 Days)
MarioD 200
Al-David 127
DC Ron 115
rsdean 85
dcuny 85
Today's Birthdays
(charlie), WobblyGstring
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5