Well I just can’t believe where the time is going but it is difficult to fit in any time to do this properly. Sorry about the gaps but here’s what we’ve been up to. We have played lots of shows since the Festival of the Bluegrass, namely Nicholasville, Bean Blossom Indiana, Georgetown and Renfro Valley. The schedule keeps us busy but we are having a ball of course. Bean Blossom was a huge success and we were received very well. After a rushed trip up from a gig in Kentucky we were there ready to perform our first spot with 30 minutes to spare.

The performance went off just fine and we were made to feel right at home by the crowd. We had rain at this first performance but we were told people tune in on their radios from their campers and listen to your performance anyway. It is always a great experience to be a part of Monroe’s own festival and it can be quite moving just being there.

The second performance on the main stage was even better and we got a request for ‘A Girl From The South’ from the audience. After Bean Blossom we were back down to Georgetown Kentucky to a fantastic cafe called the Upbeat. This show was absolutely packed and the crowd just got right into it from the first song. This was really encouraging because we were starting to get people follow us from show to show. We have started to build a bit of a following.

After a trip to Nashville we played at The Red Barn in Renfro Valley.  Of course we drove down the Bluegrass Parkway to I 65 to get there. This place has a lot of history. On our last tour we got to perform with Bobby Osborne here.

Bluegrass Parkway has just released details of our planned tour to the United States in June 2009. The details of the shows we will be playing are up on our 'Gig Page'. Our last US tour was in 2005 and this time we will be focusing our shows mainly within Kentucky. We will be venturing out to perform at Bill Monroe's Bean Blossom Festival in Indiana however. The other festivals included in our tour are The Festival Of The Bluegrass in Lexington Kentucky and ROMP 2009 in Owensboro Kentucky.

The tour is another relatively brief one but once again, we are cramming a heck of a lot into these three weeks with appearances at three festivals, concerts, a charity concert for a children's hospital, radio appearances and a performance at a very cool coffee house in Georgetown Kentucky that harks back to the 60s folk music cafe scene. Our first concert, about 36 hours after we arrive, is at the southland Jamboree in Lexington. This will be a bit of a homecoming for Maria and the crowd is sure to be packed with relatives and friends. What a great way to start the tour!

 We are hoping to run a bit of a journal as the tour progresses and Greg McGrath at australianbluegrass.com will be posting any entries we can organise. Hopefully these will include pics and clips as well as comments as we progress through the tour.

 For those of you who are into Youtube, we have put up a few clips from various appearances including the recent Peter Rowan concert in Fremantle. If you put Bluegrass Parkway into the search engine you should be able to find them. There is also a clip of Peter and Paul doing a duet; just put Peter Rowan and Paul Duff into the search engine for that one.

If you're in the area we will be performing at the Mount Beauty Muster on the Anzac Day weekend and the Merry Muse Folk Club in Canberra Friday May 1, then Ausgrass in Tumut on Saturday May 2. Come up and say hi!

Well the Peter Rowan show is over and we can't believe it's already done! What an honour it was to be able to perform with an absolute legend of the bluegrass genre. Peter, as you may have guessed if you were at the show, is a really beautiful human being, a pleasure to be around and has a great sense of humour. We were able to learn so much about performing our music in such a very short time with him. We wish he could have stayed longer!

Some of you may have noticed that over the last year or so we have had a big tall fella at the back stomping out the bass notes for us. Stephen Loss has done a great job for Bluegrass Parkway over the last year and we want to take this opportunity to thank him for his hard work, his boundless enthusiasm and his conitinued friendship. Stephen is a strong bass player and always contributes to any performance. Maria is returning to the bass but keep an eye out, you may well see Stephen leap onto the stage to grab the double bass when we're doing a twin fiddle tune!

 

Great news folks; Peter Rowan will be performing in Fremantle as part of his Australian tour and Bluegrass Parkway will be his support band for the big show at The Fly By Night Club on WEDNESDAY MARCH 18th.

Rowan is a Grammy Award winner and five-time nominee whose forty or so year career has seen him perform and record with the likes of Tony rice, Jerry Douglas, Norman Blake, David Grisman, Jerry Garcia, Vassar Clements and Clarence White. He was a Bluegrass Boy in Bill Monroe's band and went on to develop what was seen as the cutting edge of bluegrass in the late '60s and 70's.

This is a show not to be missed. Rowan has become an icon of bluegrass music and has spread his innovative style into Tex-Mex, Country and even Celtic music.

Tickets are on sale through the Fly By Night Club and he is here for one show only.

When you agree to perform as one of the acts for the Woodford Folk Festival in Woodford Queensland you are signing on for so much more than your conventional, run-of-the-mill gathering of musicians, brought together to provide concerts and workshops. Woodford is not so much a festival as an ‘experience’. Now before you let out a heartfelt, ‘That’s what they all say!’ I can tell you from personal experience that this is actually the case.  Last year we were told that it did not stop raining from the minute the festival started till the curtain came down on the final event; yes the entire six days. This year we copped the other end of the spectrum, very hot and very, very humid.

 I can tell you first hand that Bluegrass Parkway's commitment to presenting bluegrass music in its original form with the full suits, hats and 1940s dresses was surely tested at Woodford. We did it though and by the end of the festival we had come to a group consnsus that we were easily 'the hottest band playing at Woodford'. With so many people at the festival (we were told up to 130,000 over the week) it is easy to worry that you might get lost in all the programming but we were received really enthusiastically by big crowds at each of our shows and especially the bluegrass gospel harmony workshop where the participants were spilling out of the marquee. Folks at this festival are out to experience everything and carry an open mind with them to each act they go to see.

A highlight for us was getting to see and meet Martha and Jackson, The Whitetop Mountaineers from the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia. These two wonderful people provided an authentic old time country musical experience that included singing, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, guitar and some fantastic clogging. They are on tour throughout January so try to catch their show, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

This was our fourth Woodford Festival and it amazes every time, if not simply on its scale. Everyone should do it at least once and we intend to do it again some time; once we recover! BGP has some exciting shows coming up including Fairbridge Festival in WA and Mount Beauty Music Festival in Victoria. This year Mount Beauty will be celebrating their 10th anniversary so this should be a big one. One show we are really looking forward to is supporting Peter Rowan for his show at The Fly By Night Club in Fremantle on March 18th. Check the Gig Page for more shows.

Welcome to the December edition of our BGP Report.  The band has had a busy couple of months performing at the Dorrigo Bluegrass & Folk Festial in NSW.  We presented our "Live in 45" Radio Show to an appreciative audience and had a great weekend at the festival which featured our fellow bluegrassers "Karen Lynn and Acoustic Shock" as well as the exciting young band "Twisted Oak".  This small festival is located in the beautiful town of Dorrigo in the hills above Coffs Harbour and is well worth the visit.  Many thanks to Brigit Sommers for her tireless work on the festival and to Greg Hertzler for his time, effort and smooth voice on the Radio Show, thanks also to Dianna Hertzler for her assitance and photos! :-)

Last month we attended the 20th anniversary Harrietville Bluegrass Convention in Victoria and this year featured three great bands from the US (Bing Brothers, RFD Boys and the Petuxent Partners) as well as a host of local bands from around Australia.  All the bands were fantastic but special mention must go to the RFD Boys who kept us entertained at the local ice creamery all weekend.  The new site was a hit with everyone and takes the convention up to a whole new level.  Well done to Nick & Janet, Rod & Judy and everyone involved in organising Australia's top bluegrass event .  A thumb down though to those pickers that make the effort to travel all the way to Harrietville but aren't prepared to contribute to making the great event that it is.  A self defeating excercise ultimately.

Have a look at some great pics oif the weekend here http://bluegrass.org.au/index.cfm?pid=111727And don't forget to check out The Australian Bluegrass Blog for the latest news http://australianbluegrass.blogspot.com/2008/11/harrietville-2008.html

Our next gig is the Woodford Folk Festival so hopefully we'll see you there.

Welcome to this Spring edition of the BGP News.  BGP have been taking a break over the winter with Maria visiting her family in Kentucky and Mick working in South Australia for the past three months. 

Maria managed to take in a couple of concerts whilst in the US including the Nashville Bluegrass Band and the Del McCoury band and had the opportunity to visit Roland White and renew aquaintances.  Back from her action packed visit she has taken the reins as full time fiddle player and abandoned the double bass playing to the capable hands of Stephen Loss.  With Maria and Donal on fiddle we will now feature regular twin fiddles (and a bit of clogging).

Bluegrass Parkway will be presenting our "live in 45" show as a precursor to the Dorrigo Folk and Bluegrass Festival on Thursday 23 October (Festival runs from 24-26 October)  http://www.dorrigo.com/festival/ .  The festival is great fun and located in a lovely part of Australia.  This year features a number of great bluegrass acts and will be a fantastic weekend so hopefully we will see you there!

And don't forget Harrietville (Nov 14  -16) which this year features a number of international acts http://www.bluegrass.org.au/index.cfm?pid=111727 BGP has already booked its fares - don't miss out.

And don't forget to check the Australian Bluegrass Blog -  http://australianbluegrass.blogspot.com/

 

Welcome to the new website. We are still working on it so keep watching. New features include a Guest Book for your comments (be nice) and a more user friendly photos area.

On the BGP front the band has a taken a breather after a fairly hectic start to the year touring with Mike Compton and performing around Western Australia.

Don't forget to check The Australian Bluegrass Blog for the latest in Australian bluegrass news

 

Mike Compton continues his successful tour of Australia having performed in Western Australia and Canberra to rave revues. He will be appearing next in Brisbane before returning to Victoria for concerts in Warragul and at the Brunswick and Yackandandah Festivals. BGP will be appearing with Mike at the Warragul and Yackandandah gigs. Don't miss Mike's performance and for that matter BGP's :-).

Bluegrass Parkway are on tour with mandolin master Mike Compton. Don't miss this opportunity to see one of bluegrass music's legends. Check the gig guide for dates and locations near you. Mike's only Perth concert: Swan Yacht Club, Fremantle on Friday February 22 at 8pm Tickets; Mick 0409 814 327 or Paul 9339 6805