Goodtime Music! Acoustic, Bluegrass & Old Time Band

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We have been fortunate enough to play traditional acoustic music (bluegrass, roots music, old time) at numerous weddings throughout New England. I thought it would be cool to write a post sharing some tips for nuptials planning for their special day.

In case you were wondering, roots music is a great option for weddings and heck - even anniversary parties! Have a look at this slide show prepared by our photographer friend Liz Linder showing how elegant, beautiful and memorable an event can be.

If you’re looking to hire a band (and came across this post),you are probably pretty far along in your planning. You may even have a tentative date and location. If you are still undecided on a location, here are a few that we have performed at and would recommend in New England:

Connecticut - There is a public garden in Hartford that we performed at called The Elizabeth Park Rose Garden. It is the oldest municipally operated rose garden in the country. It is a two and a half acre garden which has about 800 varieties of roses that amount to 15,000 plants. Very beautiful spot!

Maine and the Coast - The Bar Harbor area is a great location to have a wedding! Acadia National Park is quite excellent!

The Stone Mountain Arts center is a great rustic venue. The main hall is restored post and beam barn that includes a stage. Throughout the year, the Arts Center features national folk music acts. There are fishing/hunting lodges in the surrounding are that can host your out-of-town guests.

Massachusetts and the Cape - Thompson Island is a great location for a wedding - they have full service catering and everything else you could want. And speaking of islands Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard are incredible locations

Rhode Island - Hammersmith Farm is an incredible venue. It was the summer headquarters of JFK during his administration and the childhood home of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Also the Kinney Bungalow is a beautiful spot situated on a working farm in Narragansett.

Western, Mass / Berkshires / New York - The Mount Lebanon Shaker Village is venue shown in this Liz Linder slide show. It is located very close to the New York/Massachusetts border and the location is breathtaking. There’s even a church on premises!

Hampshire College is also a great setting for an Autumn/Indian Summer wedding. The “big red barn” can accommodate groups for an indoor reception.

Congrats to Jennifer and Said! The Goodtime Stringband had the honor of performing during their wedding ceremony and reception at the Kinney Bungalow, in Naragansett, Rhode Island this past weekend. The minister shared the fantastic story of how this great couple met and came together. Wow! what a great story…
Check out Jennifer and Said’s wedding photos on Flickr

The Goodtime Stringband had the pleasure of performing for Derek and Juliah’s wedding this past weekend at the North Country Conservation and Education Center in Bethlehem, NH. What a fun bunch of folks! Bluegrass music and an ice cold keg of Rainbow Red Ale was a perfect compliment to the festivities.

In case anyone ever doubted it - that old wooden barn floor of the Rock’s Estate was made for dancing!!!

Ahhhh… weddings! Our favorite gigs! The Gibbs/Boucher wedding in Canton, Massachusetts was no exception. What a great bunch of folks! Special thanks to Kim and her mom Sue for making the GTCs feel like part of the family (and for the snapshot).

The wedding season is almost over, though we still have one more on the schedule for Columbus Day weekend.  And we are really looking forward to it - nothing goes together better than bluegrass and weddings in New England!