Wedding Musicians and Party Band for Boston, New England and Cape Cod | Bluegrass, Swing & Old Time Music | The Goodtime Stringband

No more waiting for the new Amy Black and the Red Clay Rascals CD. It’s here and you can order it right now!

Click here to get to our online store. You can buy as many as you like, of course. We accept all cards as well as Pay Pal.

Thanks in advance for you support. We worked hard to make a great CD that you could enjoy and had a lot of fun doing it. We hope you enjoy listening to the music as much as we enjoyed making it!

You know that hard times are upon us when Trent is forced to sell off his prized six string banjo guitar on eBay! I guess That’s what happens when you give away your latest album for free on the internet. Maybe he’ll write a song about it.

From the Nine Inch Nails’ Web site:

We’ve been going through the NIN touring and studio rigs and are getting rid of a large selection of gear and equipment the band is no longer in need of. It’s being listed on eBay here. We do not know which (if any) tour these items are from unless specified, nor can we get any items autographed, so please do not ask. Hundreds of items will be listed over the next several weeks such as guitars, keyboards, amplifiers, drums, staging, anvil cases, cables, rack/outboard gear, guitar effects, and pedal boards. Check the eBay page regularly for new listings, or follow @nineinchnails on Twitter for updates. More information can be found in the descriptions of each item.

Big news! Details have been announced for the Joe Val Bluegrass Festival to be held February 12 – 14 in Framingham, Massachusetts.

This premier bluegrass music festival commemorates the legacy of Joe Val -who is arguably one of the finest bluegrass musicians to emerge from New England. In 2006, the Joe Val Bluegrass Festival received the “Event of the Year” award from the International Bluegrass Music Association.

Tickets
Early Bird tickets are now on sale.  Click here to order yours

Festival Lineup
Here is a tentative lineup for the 25th Joe Val Bluegrass Festival.

1. Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver
2. JD Crowe and the New South
3. Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper
4. Danny Paisley and the Southern Grass
5. Special Consensus
6. The Josh Williams Band
7. Buddy Merriam and Back Roads
8. The Spinney Brothers
9. While Mountain Bluegrass
10. Acoustic Blue
11. Joe Sings Joe
12. Berklee Bluegrass
13. Bluegrass Gospel Project
14. Sierra Hull and Highway 111

Sandra Brennan, All Music Guide wrote:

Singer/songwriter Joe Val was a prominent traditional bluegrass musician and leader of the New England Bluegrass Boys. A native of Everett, Massachusetts, he was born Joseph Valiante, and his interest in bluegrass started in his early teens. He was influenced by fiddler Tex Logan, who had come north to study at M.I.T. and wound up giving the young performer his stage name. Val started out as a guitar player, but also mastered the banjo and the mandolin. He got his professional start playing with the Radio Rangers, and later joined the Berkshire Mountain Boys; with the progressive Charles River Valley Boys, Val recorded a distinguished album of bluegrass-adapted Beatles songs in 1967. Although Val played with progressive groups, he himself continued to favor a more traditional bluegrass sound; to this end, he founded the New England Bluegrass Boys in 1970 with guitarist Herb Applin, banjo player Bob French and bass player Bob Tidwell. The following year, they made their debut album. Although the group underwent many personnel changes over the next decade, Val was able to produce a remarkably consistent sound over the course of numerous albums. Sadly, Joe Val was stricken with cancer in the 1980s just as his band was beginning to achieve wider recognition; his last performance was in late 1984, and he died on June 11, 1985.

We just stumbled upon this site and thought we’d share a link – Check out the New England Folk Music Archives

The site describes itself as follows:

The New England Folk Music Archives preserves, promotes and documents the ongoing cultural legacy of folk music and its connections to New England through education, collaboration and entertainment.

Based on collections from the 1960’s era folk revival stretching to the present the establishing collections include photographs, recordings, and memorabilia from The Club 47, the Cambridge MA folk music community, The Newport Folk Festival, and The Old Vienna Kaffeehaus.

Over the coming months The New England Folk Music Archives will be establishing a dynamic web presence and presenting public events to engage audiences and scholars in the rich world that is folk music in New England.

We look forward to checking out this great concept as it comes together!

An open letter from Tim Rowell – please join the Goodtime Stringband in supporting this event! We weren’t invited to perform, but Andy did had a hand in designing the event’s poster/flyer with Robin Lyness of Namaste Design.

Dear Friends,

On November 14th our music school, Minuteman Music, was devastated when a blocked town culvert created a small flood and five feet of water destroyed the first floor of our building. We lost many thousands of dollars worth of instruments and equipment, and the years’ worth of effort that it took to build these school rooms.

In addition to private music lessons in guitar, fiddle, banjo, and more, we have also hosted many other musical events including a monthly Old Time Music Jam, Bluegrass Banjo Workshops, Summer Rock Band Workshops, and several Food Drives to benefit the Lexington Food Pantry.

Within hours of the flood, members of the Old Time Music community quickly mobilized to organize a Benefit Concert.

This exciting musical event takes place this coming Sunday, December 6th. It will be held in the Skellig Pub at 240 Moody Street in Waltham from 1pm to 5pm. There will be four hours of some of the very best traditional musical entertainment that the area has to offer.

Some of the local artists that are performing are Geoff Bartley, Martin Grosswendt, Lorraine and Bennett Hammond, Jubilee Mule, Rich Stillman, Dan Fram, and Red Hot Blacktop, with many more. During the afternoon, there will also be a raffle and a silent auction to raise money that will hopefully help us replace the piano and recording equipment.

Already, the outpouring of support has been wonderful. Please come and take part in this family-friendly, music community event. If you are unable to come and would like to help out, please send donations of all kinds to the address below.

Thank you for your time.

Gratefully,

Tim Rowell
Owner and Director

Minuteman Music School
235 Bedford Street
Lexington, MA 02420
781-274-0088

The Goodtime Stringband and sister-band Amy Black & the Red Clay Rascals will be performing at the 2009 Nashua Holiday Stroll on Saturday, November 28th.

The Goodtimers will start things off at 7pm at the TD Bank Venue (191 Main Street, Nashua).  Amy and the Rascals will follow with at set at 8:30pm. We hope to see you there!

Twilight Music presents Sam Bush Band guitarist and vocalist, Stephen Mougin, and banjoist and Sirius XM Satellite Radio DJ, Ned Luberecki, on Saturday, November 21 at 8:00 pm at New England Youth Theatre, 100 Flat Street in downtown Brattleboro, VT. Newgrass trio, The Stockwell Brothers, will open the show.

Tickets are $15 General / $13 Students and Seniors.

For ticket and other information, call 802-254-9276 or visit www.twilightmusic.org.

What do you get when you mix Harpoon beer, the Goodtime Stringband, and the New England BBQ Society? The Harpoon Helps Thanksgiving Beer-B-Q, that’s what!

Join us for the 3rd Annual Harpoon Helps pre-Thanksgiving Beer-B-Q, right here at Harpoon in Boston on Sunday, November 15. Once again, we’ve joined forces with our friends at the New England Barbecue Society (NEBS) to put together a Thanksgiving meal, barbecue-style, to raise money for the Greater Boston Food Bank’s annual Food Fund, which supplies Thanksgiving meals for families in and around Boston.

>> purchase tickets

The folks at NEBS will hitch up their huge smokers, park them in front of the brewery, and smoke a whole gaggle of turkeys, with all the trimmings. Fun music will be provided by the Goodtime Stringband. Not only that, the NEBS team will be on hand to give you some tips on how to make your Thanksgiving meal a little different this year with some interesting recipes from the menu. Speaking of which, check out the menu – it’s incredible. We’ll have one big long table in the brewery’s warehouse for everyone to gather around, feast, and be merry – all for a great cause.

Of course, there will be plenty of fresh Harpoon to go with the meal. What’s a pre-Thanksgiving-barbecue-style meal without Harpoon?!

So come have an unbelievable meal, wash it down with some fresh beer, and do it all for a great cause – so other folks in our area can enjoy Thanksgiving too.