Corsair Concert Series Events

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This is the 21st season for the Corsair Concert Series in Tawas City, Michigan - presenting nationally-renown Bluegrass and Americana music in an old-time, up close atmosphere.
Presented by the Corsair Trail Council, proceeds from the concert series are used to maintain and operate the Corsair Skiing and Hiking Trails in the Huron National Forest.
Events are held at the Tawas United Methodist Church Family Center, on highway M-55, in Tawas City. Showtime is 7:30 pm. For further information please contact Gary Nelkie (989) 362-2001

..... click on artist's photo (below) for band info .....

January 19, 2013
Corsair Concert Series presents
JOE MULLINS and THE RADIO RAMBLERS

Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers have an energetic mix of quality bluegrass music, inventive instrumental work, a good variety of vocal arrangements and tasteful, down-home humor which has kept them in demand with a national audience. They have had a very successful 2012 that has included a heavy touring schedule, a Bluegrass Unlimited magazine cover story in August, being named the IBMA Emerging Artist of the Year in September, and the release of their latest CD "They're Playing My Song" in October. In November, Rebel Records was proud to announce "They're Playing My Song" debuted at #8 on Billboard Magazine's Top 10 Bluegrass Albums Chart. Since then the album has received much critical acclaim and has produced several tracks finding their way onto the charts, including the single "Bottom Of The Mountain" which is #1 on the Bluegrass Today Top 20 Songs chart (January 1, 2013) and #1 on SiriusXM Bluegrass Junction's Most Played Albums.
www.radioramblers.com
Admission : $15

March 9, 2013
Corsair Concert Series presents
THE SPECIAL CONSENSUS

Special Consensus is a four person bluegrass band that began performing in 1975. The band released its 16th album earlier this year, "Scratch Gravel Road," on the Compass label. The album is currently nominated for a Grammy Award. One of the singles from this CD, "Monroe Doctrine" was nominated for the IBMA Recorded Event of the Year award. Special Consensus appear regularly on numerous NPR programs and on cable television shows, including The Nashville Network, the Grand Ole Opry and RFD-TV. International tours have brought the band to Canada, Europe, South America,Ireland and the United Kingdom. Band leader/banjo player Greg Cahill is the former President/Board Chair of the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) and the current President of the Nashville-based Foundation for Bluegrass Music. (click on the photo for a preview video)
www.specialc.com
Admission : $15

April 27, 2013
Corsair Concert Series presents
THE DALE ANN BRADLEY BAND

Mark your calendars for a wonderful time. On Saturday evening, April 27th, one of bluegrass music's treasures, who is gifted with one of the most natural and expressive voices the music genre has ever known, will perform with her band in Tawas City as part of the Corsair Concert Series. The 7:30 p.m. concert will take place at the Tawas United Methodist Church Family Center.

A mountain murder ballad, a haunting tale of the Underground Railroad, a trip on a moonshine run, a walk in the mists of Ireland, a wild ride with Bobby McGee: whatever DALE ANN BRADLEY sings, people believe her. That’s because she’s the real deal, a Primitive Baptist preacher’s daughter raised in the rural southeastern Kentucky crossroads of Williams Branch, where family and faith came first. Singing old style hymns in a church where no musical instruments were allowed, living down a rural road where electricity and running water weren’t available until she was in high school, Bradley learned the hardships and the joys of a way of life that had more in common with that of earlier generations than the experiences of her contemporaries in today’s bluegrass scene. “It was very different. It was not easy,” she says. And even as a girl, she knew she wanted more. “When you go up on one of the mountains there, it’s breathtakingly gorgeous — but I was so sure I was never going to be able to leave.”

She was sure of something else: her love for music. An uncle who’d been part of the Appalachian migration to Detroit brought country music tapes back with him when he came to visit, opening her ears to music beyond church hymns. Bradley began to claim her own right to music at age 14, borrowing her uncle’s guitar to play and sing at Pine Mountain State Park. Soon she joined her first bluegrass band, Back Porch Grass and it was a fellow bandmate, Harold McGeorge, who later helped her put together a demo, take it to Nashville, and get her a gig on “Barndance.” In 1991, she became the lead singer and guitarist with New Coon Creek Girls, recording four albums for Pinecastle Records. In 1997, the group disbanded and she became a solo artist. Her solo debut record, East Kentucky Morning, was chosen as an editor’s pick at Billboard. Soon she became a mainstay at Kentucky’s Renfro Valley Barn Dance and she was the recipient of the Traditional Female Vocalist of the Year Award from SPBGMA. Eventually her love for music would take her out of the mountains and into the top ranks of bluegrass stars where she has garnered a list of awards as long as Highway 40.

Women are reshaping the bluegrass sound, and Bradley, with her mountain pure soprano, her knack for storytelling, and her true-life roots, is one of those creating that exciting music. She’s the recipient of the prestigious 2007, 2008 , 2009, 2011, & 2012 IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year Awards and has been hailed by Alison Krauss and Ricky Skaggs as one of the greatest vocalists in country and bluegrass music.

A smartly selected crew of singers and musicians, featuring renown guitarist / vocalist Steve Gulley, dobro whiz Phil Leadbetter, two time national banjo champion Mike Sumner, mandolin / fiddle player Greg Hodge and Bryan Turner on bass, make up the excellent band that accompanies Dale Ann on a touring schedule that takes her all over the globe.

Advance tickets ($15) for the Saturday, April 27th concert are available at Nordic Sports in East Tawas. Proceeds from the concert series are used to maintain and operate the Corsair Skiing and Hiking Trails in the Huron National Forest. For advance tickets and further information call (989) 362-2001

Click On The Photos To View Video Introductions

What is “Americana Music”?
American folk music, also known as Americana, is a broad category of music that includes Native American music, bluegrass, country music, gospel, old time music, Appalachian folk, blues, zydeco and cajun. The music is considered "American" because it is either native to the United States or the music varied enough from its origins that it struck musicologists as something distinctly new. For example, traditional bluegrass instrumentation consists of the banjo which originated on the African continent, guitars from Europe, fiddling styles which have their roots in traditional Irish and other Gaelic fiddling techniques, and yodeling from the alpine regions of Europe. It is also considered "roots music" because it served as the basis of music later developed in the United States, including rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and jazz.

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