Nominated IBMA Event of the Year 2005 & 2007!

The Minnesota Bluegrass & Old-Time Music Festival
August 7-10 2008
El Rancho Mañana, Richmond, MN

SHOWCASE TENT

Showcases are special shows or demonstrations, usually revolving around a theme or an instrument.  They provide a forum for musicians to talk about their instruments, influences, techniques, and style, as well as to demonstrate their craft in an informal manner.  Showcases are also a great place for festival-goers to ask questions and talk with the performers.

THURSDAY

5:00 PM - Grand Opening Celebration & Pig Roast Dinner with hosts Dick & Sue Hopperstad. Music by Now And Then who are celebrating the release of their new CD.  Tickets for a grand pig roast will be available at the dinner for $12 for adults and $6 for children age nine and under while they last .

5:30 PM - Now And Then.  Classic country and delitful harmonies from this fine quartet. Maybe you'll want to buy a CD too. Non-diners are welcome.

7:00 PM - Swing Dance.  The DitchLilies will get things swinging for an evening of fun in the Dance Tent.

FRIDAY

1:00 PM - Old-Time Banjo Showcase.  Corey Mohan (Poor Benny) will host Mike Seeger (Mike Seeger), Riley Baugus (Dirk Powell Band), and Evie Ladin (Stairwell Sisters).

2:00 PM - Traditional Mouth Instruments Showcase. Harmonica, jaw harp, and quills (panpipes). They're all used in old time and a couple are used in bluegrass. Mike Seeger plays them all and will introduce you to them.

3:00 PM - Banjo Mania. Deering Banjo representative Lawson Peets will bring his nationally touring show to our festival. Learn about the history and building of banjos.

4:00 PM - An All-Women Bluegrass Band Comes Together. Since we have an all-women old-time band (The Stairwell Sisters) and an all-women honky-tonk band (The DitchLilies) at the festival, we thought in the interest of fairness we might assemble an all-women bluegrass band. So we asked five of our mainstage performers to get together and play a little bluegrass. Lisa Fuglie (Monroe Crossing) will host Kathe Liners (Ivory Bridge), Brennen Leigh (Brennen Leigh), and Peggy Olson (Morgans Run).

5:00 PM - Fancy Fiddling Showcase.  Michael Cleveland has won the Fiddle Player of the Year Award from the International Bluegrass Music Association five times (yes, that's five times!). There's some fancy fiddlin' in those fingers.

6:00 PM - Clogging Showcase & Workshop. The Stairwell Sisters will not only show you how it's done and give you a bit of the history of American percussive dance, but will also teach you how to do it yourself. Come join in the fun.

7:30 PM - Old-Time Dance with music by Poor Benny and dances called by TBA.

9:30 PM - Cajun Dance with music by Balfa Toujours featuring Christine Balfa and Dirk Powell.

SATURDAY

12:00 PM - How Many Styles Does It Take To Play A Bass? Mark Anderson (Monroe Crossing) will host Jason Moore (Mountain Heart), Jamey Booher (Grasstowne), and Martha Hawthorne (Stairwell Sisters).

1:00 PM - Bluegrass Mandolin Masters Showcase.  Matt Thompson (Monroe Crossing) will host five time IBMA Mandolin Player of the Year Adam Steffey (Mountain Heart), Alan Bibey (Grasstowne), Matt Raum (Brennen Leigh), and Kari Larson (The DitchLilies).

2:00 PM - Bluegrass Flatpick Guitar Masters Showcase. Our Minnesota State Flatpicking Guitar Champion, Bill Liners (Ivory Bridge) will host Clay Hess (Mountain Heart), Steve Gulley (Grasstowne), and Josh Shilling (Mountain Heart).

3:00 PM Bluegrass Dobro Masters Showcase.  Phil Leadbetter (Grasstowne) was the 2005 recipient of the IBMA Dobro Player of the Year Award. He'll give us a little taste of what that means.

4:00 PM - Race For A Place Band Contest Showcase. The MBOTMA Festival is honored to have each of the three top finishers of the 2008 Race For A Place Band Contest at this year's festival. Sawtooth, Morgans Run, and The Bag O'Dirt Band will all be on hand to perform a couple of their winning numbers. Here is a chance to see them all together and ask them what they did to prepare and compete in the contest.

5:00 PM - Fiddle Styles. Bluegrass, Old-Time, Cajun - what do they all mean and how do they differ when it comes to the fiddle? Clayton Shanilec (Poor Benny) will host Mike Seeger (Mike Seeger), Dirk Powell (Dirk Powell Band), Courtney Granger (Balfa Toujours), and Jim Van Cleeve (Mountain Heart).

6:00 PM - Bluegrass Banjo Masters Showcase. Jim Tordoff (Ivory Bridge) will host Barry Abernathy (Mountain Heart) and Jason Davis (Grasstowne).

7:30 PM - Old-Time Dance with music by The Stairwell Sisters and dances called by Evie Ladin.

9:30 PM - Cajun Dance with music by Balfa Toujours featuring Christine Balfa and Dirk Powell.

SUNDAY

9:00 AM - Bluegrass Worship Service with host Richard Dugan and music by TBA

11:00 AM - Duet Singing.  It only takes two. Bill & Kate Isles and Kim & Quillan Roe will demonstrate just how well it works.

12:00 PM - Song Arranging.  The audience will play an integral part in helping the members of Monroe Crossing create an original arrangement for a song that they will use in their 2:05 PM main stage performance. Will they remember how it goes?

1:00 PM - Early Southern Guitar Styles Showcase. There is quite a variety to southern guitar styles in old-time music. Mike Seeger has a recent CD and instructional DVD that demonstrates many of them and is one of the few authorities on the subject.