Claire’s New Compass Album
From Gerry Katz:
Greetings from the Boston Bluegrass Union –
The BBU is pleased to kick off our 39th concert season with the Claire Lynch Band along with the Lonely Heartstring Band on Saturday, November 23rd at the National Heritage Museum in Lexington, MA. It should be an exciting evening of music.
By any measure, the Claire Lynch Band is high on the bluegrass world’s A-List, with musicians whose accolades include three International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Female Vocalist of the Year awards and two Grammy nominations for Best Bluegrass Album (Claire); the MerleFest Doc Watson Guitar Champion (Matt Wingate); two IBMA Bass Player of the Year awards (Mark Schatz) and an unprecedented triple first-place win at the Winfield Kansas National Flatpicking Championship on guitar, fiddle and mandolin (Bryan McDowell).
Claire’s musical direction dates back to the days of the Front Porch String Band, resulting in a seasoned sound that is simultaneously unpretentious and richly textured. It’s a down-home, front porch sensibility—until you realize that it’s a rare front porch, indeed, that has ever hosted musicians of this caliber. The band is grounded by bassist Mark Schatz’s deft touch and masterful instinct for groove. North Carolina native Bryan McDowell brings gifted chops that reveal a captivating style and a balanced intellect. And Matt Wingate is a remarkably soulful young gun whose mature improvisational musicality is seemingly far beyond his years, making him instantly at home in one of the greatest acoustic bands currently on the scene.
2013 has been a great year for the band, with Claire winning IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year for the third time, and the release of the band’s latest release, Dear Sister on Compass Records. The new recording has received exciting critical acclaim. Read all about it on www.clairelynch.com and view an in depth of Music Matters Review of Dear Sisterhere. For interview requests contact Emily Amos at Compass records publicity@compassrecords.com
Doubtlessly inspired by Claire Lynch’s eclectic, open-hearted approach to bluegrass, supporting act the Lonely Heartstring Band hail from the Boston area and consist of five Berklee College of Music students: Gabe Hirshfeld (banjo), Louis Fram (bass), George Clements (guitar), Matt Witler (mandolin), and Patrick M’Gonigle (fiddle). Their repertoire consists of an intriguing mix of more traditional bluegrass fare and Beatles compositions, ingeniously reimagined as straight-ahead bluegrass vehicles. Already local favorites, the Lonely Heartstring Band boast a dynamic, infectious sound — one that recently won them the 2013 Thomas Point Bluegrass Festival Band Contest. Visit them online at http://lonelyheartstringband.bandcamp.com
Tickets are $25 (BBU Members $23) and can be purchased online at www.bbu.org or by mailing a check (payable to the BBU) with self-addressed stamped envelope to Boston Bluegrass Union, PO Box 650061, West Newton, MA 02465. The National Heritage Museum is located at 33 Marrett Rd. (Route 2A), Lexington, MA 02421. If available, Student Rush tickets are $15 each with Student ID at the door beginning the night of the show at 6:30 PM. Doors open at 6:30pm and concert begins at 7:30pm. Directions can be found at www.monh.org or call (781) 861-6559.
Hillbilly at Harvard 