Peter Rowan saw bluegrass born
In advance of his appearance this Saturday (1/10) at Don Quixote’s International Music Hall (Felton, CA), the Santa Cruz Good Time Weekly wrote about man-of-many-disciplines Peter Rowan.
In an article entitled Peter Rowan saw bluegrass born, the writer drew attention to Rowan’s website, where the former Blue Grass Boy comments on the present state of the music.
“To play bluegrass right”, Rowan claims on his website, “you’ve got to learn it from someone like Bill Monroe, who has it in his genes. Bill’s a very strong leader. He wouldn’t stand for any messing with his music. After he goes, very few people will be able to do anything but a fast or slow tune. Bluegrass isn’t a dance style anymore. All the old steps are being forgotten. I liked it because it had blues and ballads, and when Bill Monroe played the mandolin, fire came out.”
The main part of the story reminds readers of Rowan’s chequered career in the music business. You can readthe full article online.
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Cybergrass has a story announcing a January 23, 2007 release date for the new CD from Peter Rowan and Tony Rice. The CD is to be titled Quartet and will, of course, feature Rice and Rowan, along with Sharon Gilchrist on mandolin and vocals, and Bryn Davies on bass and vocals.
Highlights include five...
Scott Tichenor, proprietor of Mandolin Cafe, shot us a note about some photos published yesterday on his site.
Cafe member John Fields posted several pictures he took of Bill Monroe on tour in England during 1996, which he had waylaid and only recently rediscovered. They show Big Mon with Richard...
When we posted in November about the upcoming January '07 release of the new CD from Peter Rowan and Tony Rice, we mentioned that they would tour in support of the project this year.
They are about to embark on a string of east coast dates together running from March 14-25, and will reunite for a...
Homespun Video is set to release a new instructional DVD this week featuring Peter Rowan and Tony Rice. Entitled Peter Rowan and Tony Rice Teach Songs, Guitar and Musicianship, the DVD runs 110 minutes with Rowan Rice teaching a half dozen songs from the repertoire of their live shows.
Rowan shows...
combines bluegrass, blues, and reggae into a sound all his own. The holidays are all about congregation and celebration and these two pickers are doing just that.
Only five stops are planned on this tour so if you're interested you'll need to act now. Here are the tour dates.
12.13.06 Georgia...
The Peter Rowan & Tony Rice Quartet has undergone a couple changes recently. In addition to Rowan & Rice, the quartet formerly consisted of mandolinist Sharon Gilchrist and bassist Bryn Davies.
Both ladies have recently moved on to other pursuits and accordingly, Rowan & Rice have brought...
We found some more great Merlefest coverage online.
Cindy Baucom has posted a number of photos she took during the festival on her Knee Deep In Bluegrass blog. She has shots from stage shows, from backstage and some in the vendors' area.
Tom Bibey has extensive Merlefest commentary available on...
Banjo pioneer Bill Keith is interviewed in a lengthy piece published online by the Hudson Valley Bluegrass Association.
Bill talks about his current musical activities and his involvement with a number of noteworthy ensembles in his younger days. He was introduced to most bluegrass fans when he joined...
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I’ve been seing Peter Rowan play music for about 15 years now and the performance of, “The Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band” that I saw this last summer was the best yet! Jody Stecher, Keith Little, Peter Rowan and company put on a performance of true high lonesome bluegrass. The crowd was very appreciative with standing ovations and the band responding with multiple encores.
His quote above might come off as high headed to some – to think that someone can only learn bluegrass from playing with a legend, or learn it only the way he (Rowan) did. But I hear what he’s getting at. There aren’t a lot of folks doing what was happening on that stage for that show – and I’d like to think that I learned a little something more about bluegrass just by being there.
You must