Here are some photos from Monday night’s (9/29) IBMA after hours showcase events.

Last night (9/29), Brance and I ventured out to the late night IBMA showcases and watched a number of exciting young performers. We saw Farewell Drifters, Dominic Leslie and Josh Williams, and spoke at some length with Joe Dean, the 19 year old banjo picker with Dailey & Vincent.

We came away with three different looks at how this next generation might take the music, and a renewed respect for the skill and vision of these yong artists, and the determination of the bluegrass business community to nurture and promote their careers.

The first act we caught was The Farewell Drifters and while I was familiar with their debut CD, Sweet Summer Breeze I had never seen them perform in person. Their live show was different in many ways. They had the requisite instrumentation (banjo, mandolin, bass and two guitars) but they neither look nor present themselves like the typical young bluegrass band.

Their look and their original material are drawn as much from the singer/songwriter boom of the late 1960s as from the earlier legacy of the bluegrass founders. The songs are introspective and personal, and the playing is subdued and clearly secondary to the melodies and lyrics. Even their stage banter had a quirky and nervous energy, much in keeping with the band’s slightly oddball demeanor.

Next, we caught part of a showcase from mandolinist Dominick Leslie, a first year student at the Berklee College Of Music in Boston. Dominick grew up in Colorado and has been playing bluegrass since he was ten years old. He had taken the second place prize in both the Walnut Valley and Merlefest mandolin competitions before finishing high school.

Dominick performed with a number of young Boston musicians, fellow Berklee student Sam Grisman on bass, Jordan Tice on guitar and Wes Corbett on banjo. All were strong, adventurous soloists and the music they played was challenging both harmonically and technically. In the audience for this showcase were Berklee professor David Hollender, and college president Roger Brown, as well as Andy Falco from The Infamous Stringdusters who has hooting at hollering his encouragement with every hot lick.

The pickers not only had to impress their peers and industry types, but their teacher and headmaster as well! The influence of Chris Thile and his merry band was clear in the band’s music - not a band example at all for such talented young players. Remember their names.

We then wandered down the concourse to see Josh Williams perform with his new band. This time, the music was straightahead contemporary bluegrass from one of the certain rising stars in this business. Josh had memorable stints with Special Consensus and Rhonda Vincent before launching his solo career. He already has three CD projects under his name - not bad for a 28 year old singer and guitarist. (more…)

We posted in early August about the competition hosted by MountainRidge Music Marketing to select an up-and-coming band to receive their marketing and promotional services at no charge.

They have now announced that the winning MountainRidge Music Flagship Group is The Farewell Drifters, based in Nashville, TN. Members include Zachary Bevill on guitar and lead vocals, Trevor Brandt on banjo, Joshua Britt on mandolin, Clayton Britt on guitar, and Dean Marold on bass. Bevill and Britt write the bulk of the band’s material, which manages to be fresh and adventurous, while remaining accessible to both new and traditional bluegrass fans.

We wrote about them last year when we received a copy of their fine debut CD, Sweet Summer Breeze.

The Drifters have had a very good 2008, being selected as one of the official IBMA Showcase acts (performing on Wednesday evening), and having been picked up by Keith Case & Associates, who now handle their booking. They also showcased at the Americana Music Association earlier this month, and are hard at work on a new CD, with one song featured on the IBMA showcase artist CD which is distributed to all attendees.

MountainRidge will provide them promotion and tour support for 15 dates of their choosing when the company is officially launched during IBMA week. The company will provide the sort of services typically offered by a large label to unsigned artists (or who record for a small, independent label) at what they describe as affordable prices.

You can find out more about MountainRidge on their web site, and audio from The Farewell Drifters on the band’s MySpace page.

One of the bands I did not get to catch at IBMA was The Farewell Drifters. I did, however, just receive a copy of their debut CD, Sweet Summer Breeze, and am now doubly sorry that I didn’t get to see them perform live.

This self-produced project features 12 new songs written within the band among the 14 tracks, primarily written by guitarist Zach Bevill and mandolinist Joshua Britt. One of the two covers, Wheels, comes from Chris Hillman and Gram Parsons, and it fits perfectly among the band originals which share much of the melodic and lyrical sensibility.

It is always a good thing to welcome new songwriters into bluegrass music, and Bevill and Britt are fine examples of why we can confidently place this music into the hands of a new generation of artists.

A fact that seems to be lost sometimes on both new and established artists is that no amount of technical proficiency and studio tanning can compensate for weak material - and that, by extension, really great material elevates any project beyond the performance itself. The Drifters’ originals are catchy and memorable, and as likely to be appropriate before a folk, bluegrass or jamgrass audience.

Making up The Farewell Drifters are Clayton Britt on lead guitar, Trevor Brandt on banjo, and Ryan Pennington on bass along with Zach Bevill and Joshua Britt.

You can hear several tracks from Sweet Summer Breeze on the band’s MySpace page, and audio samples and download purchases are enabled on their Speakerheart page.

It seems fair to expect that these talented young men will only reach higher and achieve at a loftier level given the chance to continue performing and recording together. Kudos, fellas… this is a good’n.