ItsCountry - Country Music Events

The Manjimup Bluegrass & Old Time Music Weekend is on again over the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, September 21-24th.

Manjimup is hosting three old time music musicians, Ashlee Watkins, Andrew Small and Jeremy Marcott, all experts in their field and you can do workshops with them over the weekend.

During Saturday 22nd there will be music in the local cafes, jam session happening at allocated venues and old timey workshops. One workshop which will appeal to many is the Songs From the Mountains with Ashlee Watkins & Andrew Small and another that for all the piano players out there, is the Old Timey Piano workshop with Jeremy Marcotte.

A highlight of the weekend will be the feature concert on the Saturday night at the Manjimup Town Hall. The New Macedon Rangers, ie. Watkins and Small, will be joined by their friend Marcotte to bring you a very special concert. They will be presenting music which will include a range of traditional dance music from North Carolina and Virginia, mountain ballads and early country songs. The New Macedon Rangers' stirring harmonies and driving instrumentals tap into the very essence of traditional American music.

Opening the concert for the three visiting performers will be popular Margaret River bluegrass/folk band Doug & Cletus. They’ll be bringing you their foot tapping rhythmic music, their instrumental solos and most importantly their powerful vocal harmonies for which this five piece band is earning a solid reputation for good-time music.

The Sunday morning Gospel SingOut at St Martin’s Church, Manjimup will feature both the New Macedon Rangers, Jeremy Marcotte and bluegrass and old time enthusiasts from Perth and around the southwest. The Gospel SingOut, which starts at 10am, is free, and as everyone enjoys a good sing along it is always a very popular event.

While in Manjimup for the weekend you can go to the Manjimup Farmers’ Market which showcases the fabulous fresh produce from the Southern Forests Region.

For more details about the Manjimup Bluegrass & Old Time Music Weekend, go to www.manjimupbluegrass.com

To buy tickets go to Iwannaticket and search “Manjimup”.

WHEN WHERE

Another great acoustic music concert is coming your way! Right now Ashlee Watkins (AUS.) and Andrew Small (USA) are in the USA winning awards for their singing, fiddling and banjo playing. They will be flying back to Australia and coming straight to perform for you at Manjimup. They'll be joined on stage by American musician Jeremy Marcotte, who plays banjo, guitar, fiddle amongst other things! Supporting the New Macedon Rangers and Jeremy Marcotte will be an exciting young band of musicians from Margaret River, Doug & Cletus. This five piece band play a bluegrass/folk fusion style of music and you'll love their harmonies, their instrumental solos and their toe tapping rhythms. Click the link to buy your tickets now.

New Macedon Rangers bio:

Presenting a range of traditional dance music from North Carolina and Virginia to mountain ballads and early country songs, The New Macedon Rangers' stirring harmonies and driving instrumentals tap into the essence of traditional American music.

The band has performed extensively in the United States and Australia and they have provided music for the legendary Green Grass Cloggers. The New Macedon Rangers were named winner of the old-time band contests at the 2017 Hoppin’ John Fiddler’s Convention, the 2018 Fiddler’s Grove Festival, and at the 2018 Tazewell County Fiddler’s Convention.

Ashlee Watkins and Andrew Small have racked up a number of blue ribbons for old time banjo and old time fiddle, respectively, as well as for folk singing at fiddler’s conventions across North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee, and Ashlee was awarded the prize for best all around performer at the 2018 Tazewell County Fiddler’s Convention in Virginia. Additionally, Ashlee and Andrew co-founded and coordinate the Dorrigo Old Time Music School.

 

Jeremy Marcotte

Jeremy Marcotte is an American multi-instrumentalist living in Melbourne, Australia.  He maintains a busy performance schedule as a drummer with the Johnny Can't Dance Cajun band with Australian old time and traditional Cajun music hero Craig Woodward.  His duo with fellow Melbourne mandolin play, guitarist, and vocalist Tom Kendall (Knott Family Band) is gaining momentum and recognition by playing frequent gigs around Melbourne and being invited to play at national festivals for old time and bluegrass music later on in the 2018 year.  Jeremy plays banjo, fiddle, piano, guitar, bass, and drums and sings.  He can often be found playing boogie woogie piano at the house or out near the Yarra River with a fiddle in hand practicing licks.  

Doug and Cletus are a Bluegrass/Folk band from Margaret River, Western Australia. Their upbeat fusion of traditional and modern song writing, contemporary/ trad covers and instrumental pieces makes for an electric and exciting listening experience that's sure to get your toes tappin. The band consists of Justin Haddow (mandolin, vocals), Ryan Brennan (guitar, vocals), Joey Gibson (banjo, vocal), Max Harwood (double bass, vocals) and Isabelle Lemon (fiddle, vocals).

The band formed after Joey picked up the banjo and recruited his ex-heavy metal band members Justin and Ryan. Soon after Max and Isabelle joined and the crew began gigging and recording. When one of their cover videos (Africa, Toto) went viral the band received local and international attention, catching the eye of media outlets like The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, WA Today, Margaret River Mail...

Their energetic live performances are full of powerful vocal harmonies and tasteful Solo's. With comparisons to Mumford and Sons and influences including New Grass Revival, Paul Kelly and The Punch Brothers, Doug and Cletus deliver a modern Australian twist on an old American Genre. 

www.dougandcletus.com

Four of Australia’s Best Muso’s are coming to Manjimup.

Manjimup is set to come alive when Australia’s finest Bluegrass musicians, Donal Baylor, Ian Simpson, Tony O’Rourke and Adam Gare converge to host the Manjimup Bluegrass JamCamp, September 22-25th, 2017. http://www.manjimupbluegrass.com/

JamCamp is a three day long weekend full of workshops, instrument tuition and jam sessions, catering for “3 chord” players through to those who like to give the fingerboard a good workout. The aim is to provide you with top tutors, plenty of playing opportunities, the chance to meet other people who love bluegrass music, and to send you home inspired excited and exhausted! 

Sign up for fiddle, banjo, flat pick guitar or mandolin and come along for some great music and expert teaching. Sunday night gives you the chance to perform at blackboard concert, and Monday offers the opportunity for a Band Master Class.

Details, information and registration at http://www.manjimupbluegrass.com/ or check out our Facebook site: Manjimup Bluegrass & Old Time Music Weekend.

A great variety of entertainment is available to those not enrolled in the JamCamp. “Open to all” events include Friday night Tutors Concert and Saturday night bush dance. Venues for all sessions are within the local Manjimup CBD.

We are really excited to have four musicians, of such renown, to play and teach at the 2017 Manjimup Bluegrass JamCamp.

Donal specializes in fiddle, but also plays acoustic guitar, claw hammer banjo, mandolin and ukulele. He won the 1985 and 1986 National Fiddle contest in Tamworth and in 1990 was the first Australian to qualify for the U.S. Grand Master Fiddle Championships. For the past 15 years, he has been the fiddler in Bluegrass Parkway and also is part of the Canberra-based Black Mountain String Band.

Ian’s career highlights include recording over 20 albums with Slim Dusty, seven Golden Guitars at Tamworth with The Flying Emus, three Australian National Banjo Championships, an ARIA and other awards too numerous to mention. Ian plays a variety of instruments including the guitar, Dobro, pedal steel and double bass, but admits the banjo is still his passion.

Tony studied for 5 years at the Bruce Clarke Guitar Workshop in Melbourne plays guitar and banjo, specializing in Bluegrass and Traditional Irish music. He has released 3 CD's of Irish influenced music. Along with Gerry Gaffney he produces podcasts of Irish music. 

 Adam has been of the acoustic music scene for many years. He spent some years in Melbourne where he toured with Paul Kelly, Tim Rogers and Rene Geyer to name a few. Adam remains one of the foremost mandolin players in Perth.

Manjimup is the gateway to the southern forests so there is plenty to see and do. Local markets are the place for fresh produce and crafts. http://www.manjimupwa.com/