Events

  Back to March, 2024

• Mar
  8

  Winter Concert Series - Buckthorn Ramblers

  Friday, March 8
  6p-8p
  Host: Hop Harvest & Vine
  Fee: Free

  The Buckthorn Ramblers play bluegrass music, starting with the music of Bill Monroe and continuing to the present day. They enjoy composing new music as well as creating new versions of traditional material, using vocal harmonies to tell stories, and playing the foot-stomping instrumental tunes. The Buckthorn Ramblers are a hard hitting, mandolin heavy band (and in fact all of the members are mandolin players, while some of them happen to play other instruments in the current scenario). One of the features that sets the band apart is the use of two mandolins, often trading solos and licks, and at times playing together in harmony. How is the audience affected? Some will smile, tap their foot, and sway or step to the music. For children and the young at heart, it often becomes an all-out, no-holds-barred, bouncing and bumping dance scene. The Buckthorn Ramblers look like a band should. They dress for success and aim to please, while maintaining artistic integrity and avoiding trips to trendy boutiques or the local farm supply store, as the case may be. James Anders, mandolin: This young man is full of ideas, and as a mandolin player, he fires them off with machine gun speed and precision. Bam! Kevin Christianson, mandolin: Kevin is dedicated to upholding and furthering the tradition of the bluesy, punchy bluegrass mandolin sound. Pow! In many ways, Kevin is the driving force behind the band. Eric Langford; guitar, fiddle, and bandleader Brad Astor, bass: The Buckthorn Ramblers are blessed to have Brad on bass, borrowed from the acclaimed Madison-area band “Sortin the Mail”. If the audience is lucky, they will be treated to one of Brad’s original compositions, “A Little Goes a Long Way”.