Washington Bluegrass Music Festival Events

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(Our Gazette Editor)
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Special Notice

We are looking for bands for the 2024 Mt St Helens Festival. Please send promo hard copy to:
WBA P.O.box 490 Toledo Wa. 98591 

Kentucky Sky

Kentucky Sky is a new traditional Bluegrass band, featuring Randy Hackworth on guitar, Fred Frank on banjo, Emily Frank on bass and Chad Fadely on mandolin.

Fred and Emily, a married couple have played with Chad Fadely in the Fred and Emily Band for a number of years, but with the addition of Randy Hackworth’s true, Kentucky soulful Bluegrass voice, it was felt that a new band name was called for.

Both Randy and Emily also write a significant portion of the band’s songs in a traditional Bluegrass style. This makes for a refreshing, yet familiar sound the band offers.

Annie Staninec
& with Whiskey Deaf

Whiskey Deaf plays a lively mix of lesser-known traditional bluegrass, old-time and early country tunes, and brings together a unique blend of styles and talents. They are all seasoned professionals, but most importantly they share a genuine joy playing this music with one another, and it comes through in every performance.

Annie Staninec is a uniquely gifted fiddle player, bringing driving rhythm, musicality and joyful exuberance to every performance. She has performed in over 20 countries with artists spanning from Peter Rowan to Rod Stewart, and is on countless recordings in a variety of musical styles. Annie has been receiving musical recognition and awards since a young age, and her fiddling is 100% guaranteed to put a smile on your face!

Annie will be joined by her musical partner John Kael on banjo. John is a founding member of Whiskey Deaf, a multi-instrumentalist and award-winning songwriter, and has toured and taught internationally for over 20 years.

On vocals and guitar will be the powerhouse singer Jered Widman. An Oregon native, Jered was introduced to early country music at a young age by a musical family, and his voice has been showcased in numerous country and bluegrass bands for decades, including local favorites Great Northern Planes.

Playing mandolin and also singing lead and harmony vocals is Jeff Smith, who has been playing bluegrass on the west coast for over four decades. Jeff is a founding member and contributing songwriter for the renowned Sam Hill, and has also performed with Broken Top, the Leah Larson Band, Old Friends and others.

Anchoring the bass is the rock-solid Dee Johnson, who has graced the stages of nearly every northwestern festival with numerous bands including Sunny South, Fern Hill, The Loafers, WIld Mountain Honey, and of course - Whiskey Deaf!

The Baker Family Bluegrass Band

The Baker Family is a high-energy bluegrass band located in south central Missouri. they perform at bluegrass events throughout the United States from Maine to California. Some shows include Season 12 of AMERICA'S GOT TALENT, RFD-TV's The Bluegrass Trail, and PBS Great American Bluegrass, while also winning awards including 2016 International Country Gospel Music Association Bluegrass Band of the Year, SPBGMA Midwest Album of the Year- Walking a Straight Path, and SPBGMA Midwest Entertainers of the Year. Band members consist of Trustin Baker [23yrs old - Fiddle/Banjo/lead vocals/harmony], Carina Baker [21yrs old - Mandolin/lead vocals/harmony/jig dancer], Elijah Baker [18yrs old - lead guitar& Upright Bass/lead vocals/harmony], and Carrie Baker [mother - guitar/upright bass].

HillBilly Fever

HillBilly Fever is a hard-driving traditional Bluegrass band made of seasoned musicians with varied backgrounds.

Mark Krider banjo player, has deep bluegrass roots from the North Carolina Mts. Where he grew up listening to and pickin’ bluegrass."You might say it's in the water there." Working hard to keep the traditional sound going Mark formed HillBilly Fever. The band has performed from the East to the west coast.

Mark has shared the stage with The Osborne Bros, The Country Gentleman, The Lewis Family, Blue Highway

Randy Pasley joined playing dobro. Randy also sings lead, tenor baritone, and bass. Randy's style of dobro playing is top-notch. He has performed with Doc Watson, Wayne Henderson, and Tim O'Bryant, to name a few.AlsoRandy won a first-place dobro at The Galax Old TIME fiddlers convention. Randy and his wife reside in Ogden, Utah.

Tucker McCandless is the lead singer and guitar player; he plays all the instruments well. Comes to us from Pigeon Forge, Tn. Mark and Tucker have been making music off and on for the last 25 years. Tucker has such a great bluegrass voice he's just a pleasure to listen to and he brings out that" High Lonesome sound." Tucker also performed at Dollywood for almost 10 years.

Hudson Bosworth leads guitar and vocals. Hudson studied guitar with Wyatt Rice for four years at ETSU in Johnson City, Tn Hudson has developed into one of the best flat pickers around and makes his home in Ogden, Utah, along with his 1986 Sana Cruise guitar.

Billy Parker mandolin tenor lead baritone vocals. Billy is known all over the west coast as 'The Mandolin Man' Billy comes from the east coast and makes his home in Chandler, Az. Billy has been recording and playing Bluegrass for many years. He is one of the very top performers you will get to hear.

Chris Jones from Austin, Tx. has just joined the group playing bass. Chris has been performing locally all around Texas for the past seven years and is ready to hit the Road with HBF.
Chris and his wife make their home in Austin, Texas.

Remember: "Everybody Needs A Shot Of HillBilly Fever".

FarmStrong Bluegrass Band

FarmStrong lights up the stage with exquisite harmony signing and seasoned instrumentation. The band’s heart draws on inspiration from the last century of country, blues, and bluegrass music from the 1920s through the ’50s and folk, rock, gospel, and soul music of the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, and beyond. FarmStrong’s talented and experienced musicians take their audience outside the bluegrass tradition. Their unmistakable sound moves the soul while remaining firmly rooted in music from the mountains.

Band Members:
Jim Faddas - At the heart FarmStrong, Jim Faddis’ soulful voice strikes a chord deep within audience members and resonates with a musical memory of long ago. His former bluegrass band, Prairie Flyer, fired up the Washington State bluegrass scene for years, reflecting Faddis’ talent and skill in driving a very talented group. Faddis’ gift for songwriting and his songster ways shine in FarmStrong, where he leans on styles from Gillian Welch to Neil Young for inspiration, making new and old tunes, his own.

Cort Armstrong - It is Cort Armstrong’s unique style of thumb-driven guitar picking, reminiscent of Merle Travis, which has tied together the many styles of music he performs, from country blues to bluegrass. However, Armstrong’s voice has tempered through the years and is a big part of his ability to bring songs to life. His harmony signing sensibilities reflect a lifelong passion, and Armstrong’s connection to the soul of the Appalachian Mountains contributes to a vocal blend with Faddis and Rick Meade that is hard to beat.

Rick Meade - Rick Meade brings a virtuosic touch to the dobro and banjo and completes the vocal trio. He takes the band’s harmony singing and instrumental arranging to a new level with his substantial experience in choirs and in numerous exceptional bluegrass bands, such as Rural Delivery, Brother’s Keeper, and Me & The Boys. Meade contributes a complementary set of songs to the band’s mix, including contemporary bluegrass and folk/rock songs.

John Pyles - John Pyles brings so much more to the band than just top-notch bass playing, as his sense for song construction, vocal harmonies, and instrumental arrangements has been a driving force in helping guide the band’s very natural song development process. John’s 50-year pursuit of bluegrass music and bass playing forms a firm foundation for FarmStrong’s sound.