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Are you eager for a good old toe-tapping, knee-slapping bluegrass jam? Do the sounds of the Appalachian and Smoky Mountains stir your spirit? Look no further than the Allen Public Library. The Texas Prairie Bluegrass Band performs old-time favorites, as well as some of their original work at 7:30 p.m., Friday, January 22, at Allen Public Library, 300 N. Allen Drive.
This group’s music is characterized by hard-driving and fast-paced tunes, with frequent solo breakouts. This free program is sponsored by Bach to Books and ALLen Reads.
Texas Prairie Bluegrass Band features Patrick Bouldin on mandolin, Tim Smith on bass fiddle, Meredith Brown and Al Castleman on guitars, Doy Cloninger on fiddle, and Joe Morrow on banjo. Bandleader Patrick Bouldin states, “We hope our audience hears the descriptive differences in bluegrass music as compared to other genres—and the live ‘orchestration’ of the different pieces and the vocal harmony will put their mind squarely in the middle of old town mountain life!” He continues, “Instruments are typically in harmony, or instruments ‘talk’ to each other as if to tell part of the ballad or story the song is addressing.”
Patrick Bouldin, Joe Morrow and Al Castleman received formal blue-grass training by attending classes at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas, but they attribute most of their training to numerous bluegrass jams and festivals where they learn new techniques. Joe Morrow has studied with esteemed bluegrass musicians such as Gerald Jones, Alan Munde and Pete “Dr. Banjo” Wernick.
A 2007 graduate of Abilene Christian University, Meredith Brown has been playing the guitar since fifth grade, but discovered the beauty of bluegrass music when she performed for the Blue Ridge Dinner Theatre in Ferrum, Virginia.
Doy Cloninger has been “sawing” the fiddle about 30 years, and is considered the dry wit comedian of the group. Al Castleman began with country and western group, The Rockets, in Bogata, Texas. After retiring from the U.S. Air Force, he joined The Good News Band (bluegrass) before joining Texas Prairie Bluegrass Band.
Listening to (and watching!) Tim Smith’s technically complex bass runs and jazzy improv provides an added benefit.
For information, call Tom Keener at 214.509.4911.
Tom Keener is the cultural arts manager with the Allen Public Library.
by Tom Keener |
