Tag Archives: Roochie Toochie and the Ragtime Shepherd Kings

50 Never Looked So Good

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On Friday, May 13, 2016 Chestnut House Concerts will host our 50th show.  In 2012 when we started, we held 7 house concerts and each year after the frequency increased.

People have asked us who our favorite musicians have been, and we cannot answer since there have simply been too many amazing artists that have walked through our doors. We’ve had primarily roots/bluegrass bands here, but some exceptions include Baskery, The Stacks (Tania Elizabeth / Andy Stack) , Roochie Toochie and the Ragtime Shepherd Kings, and our most recent show with Pierre Bensusan. Most bands are traveling through on tours but we’ve been lucky enough to have local musicians like Jake Lewis and the Clergy and The Stray Birds.euroamericana-2016

 

On Friday we reach show #50 by adding Kelley McRae to our list.. Her most recent album The Wayside debuts at No. 7 on the EuroAmericana charts, and below is a link to the video of Rare Bird from this album.

 

 

http://nodepression.com/video/premiere-kelley-mcrae-rare-bird

We hope you can attend the show on Friday and celebrate our 50th show with us. To RSVP contact Tim at tlehman9@gmail.com or send a text to 717-940-9311.  The suggested donation is $15-20 and all money goes to the musicians. We have a potluck at 6 and music starts at 7.  There will be some opening songs by Those Sensible Shoes from NYC.

 

 

Artist Updates

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Laney Jones has a new band! Bass player Tré Hester and percussionist Brian Dowd join founding member Matthew Tonner (guitarist). If you want to hear Laney Jones and the Spirits they will be in Pennsylvania on September 26, 2015 in Schyulkill Haven. In the meantime we’ll be looking for ways to schedule them at Chestnut House Concerts.

Congratulations to Roochie Toochie and the Ragtime Shepherd Kings as they took home 1st Place for Neo Traditional Band at Clifftop 2015. No one who witnessed their July 28, 2015 performance at Chestnut House Concerts should be surprised with this news.

Soon after their summer 2015 US tour that included a983792_10153531839914803_8988931035366921402_n visit to Lancaster, PA, I Draw Slow completed their first tour in Canada. The International Bluegrass Music Association announced two nominations for I Draw Slow – The momentum awards for Band Performance, and Vocalist Performance (Louise). Awards are presented Wednesday, September 30, 2015. You’ve got our vote for both categories – best wishes!

The next show at Chestnut House Concerts is The Blackberry Bushes Stringband from Seattle. This five piece Americana Bluegrass band will be performing at 7:00 pm on Friday, September 25, 2015. There will be a potluck at 6:00 pm and the suggested donation is $15/20 per person.  To reserve seats contact Tim at tlehman9@gmail.com or by phone/text to 717-940-9311.

Roochie Toochie and the Ragtime Shepherd Kings

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The first phonograph showed up in 1877, yet another invention by Thomas Edison – and even he was fond of this machine that could record and play back sound and would often reply to questions about his best invention, “I like the phonograph best”.

Performers would stand before a funnel-shaped horn attached to a phonograph and belt out their tunes. High volumes of sound were required to make the recording diaphragm vibrate strong enough to force the cutting stylus to carve on the blank wax cylinder. The recording engineer would tell the musicians when to begin and would keep the wax shavings from getting in the way of the stylus during the recording.

Roochie Toochie and the Ragtime Shepherd Kings have recorded songs on “honest to goodness” wax cylinder. The band, made up of Aaron Jonah Lewis, Matt Bell, Timmy Findlen, Lindsay McCaw, and Joy Patterson, reports “our mission is to perform the weirdest songs from the early days of tin pan alley on the format on which they were first recorded – wax cylinder”. The video below shows the band recording “The moon shines on the moonshine”.

Can’t wait to welcome this band to Lancaster, Pa and to host the Roochies on Tuesday, July 28 at 7:00 pm at Chestnut House Concerts.

2013 Memories – I Draw Slow

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Typically prior to a Chestnut House Concert show we use this website to write about the bands that are next on our performance schedule in hopes to improve attendance and to give the bands some additional exposure.

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Louise Holden, Greyfox 2013 (photo by Tim Lehman)

We are extremely honored to host I Draw Slow at Chestnut House Concerts on Monday. Twice now in our house concert venture we had a full audience RSVP without recruitment efforts.  In January 2015 Harpeth Rising, with their own amazing marketing efforts reached out to the local papers, and our house concerts were featured in Lancaster Newspapers. We could have held another house show the next evening and still turned people away.

The show on the 13th with I Draw Slow filled equally as fast – without marketing. We knew it would. We saw them at Greyfox Bluegrass Festival in 2013; their first appearance at Greyfox. Two measures into the first song I knew I was going to appreciate their set. Two songs into the set I knew I was going to go hear them again at another stage later in the day. The lead singer Louise has a great voice – but for me it’s the harmonies added by her brother Dave (guitarist) that make the ears happy. Konrad Liddy is on the upright bass, Adrian Hart on fiddle, and Colin Derham on banjo. Each masters his own instrument yet as a band it’s obvious that it is all about providing support to Louise with a sound that is tight yet full of emotion.

If you missed signing up for this house concert you can check out I Draw Slow at Tellus360 on Tuesday, July 14, 9:00 pm.  Our next house concert is the Roochie Toochie Ragtime Shepherd Kings on Tuesday, July 28, 2015 at 7:00 pm.  RSVP with Tim at tlehman9@gmail.com.

Artist Updates

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BN-IX108_NYKULT_M_20150612162014Tim Connell who played at Chestnut House Concerts in 2014 and 2015 with Mando Planet also plays mandolin with the world renowned Ger Mandolin Orchestra. They recently performed in New York City, an event that was picked up by the Wall Street Journal. 

 

Our very first house concert guest back in 2012 (and again with Sally Barris in 2015) was Jonathan Byrd. In my opinion he is one of the best writers in Americana music, and Jonathan Byrd’s response to the tragedy in South Carolina was shared over 4,000 times on Facebook.

 

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She said ‘Yes’.

 

Alex Conerly of The Barefoot Movement proposed to his love, female vocalist Marion Grace, at the Grand Ole Opry.  We’re happy to celebrate their engagement.

 

 

After doing a project together for Earthwork Music, Lindsay Lou and the Flatbellys recorded “Burning it Down” with Max Lockwood and John Driscoll at La Luna Recording and Sound. They sound mighty fine together, but it might be difficult to squeeze a 6 piece band on our ‘stage’ at Chestnut House Concerts.

The July 13, 2015 concert with I Draw Slow is sold out. You can see them on July 14, 2015 at Tellus360. On July 28, 2015 we will be hosting Roochie Toochie and the Ragtime Shepherd Kings. Suggested donation is 15/20. Potluck at 6 pm and show at 7 pm. Email Tim at tlehman9@gmail.com or call/text 7179408311 to RSVP.