Friday & Saturday
August 8-9, 2008

Festival Musicians 2007

Special thanks to our 2007 emcee - Nick Pangaro!

Musicians for 2007 RBFF - the Music Highlights CD is in "the works". It is going to be a gem!

There was a three-hour contra dance in the evening, called by Mr. Jeffrey Petrovitch. Everyone had a great time!

Our featured musicians this year were the Goodtime Charlies.

The Goodtime Charlies are a 5-piece bluegrass and old-time string band from NH & the Lowell, MA area.

Band members are Andy Sicard (mandolin), Bill Jubett (banjo/fiddle), Bob Sevigny (guitar), April Hobart (guitar...you may remember her from The Hobohemians), and a soon-to-be-named bassplayer. Everyone in the band sings, and some of the favorites feature 4-part harmonies. The combination is guaranteed to put a smile on your face as you get drawn into the driving rhythms and the old mountain sounds of the vocals. This is a great band to dance to, and most find it impossible to sit still.

The Stringdingers are a local NH duet featuring Bill Jubett and April Hobart (both of the Goodtime Charlies). Bill plays banjo, fiddle and guitar and April plays guitar, and as a duet they are known mostly for their close harmony singing. The music varies from old country to bluegrass to old-time. The Stringdingers will leave you lonesome for the old times filled with late-night, back-porch pickin' sessions, even if you never knew that's what people used to do. Get your toes ready for tapping!

Returning from past years:

Captain Fiddle rejoined us this year! Ryan performed for us in 2003, and impressed everyone with his multi-faceted musical talent. This year his son joined him on stage.

The 3rd Sunday Fiddlers came from from Sandown, NH. Directed by Beverly Manning and backed up on the piano keyboard by her husband, Rick, this group of musicians (many of them taking private lessons from Mrs. Manning)

meets monthly and perform at various New Hamshire activities. Besides fiddles, the 3rd Sunday Fiddlers include violas, celos, and a hammer dulcimer. Mrs. Manning, a trained classical violinist now teaching the fiddle to more than thirty students, says that her motto is: "Just 'cuz it says fiddle music, it doesn't apply to just fiddles!" A special thank you to Mrs. Manning for giving one of our workshops.

The Bryan Family & Co. Originally from Northern California, this talented family performed together throughout the 1990's at every imaginable community event:

fairs, cafes, campgrounds, medical facilities, historic train rides, etc. This performance will feature all but three of the ten Bryan children (but then you must add the extended family).

The three that will not be play this year are Daniel (he, his wife Sharon Rose, and little Dominic James are living in Alaska), Suzanne (she was due to have baby number two any day!), and Clara and her children (they're traveling). However, Mrs. Bryan, Sister Marie Philomena, Sister Mary Peter, Suzanne's husband Adam, Joseph, Michael, Cecilia, Damian, and Stephen all be performed. And Mr. Fox (of Acoustic Bass of New England) provided the bass!

The Well-Tuned Trio is a relatively new light on the local music scene. A trio--growing into a larger group with the young Smarts joining in--from Richmond, Fitzwilliam, and Troy, they specialize in Irish and old-time music,

but, then again, you never know when a little bluegrass or blues will creep in. Guitars, mandolins, tin whistles, fiddle, bodhran, and concertina combined with classic lyrics for a delightful show.

The Future Famous Fiddlers and the Blueberry Jammers performed at noon. Their fifth year, these elementary and high school students of Immaculate Heart of Mary School (as well as alumni) will sing, dance, and play for your entertainment. The littlest ones always steal the show!