Russ Carteaux 88

Russ ran the Avilla Lions Food booth at the Tri-State Festival for many years. The booth is located just north of the stage area.

While his wife was still alive, she would come by our trailer on Sunday night and give us the soup that was left over from the food booth. It made a great Monday dinner.

Russ has been in declining health and had not worked at the booth for the last couple of years. He died Monday Dec. 26, 2011.

The Billionaire Who Loved Bluegrass

F. Warren Hellman, a banjo-picking billionaire whose life followed such an extraordinary and eccentric arc it perhaps could only have taken place in San Francisco, died Dec. 18, 2011 at UCSF Medical Center. He was 77.


Warren founded the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival at the San Francisco Golden Gate park. The festival has grown to a three-day affair, with an attendance of more than 600,000 fans who see world-renowned acts like Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle and Elvis Costello — for free.

Dan Hays accepts new post

The Board of Directors of the Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County today announced that Dan Hays will become the new Director for the Franklin Theatre, 419 Main Street, Franklin, TN 37064

Hays’ acceptance of the post culminates a rigorous leadership search for the historic Main Street institution which recently underwent an $8 million renovation with a commitment to be the best 300 seat music venue in the world. Since its re-opening, The Franklin Theatre has hosted a diverse, world-class musical lineup including Sheryl Crow, Michael McDonald, The Judds, Keb' Mo', Sam Bush--with much more on the horizon--and has sold out every show in its concert series,

Banjo Hangout online workshops

Live Online Banjo Workshops

Recording the workshops is easy, and you get to interact with some of the world's top banjo players!

Check out the FAQ page for answers to common questions.

Out of the Blue - needs a guitar/lead singer

"Hard Driving Traditional Bluegrass Band" auditioning for Lead singer/rhythm guitar player. Feel free to pass along.

Out of the Blue

We are currently auditioning for a lead singer/rhythm guitar player. If interested shoot us a message.

Roger Cole has decided to leave the band (due to family obligations). We would like to thank Roger for all he has done for our band, he was a founding member of Out of the Blue and has been with the band for over ten years. What a dear friend and we wish him and his family all the best!

Interested please contact us by email or call 517-812-6590 and leave a message.

Jeff Lawless

NIBGA Board Meeting Minutes 11/20/2011

Northern Indiana Bluegrass Association
November 20, 2011 at Southwest Conservation Club, Bluffton Road, Ft. Wayne, Indiana

• The meeting was called to order at 12:35 P.M. by Pres. Jim Winger

Officers present:                                       Board directors:
 President - Jim Winger                                T.J. Collins
 Vice-President - Joe Steiner                         Paul Saurborn
 Secretary - Barbara Collins                          Pam Keiper – Via Phone
 Treasurer - Linda Winger
Others present: Chris Cooperrider, Leslie Ellis, Tonia Bacon, Carolyn Bacon & Sue Saurborn

• The October Secretary report was sent by e-mail to all officers in Oct. 2011. Paul Saurborn motioned to accept as read. T.J. Collins seconded. All approve. Motion carried.

• Financial reports were e-mailed to all officers by Treasurer Linda Winger. Financial were reviewed at the meeting. Paul Saurborn motioned to accept. Barbara Collins seconded. All approve. Motion carried.

INFORMATION ITEMS:

• A merchandise summery spread sheet was reviewed.

OLD BUSINESS

• TABLE: Emergency procedures handout. Work out at March/April meetings.
• 501C3 --- What should we do? Who will do it? Estimated time to complete?  There was a discussion. Try to do it right. Get original charter changed. Do at January meeting. Chris will get  appropriate paper work. There will be a motion drawn up by Joe Steiner for the Jan. meeting 
• All festivals are probably having a strained budget. Review possible band prospects. Reviewed budget. Band philosophy for 2012; national, regional, local, entertainment value, old timey, bluegrass, etc.  There was a long discussion about bands.
• Workshops at S11 festival appear to have been successful. After review and discussion it was determined we would continue workshops for S12. Paul Saurborn motioned to continue workshops. Pam Keiper seconded. All approved. Motion carried.
• GOLF CARTS: Discussion on how to cut back on golf carts. 2 seat carts and cargo boxes rent for $30 a day. 4 seaters rent for $50 a day. 6 seat carts are $75 a day plus a fixed delivery charge. Total $2,400. After much review it was decided to cut total amount of 2 seat carts from 12 to 10. There might be a 4 seat Taxi cart and a 6 seat cart. We will keep the utility cart for the janitor. 
• TABLE: Taxi service. Revisit in the spring 2012.
• Port-a-jons: Camper units are less lately. Discussion on saving money by cutting back. It was decided to drop 2 of the potties. There are 4 public bathrooms which are spread out throughout the fairgrounds. 
• Advertising: after discussion T.J. Collins motioned to continue advertising with WAWK radio and News Sun wrap. Paul Saurborn seconded. All approve. Motion carried.
• It was voted NO for advertising with other radio stations and Music store mailings. 
• Joe Steiner motioned to continue with news releases. Paul Saurborn seconded. All approve. Motion carried. 
• Paul Saurborn motioned to continue with placemat ads with Don in Kendallville and LFT in Ft. Wayne. T.J. Collins seconded. All approved. Motion carried. 
• Barbara Collins motioned to continue with the Web. About 10,000 page views by 5,000 visitors over the last year. #1 page is Concerts & Festivals. Joe Steiner seconded. All approve. Motion carried. 
• TABLE: Review grounds rental and utility usage. Can there be changes to reduce cost?
• TABLE: Review – Festival pricing for 2012 – Should it be changed? Should we adjust tickets, electric, camping? 
• Vendors – No action taken. Table until Jeannette is in attendance
• Low power complaints – Dec/Jan newsletter outlined problems with upgrading power and why it might be very expensive. Don Moore is trying but it will take time. No further action needed. 
• Merchandise was discussed again. Linda gave a report. A complete inventory was done Oct. 16th. The cash register would not let 3 department keys work at the festival so the cash drawer tape is inaccurate. Jim W. will investigate

NEW BUSINESS

• TENTS: Ace Tents – Rental – Same as before?   Payment due Dec 31, 2011; 30x60 - $400 40x100 - $900. Linda will look into prices for a  tent size smaller than the 40/100. She will report to the board and a vote will be needed before Dec 15, 2011. 
• Should we advertise in the Tri-State book? After discussion Joe Steiner motioned not to advertise there. T.J. Collins second. All approve. Motion carried. 
• Treasurer Linda Winger requested permission to purchase 2000 Forever Stamps before the price raise in 2012. This will save the club some money. Barbara Collins motioned for Linda to buy 2000 Forever Stamps. Paul Saurborn seconded. All approved. Motion carried.
• Paul Saurborn motioned to adjourn at 2:50 P.M.  Barbara Collins seconded. President Jim Winger called the meeting adjourned. 

The next meeting of Northern Indiana Bluegrass Association will be the 3rd Sunday in January of 2012.
Sincerely – NIBGA Secretary – Barbara Collins

Delta Reign looking for gigs in March 2012

Hi,

Benita Murphy here with the band Delta Reign from the Mobile, AL gulf coast. I just spoke with Linda a few minutes ago and she suggested e-mailing you with my information.

Our band will be coming to Tawas City, MI to perform at the Corsair concert series on March 3rd. I am in the process of trying to book some other show dates around that concert on the way up and/or back. Since your association is in that region, I figured that you may have some suggestions of places or venues that might be willing to host another concert for Delta Reign. I am very good at pursuing leads, so any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

First, a little about us...

• We are from the Mobile, AL "delta" region on the gulf coast. Our bluegrass is little different, driven by banjo, Vassar Clements style fiddling, pushed along with western swing rhythms, bluesy singing, tight harmonies, and a dash of jazz, folks are saying that we are giving our genre' a fresh new sound. We put on a good show and appeal across genre's, yet we don't offend most traditionalists. With our recent CD under our belt, national (and international) airplay, recent national reviews in Bluegrass Unlimited, Bluegrass Music Profiles and other publications, we are set to make our mark on a broader level in bluegrass. 

• We also recently recorded some videos at the Presley Theater in Branson, MO. It will give you an idea of just some of our varied sounds:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoyJSFGl1_4   Also: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCkVKxLTj_0

We were recently at the IBMA Trade Show and Conference in Nashville where we showcased several times over the week including a two hour showcase at the Ernest Tubb Record Shop in downtown Nashville. We made a pretty good splash there with festival producers, record labels and sponsors. 

If you will, give us a listen and let me know if you might have some suggestions for our little tour through your area. We'd love to connect with y'all. We are pretty involved in our regional Bluegrass Associations in our neck of the woods. 

Thanks!

Benita ~ Delta Reign

251-633-5378

251-604-5517
benita@deltareign.com
http://deltareign.com/  (go to our EPK-Press link)

http://facebook.com/deltareign

Showcase artists wanted

SHOWCASE ARTISTS SOUGHT FOR IBMA BUSINESS CONFERENCE 2012,
Deadline to apply: January 16, 2012 The premiere opportunity to introduce talent and new music at IBMA’s annual World of Bluegrass conference comes in the form of “official” showcase performances which help the music industry assembled see what’s new in the music. These performances take place on a full soundstage and offer selected acts and opportunity to perform in front of the hundreds of industry professionals in attendance.

NIBGA has hired many of the bands who performed on the main showcase as well as the late night showcases.

Marksmen Quartet loose everything to thieves

Marksmen Quartet

The full story is on the here but they lost everything while traveling to Myrtle Beach festival over Thanksgiving weekend.