The elegant Emerson Arts and Cultural Center will be hosting the 7th Annual Bozeman Bluegrass Festival on November 9th, 2013. The festival runs from 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm and the cost is $15. This is the perfect opportunity to grab some friends, family, fellow students, or co workers, and get out and support the local Montana bluegrass music scene, as well as enjoying some ‘hot bluegrass, spicy food and cold beer’! Matt Broughton told Bozeman Magazine that this event is the perfect time to “tie on your dancing shoes, and come down for the best hoedown around!” So if you are as much of a bluegrass fan as I am, especially local Montana bluegrass, you will not want to miss out on this live plucking and strumming extravaganza!!

The line up is sure to please this year with the talents of Jawbone Railroad, Flatt Cheddar, The Bridger Creek Boys, and the Kitchen Dwellers. The delicious treats that will tempt the palate will be served up by La Tinga, and the brew will be sold by the amazing folks out at the always pleasing Madison River Brewing Company. Of course there will be a dance floor at the show to shake your groove thing on, and there will be general seating tickets sold.

In case you are unfamiliar with the bands that are scheduled to perform the evening of the Bluegrass Festival, Bozeman Magazine was able to get a bit of a background story from Matt (of the Bridger Creek Boys) on each of the bands that will be delighting the senses that evening.

Matt Broughton: Jawbone Railroad will be providing the authentic sound of the old time string band trio. They are a rough and rowdy ride through the early days of radio and their line up features Blaise Arsenault on guitar and banjo; Walt Burns on the mandolin, guitar and banjo-uke; and Jody Engstrom on the bass. The cohesive sound draws on a mix of fiddle tunes, mountain music, and blues of the 1920-30’s. Their sound is both classic and obscure. It is something to be experienced by fans of all types of bluegrass. Flatt Cheddar is on the roster and set to rock your socks off with their progressive ‘Newgrass’ energy! Born out of the Bozeman bluegrass jam scene, they constitute a meeting of musical minds fluent in an old time tradition, but raised on jam bands, new folk, and rock and roll. They chase a sound inspired by the likes of the Infamous Stringdusters, Crooked Still, and the Punch Brother. Don’t miss these guys as they are sure to impress you with their fluid sound and tight pickin’.

Bozeman Magazine: They all sound amazing. I am super excited to see every one of these bands perform, but you haven’t mentioned one of my absolute favorite local bluegrass bands yet, The Bridger Creek Boys. I am familiar with their music, have seen them perform several times in Bozeman and Gardiner, and actually took banjo lessons from one of their members, Tony Polecastro. What is their, well, actually, yawl’s story?

MB: The Bridger Creek Boys are steeped in old-time Bluegrass tradition while pushing the genre with ‘Newgrass’. The Band mixes originals with covers of traditional bluegrass material and more contemporary artists such as the Grateful Dead, Steve Earl, and The Band. The Bridger Creek Boys have spent the past eight years bringing their music to audiences in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and Colorado. The ‘Boys’ are made up of Matt Broughton (yours truly) on fiddle and mandolin; Jim Dungan on guitar; Tony Polecastro on banjo and dobro; and Scott Stebbins on bass. The ‘Boys’ line-up features an incredible, contagious energy, and an outstanding level of musicianship. Also set to perform, yet another group sure to entice the senses, are the Kitchen Dwellers. They will finish up the night with their youthful spirit and acoustic powers. Kitchen Dwellers formed three years ago below the Bridger Mountains with the sizzle of an afternoon breakfast and the warmth of Irish coffee brewing in the kitchen. The trio began with Shawn Swain, Joe Funk and Kyle Shelstad. They originally started out writing music and playing traditionals, searching for originality, and occasionally, other life forms. This led them to the fourth member, Torrin Daniels. He was quickly added to the group on banjo, and the foursome immediately began playing live shows around Bozeman. The Kitchen Dwellers have opened for high profile artists such as Greensky Bluegrass, Pete Kartsounes, White Water Ramble, Head for the Hills, and the Deadly Gentlemen. In the winter of 2013 they won the coveted Zoo Music Awards. In case you are not familiar, the Zoo Music Awards is a Montana based music competition that bases their criteria for the competition on the bands’ performances, originality and popularity. The Kitchen Dwellers continue to master their sounds, create original work, and foster their live performances.

BM: Thank you to Matt Broughton (of the Bridger Creek Boys) for taking some time out for us and letting all of our readers have a behind the scenes look at all of the bands’ backgrounds. We hope to see all of you readers at the show!! Tickets are available at Cactus Records or at the door. The show starts at 6:00 pm, so don’t be late. You don’t want to miss this event.

Stacey Faldetta is a freelance writer currently living in MT with her four children. She is working on her first book of compiled poetry called ‘A Thousand Little Sparks’ and enjoys travelling extensively around our breath taking state enjoying all that the Big Sky Country has to offer. She can be reached at mtcinnamon73@gmail.com