Join the fun at the FREE festival sponsored by the Chamber!
![Look below for a schedule of 2008 performers!
Watch for news later on the 2009 Boulder Area Chamber of Commerce Music and Arts Festival to be held on Saturday, September 12, 2009
and mark your calendar now!
Harmonica, mandolin, fiddle, accordion, guitar and more will sound from the Boulder Veterans Park on Saturday, September 13, as the First Annual Boulder Area Chamber of Commerce Music and Arts Festival takes the stage.
The day of live music and displays by artists is free. In case of inclement weather, the festival will be moved to the Jefferson County Fairgrounds one-half mile south of Boulder.
In the evening, a barn dance sponsored by the Boulder River Carousel, featuring the live music of Rocky Mountain Renegades, will be held at the fairgrounds south of Boulder between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. There is a $5 charge for the dance ($20 per family), and proceeds will go to benefit the carousel.
The festival gets underway at 11 a.m. with music by local Native American flute player Robert Turgeon and builds throughout the day to headliners including Erik “Fingers” Ray, Ruf Cut Grass, Lynn Marie and the Wobblyboy and Ron Kane and Meghan Merker. Ray – whose music runs the gamut of blues, country, folk, rock and jazz – will close out the day of free music, performing between 5:30 and 7 p.m.
Ray has performed throughout Montana and the Northwest region, and plays four instruments simultaneously, adding strong vocals and a mean harmonica styling to the guitar, bass drum and cymbals to complete his full band sound. A review in the Missoulian said the Conrad, Montana native sounds like “a born-and-bred Mississippi bluesman, or perhaps an old-time country crooner” in the style of Hank Williams and George Jones. With more than twenty years of performing, Ray has a devoted following around Montana.
Ruf Cut Grass, another of the festival headliners, mixes traditional bluegrass and what they call new grass, or progressive bluegrass. With two fiddlers in the mix, the Great Falls based band features Pat Ruf on guitar, Jeni Dodd on bass, Grant Stebbins on guitar and banjo, Dale Lee on fiddle, banjo, and mandolin, Bruce Auchly on dobro, and Alex Ruiz on fiddle. Every member adds to the vocals. The group performs traditional pieces in the style of Bill Monroe or Ricky Skaggs and also offers “bluegrass-flavored” material ala artists such as John Hartford and Kathy Mattea.
Ron Kane and Meghan Merker will take the Boulder stage after performing all around the West. Their traditional cowboy songs and old-time music has been described in the Salt Lake Tribune as “a mesmerizing whirlwind...[that] is joyful, lively music with personality, often with a sense of humor played with intensity.”
Lynn Marie and Wobblyboy, who live in Boulder, have seen a growing following locally since moving into the community about a year ago. Lynn Price and Dusty Farnum began playing together about five years ago when Lynn helped Dusty “see the light” to give up rock and roll performing, says Dusty. They have performed regularly in cafes in Helena and Butte and at a number of area events, including the “Fairy Festival” at Tizer Gardens and the Jefferson County Fair.
Another pair of performers will be familiar to longtime Boulderites. Gary Craft and John Powell grew up in town and started performing together as teenagers. Their fathers, Orville Craft and Don Powell, played in a Boulder band called the “Local Yokels.”
Other faces on the stage are also drawn from Boulder. Native flute player Robert Turgeon, harp or harmonica player Herman Kukas (who delivered a mean train song at the recent Heritage Center Hootenanny), father and daughter Dan and Amanda McCarl, Linda Stevens and Rick Wine all call the Boulder area their home.
Besides the music, the festival offers art displays from many talented artists. Finely crafted metal sculptures, paintings in several different media, elaborate jewelry boxes, furniture and more are slated to be on display. Also on hand will be several area authors of Western lore as well as children’s books.
From the first haunting strains from Turgeon’s flute to the final bar on Erik “Fingers” Ray’s guitar, the Boulder Music and Arts Festival promises to leave music lovers tapping their toes and wishing for more.
Don’t miss this out! See you there!](7ECA8657-A897-4FE6-A825-92453EDC258B_files/shapeimage_2.png)
