Bluegrass Artists Showcase Their Talents During APAP Conference

Bluegrass music may have been a very small part of the recent Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) Conference in New York City, but the few artist showcases were top-notch. Showcasing artists included veterans Rhonda Vincent and Claire Lynch and relative newcomers The Lovell Sisters and Bearfoot.

Singer and mandolinist Rhonda Vincent revealed why she’s been named the IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year and SPBGMA Entertainer of the Year so many times as she sang and played half a dozen tunes with her band, the Rage. Joining veteran band members Mickey Harris on bass fiddle and Hunter Berry (Vincent’s future son-in-law) on fiddle were newcomers Aaron McDaris (formerly with the Grascals) on banjo and Ben Helson (formerly with Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder) on guitar.

The Claire Lynch Band performed an entertaining set of country-flavored bluegrass or, as she, another former IBMA female vocalist of the year, describes it, “bluegrass-inflected acoustic music. Lynch, an accomplished singer-songwriter, whose sweet voice also can be heard providing

harmony vocals on albums by artists like Patty Loveless and Kathy Mattea (who also have recorded her songs), was ably backed by Jim Hurst on guitar, Mark Schatz (formerly of Nickel Creek) on bass and rhythmically slapping parts of his body on one number, and Jason Thomas on fiddle. Hurst and Schatz are two-time IBMA Guitar and Bass Player of the Year honorees, respectively. The band, which released an anthology album, Crowd Favorites, in late 2007, closed out its short set with “Train Long Gone,” a tune that reached #1 on the national bluegrass charts, prompting Lynch to remark “Now we’re spending the tens of dollars we got from it.”

The younger generation was well represented at the APAP Conference by The Lovell Sisters and Bearfoot, two acts who are helping to change the face of bluegrass and take it in new directions and to new audiences, while retaining its core elements.

The Lovell Sisters, for those unfamiliar with them, are a musically talented and photogenic trio from Calhoun, Georgia with a nice, tight vocal blend. The winners of the Prairie Home Companion National Teen Talent Contest in 2005 have been impressing bluegrass and, more recently, folk festival audiences across the U.S. for several years and were, in this writer’s view, a highlight of the 2007 Philadelphia Folk Festival.

Having first seen and enjoyed a performance by Bearfoot at Philadelphia Folk Festival last year, I was curious to hear how the one-time winners of the Telluride Bluegrass band contest sounded with a new female fiddler and vocalist. The young, five-member ensemble from Alaska continues to perform with exuberance. Bearfoot’s fresh sound, adventurous arrangements, musicality and a nice harmonic blend should extend its appeal well beyond mainstream bluegrass audiences.

Other short showcases at the New York Hilton featured Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem and The Hunt Family, whose music includes elements of bluegrass. Some APAP members also had an opportunity to catch Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder in concert elsewhere in Manhattan during the conference.

The bluegrass music showcases were among more than 1,000 artist showcases in music, theater, dance and comedy that took place during the Association of Performing Arts Presenters 52nd Annual Members Conference, January 9-13. “Conscious Connections” was the theme of this year’s conference, which focused on how the arts community can achieve sustainability and move forward during the current global economic downturn while recognizing the arts industry as an integral component for improving the U.S. economy and celebrating the values and the vision the industry shares in presenting the performing arts here and abroad. [In a tacit acknowledgment of the role that the arts play in the economy, the U.S. House of Representatives included $50 million in additional funding for the National Endowment for the Arts in the version of an economic stimulus package that it approved on Jan. 28.]

Noting the seismic shifts that have taken place since conference planning began a year ago, APAP President and CEO Sandra Gibson, in her welcoming remarks, said “Those conscious connections we make can’t be more important,” than they are now, especially in light of the global economy and its impact on resources for the arts.

More than 4,000 performing arts professionals from throughout the United State and other countries converged on New York City for the event that — in addition to showcase performances — featured plenary speakers, a wide array of professional development workshops and forums, an exhibit hall featuring more than 350 artist management firms and agencies, and lots of networking.