Enjoy Texas Music - Central Texas Bluegrass Association

1 COPYRIGHT © CENTRAL TEXAS BLUEGRASS ASSOCIATION 

Central 

Texas Bluegrass 

Copyright © 2012 by Central Texas Bluegrass Association 

THE AUSTIN 

STEAMERS 

IBMA Member 

Vol. 34 No. 8 

August 1, 2012


The Listening Post 

Steep Canyon Rangers 

Nobody Knows You 

(2012), Rounder Records. 

Together for 12 years, the 

Steep Canyon Rangers are 

most noted in recent years 

for backing comedian Steve 

Martin. The Rangers stated 

goal for this CD was to “separate 

themselves from the 

pack,” which they manage 

to do with their strong arrangements 

and top-notch 

production. Definitely contemporary 

grass, nothing 

traditional here. Following 

in the Nickel Creek/Union 

Station vein, this collection 

of originals is full of rhythmic 

punches; time and meter 

shifts, which are commonplace 

among today’s 

top groups. Their vocal harmonies 

are stellar. “Easy To 

Love” (Tr 3) has a nice Celtic 

6/8 feel. Other songs have a 

swing feel (“Between Midnight 

and the Dawn” Tr 4), 

a ballad (“Natural Disaster” 

Tr 6) and rocking acoustic 

country groove (“Long 

Shot” Tr 12). All cuts are 

strong, so pick one and enjoy. 

-Eddie Collins 

The Listening Post is a forum established to monitor bluegrass musical recordings, live 

performances, or events in Texas. Our mailbox sometimes contains CDs for us to review. 

Here is where you will find reviews of the CD’s Central Texas Bluegrass Association 

receives as well as reviews of live performances or workshops. 

CTBA has its Annual Band Scramble - Good fun!! 

Rose in the Tall Grass: Elise Bright (fiddle), Russell Holley-Hart (mando), Tony Kamel (guitar), Lenny Nichols (bass), 

Greg Lowery (dobro), Lyndal Cannon (banjo) 

The Lost Band: Sheryl Sultenfuss (fiddle), Roy Wilhite (mando), Georgia Canfield (guitar), Aaron Upham (bass), Ben- 

Sorrells (guitar), Lyndal Cannon (banjo)


The Downing Family: John Downing (fiddle), Jay Del-Mier (mando), Chris Beine (dobro), Doug Sultenfuss (bass), 

Sharon Sandomirsky (guitar), Mat Downing (banjo) 

Up, Up, & Away: Amy Collins (flute), Micah Upham (fiddle), Tracie Upham (mando), George Rios (guitar), Steve Mangold 

(bass), Mike Hollern (guitar), Tracy Sloan (banjo) 

This year’s CTBA Fundraiser Gargage Sale/Band Scramble was tons of fun and 

will help CTBA send more young people to bluegrass camps in Texas. We’re 

sorry but there were two bands that we didn’t get photos of. The Water Luggers 

were Jacob Roberts (guitar), Steven Crow (bass), Alice Moore (mando), 

Jerry Rayburn (banjo), Jeff Robertson (guitar), Dale Albright (fiddle), and Richard 

Rhinehart (guitar). Group 5 called themselves The Bullshippers, they were 

Josh Upham & Doug Taylor (guitar), Brian Wolker (mando), Steve Z (banjo), Flash 

(dobro), Jim Shaffer (fiddle) and Cara Cooke (harmonica). A very special thanks 

to Waterloo Ice House. 

Photos by Ken Brown 

Carry Me Back-OCMS 

Proving once again that 

they aren’t just one hit 

wonders known only for 

“Wagon Wheel”, the Old 

Crow Medicine Show releases 

Carry Me Back. This 

CD has a little more diversity 

than their last release 

as is proven by the vast 

differences between the 

waltz “Ain’t it Enough” and 

the hard driving drinking 

song “Mississippi Saturday 

Night”. My personal 

favorites are “Levi”, “Ain’t 

it Enough”, and “Ways of 

Man”. 

These New York boys 

were lucky enough be 

traveling around and 

while in North Carolina 

they were heard by Doc 

Watson who immediately 

signed them to play Merlefest. 

A year or so later 

they played the Cactus 

in front of Doyle Lawson 

& Quicksilver. Since 

then the band has played 

Austin City Limits, SXSW, 

Prairie Home Companion, 

PBS’s American Roots 

Music Series, the Grand 

Ole Opry and they were 

part of the very cool Railroad 

Revival Tour last year 

They’ll be back.


Picks, Happenings, and Releases 

Visit Llano 

www.promotellano.org 

Ann Matlack 

P.O. Box 711 

Llano, TX 78643 

We don’t want you to miss what might just be the most educational, thrilling 

and unforgettable World of Bluegrass IBMA has produced so far. This 

year’s event is going to be filled with some of the most unique and delightful 

pairings and combinations ever seen at the World of Bluegrass or anywhere. 

Hurry and make your reservations today for World of Bluegrass September 

24-30, 2012 in Nashville (the last one to be held in Nashville). 

Visit www.ibma.org/tickets or call 888-438-4262 or 615-256-3222. 

We’ve listed the Ham Jam House Concert Series many times in past issues 

of this newsletter. Any of you musicians interested in a great House Concert 

venue, here is the info. Just email Daren Appelt to get on the mailing list 

then ask to find an open night! Daren’s email is daren@fire-eye.com. He also 

builds the Red-Eye series of acoustic instrument pre-amps. 08/04/12 Geoff 

Union & Billy Bright, 08/20/12 Kym Warner & Carl Miner. Both shows start 

at 7PM. Expect to pay to hear this great talent in a close setting. Get directions 

at: http://www.fire-eye.com/_directions.htm 

Aug 30, 31, Sept 1, 2 - Salmon Lake Park 36th Annual Bluegrass Festival 

Grapeland, TX 

This year’s festival features The Marksmen, The Tennessee Gentlemen, Nu- 

Blu, Bill Grant & Amy Patrick, Welch Mountain, David Davis & The Warrior 

River Boys, Gold Wing Express, Salt Grass, The Shady Grove Ramblers, 

Karl Shiflett, Tin Top Road, And The Coleman Brothers. 

The Sunday Afternoon Show has been added back. They previously advertised 

the show to end at noon on Sunday, but feedback from attendees has 

encouraged them to continue the Sunday afternoon show. The Marksmen 

and Tennessee Gentlemen have agreed to stay over and entertain folks, 

along with a few other bands to be announced. Weekend tickets remain at 

the advertised price of $50.00. There will be a $10 fee for drive-ins on Sunday. 

Allen Hurt 

& 

The Mountain Showmen 

Mountain Valley Records Inc. 

P.O. Box 3074 

Sherman, TX 75091 

(512) 635-0498 

(469) 236-4190


Small class sizes with 

hands-on instruction 

and an emphasis on fun is what you can 

expect at Acoustic Music Camp 2012. 

Come join us this August in Dallas and 

Bluegrass Banjo 

Ross Nickerson 

Ron Stewart 

Cia Cherryholmes 

Gerald Jones 

Mandolin 

Roland White 

Nate Lee 

Flatpick Guitar 

Kenny Smith 

Jim Hurst 

Clay Powers 

AcousticMusicCamp.com 

call or email Gerald Jones: 

214-236-0783 

info@AcousticMusicCamp.com 

A three day camp for Banjo, Guitar, Mandolin, Fiddle, 

Songwriting, Dobro, Vocal, Bass, & Fingerstyle Guitar 

August 9-11, 2012 • Arlington Texas 

learn to make better music in a friendly, 

supportive environment. Only 15 minutes 

away from DFW Airport and conveniently 

near major malls, Six Flags Over Texas, 

and water parks. 

Fingerstyle Guitar 

Sam Swank 

Songwriting/Vocals 

Stetson Adkisson 

Fiddle 

Texas Shorty 

Nate Lee 

Jam Facilitator 

Amanda Smith 

Dobro 

Reece Anderson 

Bass 

Alan Tompkins


2012 Fire on the Strings Festival Review 

By Joshua Upham 

The 2012 Fire on the Strings festival in League City 

started Friday afternoon. It was held indoors in the 

South Shore Harbour Resort for the second year 

in a row. Before this venue, Fire on the Strings was 

held at a KOA campground. It was a great idea to 

have a festival indoors so that everyone could get 

away from the heat. Summer festivals are usually 

outdoors and hot, but everyone seemed to love the 

fact that this one was air-conditioned. 

Local bluegrass band Third Rail played twice over 

the course of the weekend, and were, as usual, 

a big hit with the audience. Right after Third Rail, 

The James King Band took the stage and delivered 

an awesome performance, with lots of meaningful 

songs. Since I had never heard him before, I did not 

know what to expect, but I was very impressed with 

Mr. King’s singing and the overall sound of the band. 

About halfway thru the show, I realized why I liked 

his voice so much -- he sounded just like Carter Stanley! 

Probably my favorite band 

of the night was Special 

Consensus. Their songs 

were all energetic, they 

had great vocal harmonies, 

and they all kept a 

very tight rhythm throughout 

the set. Several gospel 

songs they did in amazing 

four part harmony that 

blew me away. Greg Cahill, 

the leader of the band, is 

much older than the rest 

of the band, so they often 

poke fun at his age. Rick 

Ferris, the mandolin player, 

joked that the other original 

members of the band 

had tragically died in the 

Civil War. They played well, but the sound was just too loud. I also noticed that all their singing


songs were in B. Literally, the first ten songs were all in B. I especially liked one of their instrumentals, 

“Danny’s Dance,” which sounds more like an Irish tune than bluegrass. 

Chris Jones and the Nightdrivers 

closed the festival 

both nights and did a great 

job. It was disappointing to 

see them perform for so few 

people on the last night. Attendance 

in general wasn’t 

that great. The Nightdrivers 

did a good job of featuring 

each instrument/artist at 

some point during each set. 

Chris Jones did a 1970’s trucker 

song called “Wolf Creek 

Pass.” The Nightdriver’s mandolin 

player, Mark Stoffel, performed 

a bluegrass version of 

“Edelweiss,” from The Sound of 

Music. They also used humor 

very well. Most of it came from Ned Luberecki who sang several funny songs including a John Hartford 

song, “Boogie,” which he sang both forwards and backwards. 

Jamming on both nights was great, especially on Saturday night, when we stayed up until about 

2 AM. Throughout the weekend, there were jams all over the lower floor of the Resort. There were 

almost always at least 3 jams going, so pickers had plenty to choose from. The only workshop on 

Friday was a slow jam led by Scott Armstrong. 

On Saturday morning, the Texas State Banjo Championship started early at 9:00. Both the Banjo 

and Guitar contests featured awesome picking and great entertainment. However, neither of the 

contests was well attended. The Banjo Championship had a total of four contestants, and the guitar 

contest only had three. One of the guitar contestants only played chords and entered the contest 

because no one else would. Anyone going to the festival next year should make an effort to enter 

the contest if possible. It not only increases the level of the competition, but it is a great experience, 

even if you do get last place as I did last year. Competing is a great experience for you and it makes 

the contest better for others as well. The Saturday workshops were great as well, with workshops 

on the bass, taught by John Weisberger; mandolin, taught by Mark Stoffel; guitar by Chris Jones; 

dobro, taught by Robert Duke; and banjo with Ned Luberecki. All the teachers except for Robert 

Duke are members of Chris Jones’ band, the Nightdrivers. I attended the Guitar workshop and Mr. 

Jones played songs and answered the audience’s questions. Overall, it was a great festival with 

good entertainment and great picking. 

Photos by Ken Brown. By the way, Joshua Upham is 16 years old and currently serves on the Board of 

the Central Texas Bluegrass Association. He is also a former recipient of the CTBA Scholarship program, 

choosing to attend Camp Bluegrass. Josh is home schooled and picks a mighty good six string too! 

Thanks Josh! Thanks Ken! Thanks Bay Area Bluegrass Association!!!!

8 COPYRIGHT © CENTRAL TEXAS BLUEGRASS ASSOCIATION


Meet a CTBA Member: 

Jim Shaffer 

Introduce yourself. Tell us your name, a little bit 

about yourself, what city you live in, and why you 

joined CTBA. 

My name is Jim Shaffer. I’ve lived in Pflugerville with 

my wife Lynn for 12 years now. Prior to that I lived in 

Austin since 1980. I’m originally from eastern Iowa. 

I’ve been retired from IBM for 4 years now. I worked 

for them for 30 years as a software engineer. I’ve always 

liked bluegrass music, since we took a family 

vacation back in the ‘60’s and went to Branson, and 

saw the Bald Nobbers. They were just a bluegrass 

quartet back then, but they were good, funny, and I 

really enjoyed the show. However, there’s just not a 

lot of bluegrass in Iowa, so I didn’t get into playing for 

several years. 

Do you play an instrument? 

I have always liked the violin/fiddle. I took some violin 

lessons in college in the early ‘70’s, but then put the instrument down until 1990, when I started 

playing Texas Oldtime fiddle. I’d go to the fiddle club, as we called it, which was meeting at Captain 

Tom’s every Tuesday night back then. That group has continued, and as far as I know is still around, 

meeting in homes now since Artz has closed. I took my first fiddle lessons from Mike Henderson, a 

great guitar player who had also studied Texas fiddle. Let me say here though that it was Rod Moag 

who showed me my first fiddle tune, Red Haired Boy. 

Between oldtime and bluegrass I played with the Johnny Burnett Trio, a couple of singer-song writers 

and myself. We did produce a cd, and I have the mp3s from it if anyone’s interested. I was with 

Brian Byrne and Borrowed Time for about 4 years I guess, before joining the Piney Grove Ramblers, 

where I’ve been for 2 and a half years now, if I remember right. 

What bluegrass artists do you like to listen to most? 

Well, I love the fiddling of Michael Cleveland. He can really lay it down, and with excellent tone and 

intonation. I think that a lot of fiddle players forget that they’re really playing the violin. Tone and 

intonation are very important to me, although admittedly I don’t always live up to the ideal. I’ve taken 

lessons from a classical musician just to straighten out some bad habbits I had, and feel that now I’m 

at least on the right track. I also like Megan Lynch, and have taken webcam lessons from her also, 

which has helped a lot. Those webcam lessons are a great deal. 

My wife and I enjoy going to festivals. We especially like those in Argyle and Farmers Branch. I’m really 

glad my wife Lynn likes bluegrass, and we in the Ramblers have to thank her for walking the tip 

jar around at shows. Lynn is very much involved with the animal shelter here in Pflugerville, and I’m 

glad to be able to provide music for their fund raisers. 

What’s your all time favorite bluegrass song? 

Oh now that’s a hard one! I suppose it’s The Old Home Place, that great Dillards song. I think that 

captures the essence of bluegrass music as much as any song I can think of.


Artist Profile: Austin Steamers 

By Jami Hampton 

Hey Austin! If you haven’t heard 

or heard of The Austin Steamers, 

here’s your chance to get a brief introduction 

to one of Austin’s newest 

acoustic-instrument bands. 

Formed just over eight months 

ago, band members include Ben 

Hodges on vocals and mandolin; 

Joe Sundell on vocals and banjo; 

Sean Tracey on vocals, guitar, 

harmonica (and perhaps someday 

soon on trumpet); and Daniel 

Zeh on vocals and bass. Performing 

mostly-original music they describe 

as a meld of traditional-roots-country-bluegrass, the band’s live performances serve up a 

rewarding combination of great tunes, well-crafted harmonies, excellent musicianship, high energy, 

fun, and obvious camaraderie. They even boast a perfect blend of lefties and righties--and I don’t 

mean politics--two of the band members are southpaws. All the band members have strong musical 

roots--each began playing an instrument as a teen and most had fairly extensive stage experience 

with other bands. As undeniably talented and seasoned as each member is individually, I 

believe the band exemplifies the true meaning of synergy---the band as a whole truly is greater than 

the sum of its parts. No need to take my word for it though. There will be ample opportunities this 

month to check them out for yourself since their just-being-finalized-as-you-read-this, self-titled 

CD will debut on Saturday, August 18 at their CD-release party being held at the White Horse 

honky-tonk in East Austin, where the White Ghost Shivers will also be performing. For those of you 

who may prefer to see them in a house-concert setting, stay tuned for a second CD-release date to 

be announced in the near future. 

The Austin Steamer’s CD was recorded at bass player Daniel Zeh’s house and was engineered by 

w w w. a f t m . u s 

a 

AFTMTexas@gmail.com 

a


good friend Billy Myers, a former long-time engineer for Austin City Limits. Seven out of the ten 

tracks on the CD are originals. Sean Tracy wrote “Old Black Crow”, “Path of Least Resistance”, and 

“The Only Thing Wrong with You”. 

Joe Sundell wrote “Dollar Bill” and 

“The Way I Am”; Daniel Zeh wrote 

“Hang Dog”; and Silas Lowe wrote 

“Normand’s Folly”. The remaining 

cuts on the CD include “Last Letter 

Home”, “Freight Train Blues”, 

and “Prisoner’s Song” featuring 

the famously-falsetto vocals of 

Ben Hodges. Past and future 

performances include a wideranging 

variety of venues such as 

the The Cactus Cafe, Threadgill’s, 

the Mean-Eyed Cat, Central Market, 

and the Badu House in Llano. 

You can catch the band at one of 

two weekly residencies during 

August including the early show 

every Friday night at the White 

Horse (7:00 p.m.), and the late 

show every Monday night at the 

Hole in the Wall (10:00 p.m.). 

Check out their website for their 

full schedule, samples of their new music and contact information at www.theaustinsteamers.com. 

And thanks, Austin, for sprouting forth another winning combination of musicians from your gloriously 

entangled network of Bluegrass, Old Time, Honky-tonk, Folk, Singer-Songwriter, and Country 

music scene! 

Megan Pumphrey, 

PO Box 319 

Leander, TX 78646 

Proud to Support CTBA! 

Instruction for Banjo, 

Guitar and Mandolin 

Online and Private Lessons 

Eddie Collins 

www.eddiecollins.biz 

512-873-7803


RiceGrass 

one song at a time 

Caabin1 

0, Innc. 

The e Rice FFestiva 

al 

& RiceGGrass 

Supporting 

Higher EEducation 

in 

the Arts 

(830) 7739.6986 

www.cabinn10.com 

The Folk Alliance 

510 South Main Street, 

Memphis, TN 38103 

901.522.1170 Office 

901.522.1172 Fax 

Building community 

Salmon Lake Park 

34th Annual 

Bluegrass Festival 

Grapeland, TX 

Aug 30, 31, Sept 1 & 2, 2012


Songwriting Workshop with Louisa Branscomb 

Louisa Branscomb will be in Austin for a songwriting workshop and house concert hosted 

by Austin Songwriters Group on Saturday, September 8, 2012. Louisa is a 4-time Grammy 

winning songwriter with over 120 recorded songs 

with hits by John Denver, Alison Krauss, Dale 

Ann Bradley, and Daughters of Bluegrass. 

Dubbed a pioneer for women in bluegrass, she 

was one of the first women to front a bluegrass 

band and play banjo. Also dubbed a pioneer of 

bluegrass songwriters, she made a profound 

impact on bluegrass music by penning a number 

of powerful songs, including “Steel Rails”, 

the now classic song credited with bringing a 

whole generation into bluegrass. She was one 

of the original co-founders and the chair of IB- 

MA’s Songwriter Committee, making outstanding 

contributions for the benefit of bluegrass 

songwriters, previously unrecognized by IBMA. 

She currently chairs IBMA’s Bluebird in the Bluegrass 

songwriter showcases at the Bluebird Cafe 

in Nashville, which provides for promoting bluegrass 

songwriters on that venerable stage. 

Louisa directs Woodsong Writers Retreat in 

the beautiful mountains of North Georgia for 

teaching the inspiration and craft of songwriting. 

She also mentors writers and teaches songwriting across the country, specializing in 

experiential methods, creative expression, and application of transformational psychology 

to songwriting. She will be bringing her very unique teaching methodology to Austin for this 

one day special event. 

The workshop and house concert will be at The Mockingbird Cafe, Austin Songwriters 

Group venue in South Austin. Louisa will also be available for 1:1 song critiques and mentoring 

in the afternoon after the workshop. 

Look for more details (fees, exact times, signup, directions) coming soon on the Austin Songwriters 

Group website: http://austinsongwritersgroup.com/ 

Editor: We’ll run the details on this in next month’s “Picks, Happenings, Releases” . Louisa is one 

fine songwriter y’all. Try not to miss it.


Instructor List Update 

A few years ago, I put together a list of local 

bluegrass instructors. The list has sort of languished 

(on the CTBA web site), and hasn’t 

been updated in quite some time. I want to 

make sure everyone’s aware of its existence. 

Also, if you’re an instructor, please email me 

with your information: 

Name: 

What you teach: 

Contact information: (phone, email, webpage) 

Teaching location: (studio location or “will 

come to your home) 

Ages taught: 

Experience levels taught and a short description 

of your experience, (e.g.) “10 years experience 

in a bluegrass band, have been teaching 

for 15 years.” Please keep it brief. 

I can be contacted at jjs@jjshaffer.net, or by 

phone at (512) 699-9251. 

Don’t forget about Fiddler’s Green’s great 

group of instructors. Here’s a list of August 

events at Fiddler’s Green. 

Sunday 8/5 Ukulele Bootcamp with Jessica 

Graves 1-3pm $30 

Sunday 8/5 Irish Tune Learning Session 

8-11pm 

Sunday 8/12 Mandolin Bootcamp with Billy 

Bright 1-3pm $35 

Sunday 8/29 Vocal Workshop with Jenn Miori 

3-4;30pm $30 

Sunday 8/19 Irish Session 8-11pm 

Sunday 8/26 “Learning Traditional Tunes by 

Ear” with Jonathan Milton 1-3pm $30 

October 19-21, 2012 

7th Annual Austin String Band Festival 

Concerts, Camping, 

Jamming, Dancing, 

Workshops, Good Eats 

The Canote Brothers 

GumboJet 

Anna & Elizabeth 

Bayou Seco 

East Mountain Serenaders 

Hem and Haw 

Sawmill Vagrants 

… and more! 

b 

Camp Ben McCulloch, Driftwood, TX 

for more info, check out: www.aftm.us




Listing of Newsletter “Artist Profiles”, “Meet A 

Member”, & “Scholarship Recipients” 

2010 Meet a Member Artist Profile 

March Danny Barnes 

April Dan Huckabee 

May Thomas Chapmond The Carper Family 

June Stacy Holt The Lost Pines 

July Barbara & David Brown Jeff Robertson 

August Eddie & Pat Zihlman Gerald Jones 

September Ray Cargo Chasing Blue 

October Al James Jim Hurst 

November Tracy Sloan The Upham Family 

December Rixi Rosenberg Chris Hirsch 

2011 

January Keith Davis David Hamburger 

February Gloria Brashaw Billy Bright 

March Jeff White MilkDrive 

April Bruce Mansbridge & Elaine Kant Sierra Hull 

May Jerry & Carol Rabun Tom Ellis 

June Doug & Sheryl Sultenfuss Dennis McDaniel 

July Bryce Koslan Rolf & Beate Sieker 

August Chuck Middleton Doc Hamilton 

September Alan Corlew Steve Smith 

October Tom Duplissey Phil Elliott 

November Jay Blincoe James Shelton 

December The Schuttger Family Eddie Collins 

2012 

January Mike Moore The Lost Pines 

February Duane Calvin Piney Grove Ramblers 

March Bob Bourgeois Karen Abrahams 

April Mike Stroup Christy & The Plowboys 

May Coleman Stephens Earl Scruggs Memorial 

June George Rios In Memory of Doug Dillard 

July Mary Conn Elliott & Janice Rogers 

August Jim Shaffer Austin Steamers 

Scholarship Recipients 2004 - Finn Lynch, 2005 - Christopher Quinters, 2006 - Amy Bell, 2007 - 

Riley Mathews, Jill Corley, Tyler Colley and Erika Richardson, 2009 - Bethany Rankin and Brett Hawthorne 

, 2010 - Adam Greer, John Peyton “JP” Shafer, and Devin Paynkewicz, 2011 - Josh, Aaron and 

Micah Upham & Susannah Armstrong , 2012 - Mandy Greer, Sam Armstrong




CTBA Bluegrass Bands 

The 145s 

David Diers 

www.the145smusic.com 

512-814-5145 

512 

Dave Seeman 

(davidseeman7@gmail.com) 

(512) 557-2939 

Air Cargo 

Ray Cargo 

raybo@raylcargo.com 

Alan Munde Gazette 

Bill Honker 

(214) 693-1620 

bhonker@gmail.com 

Allen Hurt & The Mountain Showmen 

Allen Hurt (Sherman, TX) 

(469) 236-4190 

www.allenhurt.com 

Austin Steamers 

Joe Sundell 

(501)416-4640 

www.theaustinsteamers.com 

Bee Creek Boys 

Jim Umbarger 

(512) 922-5786 

info@beecreekboys.com 

Better Late Than Never 

Duane Calvin 

(512) 835-0342 

Blacktop Bend 

George Rios 

(512) 619-8536 

blacktopbend@yahoo.com 

Blue Creek String Band 

Thomas Chapmond 

tchapmond@gmail.com 

(512) 791-3411 

Blue Skyz Band 

Mike Lester 

(210) 913-9597 

www.blueskyzband.com 

Bluebonnet Pickers 

Brooks Blake 

(830) 798-1087 

BuffaloGrass 

Don Inbody 

(512) 295-6977 

don@inbody.net 

Carper Family Band 

Jenn Miori 

carperfamilyband@gmail.com 

Chasing Blue 

(512) 963-7515 

suzoleson@aol.com 

Christy & the Plowboys 

Christy Foster 

(512) 452-6071 

christyfoster@earthlink.net 

David & Barbara Brown 

361-985-9902 (Corpus Christi) 

ddbrown@grandecom.net 

Dueling Hearts 

Wil Wilson 

duelinghearts@att.net 

Eddie Collins 

(512) 873-7803 

www.eddiecollins.biz 

tuneman@austin.rr.com 

Flatlander Folk 

Jay Littleton 

(512) 850-4362 

music@flatlanderfolk.com 

Four Fights Per Pint 

Diana & Dan Ost 

512-848-1634 

bluegrassman@usa.com


Grazmatics 

Wayne Ross 

512-330-2188 

lwayneross@gmail.com 

Hem & Haw 

Ben Hodges & Jenn Miori 

hemandhawmusic@gmail.com 

Karen Abrahams 

Babyhead Promotions 

(512) 659-5256 

www.karenabrahams.com 

The Lost Pines 

Talia Bryce (512) 814-5134 

thelostpines@gmail.com 

www.lostpinesband.com 

Manchaca All-Stars 

Ben Buchanan 

(512) 282-2756 

manchacaallstars@ email.com 

Out of the Blue 

Jamie Stubblefield 

(512) 923-4288 

jamie5011@aol.com 

Piney Grove Ramblers 

Wayne Brooks 

(512) 699-8282 

www.pgramblers.com 

Ragged Union 

Geoff Union 

(512) 563-9821 

gunion@austin.rr.com 

Randy’s Rangers 

Sigi Field 

(512) 869-8076 

Robertson County Line 

Jeff Robertson 

(512) 629-5742 

jaydubya7@yahoo.com 

Rod Moag and Texas Grass 

Rod Moag 

(512) 467-6825 

rodmoag@texas.net 

The Sieker Band 

Rolf & Beate Sieker 

(512) 733-2857 

www.siekerband.com 

Shawn Spiars 

(512 627-3921 

www.banjohangout.org/my/sspiars 

sspiars@gmail.com 

String Beans 

Mike Montgomery 

mikemon@astro.as.utexas.edu 

Joe Sundell & the Show & Tellers 

Rebecca Patek 

262-617-4152 

ww.joesundellandtheshowandtellers.com/ 

Third Rail 

Susannah Armstrong 

936 870 7819 

Thirdrailbluegrass@gmail.com 

Steelhead String Band 

Sharon Sandomirsky 

ssandomirsky@austin.rr.com 

(512) 619-8705 

Upham Family Band 

Tracie Upham 

uphambluegrass@gmail.com 

The Wimberley Bunch 

Marilyn Lumia 

(512) 557-2112 

gus@ vownet.net 

Wires and Wood 

David Dyer 

(210) 680-1889 

daviddyer@sattx.rr.com 

Woodstreet Bloodhounds 

Robert Becker (Oak Park, IL) 

708-714-7206 

robertbecker1755@sbcglobal.net


BLUEGRASS JAMS!!! 

AUSTIN 

Bluegrass Beginner/Intermediate JAM (CTBA Sponsored) 

3418 North Lamar; 2nd & 4th Saturdays; slow jam, 2pm to 4pm; intermediate 

jam 4pm to 6 pm. 

Also 1st & 3rd Thursdays 7pm at Bruce Mansbridge 

Call Steve Mangold (512) 345-6155 for info on all Austin jams 

Scholtz’s Garden every Sunday afternoon until ? 

BELLVILLE 

Jam & Show (Spring Creek Club Sponsored) 

Jan. thru Sept 4th Sat; 4pm JAM, 6:30 pm SHOW, Coushatte RV Ranch 

(979) 865-5250 bluegrass221@peoplepc.com www.springcreekbluegrass.com 

BRYAN/COLLEGE STATION 

Monday’s 6-9PM, JJ. Cody’s, 3610 S. College 

www.brazoscountrygrass.com 

FAYETTEVILLE 

2nd Sat, April—November, starts at 6 PM, on the Courthouse Square 

info@texaspickinpark.com www.texaspickinpark.com 

FIELD CREEK 

1st Sat each mo, Field Creek Music - 6: PM - 

Field Creek is between Llano and Brady on Hwy 71, Info call Bill Tuckness 325 

247 3223 

GEORGETOWN 

every Thursday at Duke’s BBQ, 5:30 to 7:30pm, 

512-869-8076 or sigi@sigi.us (www.jrfnet.net/rr) 

GARLAND 

Saturday, March- Nov, 7:30PM between Main & State St at 6th, 

GLEN ROSE 

every 3rd Sat. at Oakdale Park in Glen Rose 

HARWOOD 

JAM & Stage Show (Pot Luck too!) 

3rd Sat, 2-9 PM, 9 mi. E. of Luling, Hwy 90 

Contact: Tony Conyers (512) 601-1510 or (512) 940-3731 

HONDO 

1st Friday each mo., Hondo Hootenanny, starts at 11 AM- Hondo Community 

Center, 1014 18th st, Hondo, Tx Info 830 426 2831 

Multi-Educational 

Cross Cultural 

Arts Association 

MECCA is a 501c(3) nonprofit educational organization that teaches music & 

dance to adults and children. We provide ethnic/cultural/patriotic music and 

dance groups for civic, schools, churches, and club programs events. 

Phone: 254-526-9464 

e-mail: dfkott@aol.com 

YouTube channel: mecatx 

Teaching the Children of the World to Dance, 

Sing and Play Musical Instruments 

LEAGUE CITY 

Jam & Show 

3rd Sat: Jam 5 PM (BABA Sponsored) Show 6:30 PM Jan- Nov. 

Contact: Rick Kirkland (President) (281) 488-2244 

LLANO 

Bluegrass All Levels JAM 4th Sat (except Nov. & Dec.): Jam 5:30 PM The 

Badu House 

Bluegrass Beginner/Intermediate 2nd & 4th Thu. Jam 7:00 PM First Presbyterian 

Church 

Contact: Jeff White (325) 248-4114 

MANCHACA 

Manchaca Railroad Bar-B-Q, FM 1626, Every Thursday 6:30-9:00PM 

Contact: Dave (512) 680-4433 

MEDINA 

2nd Tuesday - Each Month, All Gospel Jam 6: PM, 

first Baptist Church - Medina, Tx, Call Linda Barton for info, 830 589 2486 

PEARL 

JAM & SHOW, 

1st Sat: Jam all day 

Contact: Ronald Medart (254) 865-6013 www.pearlbluegrass.com 

ROUND ROCK 

Danny Ray’s Music, 12 Chisholm Trail, RR, Third Saturday 2:00 PM 

SAN ANTONIO 

1st, 3rd, usually 5th Tuesday. 6:30 - 8:30, Grady’s BBQ on Nakoma @ 281. 

Contact: Sheryl - ssultenfuss(at)gmail.com 

SHULENBURG 

RV Park Clubhouse 1st & 3rd Tuesday, 6:30-9:00PM 

Contact: Loretta Baumgarten (979) 743-4388 Camp@SchulenburgRVPark. 

com 

WIMBERLEY 

Fri 8-12 PM, Rolling House Clubhouse 

Contact: Mike Bond 

The Austin Center for the Treatment 

of 

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder 

Bruce Mansbridge, PhD 

Director 

6633 Hwy 290 East, Ste 300 

Austin, TX 78723 

(512) 327-9494 

http://www.austinocd.com


Membership and Advertising Rates 

CTBA’s Volume 2 

$10.00 

Take $5.00 off the advertising rates if you are already ad business member. Copy deadline is the 15th of the month. Publication 

is on or about the 1st day of the each month. Send electronic notices to: ctba@centraltexasbluegrass.org Send payment to: 

Central Texas Bluegrass Association 

Attention: Editor 

PO BOX 9816 

Austin, TX 78766 

Advertisers assume liability for all content of advertisements and from 

any claims arising there from. We reserve the right to reject advertising 

for reasons of space availability or publication standards. 

If you would like CTBA to review CD’s or would like us to include promo 

material for artists performing in Texas, please send to our email at 

ctba@centraltexasbluegrass.org or snail mail to the PO Box listed above. 

Ad Size Price 

FULL PAGE $30.00 

1/2 PAGE $15.00 

1/4 PAGE $12.50 

1/8 PAGE $10.00 

Please Join CTBA: http://www.centraltexasbluegrass.org/join.html 

Central Texas Bluegrass Association Bluegrass Newsletter 

is published by the Central Texas Bluegrass Association, 

a 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Texas Non-profit Corporation. 

Contributions are deductible as charitable and educational 

donations. Work published in this Bulletin is used by 

permission of the writers, artists, and photographers, who 

retain all copyrights. Tom Duplissey, Editor 

Board Members: 

Sam Dunn, President 

Eddie Collins, Vice President 

Gloria Brayshaw, Secretary 

Duane Calvin, Treasurer 

Rixi Rosenberg, Coleman Stephens, 

Chuck Middleton , Tracie Upham, Joshua Upham 

Past President - Jami Hampton 

(includes shipping costs to anywhere in the United States) 

http://www.centraltexasbluegrass.org/merchandise.html 

Central Texas Bluegrass has T-shirts in a new color. They are 

100% pre-shrunk cotton, high quality shirts with CTBA’s logo 

on the front. Available in Black and White. Sizes are S, M, L, XL, 

and XXL. Only $15.00 

THE CENTRAL TEXAS BLUEGRASS ASSOCIATION IS A NON- 

PROFIT ORGANIZATION WHOSE MISSION IS TO PROMOTE 

BLUEGRASS MUSIC IN CENTRAL TEXAS. 

Our members range from listeners and lovers of bluegrass 

music to world-class professional musicians who all have the 

same desire: to promote the music. 

CTBA provides a link between clubs, restaurants, and other 

venues and Central Texas Bluegrass musicians. 

CTBA sponsors jams, workshops, provides scholarships to 

needy musicians, donates to other non-profit organizations, 

supports radio stations that promote bluegrass music & musicians, 

and provide festival venues for our listeners and fans of 

bluegrass music to enjoy. KEEP ON PICKIN’


Support Texas music and get an “Enjoy Texas Music” license plate! 

Funds received through your purchase of the “Enjoy Texas Music” license plate 

will help make grants to benefit music-related educational and community programs 

sponsored by Texas non-profit organizations (like CTBA!!!). 

Randall’s Good Neighbor Program 

The process to get this started is a bit of a pain, but it makes donating to CTBA, your local schools, or 

your favorite non-profit organizations very, very easy. Just go to the link below, print the form and fill it 

out, enter CTBA’s code 9735, and take to your local Randall’s store: 

http://shop.safeway.com/corporate/randalls/gn_houston_austin.pdf 

Central Texas Bluegrass Association 

P.O. Box 9816 

Austin, Texas 78766 

ctba@centraltexasbluegrass.org 

Phone: (512) 415-3177

Enjoy Texas Music - Central Texas Bluegrass Association

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