Upcoming Shows: MI, VA, PA and two new books

Hey Y'all...
Well it would appear that I've taken my usual summer-long workshop/touring schedule and crammed it into two weeks. But I'm doing a lot of my favorite things at my favorite places, so it's gonna be a LOT of fun.

July 13th - Well above LaFayette, GA
Adam's Bluff Bash - Private party

July 15-17 3-day Intensive Ukulele Workshop - $160
Osceola Fairgrounds
Evart, MI
Everything you need to know about Ukulele: Chords, Strumming, Tunes and Theory (well just a little bit). Sign up online butchross.com/uke/

July 18-20 OPDC FunFest
Osceola Fairgrounds
Evart, MI
Quite possibly the biggest dulcimer festival in the States, even if it isn't, it still rocks. $15 gets you in.

July 22-26 - $150 for adults $25 for kids under 18
Mountain Music School 
Mountain Empire Community College
Big Stone Gap, VA
Day-long workshops in a variety of folk and Bluegrass instruments from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Here's what's cool about Mountain Music School, your adult tuition partially funds the youth admissions. What they're doing at MMS is straight up economic empowerment in an impoverished region. It's hard to give to any charity and know that what you're doing is doing any good. But here you can see it happen in real time. Plus, $150 for a week of dulcimer lessons (or autoharp, fiddle, string bass, guitar, and banjo) is kind of a good deal.

 July 26-27 - $10 registration plus $15 per class (paid directly to instructors)
5th Annual Dutchland Dulcimer Gathering 
St. Thomas Episcopal Church,
301 St. Thomas Rd.
Lancaster, PA 
The sharp eyed among will note that I can't possibly be in two places at once. And it's true, I'll only be teaching on Saturday. But the other instructors are Nina Zanetti, Bill Collins, Wendy Songe, Dave Haas, Judy and Kirk House. So there'll be plenty to do. Seriously, this is a great little festival. If you can make it, GO!

Also, I've been so busy doing stuff, I've seriously neglected telling you guys abut the stuff I've been doing (which is not at all how that's supposed to work). So let me tell you now, that earlier this year I've released two new books...

The Big Little Book of Ukulele Songs
Over 60 songs for Ukulele with most two chords! Everything from Gospel to Pop to Kids Songs and everything in between. Complete with strum patterns and starting notes. Plus bonus songs and a Chord Chart. $15 - *http://butchross.com/stuff.html * 

The BeatleTudes for Bass 
A companion book for both the Beatletudes and the Ukulele Beatletudes, it features Beatles tune bass lines arranged for Uke Bass, Dulcimer bass and regular bass guitar. Comes with downloads to the Beatles tunes transcribed. $20 - http://butchross.com/stuff.html#beatlebass 

So that's the news for now. More projects are on the way, but we'll have to talk about that later. 

C-ya out there.

On the radio tonight, talking about a play I am music director for

Tonight! 7pm
Live on WUTC 88.1fm or listen online wutc.org
Live on the Richard Winham Show
With poet Peggy Douglas, songwriter Jefferson Hyll and the 9th Street
Stompers.

Peggy and I will be talking about…

Friday April, 6 and Saturday April 7 – 7pm
Deeper Roots
Voices and Music Inspired by Emma Bell Miles
Bachman Community Center
2815 Anderson Pike, Signal Mountain, TN 37377
View Map


In this new digital age...so I’ve been told...it's important to keep your fans engaged. To keep them up to date almost daily with what you’re working on in the studio etc. You’re supposed to be giving everyone the play by play of your everyday.

And I have friends who are exceptionally good at this, but it’s not how I’m wired. So, while you haven’t heard from me in a minute, I’ve actually been pretty busy. As a result, I got a lot to tell you about, so here we go…

When I got married, I moved from downtown Chattanooga just up the mountain to Signal Mountain. This year (and starting this month) the town is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Peggy Douglas, a local poet and playwright, was commissioned to create a play —structured as a series of
monologues— based on the writings of Signal Mountain’s most famous resident: Emma Bell Miles.

Trish is directing the play and I am it’s musical director. I, along with fiddler Emerald Butler, will be adding traditional Appalachian music both during and between the monologues.

In other words, I’m getting paid to play traditional music on a mountain dulcimer. (I know, right?)

The play takes place this Friday and Saturday at the Bachman Community Center (a repurposed elementary school just outside the Signal Mountain city limits), and again on Friday and Saturday of next week.

The play’s inspiration, Emma Bell Miles, was a writer, a poet, artist and naturalist whose life was as interesting as it was tragic. She also played the mountain dulcimer. Her writings are considered one of the best chronicles of mountain living in the late 19th and early 20th century, and while she is barely known in the United States, her work is studied in universities across Europe.

There’s a TON of stuff that I could tell you about Emma Bell and about the play but the best way to
learn more about the play is to listen to WUTC 88.1FM (wutc.org) tonight at 7pm. Peggy will talking about the play and reading excerpts and I’ll be doing my thing. Also along with us will be a local singer-songwriter as well as two members of the 9th Street Stompers, who play retro swing and
gypsy jazz and are one of my favorite Chattanooga bands

So that’s it for now. The next email will talk about the two new books that I’ve released. But that’ll have to wait; this email is getting pretty long…

And I have a Face book video to make. :-)

C-ya out there,

--Br
www.butchross.com

"Now I know what a dulcimer is supposed to sound like" —Jake Shimabukuro