OTHER ACTIVITIES

MINNESOTA HOMEGROWN KICKOFF

Friday through Sunday, June 4-6, 2010
El Rancho Mañana, Richmond, MN

We're working on our Workshop Tent and The Gathering Place for 2010. Below is a tentative list of some of what you can expect.

WORKSHOP TENT FRIDAY
8:00 Jam With The Band with the Temporary Stringband

WORKSHOP TENT SATURDAY
10:00 Jam With The Band with Now And Then
12:00 Rhythm Guitar Workshop with Alan Jesperson (Middle Spunk Creek Boys)
1:00 Guitar Flatpicking Contest Workshop with Bill Liners (Ivory Bridge) and Clint Birtzer (Sawtooth)
2:00 Duet Singing Workshop with Bob & Lynn Dixon
3:00 Bluegrass Banjo Workshop with Peggy Olson (Morgans Run)
4:00 Western Swing Workshop with Scott Washburn (Blue Yodel #9)
5:00 Workshop with TBA
6:00 Jam With The Band with The Moss Piglets

*see additional workshop descriptions below

WORKSHOP TENT SUNDAY
10:00 Jam With The Band With The Acoustic Company

GATHERING PLACE SATURDAY
9:00 Quilter's & Crafters Get Together
11:00 Beginner's Jam with Bill Cagley
3:00 Intermediate Level Jam with Bill Cagley

GATHERING PLACE SUNDAY
8:45 Non-Denominational Church Service with Jack Trosen
11:00 Beginner's Jam with Bill Cagley
2:00 Intermediate Level Jam with Bill Cagley
 

RANCH HOUSE LIVE FRIDAY (hosted by Earl Jarosh)
Ranch House Live is an informal open mic in the ranch house located at El Rancho Manana. This is a great forum to put together a small scramble band or ensemble. You can sign up for a spot before the festival by contacting Earl Jarosh, or sign up onsite at the Gathering Place until 6:00 PM that day or at the Ranch House after 7:00 PM. 

8:00 Doc Wallin
8:35
9:00 Steve Howard: Hillbilly Music for the Soul
9:35
10:00 Prairiegrass
10:35
11:00 Now And Then
11:35 Honky Tonk John

RANCH HOUSE LIVE SATURDAY (hosted by TBA)
Due to popularity we have expanded Ranch House Live to Saturday night also. Sign up for open stage times at the Gathering Place until 6PM that day or at the Ranch House after 7PM.

8:00 The Wildwood Flowers
8:35 Joe, Gary, & Friends
9:00
9:35 Alabaster Falls
10:00
10:35
11:00
11:35

Minnesota Homegrown Kickoff Workshops
By Steve McCann

This year we have a varied schedule of workshops on Saturday for you to enjoy.

12:00 PM. Alan Jesperson, who has been the anchor and guitar player for the Middle Spunk Creek Boys for the last 42 years, will do an “Intermediate to Advanced Rhythm Guitar” workshop. This should prove to be an outstanding time.

1:00 PM. 2008 Minnesota State Flatpicking Champion Bill Liners of Ivory Bridge and 2009 Minnesota State Flatpicking Champion Clint Birtzer of Sawtooth Bluegrass Band will show how easy and fun it can be to enter a flatpicking guitar contest.

2:00 PM. Bob & Lynn Dixon, who have been known for years as a very strong singing duo, will do a "Duet Singing" workshop using their familiar Carter Family style playing. They will focus on a number of harmony-singing techniques and how to apply them in song arrangements.

3:00 PM. Peggy Olson of Morgans Run will give an intermediate level bluegrass banjo workshop. Beginners are welcome too.

4:00 PM. Scott Washburn, John Whitehead, and John Haer of Blue Yodel #9 will be presenting something we’ve not covered in our workshops before, how to arrange and perform “Western Swing Tunes” in the Bob Wills style. We will review some basic swing chords (6th and 7th chords) and then a few swing chord vamps. They will then demonstrate these chords and vamps with two Western Swing Tunes teaching the audience how to play a two-chord Western Swing Tune and then a three-chord Western Swing tune. It will be lots of fun.

We try to present to you a varied and broad ranging selection of workshops from one year to the next. Please let me know if you have an idea for, or would like to be part of, a workshop in the future. After all, this is your organization and we welcome your input always.

Steve McCann, sotagrass@aol.com
Kickoff Workshop Coordinator

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