Newport Folk Festival via icloud.com
14:16 (1 hour ago)
to Ian
Hey there Ian,
Just wanted to say thank you so much for your amazing performances at our festival & for supporting our beloved festival. People loved you guys so much that many followed you into the RSL for another fix of your Appalachian goodness! You were a festival highlight for many of us.
Hopefully our paths will cross again, til then have a great year of gigs!
Cheers,
Chris.
Here is a great link to an article:
Chris Spencer reviewed the band’s third CD for the TRAD and NOW magazine said:
“I found that on this recording the bluegrass influence was quite strong, although the inclusion of a couple of reels provides interest for folk enthusiasts. The band mixes up the tempo ensuring interest is maintained over the length of the CD. Each musician has the opportunity to shine on various tracks … the banjo playing of Ian Alexander is highlighted on Old Rip and I Ain’t gonna Work Tomorrow; the fiddle on Nervous Breakdown, Kaiser Waltz, St Anne’s reel; the autoharp on Soldier’s Joy.
I think most people who enjoy old time music, folk and bluegrass influenced music will find much to like about this album.”
While I was stuck in an endless traffic jam on a dreary rain-drenched Winter's afternoon in Melbourne, the perky sound of the "Three Forks" album by the Appalachian Heaven String Band brightened my mood, and seemed to blow some of the ominous clouds away. This lively Australian quartet, who delivers American old-timey music with a bourbon-barrel-load of skill and enthusiasm, has played at a myriad of events such as the Maldon Folk Festival, National Bluegrass and Traditional Music Convention, Healesville Music Festival, Blackwood Fiddlers' Convention and Dorrigo Folk and Bluegrass Festival. The liner-notes for Three Forks are a veritable treasure trove of interesting facts that provide the historical and cultural context for the music. After a few minutes of intense reading the knowledge-hungry listener will be equipped to explain what "Squirrel Hunters" and "Chinquapins" are and may even be able to discuss the ancient origins of the wonderfully wild and foot-stomping Black Eyed Suzy. I challenge anyone to resist the temptation to sing along to the infectious "Mole in the Ground" which is sufficiently jaunty to banish the darkest of clouds from a rain-streaked sky.