fbpx

THE HOTTEST BLUEGRASS LINEUP IN FAR WEST TEXAS!

Bluegrass music is in Far West Texas! The City of Alpine and the Big Bend Bluegrass Association are proud to host the annual Big Bend Bluegrass Festival.  Performing is Special Consensus, Edgar Loudermilk Band, SpringStreet, Hillbilly Fever Bluegrass Band, Finley River Boys and Bobby Giles and Texas Gales!  Get your tickets now!

ABOUT THE 2024 LINEUP

sPECIAL CONSENSUS

The Special Consensus is a bluegrass band that has achieved a contemporary sound in over four decades of performing, making their music a modern classic. Band leader and founder Greg Cahill is a recipient of the prestigious Distinguished Achievement Award from the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) and was inducted into the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America (SPBGMA) Hall of Greats.

Special Consensus’ sound is grounded in a deep appreciation and understanding of bluegrass music.  With the foundation of Greg’s unique banjo playing style and the vocal prowess of the 2023 IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year Greg Blake (guitar), Dan Eubanks (bass) and Michael Prewitt (mandolin), these musicians consistently maintain their bluegrass center.

Rivers and Roads, the band’s 19th recording, was nominated for a 2018 Grammy and was awarded 2018 IBMA Album of the Year. The tune “Squirrel Hunters” from that recording received the Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year award.

The band has toured internationally and has appeared on National Public Radio, The Nashville Network, the Grand Ole Opry at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, and in concert with symphony orchestras nationwide.

Compass Records released Great Blue North, the 21st Special C recording, in May of 2023. The Gordon Lightfoot song “Alberta Bound” received the 2023 IBMA Collaborative Recording of the Year award.

EDGAR LOUDERMILK BAND

  • 2024  SPBGMA Bass Player of the Year
  • 2023  SPBGMA Bass Player of the Year
  • 2023 Male Vocalist of the Year
  • Evan Dickerson Bluegrass Band of the Year Award
  • Evan Dickerson Banjo Player of the Year Award

Rural Rhythm Records recording artist Edgar Loudermilk’s signature voice, bass skills, and songwriting are a family tradition for this Louvin Brothers’ descendant. Loudermilk’s distinctive and powerful vocals cut to the heart of a song, while also winning over audiences with his friendly, down-home style.  Having experienced a long tenure of performing, including several industry awards, with IIIrd Tyme Out, Rhonda Vincent, and Marty Raybon. Edgar has also had monumental success with the IBMA Emerging Artist nomination for his duo work with Adkins & Loudermilk. Edgar wrote or co-wrote the majority of the music that topped and still remains on the bluegrass charts from the Adkins & Loudermilk album release. Edgar’s music is a mainstay on bluegrass radio and he has been a “Most Played” Sirius Bluegrass Radio Musician since his start.

SPRINGSTREET

SpringStreet started in 1990 as a dream of members Mike Williams and Dan Nieto. They had gone to see Bill Monroe & The Bluegrass Boys perform at The Auditorium in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Inspired by this performance to start a musical career of their own, they chose the band name “SpringStreet” after the city street where The Auditorium was located. More than thirty years later, SpringStreet is still going strong entertaining folks all over the country. Members now include Nick Alberty (mandolin / lead vocals), Steve Huhn (upright bass), Rick Morton (fiddle / vocals), along with original members Mike Williams (banjo / vocals) and Dan Nieto (guitar / lead vocals). They have also been an award winning band as a group and as individuals.SpringStreet is very blessed to stay on the road performing more than 100 shows a year throughout the Midwest and at popular events such as: Silver Dollar City’s “Bluegrass & BBQ Festival” in Branson, Missouri; Turkey Track Bluegrass Festival in Waldron, Arkansas; Bluegrass & Chili Festival in Wagoner, Oklahoma, and a great collection of additional shows in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and Tennessee.

HILLBILLY FEVER

HillBilly Fever is a hard-driving traditional Bluegrass band made up of seasoned musicians with varied backgrounds.  The band has performed from the East to the West coast.

FINLEY RIVER BOYS

The Finley River Boys is a high-energy, acoustic bluegrass band that performs a wide variety of bluegrass, country, folk, and gospel songs.

The band’s unique, rich blend of tight, four-part harmonies and intricate instrumental breaks captivate audiences everywhere.

The Finley River Boys feature Brad Reynolds (upright bass, vocals), Bill Crider (guitar, vocals), Brett Dudenhoeffer (fiddle, mandolin, vocals), and Alan Johnston (banjo, mandolin, vocals).

The band has performed in excess of a hundred shows yearly, including at venues such as Starvy Creek Bluegrass Festival, Silver Dollar City, Jerusalem Ridge Bluegrass Celebration (also featured on the Cumberland Highlanders television show), Missouri State Fair, churches, county fairs, theaters, civic centers, schools, and many more events throughout the United States.

The Finley River Boys present a family-friendly show that will have your audience grinning, tapping their toes, and clapping their hands!

BOBBY GILES & TEXAS GALES

A gale is “a very strong wind” and “a burst of sound.” When one thinks of the windswept Texas plains and the iconic culture of the region, it invokes a sense of timelessness, that of strength and passion of a uniquely American, western nobility. These storied Texas winds carry yesterday’s sounds, songs, and ghosts across the land. They bring the tales and legends of bygone storytellers straight to the hearts, souls, and ears of the younger generations, who will be inspired to retell their unique versions of these ancient poems.

And yet, a gale is also something to be reckoned with; it is forceful, demands your attention, and so makes the music of Bobby Giles & Texas Gales.

Bobby’s father, Marion Murray Giles, was a conductor on the Santa Fe Railroad. He loved the railroad, his family, football, quail huntin’, fishin’, and music. He taught Bobby the importance of being passionate about everything he does. Bobby and his brother Dan were proud sons of ‘ManyMilesGiles’ in his sharp conductor’s uniform. One day he brought Bobby a shiny new Kay Sunburst dreadnought. Bobby taught himself to play by watching the Honest Jess and Ernest Tubb shows on Saturdays, every Gospel quartet show he could find on Sunday morning before church, and by emulating the sounds that filled his bedroom from his transistor radio.

His grandpa’s name was Virgil, but everyone called him “Pa.” Not long after Bobby got his first guitar, his father came by the house and took him to the fairgrounds where a bluegrass band was playing, and Bobby always remembered their 3-part harmonies and the chords their guitar player played. He went home that night and started learning the value of practice!

Like most young musicians, Bobby had grandiose aspirations of being the next ” big deal, ” but he was also a reasonably decent football player. That took center stage until his playing days were over at the University of Texas. Luckily, he never quit playing those chords he learned from that bluegrass guitar player at the fairgrounds.

Coming forward to the present times, Bobby pursues his love for bluegrass music through songwriting, performing, and recording. He recently has had the honor and privilege of being produced by award-winning fiddle player and member of Appalachian Road Show, Jim VanCleve.

Friday Performances

4:30-5:20 PM              Finley River Boys

5:30-6:20 PM              Bobby Giles & Texas Gales

6:30-7:20 PM              SpringStreet

7:30-8:20 PM              Hillbilly Fever  

8:30-9:20 PM              Edgar Loudermilk Band

9:30-10:20 PM            Special Consensus     

Saturday Workshops

9:00 AM – 10:00 AM              Songwriters workshop

10:00 AM – 11:00 AM             Guitar workshop, Mandolin workshop

3:00 PM – 3:30 PM                 Children’s harmonica

Saturday Performances

11:15 – 11:50 PM       Sul Ross Guitar Ensemble

12:00 – 12:45 PM       Finley River Boys

1:00 – 1:45 PM           Hillbilly Fever

2:00 – 2:45 PM           SpringStreet  

3:00 – 3:45 PM           Edgar Loudermilk

4:00 – 4:45 PM           Special Consensus

5:00 -5:45 PM             Hillbilly Fever

6:00-6:45 PM              Finley River Boys   

7:00-7:45 PM              Bobby Giles & Texas Gales

8:00-8:45 PM              SpringStreet

9:00-9:45 PM              Edgar Loudermilk Band

10:00                           Special Consensus     

Lineup/schedule is subject to change