HOW TO GO
What: Balsam Range and Helen Highwater
When: Saturday, Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Miami University Hamilton is located at 1601 University Blvd., Parrish Auditorium
Cost: Adults $25, Seniors/MU Faculty/Staff $23, Student/Youth $16
More info: To order tickets, visit www.miamioh.edu/boxoffice or call (513) 529-3200. (A service charge applies to online orders.) If questions, email epsteihr@miamioh.edu.
HAMILTON – Balsam Range and Helen Highwater will highlight the next Miami University Regionals Artist Series concert Saturday, Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m. at Miami Hamilton’s Parrish Auditorium.
Helen Highwater is a newer name in bluegrass, but the group features some familiar faces in its quartet with David Grier on guitar, Missy Raines on bass, Mike Compton on mandolin and Shad Cobb on fiddle, said Dr. Howard Epstein, director of the Artist Series.
“This is a newer band with veteran players,” Epstein said. “Everyone in the band has been a part of major groups, and they have won numerous bluegrass music awards over the years. They haven’t been together that long, but they probably have 40 years of experience, or more in the bluegrass world.”
Offering roots, blues and bluegrass flavored songs, the Nashville-based group’s members have received a number of Grammy and IBMA awards.
Epstein said Balsam Range is known for mixing elements of jazz, country, gospel, swing and old-time music to create a contemporary bluegrass sound.
“Balsam Range is a new band, but this past year, in 2014, Balsam Range won the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Entertainer of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year, Buddy Melton was named Male Vocalist of the Year and Tim Surrett received a Mentor Award, so they won some of the top awards, which is fairly unusual,” Epstein said. “The band’s fifth and current album, Five also made its Billboard Chart debut at number four.”
This is Balsam Range’s first appearance as a part of the Artist Series. Each of the band members in Helen Highwater have played with other groups at Miami Hamilton.
“The quality of musicianship is incredible,” Epstein said. “They will bring some great songs that will really speak to people. It’s not just that they play well, but they have an ability to write songs. With Balsam Range for example, the album before their most recent album, Five, was called Papertown. They are from a small town in North Carolina that had a paper mill that has had its hard times, so there’s that relationship to Hamilton with paper mills, the history and things like that. I’m looking forward to hearing both of these bands in a great place like Parrish Auditorium.”
As far as future shows, on Saturday, March 14 at 7:30 p.m., Carlos Núñez and The April Verch Band will perform at Miami Middletown’s Dave Finkelman Auditorium. On Saturday, April 11 at 7:30 p.m., The Travelin’ McCourys and the Gibson Brothers will conclude the season with an appearance at Middletown’s Dave Finkelman Auditorium.
“The talent is pretty strong this year,” Epstein said. “We’ve got some variability in the shows with a few new bands as well as band’s that have played here before, or some past favorites. That’s what we always try to do to mix it up.”
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