The Black Rose Acoustic Society Present Sandra Wong at Meadowgrass Friday Night

The Black Rose Acoustic Society is partnering with Meadowgrass again this year for the first day of the festival, Friday, May 27. The Friday program starts earlier this year. Gates open at 1pm and the Boulder Acoustic Society kicks off the festival at 3pm. We were asked to recommend an act for Friday and offered Sandra Wong who we were planning to introduce to the BRAS audience this year. Sandra and band will take the stage after the Boulder Acoustic Society set at approximately 4:30pm. Following Sandra will be 2011 Grammy winners Chubby Carrier & the Bayou Swamp Band, winners for Best Zydeco Album. Capping the Friday night entertainment will be San Francisco bay area band, Hot Buttered Rum.

Before we get into the rest of the festival weekend, I'd like to introduce you to Sandra Wong and her band. The first time I saw Sandra was in Lyons, CO where she opened up for

Three Ring Circle

at a High Street Music concert last May. You may recall that we hosted

Three Ring Circle

for a concert last April 30. I tagged along to two other shows on their Colorado mini-tour that ended in Lyons. Sandra performed that night on fiddle and nyckelharpa, an instrument that was featured in our recent concert with Mike Marshall, Darol Anger and Väsen. I was so impressed with Sandra's talent and stage presence that I knew the BRAS audience would enjoy her too.

For the show at Meadowgrass, Sandra's band will feature tabla player Ty Burhoe and mandolin wunderkind, Dominick Leslie. Some of you may recognize Dominick from his performances recording with Grisman Quintet guitarist, Grand Gordy. We're really excited to have Sandra and band represent the Black Rose Acoustic Society at Meadowgrass this year. Friday's lineup is going to be great from start to finish. We'll be there; we hope you will too.

Of course, Friday just gets things started. The Saturday and Sunday lineups are not to be missed either. Saturday starts off with the Lindsay Weidmann & Jeremy Facknitz whom you may recall as a recent BRAS open stage performer. Following Lindsay and Jeremy are local folky Joe Johnson, the Colorado bluegrass band Spring Creek, The Haunted Windchimes from Pueblo, Horse Feathers from Portland, OR, alt-country-folk band Yarn, and finishing off the evening is musician-actor John Doe.

Sunday keeps up the pace with local folk duo The Mitguards followed by Nathan McEuen, Westcliffe's Sons & Brothers, singer-songwriter Damien Jurado, roots music artist D.B. Rielly and Sunday headliner, Canadian singer-songwriter and ex-Be Good Tanyas band member, Frazey Ford. Black Rose Acoustic Society and KRCC members can get discounted tickets to the festival. Please note that we will only be selling Black Rose member discount tickets. Member tickets will be available at our May 13 open stage and on our website. For general public and KRCC ticket purchases, see the Meadowgrass website: http://www.meadowgrass.org/ for Black Rose discounted tickets see the Black Rose website: www.blackroseacoustic.org.

By Jeff Smith
Vice President, Black Rose Acoustic Society

New President's Letter

I debated for a time on what I should say in my inaugural column for Black Rose. I thought that it may be best if I introduced myself to those of you who may not know me yet. I've been on the board of Black Rose for a little over a year now and prior to that I was a volunteer (and I still am one). In that time we have put on some excellent acoustic music concerts where the caliber of music seemed to elevate with each concert we did. These shows included our first ever free Thanks to the Members concert with Hot Club of Cowtown and of course, the recent Mike Marshall, Darol Anger and Vasen Trio concert featuring a skilled, internationally known group of musicians.
Prior to moving to the Springs I lived in Denver and worked at Swallow Hill Music Association –Denver's home for acoustic music. I worked there for 5 years doing a number of jobs over the years that included volunteer coordination, PR and marketing, membership growth, concert production, venue rentals, MC duties, booking and talent scouting. I had worked my way from a lowly intern all the way up to Concert Director. While I loved the work that I got to do there, I truly loved the music and the people involved in the creation and enjoyment of that music. It was like being part of a large, extended family that reached across the country and the oceans.
I was glad to come to Colorado Springs and to Black Rose to see that the two parts of the acoustic music scene that I have always loved: the music and the community were still just as vibrant as they were in other parts of Colorado. I am happy to be a part of the Black Rose Acoustic Society and proud to be the next president.
I was very honored to be asked to be the next president of Black Rose and I hope that I can help Black Rose to continue into the future. I would like to thank Jeff Smith for all of his dedication and hard work as the president for the past four years. He's done an excellent job and Black Rose wouldn't be what it currently is without his work and those of the rest of the board and volunteers.
I look forward to continuing the work that they started. The next time you are at the Rose be sure to say "hello" and by the way, we are always looking for more volunteers.

Joanna Springer
President, Black Rose Acoustic Society
www.blackroseacoustic.org