This Page is designed to let you know what our past news Flashes looked like as they happened and to keep the home page devoted to the very latest news.
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February 8, 2008...Wow, what happened to January? We have been busy with rehearsals and several local gigs and private parties. On the horizon we can announce that we have been invited to play at the 3rd Annual Bluegrass on the Bogs Festival in Carver. We'll be opening Saturday at 10 AM...more to come on that...We also have two private weddings booked in September (September 13 and 20) and are planning to host another Bluegrass festival of our own in the fall in Southern Rhode Island.

December 26, 2007...Hope you had a great Christmas. Be sure to come on down to Stinky Pete's this Saturday Night, from 8 to Midnight.

December 19, 2007 .....Forgot to mention, New Year's Eve this year....First Nght in Newport, RI .....The organizer of the bluegrass venue, had to limit participation to a total of 12 musicians due to a new insurance limitation...so it was a first come, first served basis...to make a long story short, the performers will consist of a mixture of musicians from around Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts..Only two or possibly three members of our band will be there. You will need to purchase a First Night Badge to get in to our venue, (as well as all other places) The Florence Murray Judicial Court House Building which is at the top of Broadway right across from the Jane Pickens Theater. We'll start playing around 6:30 PM. They usually have us finish around 8:30 PM.

December 17, 2007...How time flies! Looks like we'll be back playing at Stinky Pete's on December 29 2007 for Bluegrass and classic country music...If you are in the area (Route 6 in Dartmouth across from the old Lincoln Park), stop in and give us a shout. Check out our Photos and Music page depicting our last session at ol' Stinky's...It was lots of fun with musical guests and lots of other folks who appreciated our music.

November 25, 2007... A month till Christmas...how time flies...Oh Yeah, we had a blast last Friday, day after thanksgiving, at Stinky Pete's in Dartmouth, Ma. Lots of good friends came out to hear us and we especially appreciated our musical friends coming up to join us for a few numbers . Having them join us on stage turned our show into what it's supposed to be, a REVUE, like our name says Bluegrass Invitation Revue, a variety of performers giving you their best.
Our special thanks go out to Steve and Gail Dayton of Back Eddy Bluegrass as well as Maggie Moniz of cajun and Magnolia fame and Rocky Dion who sang and played every thing from the Blues to traditional bluegrass....Thanks again for a great time. Our photos of the night will be up as soon as we can get them on line here at this site. Looks like our next performance will probably be First Night again in Newport RI. Stay tuned for the details. If its anythinklike previous years you don't want to miss it.....

November 16, 2007...We'll be playing next Friday, Nov 23, 2007 at Stinky Pete's Pub in Dartmouth, Ma from 8 to midnight. Also there is a bluegrass jam starting tonight and every Friday night in the upcoming future at the Dartmouth VFW (next door to the Fire Station) from 7 PM to closing. Finally, our collaborative CD is just about ready to be released. We are the second cut on the compilation entitled Hope In Our Hands - The Christmas Sessions, and our song "The Child Who Was King" has been renamed "Peace in the Valley" on this CD. Anyway, we'll let you know where to buy this CD just in time for the Christmas and Holiday Season. The proceeds go to the Children's Advocacy Center for abused children in the New Bedford and Fall River region.

October 29, 2007...

***** Wow! The First Annual Young Family Farm Bluegrass Weekend was terrific. We had some strange New England Weather ("if you don't like the weather...wait a minute!) but the music and fun (hayrides, Cooking demonstrations from real chefs and college professors...) it was all good!!! We have been asked to do it again even bigger next year and we will be inviting even more bands and folk/acoustic performers to join us in a three day variety show worth coming to see and hear. We asre also nmaking plans with Young Family Farm for next summer...a clam bake with Bluegrass....

***** Last Saturday, October 27, we cut a recording at Digital Wave Multimedia studios in Fall River for a Winter/Holiday CD which is being produced to benefit the Children's Advocacy Center serving abused children in the South Coast area. The song we did was written by Charlie Santos and is entitled "The Child who was King". We'll let you know where to get a copy of the CD when it is released.

***** I'd like to introduce a new permanent member of our band, Frank Bouchard who plays lead guitar in many of our numbers as well as vocal leads and harmonies. Frank played in a duet in the South Coast area for several years performing a wide variety of songs from Celtic to Folk to popular acoustic. He also plays a mean banjo and mandolin.

****FInally, with Glenn Sampson, our esteemed banjo player, having asked for a leave of absence due to a job change, we are announcing the temporary addition to our band of young Benjamin Marshall who also plays a mean Scruggs style banjo. In addition, Ben plays a honking doghouse bass, a smooth mandolin and a clean, flat picking lead guitar ...all in the package of a 17 year old high school senior..Ben also plays for Crossfire Bluegrass band, another respected South Coast bluegrass group!

****** More to come! 

October 29, 2007...

***** Wow! The First Annual Young Family Farm Bluegrass Weekend was terrific. We had some strange New England Weather ("if you don't like the weather...wait a minute!) but the music and fun (hayrides, Cooking demonstrations from real chefs and college professors...) it was all good!!! We have been asked to do it again even bigger next year and we will be inviting even more bands and folk/acoustic performers to join us in a three day variety show worth coming to see and hear. We asre also nmaking plans with Young Family Farm for next summer...a clam bake with Bluegrass....

***** Last Saturday, October 27, we cut a recording at Digital Wave Multimedia studios in Fall River for a Winter/Holiday CD which is being produced to benefit the Children's Advocacy Center serving abused children in the South Coast area. The song we did was written by Charlie Santos and is entitled "The Child who was King". We'll let you know where to get a copy of the CD when it is released.

***** I'd like to introduce a new permanent member of our band, Frank Bouchard who plays lead guitar in many of our numbers as well as vocal leads and harmonies. Frank played in a duet in the South Coast area for several years performing a wide variety of songs from Celtic to Folk to popular acoustic. He also plays a mean banjo and mandolin.

****FInally, with Glenn Sampson, our esteemed banjo player, having asked for a leave of absence due to a job change, we are announcing the temporary addition to our band of young Benjamin Marshall who also plays a mean Scruggs style banjo. In addition, Ben plays a honking doghouse bass, a smooth mandolin and a clean, flat picking lead guitar ...all in the package of a 17 year old high school senior..Ben also plays for Crossfire Bluegrass band, another respected South Coast bluegrass group!

****** More to come!


September 21,2007... Great time was had by all on September 7 at the Holy Ghost Club with the Wish Come True Foundation which is celebrating their 25th year this year. Joe Lepage and his sister Carol were a great hit as always. We are now gearing up for the First Annual Young's Family Farm Columbus Day Weekend Bluegrass Festival which we are hosting. We have invited Crossfire Bluegrass Band and Falmouth Fiddlers to join us as featured groups, along with other who will appear with us for two or three numbers throughout the weekend. The event runs from two to five PM on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Bring the family and lawn chairs and pick some apples, pears, peaches and pumpkins as we pick our instruments.

August 23, 2007 We have some news. We'll be playing on Friday September 7th at the Westport Holy Ghost Club (which is on Sodom Road in Westport and Not connected with the Dartmouth Holy Ghost Club where the Blowout occurred earlier this month). This is the event which is a charity for children with terminal illness. See the Schedule Events section for details. Also we are hosting a three day Bluegrass Festival during Columbus Day Weekend in Little Compton RI. More on this coming up.

August 15,, 2007...We had a great time at the Dartmouth Blowout last Saturday. John and Tony Taylor were a nice addition to our band. Nice crowd and the food was fantastic. We are currently planning on some Fall gigs with a three day appearance Sat, Sun and Monday during Columbus Day Weekend in October....More about that later. Right now Glenn is in San Diego, California and Labor Day is around the corner with the Thomas Point Bluegrass festival which some of us wouldn't thinkof missing...so we'll re-assemble after Labor Day and see what's what. Meanwhile those of us who are around will be going to the Westport Pier Wednesday nights to jam under the stars, weather permitting.

August 5, 2007... This has been a hectic summer trying to get everyone together despite family commitments from New Jersey to San Diego and Bluegrass festivals from Grey Fox to Podunk to Thomas Point... But we are still on for the annual Dartmouth Blowout Festival next Saturday August 11th . We will be on stage from 12:30 to 2:30 PM. We are hoping to be joined once again by John and Toni Taylor who did a great job last year.
We'll keep you posted on some upcoming events this fall...


July 18, 2007 We have had a good time at Stinky Pete's and have found an appreciative crowd that likes a mixture of Bluegrass and Country Classics which we have a lot of fun with. Ol' Stinky Pete himself graced us with some Willie Nelson numbers and we discovered that he has a great voice and knows all Willie's lyrics.

June 22, 2007...I (Charlie) am home from the hospital and feeling great. I had gastric bypass surgery on Monday. The boys can be found playing at the Westport Pier Wednesdays when the weather is nice or the Westport Social Club when the weather is poor. Also it looks like Stinky Pete's is still on for a while Saturdays 8-12 (See Scheduled Gigs). When I am 100% back on my feet we'll have more performance dates to share.

June 15, 2007... about Stinky Pete's in North Dartmouth Ma., that's located right across Route 6 from the old Lincoln Park amusement park at the end of route 177. This gig is expected to feature our invited friends John and Toni Taylor, a well know bluegrass couple in the Southcoast area of Massachusetts. Don't let the name throw you Stinky Pete's is a great place to have some good food and listen to some good bluegrass! We'll be there tomorrow night (June 16) from 8 to midnight.

June 6 2007...We have been asked to play at Stinky Pete's on Route 6 in North Dartmouth Ma. on Saturday June 16 from 8-12. More on this later.

June 04, 2007...Bluegrass on the Bogs at Edavile Railroad this weekend...Carver Ma. It's going to be a great time, camping Saturday and lots for kids and adults to see and do. We'll be on at 9 PM on Saturday Night...Hope you can make it.
Also our good friend Skip Beltz and some friends will be doing the Sunday mornings at Cup of the Bay in Onset, Ma. this summer. Skip started the festivities last season but was called away to warmer climes, and we kept the gig warm util his return from the Carribbean. Best wishes Skip and glad to see you back! We'll be joining Skip from time to time through the summer. Finally, don't forget the Wednesday Night Jams outdoors on the fishing pier at Westport Ma. Harbor have started back up and will be going strong until shortly after Labor Day. See you there maybe? If the weather is poor you might find us at the Westport Social Club.

May 16, 2007...Cantab II is history and another great time was had by all. That Cambridge crowd really knows and appreciates its bluegrass especially those kids and faculty from Berkley School of Music...and the whole night was amazing...
We now will play for a private graduation party or two and are considering returning to The Cup of the Bay on old Cape Cod (Onset) Sundays starting Memorial Day Weekend...stay tuned. We are also getting a new set list ready for the Bluegrass on the Bogs Festival in Carver Ma (Site of Edaville Railroad). We'll be there on June 9 at 9 PM.

April 25, 2007....We had a very busy Saturday. First we played at the 63rd Annual New England Folk Festival in Mansfield Ma from 11AM to 12 PM. It was a huge affair with literally thousands of spectators and participants coming in from three distant satellite parking lots to see folk and international dancing and various kinds of entertainment. Our venue was filled early and some people were actually asked to leave because of fire codes and safety issues in overcrowding the room.
In the PM we played at the City Oasis Club in Norton MA from 3 to 4 . Many thanks to Steve Shaw and Dave Carney of Empty Pockets Bluegrass Band for inviting us to participate as one of nine scheduled bands, and special thanks to Harry Cooke who handled our sound system in a masterful way!!! We noticed a major diference in quality of sound and can say we never sounded better. Next Stop is the Cantab in Cambridge on May 8 where we played last January and were invited to return. That's from 8:30 to 9:30 PM.

April 13, 2007...Friday the 13th........Bud Smith our bass player is back from Key West Fla where he played with a group three nights per week for much of the winter. Many thanks to Gene Hannah for doing a great job filling in for Bud at the Cantab in Cmbridge Ma , the Bay Club at Mattappoisett Ma and at the private parties we have played since Bud went South in December. Also welcome back to Glenn after surgery and a trip to be with family in San Diego. It's great to be reunited and preparing for our upcoming performances. (See Scheduled Gigs Above)

March 21 2007 Happy Spring!...We have confirmed with Geoff Bartley at the Cantab Lounge in Cambridge that we will play on Tuesday night, the 8th of May from 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM. More info later.

March 9, 2007...We just received a choice of dates in May to open once again at the Cantab Lounge in Cambridge, Ma. The dates are either May 8 or May 29. We'll let you know of our final choice. If the experience is anything like our last time out it will be a blast. Don't miss it!

March 5, 2007...Our time on stage at the Oasis City Bluegrass Festival in Norton MA will be from 4 PM to 5 PM on April 21, 2005. There will be continuous bluegrass music from 2 PM through 11 PM. With bands like Dan Hellman and Marking time, plus Tripping Lilly and Empty Pockets and more! Hope to see you there!

February 22, 2007...We have been invited to play at the Oasis in Norton, Massachusetts on the night of April 21. We are also playing as mentioned below, the same day at 11 AM at the New England Folk Festival in Mansfield, Ma.

February 21, 2007...We have changed our appearance time at the Bluegrass on the Bogs Festival. The day is the same, June 9, but the time will now be 9 PM instead of 8 PM. We will play for an hour and then be joined by other musicians for a bluegrass jam on stage starting at 10 PM. If you are there with your instrument, please join us on stage at ten! Also a compilation CD should be available at this festival with several of our songs included which we recorded live at the Cantab Lounge in Cambridge on January 9, 2007.

January 31,2007...Another bit of good news. Looks like we'll be playing at the Bluegrass on the Bogs festival in Carver, Ma. again this year. While the site is the same, Edaville Railroad grounds, the date has been changed to the weekend of June 9th and 10th. We'll be performing on Saturday night, June 9th on the main stage.

January 24, 2007...Today we got a future performance date which looks like fun. It the 63rd Annual New England Folk Festival which will be held from April 20th to the 22nd at Mansfield Massachusetts High School and Middle School grounds. We will go on at 11AM on Saturday the 21st. at the Middle school, rooms 103/104. We are honored to be selected to this granddaddy of all folk music and dancing festivals.

January 23, 2007...Looks like we're not going to be available for the March 6 return to the Cantab in Cambridge. We are hoping that Geoff Bartley can offer us some other dates beginning in April or May.

January 19, 2007...While revising our press kit I got an email from Geoff Bartley at the Cantab who asked us back to open again in Cambridge!!! He gave us a date of March 6 if we are available or a later date if we are not. We're thinking it over right now. We'll let you know the date when we have decided.

January 11, 2007....Wow! Just getting back to earth from our gig at the Cantab on Tuesday January 9. It was a complete blast! The house was packed unbelievably and we had the greatest time! We are currently editing the digital recordings and hope to replace our scratchy tunes from this website once and for all. Also we had two videographers shooting our 1 Hr. set who will compile a dvd of the performance. Can't wait to see that! Many thanks to our friends who made the trip to Cambridge. Let us know how things went for you!

December 21, 2006... Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all. We're getting ready for New Year's Eve in Newport. Music Starts around 6:30 PM to 9 PM at the Florence Murry Judicial Center. This Court House is located right next door to the Old State House on lower Broadway before it runs into Thames Street. Right next to the Jane Pickens Theater.
Don't forget our appearance at the Cantab Lounge on Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge on January 9 from 8:30 to 9:30 PM. And, finally, there's talk about putting a CD together in early spring. Also something about the New England Folk Festival in Mansfield Massachusetts coming up.. Keep in touch for more news.

December 5, 2006... We expect to be with Randy and his usual band of revellers at First Night on New Year's Eve in Newport Rhode Island. Unless things change, we will be playing our bluegrass music at the Florence Murray Judicial Center at around 6 PM until around 8 or 9 PM. Stay tuned for details....

November 27, 2006...Hope you had a great Thanksgiving! Our Wednesday night at Little Bear Lounge in Tiverton RI was a lot of fun and we have been invited back for a full Saturday Night Gig in early May...We'll let you know the details sometime in April. Right now we are getting ready for the Cantab on January 9. Google the Cantab Lounge Cambridge for more info.
By the way get your tickets soon for the Joe Val feb 16-18. Hotel and concert tickets are going like hot cakes! Get your tickets online at www.BBU.org

November 15....Yikes!! On Tuesday, Nov. 14, we received a last minute call to perform at Little Bear Lounge in Tiverton, RI for the following night. Like true Minutemen we responded to the call!... five out of six of us were able to be there on time and we played from 6-10 PM. as requested and we had a great time. This is a fun place. Something different every night. If you are in the area, check it out!

Nov 6, 2006......About last Saturday Night at the Bay Club, Mattapoisett, Ma...What a great time!!! We played, they danced (approx. two hundred "Cowboys and Cowgirls" ) the night away with Texas style BBQ and refreshements of all kinds...and they were most appreciative not to mention quite generous. Thanks a million and hope to see you next year! Our thanks to Gene Hannah for filling in for Bud who was up in North Country chasing a ten point buck.

Nov 7 2006, We are going to call an end to the Friday nights at the Country Harvest with the holidays coming up and uncertain winter weather...Possibly we might start up the barn dances in the spring...Thanks to all who stopped by during the month of October.

Our date to perform at the Cantab in Cambridge will be January 9, 2007. We'll be opening for the really hot band consisting of: "Zack Hickman & Barn Star"
Jake Armerding; fiddle & vocals
Taylor Armerding; mandolin & vocals
Adam Larrabee; banjo & vocals
Jesse Harper of Old School Freight Train; guitar & vocals
Zack Hickman; bass & vocals
More info will follow. Google the Cantab Lounge Cambridge for more info.

What follows is a diary of our weekly performances at Cup of the Bay, Onset (Cape Cod) MA during the summer of 2006...........

***Invited Guests who performed with us on Sunday, June 25 were Glenn Sampson and Tom Purser. Glenn's driving Banjo was something to behold and Tom Did a great job pickin' and singin' "Paradise" in true Bluegrass form. Tom's a local Onset man who makes fine acoustic instruments. If you get to the Cup of the Bay and would like to talk instrument construction, listen for a Harley Davidson and see if Tom's around.

***On Sunday , July 2, Skip Beltz joined us on the autoharp and Glenn Sampson filled in on banjo again. Both Skip and Glenn are accomplished musicians and we all made some sweet bluegrass if we do say so ourselves.

******Sunday July 9, saw a nicely played rhythm guitar by Scott Wright and Glen Sampson shared the banjo section with Charlie Santos. A last minute appearance had Joe Ribeiro showed some of his flat-picking skills to an appreciative audience. Pete and Glenn will be attending Grey Fox next Sunday, July 16. We will be appearing with a slightly different configuration of band members. Come to mention it , I guess you could say we are a slightly different configuration of band members already.......Come on down to Onset and see...

***On Sunday, July 16 there were four of us (Bud, John, Charlie and Skip Beltz) and did we make some music!!! We supplied some requests for a number of standbys and were even joined by a lovely lady who knew some interesting verses to Turkey in the Straw...Hmmm will the fringe benefits never end? And the Rhode Island Quohog Chowdah was great! Next Sunday we expect to be all reunited on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Hang on to yer hats, here we come The Bluegrass Invitation Review!

***Sunday , July 23 saw an undecided weather pattern and some great bluegrass. We had seven musicians, two short of a baseball team! Our special guest was Sky Travers, who makes the resophonic (Dobro) guitar sing, cry and jump for joy! and the place was jumpin'. Bud Charlie, Fiddler John and our aforementioned guest Sky Travers were joined by Pete and Glenn, just back from their ultimate Camping/Bluegrass experience at Grey Fox in upstate New York. They jammed all night "till the sun came up!" got some rest and went back for more! Speaking about more, we were asked to play beyond closing time and gave three encores before the skys opened up and forced a hasty retreat. A very nice blonde lady lady from Virginia was most complimentary and most dissappointed when we had to break down our equipment, but she promised she'd be back at Cup O' The Bay in Onset for our next performance!

*****Sunday, July 30 We baked in the Cape Cod sun saved only by a refreshing ocean breeze coming off Onset Bay. We played a jam format with instrumentals and songs coming seemingly out of the air. We also played a few requests ( Ashokan Farewell, Ballad of Jebb Clampett, and other well known tunes) and enjoyed children dancing to the music while their parents beamed proudly. It seems true that when music is spontaneous, joy follows. We had some serious fun at this performance. (Is that an oxymoron?)

****Sunday August 6th Thought we would run through our set list for our September 10 Performance at Carver, MA (Bluegrass on the Bogs). This was less spontaneous than last week because we tried to follow the exact order of a selected body of songs. We discovered that we would have to shave some time (shorten) off of most of the selections or drop some in order to fit lengthier songs into a fifty minute program...This was business and was less fun but we gained a lot of information which sent us back to the drawing board...There is such a thing as beeing too ambitious, too business like and losing waht we do best, spontaneous jamming. I sensed the audience, especially the regulars missed the old band. Our challenge for the short Carver program will be to hang onto the spontaneity and still deliver a polished, driving performance with as many of our best songs as we can fit into the program. The other songs will have to wait for a longer venue.

*****Sunday August 13 Circumstances beyond our control forced a short handed band to appear. Glenn and Charlie were out of state and so was Pete but he made it back for the second hour of the performance. Scott, too was delayed so the program started out with Fiddler John and Bud Smith who managed to obtain help from a member of the crowd , a man named Shawn, who accepted the invitation to play John's spare guitar. At least we had a trio. Then they were joined by a harmonica player named Steve, now, there was a quartet. Any resemblance to the "miracle of the loaves and fishes" is purely coincidental. Before you knew it Scott finally arrived , followed by Pete and the Lord Sayeth "LET THERE BE A BAND, and THERE WAS A BAND" (if you can call a bluegrass band without a banjo a band). At any rate the music floweth and and the time goweth and another performance by the Bluegrass Invitation Review was history.

*******Sunday August 20 had all of us squeezed under the porch ducking raindrops and playing acoustically. We worked on our set list for the Bluegrass on the Bogs event on September 10 and discussed song length and other matters. It was more work than fun but we agreed on some things which should prove fruitful.

.********Sunday August 23 Good weather. Pete couldn't be with us so we let the set list go and just jammed joyfully for two hours.......the audience was into the music and Scott pulled out some vocals that were truly amazing. he evidently knows a million of 'em. The time flew by. Charlie did Ashokan Farewell (Key of C) solo on his chromatic 64 harmonica. Turned out pretty nice. One our most loyal fans and supporters, Bill from next door, loves that song and was very appreciative.