This Friday, a handful of Greater Cincinnati’s finest Roots musicians join forces for the Winter Folk & Bluegrass Festival at Bogart’s (2621 Vine St., Corryville, bogarts.com). The all-ages 8 p.m. concert is headlined by Rumpke Mountain Boys (who recently scored another Cincinnati Entertainment Award in the Bluegrass category) and The Tillers, with special guests Honey & Houston, My Brother’s Keeper and Maria Carrelli. Tickets are $12 in advance or $15 at the door.
The hard-touring Rumpkes (the band already has several big festival appearances on the horizon, including next week’s Suwannee Springfest in Florida, where the band plays alongside John Prine, Railroad Earth, The Infamous Stringdusters and numerous others) recently added a new album to sell at their merch booth. The group’s fourth full-length, High Time, Low Tide, was rolled out in late January on the band’s own RMB Music label.
The Rumpkes have built their name up on the touring circuit with their dynamic spin on traditional Bluegrass — they call it Trashgrass — with an emphasis on fluid improvisation, jaw-dropping instrumental skills and fearlessness when it comes to borrowing from other genres. With all four members singing, the group creates its string-based alchemy primarily with mandolin, banjo, upright bass and acoustic guitar. Featuring 13 original songs, High Time, Low Tide opens with the rollicking, break-neck-paced “Rolling Waves” before sliding into “Banks of the River,” a more tranquil, laid-back tune with Country Blues influences peeking through. Those two tracks exemplify the Rumpkes’ range — their songs alternately mesmerize and light your ass on fire. Elsewhere, local piano master Ricky Nye adds to the playful boogie of “Crow’s Blues,” while eclectic Louisville, Ky. saxophonist Myron Koch adds unique textures to “Why Can’t We All Grow Young” and the gritty, soulful album closer “That’s Life.”
High Time, Low Tide is available from online retailers like iTunes and Amazon, as well as indie site homegrownmusic.net. For more on the band (including links to downloadable live shows and a full list of upcoming gigs), visit rumpkemountainboys.com.
More Local Notes
• Cincinnati Rock trio Mad Anthony is setting out to redefine what it means to be prolific musicians. The band recently launched its Mad Anthology series, which will see the group release a song every week for 52 weeks (as well as new videos, merchandise and other surprises along the way). The stream of songs will include several collaborative efforts, including last week’s series debut, “Haunt Me,” which features Tom Pappas of Superdrag on bass. You can follow Mad Anthony’s mad song journey at madanthology.com; sign up for the band’s mailing list and visit facebook.com/madanthonyband for regular updates.
The ambitious recording project isn’t keeping the band away from the stage. Catch Mad Anthony live on Thursday at 8 p.m. at Tapout Bar (1483 Millville Ave., Hamilton, Ohio, facebook.com/tapoutsportsbar) with touring bands When Particles Collide and The Hat Madder, plus Hamilton’s own Rhythm and Booze. Admission is $5. On Saturday at 9:30 p.m., the same lineup (minus Rhythm and Booze) plays a free show at the Southgate House Revival’s Lounge (111 E. Sixth St., Newport, Ky., southgatehouse.com). (Read about and hear this week’s new Mad Anthology track, “Tell Me You Love Me,” at Consequence of Sound’s site here.)
• Local musician and yoga instructor April Aloisio has combined her two loves on her new album release, Yoga Bossa Nova, a collaboration with renowned Jazz guitarist Fareed Haque. Aloisio has made a name for herself singing Brazilian Jazz in local clubs, and her new “meditative” album is described as “bringing Antônio Carlos Jobim’s Bossa Nova into a yogic flow.”
Yoga Bossa Nova is available now through cdbaby.com, or you can pick up a copy at one of Aloisio’s upcoming album release parties. The first one is this Saturday at Washington Platform Saloon & Restaurant (1000 Elm St., Downtown, washingtonplatform.com) at 9 p.m. There is a $10 food/drink minimum.
For more info, visit aprilaloisio.com.
CONTACT MIKE BREEN: mbreen@citybeat.com
This article appears in Mar 2-9, 2016.