Saturday, February 8, 2020 @ 7:30
Unitarian Fellowship: 67 S. Randolph Avenue – Poughkeepsie, NY
$20 at the Door
Watch Missy Raines and Alison Brown cover the classic bluegrass duet “Little Darlin’, Pal Of Mine” live from Station Inn in Nashville, TN, from Raines’ album ‘Royal Traveller.’ Featuring Mike Bub and Todd Phillips. If this doesn’t make you smile, you are a lost cause!!!
Missy Raines was named 2019 International Bluegrass Music Association Bass Player of the Year, for the 8th time, more than any other bass player in the history of the organization. Missy Raines has proven herself without doubt as an iconic bluegrass instrumentalist.
In 1998, Raines became the first woman to win IBMA’s Bass Player of the Year award and she went on to win the title repeatedly for the next several years.
Missy’s version of the iconic Flatt & Scruggs “Darlin Pal(s) of Mine” (from Royal Traveller), was named 2019 Instrumental Recording of the Year by the IBMA. The tune features Alison Brown on banjo, Todd Phillips on bass and Mike Bub on bass. (See Video Above)
Missy’s Band:
Matt Flinner, mandolin: Multi-instrumentalist Matt Flinner has made a career out of playing acoustic music in new ways. Starting out as a banjo prodigy who was playing bluegrass festivals before he entered his teens, Flinner later took up the mandolin, won the National Banjo Contest at Winfield Kansas in 1990, and took the mandolin award there the following year. Since then, he has become recognized as one of the premiere mandolinists as well as one of the finest new acoustic/roots music composers today. He has toured and recorded with a wide variety of bluegrass, new acoustic, classical and jazz artists, including Tim O’Brien, Frank Vignola, Steve Martin, Darrell Scott, the Modern Mandolin Quartet, Dave Douglas, Leftover Salmon, Alison Brown, The Ying Quartet, Tony Trischka, Darol Anger, and the Nashville Chamber Orchestra. He has also recorded two Compass Records CDs and toured as part of Phillips, Grier and Flinner with bassist Todd Phillips and guitarist David Grier.
Ben Garnett, guitar: Although with a background primarily in jazz and improvised music, Ben prefers to keep an open, “in the cracks,” musical palette, which lovingly and fluently draws on various traditions of music he’s been a part of (namely jazz, folk, bluegrass, classical, and rock music). He currently tours with prominent bluegrass bassist and singer/songwriter Missy Raines, and up-and-coming progressive-bluegrass band Circus No. 9. Off the road, he can be found playing around Nashville with the likes of Billy Contreras, Geoff Saunders (Mark O’Connor, Sierra Hull), Todd Parks (Sam Bush), Jordan Perlson (Becca Stevens), Jake Stargel, Jimmy Sullivan, Josh Hunt, and others.
Avery Merritt, fiddle: Avery has won numerous awards and accolades like the Fletcher Bright Scholarship, California Governer’s Medallion, Music Center Spotlight finalist, and first place in both advanced fiddle and band categories at the Topanga Banjo and Fiddle Competition, California’s oldest contest. Avery has been a finalist in the Freshgrass awards, and the Rockygrass instrument contest. Avery was also a selected participant in the 2017 Acoustic Music Seminar, a prestigious program run by Mike Marshall for up-and-coming acoustic musicians.
Avery is a graduate of Berklee College of Music and studied under Dr. David Wallace, Matt Glaser, Darol Anger, and others under scholarship. Avery has performed as a Berklee representative at venues such as Grey Fox, Freshgrass, Joe Val, IBMA, The BPC, Symphony Hall, and others. Currently, you can see Avery play with his band Mudskippers. Avery also performs as a sideman occasionally touring for various acts like Front Country, Tony Trischka, Sean Watkins & The Bee Eaters, and others.