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Submitted by John Werner – Victoria

David Long and his entourage have finished up their east coast tour of Australia at one of the country’s newest and emerging bluegrass and acoustic music venues – the Yinnar Hotel.

The band were engaged to play the Redlands Bluegrass Convention earlier in July this year, and thanks to the work of Ruth Hazelton from Across The Boarders Touring in Melbourne, the group went on to play several other gigs down the east coast.

One of those events was the Yinnar Hotel last Wednesday night which saw a packed audience. Midnight From Memphis took to the stage, as part of the monthly presentations organised by local legends, The Strzelecki Stringbusters.

The final gig of their month-long Australian tour was a sold-out affair to a packed house, showcasing the individual and collective talents of these fine musicians who played Bluegrass, Western Swing and well-crafted ‘Americana’ original songs throughout their two 45 minute sets. Their vocal harmony was a particular highlight, along with the intricate weaving in and out of the single condenser mic’s range as each took turns to solo.

David Long, on his 3rd visit to the area in 5 years, demonstrated why he is considered to be one of the new masters of traditional music with a skilful display of Monroe-style mandolin playing. Preston Schmidt on fiddle caused a few jaws to hit the deck within his first few bars, wowing the crowd with his precise and fiery style. Scott Simotachhi on guitar provided solid rhythm playing and delivered his original tunes with great vocal clarity, whilst Eric Thorin on bass impressed all with his perfect timing and some wonderful solo’s that tapped into his diverse musical background.

The boys also entertained the audience between tunes with witty stories of their Australian experiences, and some of the inspirations behind their original offerings.

The large and thirsty crowd stayed on until stumps. As is now customary for all acts coming through Yinnar, the night concluded with all performers from both bands crowding onto the stage for the final 3 tunes, ending well past the usual 11pm finish time. The MFM boys were last seen heading back to Arnie’s farmhouse to kick on into the early hours with the locals.

The Strzelecki Stringbusters. have several outstanding national acts lined up for the rest of the year on their last Wednesday of the month shows.  Coming up in August is Gerry Hale’s Uncle Bill, so jump in quickly and secure your spot by contacting the Yinnar Hotel on Ph 51631263.

A Night From Virginia USA at the Yinnar Hotel

Submitted by John Werner – Yinnar

Photos by Carolyn Boothman

The people of Yinnar and the surrounding district were treated to a wonderful evening of traditional old-time mountain music on last Wednesday when the Whitetop Mountaineers appeared in the penultimate gig of their third Australian tour, prior to heading off to the National Folk Festival in Canberra.

Following the warm-up set by local lads The Strzelecki Stringbusters, Martha & Jackson took the crowd on an aural and cultural journey back through the years to a different time and place. Renewing ties, originating from their 2009 appearance, they sang of heartache and misery, of murder and revenge and of love and eternal happiness through the intertwining stories of their home in Virginia’s culturally rich Blue Ridge Mountains.

Martha’s powerful vocals, supported by her deft banjo and guitar work, combined seamlessly with Jackson’s crystal clear tenor harmony to provide their trademark ‘mountain’ sound.

While Martha spent most of the first set on guitar, the crowd were treated to some great Monroe-style mandolin picking by Jackson. In the second set, Martha picked up her fiddle and introduced the crowd to Smokey The Rooster, a hand-made birthday present from Jackson, incorporating a rooster’s head for a scroll. To complete the cultural display, Martha danced up a storm to backing provided by Jackson on banjo, along with the Stringbuster’s John & Ray on double bass and guitar.

To close the show, the 13 piece Stringbuster ensemble squeezed on stage with the Mountaineers and ripped into the instrumental Angeline The Baker, and old favourites Will The Circle Be Unbroken and You Are My Sunshine, with the entire crowd joining in on the chorus.

Martha’s invitation to anyone in the crowd to ‘drop by if your ever in Virginia’ may sound like a well worn line when written, but it was delivered with absolute sincerity, and left no-one in doubt that a warm welcome awaits anyone who chooses to seek out traditional mountain music in its humble origins.

In the leadup to their concert with The Strzelecki Stringbusters in Yinnar on 31st March, Virginia’s Whitetop Mountaineers will be presenting an instrument workshop at 7.30pm in the back room of the Yinnar Community Hotel.

This is a unique opportunity for anyone interested in Fiddle, Clawhammer Banjo and Bluegrass Mandolin, to pick up some tips from these two fantastic Old-Time musicians, Martha Spencer and Jackson Cunningham of the Whitetop Mountaineers. They’ll be discussing their style in detail, providing instrumental tuition and breaking down several songs for those in attendance to learn.

Martha and Jackson are currently in the middle of their 3rd Australian tour, ending at the National Festival at Easter this year.

Tickets are $20.00 with limited numbers.Please contact John Werner on 0400 964 941 or stringbusters@bigpond.com to secure your place, for old-timey lessons direct from the USA’s richest area for traditional musicians.

Arnie’s Barn, Strzelecki Stringbusters

When it comes to playing Bluegrass and Ol’ Time music, the boys from the Strzelecki Stringbusters have the numbers, and with this, their third CD in as many years, they are certainly gaining the numbers in CD production too.

‘Arnie’s Barn‘ follows on from their highly successful album, ‘Scrubby Forest Run‘ which was launched in 2009. Their first CD ‘Somethin’ To Crow About‘ was released in 2008.

This latest offering is named after one of their fiddler players, Arnie Young. The CD was recorded in the loft above his barn at his home in Yinnar in rural Victoria. Arnie is one of Yinnar’s more modest and kindly gentlemen.

The CD contains 20 tracks, ranging from traditional Old Time country tunes and Gospel songs, to straight-up Bluegrass featuring the Big Stringbuster Sound.

The Yinnar Hotel has grown in popularity over the past 18 months. It has become the place to see acoustic music in Gippsland as the Stringbusters have encouraged a variety of  local acts  to share the stage during the evening. In addition to the growth in local acts , the hotel has played host to a variety of international acts, the latest being Canadian bluegrass band Hungry Hill in November 2009. Hungry Hill stopped by the region for a few days and took advantage of the Stringbuster’s southern hospitality and gave presented one of the best bluegrass performances the town has seen.

The USA’s Whitetop Mountaineers were another international act to visit the region to play the Yinnar Hotel. This band plans a return visit on 31st March this year and will once again present their original old-time Virginian mountain music.

Always keen to present a range of local, national and international acts, the Stringbuster’s regular gig, the last Wednesday of the month at the Yinnar Hotel, will continue to provide great entertainment this year.

The Stringbusters invite you all down to the local in Yinnar to see the boys launch their new CD, Arnie’s Barn on Wednesday 24th February, and be sure to book your meal.

Contact  the Stringbusters through Gary White on ph 0427 631 217 or email to The Stringbusters for details.

The Yinnar Hotel’s reputation as a bluegrass and old-time friendly venue took on international proportions on Wednesday evening with a sold-out performance by Canada’s Hungry Hill.

With the full-house sign going up several weeks ago, and the band refreshed from several days of good old southern Victorian hospitality provided by The Stringbusters, Hungry Hill continued on from their well-received Australian debut at Harrietville with an intimate performance for 250 people.

The night kicked off with the Strzelecki Stringbusters warming up the crowd with their unique, large ensemble sound. The boys have worked hard this year to establish a Bluegrass & Old Time savvy crowd by inviting other acts to appear at their monthly pub gigs. With this night being the last for the year, something special was called for, and Hungry Hill provided the show of the year!

The large crowd jostling for drinks at the bar was silenced by the stunning vocals & harmonies, intricate arrangements, and the fluid dance of the members weaving in and out of the central microphone’s range. Those lucky enough to get a close-up seat were treated to a full display of the attributes that make acoustic music so pleasurable to see & hear.

With their regular banjo player Ross Nickerson on leave in Queensland, local banjo player Greg McGrath was invited to fill the void, and with little time to rehearse, did a marvellous job. Local up and coming mandolin player, Lachy Davidson joined them all in for their 2nd set, trading fiery solos with Bob Hamilton, and also gave Jenny’s fiddle a good work-out too. The night concluded with the Stringbusters squeezing on stage for two last songs.

Performing tunes from their recent CD Ride along many old favourites, Hungry Hill’s time on stage was all too brief, but they leave the Yinnar district with no doubt as to their popularity amongst the locals. This affection was reciprocated, with Jenny publicly thanking all involved in making their 3 day stay enjoyable and relaxing, including a heartfelt thank you to their ‘new best friends’, The Stringbusters, for affording them such a wonderful reception.

The Yinnar Hotel and the local community’s reputation for providing a hospitable mid-week gig for touring artists continues to increase. With the Whitetop Mountaineers slated for March 31, and a few more international irons in the fire, 2010 will be even bigger.

Pigeonwing Strings – 28th Nov 2009 – 7:30pm

The small community of Yinnar in south-east Victoria is fastly gaining a great reputation amongst the bluegrass fraternity as the number of appearances by bluegrass and Ol’ Timey performers continues to grow.

The cross continental duo, Pigeonwing Strings, represent the novelty and organic nature of American old-time music from the 1920-30s. From Australia, Pria Schwall-Kearney on vocal, fiddle, banjo & feet, teams up with Greg Fair from upstate New York, USA, on voice, mandolin, guitar, banjo & percussion.

Pria and Greg capture the mystery, joy, grit, and sorrow that is at the heart of traditional American music. Their sensitivity is a testament to their maturity and accomplishment as musicians, both have toured internationally.

Supporting Pigeonwing Strings will be The Strzelecki String Busters, Gippsland’s finest string-band ensemble, performing tunes from their new CD Arnie’s Barn. Lead by Yinnar’s Ray Negro, the Strzelecki String Busters perform a wide variety of Country Blues, Old Time & Bluegrass music.

Hungry Hill will be performing at the famous Yinnar Community Hotel this Wed 25th Nov 2009 at 8:00pm
This great band from Canada, have just wound up their hugely successful festival appearances at the Harrietville Bluegrass and Ol’ Timey Convention in northern Victoria.
If you plan to eat then has it that meal bookings are essential – Yinnar Community Hotel 51631263.

Having already endeared themselves to many Australian audiences last year, The Whitetop Mountaineers, Martha Spencer and Jackson Cunningham from Virginia, USA,  are set return to Australia by popular demand. This year they are taking in a host of Australian dates and festivals courtesy of their Australian agent, Across the Borders, based in Melbourne.

At the 2008/09 Woodford Folk Festival, unknown and unheralded, the duo stunned and delighted audiences with their performance of American mountain music and song and dance. The group also performed to audiences in Gippsland, taking in the region’s famous Yinnar Hotel a popular acoustic music venue.

Both musicians are skilled multi-instrumentalists – Jackson plays guitar, mandolin and clawhammer banjo, while Martha plays fiddle, guitar and banjo and dnaces. They are both strong vocal performers and their close harmonies are indicative of the old time and bluegrass traditions from which they draw their repertoire.

Martha and Jackson will be appearing at the following confirmed destinations in 2010:

• 5th – 8th March – Pt Fairy Folk Festival, Vic
  
• 12th – 14th March – Blue Mountain Festival, NSW
  
• 18th March – Brunswick Music Festival, Vic
  
• 19th – 20th March – Yakandanda Folk Festival, Vic
  
• 25th March – Bendigo Folk Club, Vic
  
• 26th – 28th March – Apollo Bay Folk Festival, Vic
  
• 31st March – Yinnar Hotel, Gippsland, Vic
  
• 1st – 4th April – National Folk Festival – ACT