Stillhouse Road

Our calendar for 2012 is taking shape, and we're hoping to step it up a bit with some new and exciting opportunaties. Look for us at our favorite venues again this year - the Farmers Markets at Ancestor Square and Springdale, Earth Day Celebration at SUU, the Acoustic Grass Festival in Pahrump (TBA), and many more. There are also many top artists performing at bluegrass festivals in our area this year (see the recently updated 2012 Festival list on our BLUEGRASS page). Hope to see you there!

It's been a great year! Joe and I are so very grateful to everyone for letting us share our music. We've had a wonderful time performing at our favorite venues, and even some new events this year. There are a few things brewing already for the coming year..... did I mention a new CD???? Keep your fingers crossed, as we are making some preliminary inquiries for studio time and funding ( in other words, where's the money? ). Besides that, I am working on improvements to the website, and maybe, perhaps, finally.... our facebook page. Can you believe it? We'll see what happens, but in the meantime, thanks for checking our calendar, and please join our FanLIST for regular updates if you haven't already. Joe and I wish you a most marvelous New Year.

We were surrounded by bluegrass music this past weekend, at the Huck Finn Jubilee down in Victorville, CA. What a treat to see some of our favorite bands, especially The Gibson Brothers. Our good friend BJ recommended we also check out another band named Bluegrass Etc., and they were so amazing I ran over and bought two CDs right away. We did some jamming, ate lots of food, and had a great time! One thing, though - I'm hoping to replace our duck-taped lawn chairs before we attend another festival. It's embarassing!

Many thanks to all the great folks in Pahrump Nevada at the Acoustic Grass Festival. I must admit, our performance felt a bit dicey on Saturday (blame it on the lousy weather?), but Sunday I felt much more connected to our audience and the music. I was really proud of our set! We look forward to the festival every year - they treat us very well and it's a pleasure to be included in the lineup. Now our season is in full swing, and we're adding more songs to our list. I'm working on "All the Good times are Past and Gone" and a medley of Bill Monroe songs that I've sewn together. Joe's got "Can't You Hear Me Calling" and a few more. Forthcoming on the fiddle will be "Bonaparte's Retreat." Adding more classic bluegrass songs to our list has been a priority of mine this year. I've got the Gibson Brothers' latest CD on order.... can't wait to hear their new stuff, as they are one of our favorites.

Our heads are reeling from the recent excitement of performing six nights onstage at the Randall L. Jones Theatre. We were commissioned to perform a selection of songs for this year's faculty-choreographed dance production at the Southern Utah University in Cedar City, and were very excited to work with the amazingly talented and creative faculty and dance students. Our portion of the production was to perform a selection of songs from the acclaimed Emmylou Harris album "Live at the Ryman", which was quite an honor in itself considering the success and popularity of that album. I was very proud of our performance, especially with the addition of Marsha Bloom on bass/vocals, and Ryan Kay on guitar/vocals. I must say, this experience helped me to grow in many different ways.

We are back on schedule after a nice winter of family events, holidays, and general hibernation. Thanks to everyone for your continued support for our music! If you are on our FanList, you received an email about the events we have booked so far this year. As we head into Spring, we will be filling in the calendar with more and more events. We headed to Bullhead City, Arizona this past weekend to the 10th Annual Colorado River Bluegrass Festival. It's just across the river from Laughlin, Nevada, which is a fun destination for any weekend trip. The weather was lovely for early spring - a bit windy but not uncomfortable, and the sun felt wonderful on our faces. We enjoyed the music, visited with friends, and had a great time.

Our compliments to The Backyard Garden and Gifts for hosting another great Harvest Moon Festival. This year's focus was to support local resident Jodi March as she undergoes cancer treatment. The Backyard had a cozy stage setup for us with plenty of seating, and a special area for mingling and enjoying the delicious food provided by The Painted Pony. We alternated sets with singer/songwriter Mason Cottam. It was a perfect combination of our bluegrass tunes along with Mason's folk/rock mix. I was impressed by his rich vocals and intricate guitar work, and especially loved his original songs. During our sets, we tried something new - sort of 'winging it' without a setlist - and mixed it up with older songs, new songs, requests, you name it! It was great to see friends and familiar faces enjoying the music. Of course I took some time to wander through the nursery aisles and indoor shop - I've got my eye on some fabulous pottery and plantings for our front porch. Thanks to everyone involved in putting together a fabulous event.

We've been invited to perform at quite a few weddings this year, so we've added a few more wedding-appropriate songs to our repertoire. One of my favorites is a country hit by Randy Travis, "Deeper than a Holler". It gets everyone up on the dancefloor. Another is Jimmy Martin's "Hold Whatcha Got" which Joe sings for us. We've had so many requests for "When You Say Nothing At All" (a hit for both Keith Whitley and Alison Krauss) that we just had to learn it. There are so many great bluegrass songs and I'd love to learn them all! But they have to work for our band, especially if we are performing as a duo. I'm hoping to surprise our fans with a few bluegrass-style Christmas songs this season.... but which ones?

We've been hanging out in Springdale quite a bit lately. It's a lovely town at the foot of Zion National Park, in case you aren't familiar. The beautiful views of the red cliffs are amazing, but I must say the people are even more amazing! They really care about their town, and have made it a comfortable and relaxing spot for tourists and locals to enjoy. We were invited to perform July 4th at the Spotted Dog Cafe, which is part of Flanigan's Inn. Our host was truely gracious and took wonderful care of us, and the staff made us feel welcome too. It started out as a quiet Sunday holiday, but the 'live music' sign outside the door (and the cafe's fabulous menu) drew people into the restaurant from all over town. We had the place jumping with our very best bluegrass songs, and we both enjoyed being part of such a wonderful evening. The following weekend found us again in Sprngdale, this time for the Zion Canyon Farmers Market. We were greated with enthusiasm and excitement, and were most grateful for the nice shady spot they provided. We couldn't have picked a more idyllic morning - sun shining, birds singing, bees buzzing - the perfect setting for a farmers market.

What a fantastic time we had at the Huck Finn Jubilee in Victorville, CA this past weekend. Got to meet some of our favorite bluegrass artists like Rhonda Vincent, Chris Jones, the members from IIIrd Tyme Out, and Sierra Hull with her band too. I would recommend this festival to any local bluegrass fan. The jamming after hours is really fun, they have great workshops, and did I mention the food? Check it out next year and we'll see you there.

Today is our 8 year Wedding Anniversary. I am endlessly grateful for the blessing of my wonderful husband Joe. How'd I get so lucky? We've been making music and having a grand ol' time together ever since we met. I've learned a lot from Joe, and appreciate his ability to fully enjoy the moment. I think the special bond we share helps make our music even better. We are truly happy together!

Positive feedback is a wonderful thing. I played a few fiddle tunes at the Farmers Market the other week, and was inspired by the nice response. So later that week I started pulling out tunes I used to play back in Santa Barbara. I was amazed that my fingers still remembered them after so many years. Although I'm sure the data is stored somewhere in the brain, I'm convinced the fingers have a mind of their own. I love the old appalachian style of songs ( fans might recall the style of music from the popular movie "Cold Mountain") and also the great rhythms of the old-time traditional tunes used in New England-style contra dances. And of course the bluegrass master fiddler Kenny Baker is another favorite. But it's all good. One tune I've been polishing up is a delightful version of "Eighth of January" that I learned from a string band called "The Monks."

We're gearing up for the opening of the Downtown Farmers Market at Ancestor Square this weekend. What a nice way to spend a Saturday morning, and also to support our local economy. The vendors at the market always welcome us and our music, and we really enjoy performing there in the courtyard. It's fun to see folks checking out all the great stuff and having a good time. I've noticed the children are especially drawn to the music, and they love to dance and romp around the grass because they don't care who is watching. We'll bring out some new songs this weekend and see how it goes!

We had an exciting weekend performing at the Acoustic Grass Festival in Pahrump, Nevada. The audience had definitely grown from last year, and the folks there really know and love bluegrass music. It gives our performance an extra 'push' to see people singing along and really enjoying themselves. The event even spilled over into a great jam session at the K-7 Lounge. I was thrilled to have John and Larry of Brush Arbor Revival sit in with us on dobro/banjo, and even got Diamond Dan himself up on stage for a few numbers. The next day we were back on stage, and had a good laugh as emcee Jack (aka Yukon Jack) introduced us - "Seems ironic to have a band from Utah with the name 'Stillhouse Road' . . ." The audience loved it. I guess we are not your typical Utah band, and we're lucky to have such friendly neighbors only a few hours away in Pahrump Nevada.

What do you think about the new-and-improved website? I am so excited about it. Even though there are still some loose ends to tie up and pages to fill in more completely, I think it's good enough to publish. Just in time for our return this weekend to the Acoustic Grass Festival in Pahrump, Nevada. I know it will be a great event, and we will meet some really fine folks. But it's time to pack our things and get on the road, so I'll tell you all about it when we return.

Sure had fun playing at the St. George Art Festival last weekend. The weather was awesome, and the audience at the main stage seemed to be enjoying the music all day. Got a nice compliment from our friend BJ, so said he liked my song "Done Her Wrong", and thought it could be shopped out to some of the big-time bluegrass artists. That will be a goal of mine, to get my songs out there and see who might be interested. This year we've also got lots of plans to promote our stage performances in new and expanded areas. It's gonna be a great year.

Just finishing some information on the other web pages as I get ready to launch the new website any day now. I can't believe how well it's come along, and I've learned so much in the process. Still lots to do, but it's been a long day and it's time to shut down for the night.