Sloughgrass Booked for 2009 Minnesota State Fair

April 7, 2009

Sloughgrass Booked for 2009 Minnesota State Fair

Submitted by Journal Staff on March 26, 2009 - 10:07am.

http://ifallsdailyjournal.com/news/leisure/sloughgrass-booked-2009-minnesota-state-fair-103


ยป Read similar stories filed under:

The Sloughgrass band, which originates in the hamlet of Birchdale, announces that they have been booked to play at the 2009 Minnesota State Fair on both Saturday and Sunday of the opening weekend, Aug. 29 and 30.

The band plays a mixture of bluegrass, old-time, Scandinavian, Gospel, country and folk music, and has played throughout the state of Minnesota at various types of family events. They have also played overseas in Denmark, over the past six years, according to a press release.

But Sloughgrass is also a local favorite and they have performed at numerous local functions in the region since the band's inception in 2003.

Sloughgrass is a family affair with Grandma Audrey Nelson setting the rhythm on the upright bass. Her two daughters, two sons-in-law and three of her grandchildren join her in playing on a variety of instruments. Those include banjo, fiddle, guitar, mandolin and resonator guitars "all kept in time by the strong beat of grandma," the family says.

Sloughgrass models its performances on the acclaimed Minnesota band, Monroe Crossing, with which it has twice played at the Backus Auditorium in the Falls. In bluegrass tradition, the band gathers around just a single microphone to play and sing. Adult band members report that they like this way of performing because it makes them get really close to each other with harmonies that feel like one voice.

In 2008, the Sloughgrass CD "Are We There Yet?" got air-play on several local northern Minnesota stations as well as one in Sweden. One of the group's performances from the "Lavel Country Show" was also shown several times on Hibbing cable TV.

Art Blackburn of Monroe Crossing is credited for the following quote:

"The family band has long played a prominent role in the origins and development of bluegrass music, and that tradition continues to this day. We see family bands perform in every state at every festival. One of the finest and most entertaining family bands can be found right here in Minnesota - Sloughgrass. Their variety, musicianship and infectious enthusiasm always leaves the audiences smiling and wanting more, and that, after all, is what it's all about. See them if you get a chance!"

The band says it always strives to bring its audiences a good mixture of songs - and Minnesota humor.

More information can be found at www.sloughgrass.com.