Mac Martin is one of the few remaining first generation bluegrass bandleaders. Active in music since 1948, he has led a powerhouse traditional bluegrass band in the Pittsburgh area since 1954. 1954! Although he rarely tours outside of western Pennsylvania, Mac’s many recordings have won him a dedicated audience among fans of traditional bluegrass throughout the world.
His commitment to the music, compelling vocals and arrangements, engaging performances, and distinctive approach to the Monroe/Stanley/Flatt & Scruggs legacy make him a true bluegrass treasure.Mac Martin has shown a special knack for taking great songs from obscure country sources and developing highly personal arrangements of them — and has written some memorable songs himself. He has had his songs and treatments recorded by Longview, Open Road, James King, both Bob & Dan Paisley, and King Wilkie, among others, but, of course, there’s a special excitement in hearing them performed by their creator. Mac has made many recordings during the past four decades, and currently has 6 CDs in print, including a collection of new recordings.

Laurie Lewis: fiddle, guitar, vocals
Tom Rozum: mandolin, fiddle, guitar, vocals
Todd Phillips: acoustic bass
Scott Huffman: guitar, vocals
Wes Corbett (not pictured): banjo

“She is newgrass in the truest sense of the word …” - Sam Bush

“Judging by the respect she has among fans and peers in the industry, Laurie Lewis is one of the pre-eminent bluegrass and Americana artists of our time. She spreads her talent over several genres — bluegrass, folk, country — and with the recognition she has within all those fields, I would certainly say she’s one of the top five female artists of the last 30 years. She’s opened a lot of doors for our music. There were certainly female artists in bluegrass before her, but to do what she’s done with her own unique style, as opposed to mimicking her male counterparts, she’s been a real pioneer in that regard. And she continues to make great music.”
- Dan Hays, IBMA Executive Director

This measure of respect is all the more remarkable given what a groundbreaking revolutionary Lewis has been, the first bona-fide bluegrass star who was a woman born outside the music’s native southland. It is hard to tell whether her being a woman or a Californian had more impact on the music, but what is clear is that she is a pivotal figure in transforming the music from a regional genre into a truly international musical language.

Sam Bush is such a pivotal figure in modern bluegrass that the subgenre of progressive bluegrass was nicknamed after the band he founded, the Newgrass Revival. “She is newgrass in the truest sense of the word, in that she uses bluegrass instruments to create new original music: it’s music for now,” he says. “I think of her as an artist: a great singer, terrific fiddle player, fine songwriter, and one very good band leader. As a fiddler, she could be from the 1940s or from 2010; it’s timeless. As a singer, she knows the rules of bluegrass and how to sing in her own voice. She’s probably one of the few female singers who really knows the nuances of the Ralph Stanley vocal style.”

Laurie fell in love with American folk music as a teenager, at the sunset of the ’60s folk revival. It was the vastness, the realness, the melodicism, and welcoming accessibility that drew her. In her early 20s, she discovered the Bay Area bluegrass scene. To her, it was “like opening that door all over again. Here were all these people making music together, and I could immediately see myself as part of it. It woke up all that excitement I felt as a teenager, and I knew this was what I wanted to do with my life.”

The bluegrass scene of Northern California was a powerful mix of the region’s historic progressivism and ardent devotion to musical tradition. Nobody minded that young Laurie was a woman, a non-southerner, or a novice. They would have minded if she didn’t want to learn the gospels of Monroe and Stanley. It gave her a rock-ribbed foundation in the rudiments of American roots music.

In 1975, she co-founded the Good Ol’ Persons, an all-female ensemble that was soon cheerfully breaking gender barriers that had kept women serving primarily as vocalists in male-dominated bands. She began writing her own songs then, inspired by bandmate Kathy Kallick, with whom she has collaborated many times over the years. It was in Lewis’s next band, Grant Street, that her writing came to the fore. Her songs helped shape the template for the modern bluegrass-pop style. She loves to play off the rhythm, helping to free the genre from its barnburning tick-tock cadence, and giving her songs a sweet sense of space that makes them at once inventive and warmly familiar.

Lewis’s ongoing performing companion is ace mandolinist-singer Tom Rozum, and their 1996 album, “The Oak and the Laurel,” was nominated for a Grammy. “I love to have a partner to sing with, crave it deep down inside,” Lewis says. “And Tom’s the same way. He’s a very conversational mandolin player, always responding to what’s going on at the moment.”

Laurie Lewis’s stage shows are renowned for their combination of musical virtuosity and front-porch friendliness. Coming of age in such a convivial music scene, she has a keen gift for inviting audiences into her music. As with everything she plays, the point is sharing, not strutting. That may not be the recipe for big-time stardom in this myopic, hype-happy age, but it remains the recipe for timeless music, and for careers like hers that are built not to dazzle but to last.

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Since joining forces with Laurie in 1986, Tom Rozum’s versatility and diverse musical influences — he’s steeped in rock, swing, and norteño music as well as bluegrass and old time music — have been keys in developing her sound. He plays primarily mandolin, but is also an accomplished fiddle, mandola, and guitar player. He is a wonderful lead singer, the ideal harmony partner for Laurie, and often functions as the comic foil for on-stage goings-on whenever things get too weighty. Originally from New England, Tom moved to Berkeley via Arizona and San Diego, playing many kinds of traditional and original music along the way. Tom’s released one highly acclaimed solo album, and plays and sings on more than a dozen others with Laurie, who says, “I feel extremely lucky to have Tom as a musical partner. His approach is so intuitive; not bound by what a song ’should’ sound like but open to what sounds good. I’m a pretty emotional singer and he’s able to get deep into the material with me. His soul is muy simpatico.”

Bassist Todd Phillips, a San Jose native now living in Nashville, has been appearing regularly with Laurie since 1996. An original member of the seminal David Grisman Quintet, Todd has also played and recorded with the Tony Rice Unit; the Bluegrass Album Band; Phillips, Grier & Flinner; and Psychograss. Best known for his consummate bassmanship, Todd has also carved out a second career as producer. “True Life Blues: a Tribute to Bill Monroe,” produced by Todd for Sugar Hill Records, won the 1997 Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album, and he’s also produced albums for Kathy Kallick, David Grier, Matt Flinner, and Noam Pikelney, as well as an album of fiddle tunes entitled “In The Pines.” Most recently he has produced and played on albums by the Phillips, Grier & Flinner trio and Psychograss.

Scott Huffman is North Carolina’s best-kept musical secret. A consummate musician on both guitar and banjo, his singing and easy-going temperament keep him in demand as a player throughout the Carolinas, most notably with the Sea Island Ramblers. He’s an important part of Craig Smith’s Rounder album, but otherwise had rarely been heard outside of his home state until teaming up with Laurie and Tom in 2003. “Scott Huffman’s guitar pickin’ gave a special punch to the band; his solos drew several rounds of applause, and his lead singing added a refreshing, crisp, southern country voice that I’ve not heard in Lewis’ previous bands. Huffman’s own “Hard Luck in Heaven” speculates, with cute humor, about the traditional country theme of bad luck in the presumed glory land ever after.” (Fred Newmann/So. Wisconsin Bluegrass Music Assn)

A native of Bainbridge Island, Washington, Wes Corbett began classical piano at the age of four, but became a banjo convert in high school. For the past four years, Wes has been composing and arranging original music for banjo, and released an album with Simon Chrisman (hammered dulcimer) and Jordan Tice (guitar) on Patuxent in 2007. Wes has appeared with numerous musicians and bands, including The David Grisman Quintet, The Mike Marshall-Darol Anger Duo, Old School Freight Train, The Biscuit Burners, Dysfunction Junction Bluegrass Band, and Crooked Still — and is currently touring with both the Boston-based string band, Joy Kills Sorrow, and The Bee Eaters, featuring Tristan & Tashina Clarridge as well as Simon Chrisman.

“A Laurie Lewis live show is a guaranteed good time. Lewis gives the Right Hands plenty of room to shine, [and they] consistently respond with warm, well-placed solos and strong, sympathetic support. Like the group’s last album, 2006’s ‘The Golden West,’ ‘Live’ is California bluegrass at its finest, gently nudging the music leftward with thoughtful songwriting, relaxed ensemble playing, and a great respect for tradition, all mellowed with age. Truly a rich and entertaining program.” – MT, Sing Out! Magazine

Selected Discography

Laurie Lewis & The Right Hands: Live (Spruce And Maple/2008)
Laurie Lewis & The Right Hands: The Golden West (High Tone/2006)
Laurie Lewis & Tom Rozum: Guest House (High Tone/2004)
Laurie Lewis: Birdsong (Spruce And Maple/2002)
Laurie Lewis: Laurie Lewis & Her Bluegrass Pals (Rounder/1999)
Laurie Lewis & Tom Rozum: Winter’s Grace (Signature Sounds/1999)
Laurie Lewis: Seeing Things (Rounder/1998)
Laurie Lewis: Earth & Sky (Rounder/1997)
Laurie Lewis & Tom Rozum: The Oak & The Laurel (Rounder/1995)
Laurie Lewis: True Stories (Rounder/1993)
Laurie Lewis & Kathy Kallick: Together (Rounder/1991>1995)
Laurie Lewis & Grant Street: Singin’ My Troubles Away (Flying Fish/1990)
Laurie Lewis: Love Chooses You (Flying Fish/1989)
Laurie Lewis: Restless Rambling Heart (Flying Fish/1986)
Grant Street String Band: Grant Street String Band (Flat Rock/1983>1996)
Good Ol’ Persons: Good Ol’ Persons (Bay/1977>2005)
Tom Rozum: Jubilee (Signature Sounds/1998)
Todd Phillips: In the Pines (Gourd Music/1995)
Corbett/Chrisman/Tice: Corbett/Chrisman/Tice (Patuxent /2007)
Charles Sawtelle (including and produced by Laurie Lewis):
Music from Rancho de Ville (Acoustic Disc/2000)
Various Artists (including Laurie Lewis):
Masters Of the Banjo (Arhoolie/1994)
Blue Rose (with Laurie Lewis): Blue Rose (Sugar Hill/1989)

Tickets are available now at www.RBA.org.

The Northern California Bluegrass Society sponsors all Redwood Bluegrass Associates concerts.