Monthly bluegrass happening next Saturday
It’s time to take a little break from all the snow and all the holiday shopping.
It’s time for a little bluegrass music.
The Inland Northwest Bluegrass Association holds its monthly Saturday Night Bluegrass Thang at 7 p.m. next Saturday at Trent Elementary School, 3303 N. Pines Road. Tickets are $4 and kids under 14 are free.
“This is something we started five or six years ago now,” Jim Faddis said. “The third Saturday of every month starting in October and running through April. Basically, it’s an evening of bluegrass music from local bluegrass musicians.”
This month, the bill will be filled by: Frank’s Fiddlers (a group of young, local fiddle players), Bluegrass Conspiracy, fingerstyle guitarist Tim Platt, Legal Limit, the River City Ramblers, and the Panhandle Polecats.
“The Panhandle Polecats is a group out of Rathdrum,” Faddis said. “They’re a family band and I think the oldest player in the group is 19 years old.”
There is no Christmas theme for this month’s concert, but Faddis said he’s certain some groups will indulge in a holiday song or two.
Faddis said the concert series got a boost a few years ago with the release and popularity of the movie “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” However, that initial bubble has continued to grow.
“The music starts at 7 p.m., but we always seem to have people knocking at the door trying to get in when we get there to start setting things up at 6 p.m.,” Faddis said. “We haven’t sold out every seat yet, but we’re getting awfully close and it fills up fast.
“It’s a really good time. Where else can you have an evening of family entertainment for $4.”
The music, Faddis said, is all acoustic – with one possible exception.
“We have one band – Legal Limit – that has an electric bass,” he said. “That’s the only electric instrument we allow. Most bands still use a stand-up bass to go with fiddles and banjos, acoustic guitars, dobro guitars and mandolins.”
The Inland Northwest Bluegrass Association operates a Web site, spokanebluegrass.org, that posts the lineup for upcoming months as well as information on local member bands and concerts and festivals.
“It used to be that there were maybe three or four festivals a year in the Pacific Northwest area,” Faddis said. “Now there’s pretty much one every weekend someplace in the Northwest. You may have to drive a ways, but there’s one going on someplace.”
And Faddis has a tip for bluegrass aficionados.
“After the concert part is over with, probably half the people and a lot of the musicians go over to Godfather’s Pizza at Sprague and Sullivan,” he said. “That usually lasts until about midnight, with people sitting around, playing and singing together. It’s a lot of fun – especially if you’re really into bluegrass music.”