Yep, that’s the truth, I wouldn’t lie to you.  Check out the tune here, and check out what they had to say about Tom, Matt, and Mike, and Allie….

Listen to Cobalt & The Hired Guns and their song “Never a Harbor.” It’s from their latest release Jump The Fence. Cobalt formed in Chicago in 2007 and say they are all about love and guts, energy and enthusiasm! The band gets a chance to prove it this weekend at the Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival. Joining them are Ha Ha Tonka, Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials, Blue Mother Tupelo and many, many other acts. The Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival takes place Saturday from noon to 11 p.m. at the Congress Theater on N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago.

The Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival today announced their support of the RESPECT! CampaignSM – an innovative new campaign to end domestic and sexual violence by starting with respect. The campaign benefits the Family Violence Prevention Fund and encourages everyone to do their part to prevent abuse by giving and teaching respect to the young people in their lives.

In support of the campaign, a variety of performers at the November 22 festival at Chicago’s Congress Theater will be sharing stories about the people they respect most and asking the audience to support the campaign by texting the keyword “respect” to 41010, adding a $5 donation to the Family Violence Prevention Fund to their mobile bill.

To learn more, visit GiveRespect.org

Got questions about what the show will be like, what the rules will be, or what we’ll be wearing? Feel free to e-mail us at Michael.raspatello@gmail.com. Hopefully, however, here are some of the answers you were looking for….

SHOW SCHEDULE

*2 Stages, a Balcony, 18 Acts, and Costumed Marching Band “Environmental Encroachment” parading throughout the venue at impromptu times

MAIN STAGE
12:30-1:15pm - Donnie Biggins
1:15-1:30 - Tangleweed
1:30-2:15 - Dollar Store
2:15-2:45 - Tangleweed/Chicago Sketch Comedy Troupe “Cell Camp”
2:45-3:30 - Billy Childers
3:30-4:00 - Tangleweed/Chicago Sketch Comedy Troupe“Cell Camp”
4:00-4:45 - Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials
4:45-5:15 - Tangleweed/Chicago Sketch Comedy Troupe“Cell Camp”
5:15-6:15 - Majors Junction
6:15-6:45 - Tangleweed/Chicago Sketch Comedy Troupe“Cell Camp”
6:45-7:45 - Ha Ha Tonka
7:45-8:15 - The Giving Tree Band
8:15-9:45 - David Grisman Quintet
9:45-10:15 - The Giving Tree Band
10:15-However Long They Want - The Avett Brothers

Jambase.com’s 312 PAVILION STAGE
Noon-12:45 - Blue Room Hero
1:00-1:45 - Cobalt & the Hired Guns
2:00-2:45 - Lindsey O’Brien Band & Friends
3:00-3:45 - Mike Mangione
4:00-4:45 - Jessica Lee
5:00-5:45 - How Far to Austin
6:00-6:45 - Blue Mother Tupelo
7:00-8:00 - Blackdog

• This show is All Ages, runs from 11am-Midnight-ish, tickets are $31 until day-of, when it increases (if there are any left)

• Unlimited Re-Entry: Can come and go freely to and from the theater until 5pm.  AFTER 5PM YOU CAN STILL ARRIVE.  All this means is that once you’ve left the building after 5pm, you can’t come back in.  As in, if you leave at 4:59 you can still get stamped and come back any time throughout the night.  However a minute later that would not be an option. 

• Smoking lounge access without leaving the theater. Security is about as strong as a one-armed swimmer (as in “weak”)

• Sketch Comedy throughout the day from Chicago Sketch Comedy Group “Cell Camp”

• An open jam session and picking circle from the second the doors open. Musicians are all invited to bring their instruments and participate. There’ll be an “instrument check” along with the coat check so that you don’t have to lug your noisemaker around with you all day.

• Over 50 booths of artists, vendors, and charitable causes. Artists will be creating their art on-site and selling it while the Saving Tiny Hearts Society will be raffling off swag from the artists

• The theater is located at 2135 N. Milwaukee (just north of Armitage). There is street parking available all around the theater, as well as very cheap reserved parking by clicking here

• Traveling to the theater is easy via the CTA, as it is within two blocks of the Blue Line train stations at California (& Milwaukee) and Western (& Milwaukee) which operate twenty four hours a day. The theater is also served by the following bus routes: #52 Kedzie/Calfornia, #56 Milwaukee, #73 Armitage, #49 Western (www.transitchicago.com)

• The theater is also a quick walk or bus ride from the METRA train station at Clybourn & Ashland on the Union Pacific District Northwest line. Exit the station to the south to transfer to the #73 Armitage bus going west on Cortland Ave. to the theater.

• The “Official After-Party” will be held at Chicago’s #1 rock club The Elbo Room immediately following the show. Entry is free with your festival ticket. Check out more details at elboroomchicago.com

•A WARM FUZZY FEELING FOR MAKING THIS EVENT AMAZING AND HELPING PEOPLE AT THE SAME TIME!

by Mike Mering, mikemering@gmail.com, Senior cbgbfestival.com correspondent

Starbucks. Burger King. (Insert large cell phone company of your choice): Need NOT apply.

You may have noticed this absence of large corporate involvement and major sponsorship at the inaugural Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival (www.cbgbfestival.com)

Besides being the only winter music festival, Chicago Bluegrass & Blue is also the only independent music festival of this scale to hit Chicago in recent memory. The festival boasts major acts such as the Avett Brothers, David Grisman and Ha Ha Tonka alongside a roster of surging local and national talent.

“Major producers and major labels are not needed to throw a major event, just independently minded people looking to invest in a righteous cause” explains festival founder Mike Raspatello.

It’s this sort of resolve that has united festival artists and organizers for what is gearing up to be a groundbreaking event

In fact, nearly all of the artists and producers participating in the Chicago Bluegrass & Blues festival are independent entities.  While the Avett Brothers have recently joined forces with the renowned Rick Rubin and his American Recordings label, they have long been faithful to their Ramseur Records roots.

Check out the stats…

The Labels:
“There is an inherent spirit of independence that resonates with all parties involved in the event from sponsors to the artists and their record labels,” says Raspatello.

Alligator Records and Bloodshot Records, both Chicago-based labels, along with David Grisman’s Acoustic Disc Records, have been nurturing indie artists for decades and will spotlight artists of its own at the Chicago Bluegrass & Blues festival. Grisman’s Acoustic Disc Records is best known for its collaborations with Jerry Garcia who, in 1990, decided to record with Grisman’s independent label for his first acoustic-only disc.

The Venue:
Providing the platform for the festival is the legendary Congress Theater, a successfully run concert hall that operates free of overriding corporate ownership or partnership. This is a rarity today as most existing concert halls with large capacities and prime locales have succumb to the lure of corporate takeover.

Jam Production and Live Nation have a stranglehold on all large concert production, even with C3 Presents recently entering the market with Lollapalooza and a limited partnership with the Congress Theater.

Sponsors:
Take one look at the festival’s “Partners” page and you will see an assortment of independent-minded businesses (www.cbgbfestival.com/partners)

Producers:
Just a couple of guys, such as independent producers Michael Raspatello, Lucas King, Max Wagner, Jeff Callahan, and Will Lambert, with great support from the Congress Theater

What does all this mean to the concertgoer?
Saturday November 22, you will be a part of history in the making. Creativity will be tapped in many forms. There will be no restraint from those corporations more concerned with squeezing money from your pockets than producing a quality, free-flowing, energized assembly of music and art.

Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve had a handful of our artists featured on podcasts around the land, including the Chicago staple that is Michael Teach’s Chicago Acoustic Underground , In Search of a Song, and Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour.

Throw these on in your new fancy earbuds and enjoy the sweet stylings of The Giving Tree Band, How Far to Austin, Majors Junction, and Eli Jones (who played our official pre-party at Fitzgerald’s last week)

Radio Relics Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival Special from WRLR: http://www.mypodcast.com/cached/radiorelics_20081118_0903-332937-159989-2-25.mp3

Green Arrow Radio’s Preview: http://www.greenarrowradio.com/2008/11/18/chicago-bluegrass-blues/

The Giving Tree Band: http://www.woodsongs.com/showlist.asp

The Giving Tree Band: http://isoas.wordpress.com/category/1-americana/the-giving-tree-band/

David Grisman Quintet: http://isoas.wordpress.com/category/1-americana/david-grisman/

Eli Jones: http://chicagoacoustic.net/podcasts/episode-167—eli-jones.html

How Far to Austin: http://chicagoacoustic.net/podcasts/episode-166—how-far-to-austin.html

Majors Junction: http://chicagoacoustic.net/podcasts/episode-169—majors-junction.html

And for the greatest acappella performance in the history of anything:

CHICAGO’S MOST SOUGHT-AFTER ROCKUMENTARIANS POISED TO FILM A FIRST FOR CHARITY: WIGGLE PUPPY PRODUCTIONS ON BOARD TO CAPTURE INAUGURAL CHICAGO BLUEGRASS & BLUES FESTIVAL

An event boasting such a diverse bill piled into such a historic building couldn’t go unrecorded.  Wiggle Puppy Productions, the enigmatic filmmakers behind popular High Definition concert films of icons like Phish,, The Flaming Lips, Umphrey’s McGee, Matisyahu, and the Secret Machines, have offered their services to ensure that it won’t.

From WPP's "Umphrey's McGee: Wrapped Around Chicago"

While David Grisman, The Avett Brothers, The Giving Tree Band, Ha Ha Tonka, Lil ‘Ed and the rest of the artists lead the foot-stomping on-stage at the inaugural Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival (www.cbgbfestival.com), director Mark Krieglstein and producer Sara Yule will coordinate the filming of 18 sets and 24 hours of music. The duo will use their footage to create a live album and concert documentary of Chicago’s historic winter music festival, available for digital download in return for a donation to the Saving Tiny Heats Society’s (www.savingtinyhearts.org) research efforts.

In addition to helping a righteous and homegrown cause, the production will mark the first performance to be filmed inside the historic Chicago City Landmark.

Upon completion of the feature length documentary, Wiggle Puppy’s cinematic tribute to this needed addition to the city’s winter concert calendar will be available on cbgbfestival.com and leading download destinations.  All profits from the sales of these HD video downloads will go to support the Saving Tiny Hearts Society’s mission to find cures for America’s #1 birth defect.

ABOUT WIGGLE PUPPY PRODUCTIONS:

WPP has cut out a small niche making films and videos working with an eclectic group of organizations and bands including but definitely not limited to: Phish, The Flaming Lips, Super Furry Animals, Dios (Malos), Ingrid Michaelson, Candylion (w/ Gruff Rhys of SFA), The Benevento Russo Duo, Dead Meadow, Preface 73, Califone, Dan Wilson, Meiko, Natalie Walker, Bustle in Your Hedgerow, Grace Potter, The Benevento Russo Duo, Addison Groove Project, The North Mississippi AllStars, Taj Mahal, Los Lobos, moe, Matisyahu, The Mink Lungs, Burning Spear, Jennifer Hartswick Band, Big Frog (”Japan’s only Jamband”), Chris Berry & Panjea, The Violent Femmes, Raq, Joshua Radin, Panavision, The Hotel Café Tour 2008, The Art of Being, etc. as well as local Chicago talents such as: Umphrey’s McGee, Ultra Sonic Edukators, Gio, The Giving Tree Band, Future Rock, Todd Carey, Dearborn, Andreas Kapsalis Trio, Oucho Sparks, Treologic, Wicker Park Festival, Silver Wrapper Presents, Triple Dat Mas, amongst many many other

by Josh Downs, Senior CBGBfestival.com Correspondent, dtrain692@yahoo.com

From Left: Derrick Mitchell, a bunch of Oak Parkers

On November 22nd, Chicago’s Congress Theater will host the first annual Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival.  This all day festival will offer music fans a diverse range of acts, including bluegrass music pioneer David Grisman and red-hot American Recordings poster boys, the Avett Brothers.  For Oak Parkers, however, the festival offers a special treat as several native talents are featured on the bill, including How Far to Austin, Blue Room Hero, and contest winner Donnie Biggins.

Also included in the mix is festival director Mike Raspatello, a River Forest resident who graduated from OPRF in 1999.  “As expected, Oak Park had a lot of great talent to choose from in finding artists for this event.  I knew a lot of these guys in High School and have enjoyed watching their careers grow.”

Blue Room Hero is a three piece rock ensemble that formed at the University of Wisconsin when OPRF alumnus and current teacher Doug Hill brought his drums to Mike Neeb’s bass and Jason Napp’s guitar.  They built a large and loyal following in Madison as well as back home in Oak Park.  The festival represents not only their highest profile gig, but also their last performance together.

How Far to Austin features guitarist Tate Troelstrup, drummer Paul Obis, bassist Colin Fahey, and saxophonist Nick Ranucci, all alumni of Oak Park River Forest High School.  The band likes to think of themselves as “hot as a pistol rock ‘n roll laced with incredible lyrical depth; keen musicianship; and unforgettable vocal melodies that border on the addictive.”  Last year, they released their first LP, “The Moment has Arrived” and are now preparing to go back into the studio with legendary producer Stuart Epps, fresh off of recording an album for Oasis at the studio he co-owns in Wales with Jimmy Paige.

When asked about how growing up in Oak Park has influenced his musical stylings, Troelstrup said, “I went to Holmes school on the north side of town, great music program and I tried my hand at a new band instrument each year on top of piano.  Once I got my hands on a guitar I popped over to see Sal Salvato at Guitar Fun and started my rock ‘n roll journey.”

Donnie Biggins in the blazer, Doug Hill on the set

When Donnie Biggins entered the “Last Banjo Standing Contest” to determine the final act on the mainstage, he knew he had the support of an entire community behind him.  A truly grassroots voting effort propelled him to victory in the contest.  “When I won this contest, my Father sent me a text message that said “It takes a Village.” The support from Oak Park helped get me into the top 5 artists. It is because of the community’s belief in me that I was selected to play at the festival. I think there is a lot of young talent in Oak Park just waiting to be released into the world. We come from a community unlike any other. The environment we surround ourselves with, whether it is the schools, block parties, or backyard gatherings, sets us up to be successful.”

Both Troelstrup and Biggins credit some local Oak Park businesses with helping their musical development.  Biggins spoke glowingly about Val Camilletti, owner of Val’s Halla Records.  “I went to Val’s in August looking for advice on advancing my music publicly. We talked for about an hour about current music and the musical experiences she’s had in her lifetime. She told me to go to The Heartland Cafe in Rogers Park, Chicago. Conveniently I was moving to Rogers Park at the end of the month to begin my student teaching in the Chicago Public Schools and have been playing at The Heartland Cafe once a week. It will be nice to go back to Val’s with the CBGB Festival ad with my name on it and thank her for the advice.”

Troelstrup also spoke magnanimously when asked if any local music hotspots had an influence on him.  “Most definitely!  Guitar Fun is where I took my first guitar lessons, and where I turned to any time I had a gear question.  Val at Val’s Halla always special ordered whatever random record I absolutely had to have any given week.  I was always pretty loyal to Val’s, but Second Hand Tunes did have a great t-shirt selection and often times had newer records in a lot faster.  All three were important because my experiences at each was positive – really nice people very interested in music, and in the case of Sal at Guitar Fun, very supportive of t

Val of Val's Halla and her trusty friend and coworker

he endeavors of young musicians just cutting their teeth.”

Raspatello says “The idea of this festival was to give some up and coming artists a chance to share the bill with some big name acts, and help out the Saving Tiny Hearts Society while doing it.  I’m happy to be able to include some native Oak Parkers in what will be a wonderful celebration of art and music.”

Tickets are $31 and are on sale now on cbgbfestival.com, ticketmaster.com, and frontgatetickets.com,   A portion of the sales will go to benefit the Saving Tiny Hearts Society (Savingtinyhearts.org)

About the Festival:

On November 22nd, 2008, the Congress Theater will host the inaugural Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival (cbgbfestival.com). While rooted in the foot-stomping influences of bluegrass and blues, the festival will transport the concertgoer through the genre-defying evolution of music today.  The one-day event will serve as a tribute to two schools of music that continue to shape and inspire contemporary rock, jamband, funk, folk, roots, Americana, and indie cultures, while allowing festivalgoers to save a heart.  A portion of each $31 ticket will be donated to the Saving tiny Hearts Society (www.savingtinyhearts.org), an non-profit organization that raises money for America’s #1 birth defect, congenital heart defects (CHD).

by Josh Downs, Senior CBGBfestival.com Correspondent, dtrain692@yahoo.com

David Grisman is known as a pioneer of the newgrass movement in Folk music.  His unique musical style incorporates elements of traditional bluegrass, as well as jazz, folk, and stringband and has influenced countless numbers of musicians and collaborators during his storied career.

However, when he takes the stage at the Chicago Bluegrass & Blues and Festival this November, on display will be the influence of one of the most celebrated voices of American music upon Grisman.  The friendship between Grisman and Jerry Garcia has been well documented, it was Garcia who famously gave Grisman his nickname “Dawg,” but within that friendship blossomed a musical partnership that both fed off and contributed to the immense talents of both individuals.

The two met at a Bill Monroe concert in 1964 and began a camaraderie stemming from a common love of traditional American folk music that would ultimately become the bluegrass quintet Old and in the Way and lead to countless as of yet unreleased collaborations at Grisman’s house famously documented in “Grateful Dawg.”  The traditionally trained Grisman and the mercurial Garcia inspired and tempered one another as the two shaped their evolving personal styles.  While Garcia brought several traditional folk numbers into the repertoire of the Grateful Dead, Grisman began journeying into free-form, jazz-inspired movements that helped define his idiom.

Sadly, while Jerry’s passing has left the world lacking one of the more inspiring and inventive musicians ever, his influence forever lives on in the creativity of David Grisman.  Witness this firsthand at the Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival at the Congress Theater, November 22.

Tickets are currently on sale at www.cbgbfestival.com/tickets

About the Festival:

On November 22nd, 2008, the Congress Theater will host the inaugural Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival (cbgbfestival.com). While rooted in the foot-stomping influences of bluegrass and blues, the festival will transport the concertgoer through the genre-defying evolution of music today.  The one-day event will serve as a tribute to two schools of music that continue to shape and inspire contemporary rock, jamband, funk, folk, roots, Americana, and indie cultures, while allowing festivalgoers to save a heart.  A portion of each $31 ticket will be donated to the Saving tiny Hearts Society (www.savingtinyhearts.org), an non-profit organization that raises money for America’s #1 birth defect, congenital heart defects (CHD).

MORE RAUCOUS FOOT-TAPPERS AND CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED BALLADS TO BE EXPECTED FROM BILLY CHILDERS, ONE OF COUNTRY’S FASTEST RISTING TALENTS

When the inaugural installation of the Chicago Bluegrass & Blues festival touches down at the historic Congress Theater later this month, the city’s surprisingly-vast mainstream country music fan base won’t go unfulfilled.

That’s because the Midwest’s latest country music sensation will be there to greet fans from the festival’s main stage, showcasing a range of styles that has perked the ears of mainstream and alt country fans alike.

After upwards of 400 fans filled the Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Chicago last June to help Billy Childers land a spot in Kenny Chesney’s “Poets and Pirates” shows at Soldier Field, Billy’s career ascension was unstoppable.  First up: Sharing the stage with an all-star lineup comprised of Chesney, Luke Bryan, Gary Allan, LeAnn Rimes, and Keith Urban at the Midwest’s biggest venue.  Next came premiere spots in front of the region’s biggest country music gatherings, including Country Thunder and the Chicago Country Music Festival, and the growing legion of fans that inevitably followed.

Fresh off a set of Vegas dates, Childers is ready to take his modern honky-tonk stylings to one of Chicago’s most historic stages, alongside a roster of Roots and Americana powerhouses that includes David Grisman, The Avett Brothers, Ha Ha Tonka, Lil ‘Ed, Giving Tree Band, and Waco Brothers offshoot Dollar Store.

Learn more about Billy’s November 22 date at Chicago’s only winter music festival at www.cbgbfestival.com  Learn more about Billy at www.billychilders.com

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL:

On November 22nd, 2008, the Congress Theater will host the inaugural Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival (cbgbfestival.com). While rooted in the foot-stomping influences of bluegrass and blues, the festival will transport the concertgoer through the genre-defying evolution of music today.  The one-day event will serve as a tribute to two schools of music that continue to shape and inspire contemporary rock, jamband, funk, folk, roots, Americana, and indie cultures, while allowing festivalgoers to save a heart.  A portion of each $31 ticket will be donated to the Saving tiny Hearts Society (www.savingtinyhearts.org), an non-profit organization that raises money for America’s #1 birth defect, congenital heart defects (CHD).

As we mentioned yesterday, we’ve added the deliciously tactless Chicago sketch comedy powerhouse “Cell Camp.”  Below is their picture.  Now you know why I told you to hide Fido or at least make him wear a diaper…

Like I said, in-between sets they’ll be randomly taking the stage and infecting your ears with some thought-provoking sentiment and filling your belly with more laughs than a mom trying to subtly show off her aging cleavage.
Check out their shenanigans here….