Folk music is defined as any music made by the common or working people. In contrast, art music is made by those who have received a thorough musical education. America has a rich history of folk music that is kept alive by musicians world-wide. A group of just such artists will be gathering locally thanks to the efforts of BlueGrass West, a group headed by local bluegrass musician Peter Feldmann.
Feldmann came to America at the age of 6 from Switzerland when his father found work in aeronautical engineering in Los Angeles not long after World War II. The young Feldmann immediately began to take in American society and culture.
“When I was 10, the people across the street had moved from Texas, and they had one of the first television sets,” he said. “They watched a lot of cowboy movies, and in those movies the cowboy would sometimes pull out a guitar and sing a song.
“That intrigued me,” he continued. “It was something I found real, something I could relate to.”
Feldmann fell in love with the folk art of American country and western music personified by artists such as Hanks Williams and Patsy Cline. But one artist stood out from all the others: Bill Monroe, whose distinct ensemble, arrangement, and style made him the pioneer of bluegrass music.
Bluegrass music is an offshoot of American country music that is known for its fusions of country blues, Celtic music, and American country and folk song with the use of acoustic instruments, including guitars, banjos, mandolins, fiddles, and acoustic bass. Bluegrass is also known for its use of vocal harmonies.
“What I like about the bluegrass sound is that it is played on acoustic instruments,” Feldmann said. “I guess you could call me a purist. I like the sound that comes from wood and strings.”
Feldmann is coming up on his 50th anniversary of performing bluegrass and folk music in America, and he isn’t slowing down. He started the website bluegrasswest
.com to serve as a sort of local town hall for bluegrass music. From the website he promotes his friends and collaborators and local shows they are planning.
Bluegrasswest’s upcoming concert has been dubbed “Pete’s Music Circle.” With the intimate Grange Hall in Los Olivos as its setting, the format of the concert is just what it sounds like: a circle of friends sharing music together.
“It’s a way to spread that musical camaraderie around a little bit in a very informal setting,” Feldmann said.
Joining Feldmann will be special guests Larry Hanks and Deborah Robins, a folk music duo that covers old American folk songs from artists like Utah Phillips, Larry Penn, Leadbelly, Sam Hinton, and Stephen Foster. The duo also performs original songs composed in the folk idiom.
“Larry is one of the original folksingers out of the Cal Berkley group,” Feldmann said. “It was one of the first places that featured the study of folk song and ethnomusicology.”
Also part of the show is Feldmann’s wife Francine Greshler Feldmann, who performs American standards.
“The way we put it is she is the city musician and I’m the country musican,” Feldmann said. “She grew up in the Broadway world and likes R&B; she is a really good popular singer.
“Sometimes she will sing a country song with me and sometimes I will play rock ’n’ roll mandolin for her,” he added.
The last guest on the program is Blaine Sprouse, a truly virtuosic fiddle player who left high school at the age of 17 to play fiddle with
Jimmy Martin’s Sunny Mountain Boys. His musical exploits saw collaborations with none other than Bill Monroe as one of his Bluegrass Boys and Monroe’s son James Monroe and the Midnight Ramblers.
The concert starts at 8 p.m. and will run for about two hours. There will be a myriad of solos, duets, and group collaborations sure to feature favorites from the folk and Bluegrass lexicon.
“It’s very hard to present a folk song that was written on someone’s back porch in an amphitheatre; that’s why I like the Grange Hall,” Feldmann said. “It’s friendly music and a friendly place.”
Fun with funk
The Trilogy at Monarch Dunes Concert Series will feature a free concert by Burning James & The Funky Flames on Aug. 12 at 6 p.m. at the Monarch Club, 1645 Trilogy Parkway, Nipomo. More info: 343-7510 or gina.forsmann@trilogyresort
living.com.
Suspected to rock
The City of Santa Maria Parks and Recreation Department presents “Concerts in the Park” featuring free performances by local bands, including rock group The Usual Suspects on Aug. 14 from 1 to 3 p.m. at Rotary Centennial Park, 2625 S. College Drive, Santa Maria. More info: 925-0951, Ext. 260.
Music at the Maverick
The Maverick Saloon in Santa Ynez hosts DJ Totem Aug. 11 at 9 p.m. The Belmores Band performs on Aug. 12 at 8:30 p.m. followed by DJPJ at 11:30 p.m. “Concert on the Deck” with The Belmores Band is Aug. 13 at 3 p.m. Primal Tribe performs Aug. 13 at 8:30 p.m. followed by DJPJ at 11:30 p.m. Tickets available at 688-0383.
Contact Calendar Editor Joe Payne at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Aug 11-18, 2011.