Jeff Scroggins & Colorado

Written By Cindy Jackson:
Step inside the eye of the bluegrass storm, with Jeff Scroggins & Colorado at Cashmere Community Concerts, on Saturday, October 21st, at 7:30pm. This is a "high energy, high mountain, bluegrass explosion", with powerful vocals, tight harmonies and musicianship to match. They are a bluegrass force to be reckoned with. Their fiery style and lightning fast licks have earned them fans worldwide.

Original compositions by Jeff Scroggins, a former national bluegrass banjo champion, and his son, Tristan Scroggins, an award winning mandolinist and songwriter, play a large role in their energetic sound.

The band is lead by the powerful voice of front man Greg Blake, twice nominated for SPBGMA's Traditional Male Vocalist, along with 5 consecutive wins as SPBGMA's Guitarist of the year. Jeff Scroggins & Colorado has a truly unique and compelling sound that is built around the love of and passion for bluegrass music that's become a family tradition in this band. They have carefully chosen a talented group of musicians who share their love and respect for traditional bluegrass music.
 
Jeff Scroggins, banjo/vocals. Jeff has won numerous contests and awards in his career, including the prestigious National Bluegrass Banjo Championship, and dozens of state, regional and local banjo contests. Jeff has performed & recorded with many top names in bluegrass, including Blaine Sprouse, Steve Kaufman, John Reischman, Sally Van Meter, Stuart Duncan, Mark Schatz, David Grier, Jerry Douglas, The Dixie Chicks and more. In 1996, Jeff Scroggins was inducted into the Texas Tornadoes, an elite music society whose membership includes such Texas legends as Stevie Ray Vaughn, Johnny Winter and Billy Gibbons (of ZZ Top). Jeff is an internationally known performer and teacher; he has performed throughout the United States as well as in Russia, Mexico, Japan and Canada. Jeff has also taught at bluegrass music camps in the US and abroad, including the Steve Kaufman Acoustic “Kamp” in Maryville, TN, Camp He Ho Ha in Alberta, and Nimble Fingers Bluegrass Camp in Sorrento, BC. In 2011 Jeff performed and taught at the Rainforest World Music Festival in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia on the island of Borneo.
 
Tristan Scroggins, mandolin/vocals. Tristan is Jeff’s son and claims that he has been listening to bluegrass since 9 months before he was born. Tristan won his first mandolin contest when he had been playing for less than 6 months and he was hooked. He has since won numerous contests, including the New Mexico State Mandolin Championship (twice) and the Arizona State Mandolin Championship (2009). In 2016, Tristan was nominated for the Instrumental Momentum Award by the International Bluegrass Music Association and is nominated again this year.
 
Greg Blake, guitar/vocals. Blake was born in southern West Virginia, where he acquired a love of bluegrass and mountain music.  Influenced by the Louvin Brothers, Doc Watson, Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, Tony Rice, Doyle Lawson and J.D. Crowe, Greg began playing and singing at age 7. Greg was selected SPBGMA Midwest Bluegrass Guitar Performer of the Year five years in a row, and has been nominated for that honor a total of 9 times, as well as being nominated twice for Traditional Male Vocalist of the Year. When not on the road (which isn't often these days) Greg pastors a community church in Conifer, Colorado.
 
Ellie Hakanson, fiddle/vocals. Ellie an Oregon native picked with and learned from many of the finest West Coast bluegrass pickers and singers and she has learned well. She has an amazing understanding of bluegrass fiddling and singing. Ellie award credits are the 2016 Rockygrass Fiddle Champion, 2016 Arizona State Fiddle Champion, and 2017 IBMA Momentum Award Nominee. When she hits the stage her quiet, reserved demeanor gives way and goes toe to toe with Jeff, Tristan and Greg!
 
Nico Laroche-Humby, bass/vocals. From Alberta Canada, Nico is joining the band on this tour of the Pacific Northwest. He played in his family band, The Real Humdingers, and is a current member of the Nomad Jones Band. Nico puts down a solid bottom end on the bass while providing passionate vocals.
 
This music event is brought to you by the good folks of the Cashmere Community Concerts, a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide live, affordable, high quality entertainment to the Wenatchee Valley.

A cover charge of $3.00 per person at the door will help to cover expenses. Refreshments are provided. The musicians will be paid by a onetime Hat Pass; a suggested donation of $8 to $11 per person will be greatly appreciated.

Enjoy great bluegrass music in an alcohol free environment with concert seating. The Riverside Center is located at 201 Riverside Drive, Cashmere, WA. Doors open at 7:00 pm. For more information call Marie (509) 548-1230 or Chuck (509) 548-8663. The Cashmere Community Concerts series can also be found on the web at www.cashmereconcerts.com.

Be sure to mark your calendars for Saturday, November 18 as the acoustic string band, FarmStrong, comes to the Cashmere Community Concerts. Based on the Olympic Penninsula in Washington, FarmStrong brings together some of the finest singer-songwriters the Northwest has to offer. The quartet, with astonishing performance experience between them, mixes a deep history of American stringed music together.

At the heart of their sound is sweet harmony as smooth and soft as velvet, backed by a highly adept combination of stringed instruments. The band's singing and distinctive style of arranging songs from within and beyond the mountain country music tradition reflect a musical chemistry that suggests a group that has been collaborating for many years.

FarmStrong's sound will bring tears to your eyes, goosebumps to your skin and a voice to your heart.