Erica Brown and the Bluegrass Connection
Erica Brown and The Bluegrass Connection is a dynamic five-piece band from Portland, Maine blending original and traditional Bluegrass, Folk, and Country music with energetic performances. Led by award-winning fiddler and vocalist Erica Brown, alongside talented musicians Matt Shipman, Lincoln Meyers, Eli Gilbert, and Kris Day. The band’s latest album “Blue Pine Moon” has garnered praise from fans and critics alike, showcasing their vocal and instrumental prowess. With recent highlights including performances at prestigious events like Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival and collaborations with The Bangor Symphony Orchestra, they continue to captivate audiences across the Northeast and Canada.
Calling Portland, Maine his home, Matt Shipman has been performing for many years throughout the United States and Canada. Matt is not only an interpreter of traditional music of which he has studied and played for many years, but also weaves that love of tradition into his songwriting. He plays and teaches guitar, mandolin, bouzouki and clawhammer banjo. Matt is a seasoned music instructor, and enjoys working with students of all ages and abilities in his home studio. He enjoys sharing his love of music with people, helping them have fun with music and reach their personal goals. Some career highlights include playing with John Reischman and the Jaybirds, Tony Furtado, and a 5 year weekly residency with The Stowaways, featuring Joe Walsh, Erica Brown, Ron Cody and Steve Roy, and guests like Darol Anger. Matt currently performs with his wife Erica Brown in a duo called Darlin’ Corey, Erica Brown & The Bluegrass Connection, Josephine County and Side By Each. Matt has put out 2 solo recordings as well as recordings with High Range, Darlin’ Corey, Erica Brown and the Bluegrass Connection and most recently East to the West with Josephine County.
Lincoln Meyers is an award winning guitarist who has been on the New England music scene for the past eighteen years and has been playing professionally for thirty. Lincoln, who was featured on the cover of Flatpicking Guitar magazine’s November/December issue 2010, has toured the world and performed with bands including Erica Brown & The Bluegrass Connection, The New England Bluegrass Band, Tony Trischka, April Verch, and most recently Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen. Lincoln is a veteran instructor, teaching private lessons as well as being involved with and conducting guitar workshops and seminars around the country.
Kris Day has been a staple in the Portland, ME music scene for over 20 years playing bluegrass, jazz, rockabilly and everything in between. Kris has done a considerable amount of touring over the years including performances with rock and roll legends Link Wray, Dale Hawkins, Ronnie Dawson and Joe Clay. Kris enjoys his private teaching career in addition to recording with local artists and doing some session work around town. You may recognize him from the Jerks of Grass, King Memphis or King Day and his New Imperials.
Eli Gilbert is a native of North Yarmouth, ME. After seeing J.D. Crowe and the New South at the Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival, Eli decided to pick up the banjo and eventually moved to Johnson City, TN to study Bluegrass at East Tennessee State University. There he went on to perform with the ETSU Bluegrass Pride Band as well as Jeff Brown and Still Lonesome. After graduating with a degree in Bluegrass, Country, and Old Time Studies Eli returned to Maine, where he teaches Roots Music and Jazz at Bates College and North Yarmouth Academy. He also offers dozens of Bluegrass banjo video demonstrations and transcriptions for aspiring banjo students, which can be found at www.eligilbertbanjo.com and on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/eligilbertbanjo
Darlin’ Corey
From the northern reach of the Appalachian Trail comes the musical trio Darlin’ Corey. Drawing on the many threads of North American folk music, their elegant harmonies are the beating heart of their sound, in both their original music and the traditional Franco-American, Old Time, and Bluegrass music they regularly showcase. In Darlin’ Corey’s singing and playing, you can feel the many years of dedication to these celebrated musical traditions.
Erica Brown’s fiddle-playing is at turns virtuosic and completely unpretentious. Matt Shipman is an ideal counterpart as his versatility on a dizzying array of stringed instruments (guitar, Irish bouzouki, 5-string banjo, mandolin) blend seamlessly, never timid or overpowering. Add to that Kris Day’s steady and tasteful bass playing and you will see why they have become a well known and favorite act in the Portland, ME area in recent years.
Darlin’ Corey’s latest album Let the Light Back In is a thoughtfully curated collection that showcases their knack for selecting the right songs while remaining true to their live performance.
Haggard and Cashed
Maine’s premier Classic Country and Western Swing band!
Haggard and Cashed is a 7 piece, triple fiddle wielding, honky tonkin’, country and western swing band featuring some of the finest musicians in New England.
The band is led by renowned singer and fiddler Erica Brown and her husband, notable multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter Matt Shipman. You may recognize their names from their other bands, Darlin’ Corey and Erica Brown & The Bluegrass Connection.
This band is the culmination of years of this musical super-couple’s dream of putting the ultimate classic country band together, and it has finally come to fruition. They have been taking stages by storm around Maine for the last year.
The band is comprised of incredible, veteran musicians Ellen Carlson (fiddle, vocals), Steve Muise (fiddle), Dan Beller-McKenna (pedal steel guitar), Kris Day (bass, vocals) and Per Hanson (drums, harmonica, vocals). When you put all seven of these musicians on one stage it’s nothing short of magic! Their energy is infectious and their love for this music shines through.
This group will have you singing along to classic country and western swing favorites you may have forgotten you loved so much. Playing favorites from Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Ray Price, Pasty Cline, Asleep at the Wheel, The Time Jumpers, Dwight Yoakam, Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill, Dale Watson and even a few originals. Dust off your cowboy hat and boots and get ready for some triple fiddle harmony and good old fashioned twang.
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Josephine County
http://www.josephinecountyband.com
Josephine County combines the talents of four powerful traditional musicians into one exceptional musical experience ranging from the United States to Ireland and back. Award-winning fiddler and singer Erica Brown dedicated herself to traditional music at a very young age. Classical, French Canadian, Bluegrass, Country, and much more can be found in her wide-range of musical expertise. Songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Matt Shipman’s love of traditional music is apparent in his mastery of Bluegrass, Country, and Irish styles of playing. His detailed and thoughtful guitar, mandolin, and banjo playing captivate and delight audiences nationwide. Traditional Irish flute player and singer Hanz Araki is known worldwide for his fresh and innovative approach. His musical sensibility is both inspired and disciplined and has made him a household name from the UK to Japan. Among the finest interpreters of traditional songs of her generation, singer Colleen Raney brings warmth and authenticity to music from Ireland, Appalachia, Scotland, and beyond.
Side By Each
Two of Maine’s musical power couples with deep Franco-American roots – Don & Cindy Roy and Erica Brown & Matt Shipman – join forces in Side by Each.
Don and Cindy’s music (fiddle, piano, and step-dancing) goes back to their respective families who hailed from Quebec and the Canadian Maritimes. In 2018, they were awarded a prestigious National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts as leading exponents of Franco-American traditional music in Maine.
Erica Brown began studying fiddle with Don when she was eight years old. She has developed into a virtuosic fiddler and singer whose music meshes seamlessly with that of her mentors. In addition to her mastery of Franco-American music, she and husband Matt Shipman (guitar and bouzouki) also pursue a career in Bluegrass, Folk and Country music. They lead the Bluegrass group Erica Brown and the Bluegrass Connection; the trio, Darlin’ Corey; and the classic country and Western swing band, Haggard & Cashed.
Don and Erica’s spirited fiddling is supported by rock-solid, tasteful accompaniment from Cindy (piano) and Matt (guitar). Cindy’s lively step-dancing and podorythmie (rhythmic foot-tapping while playing piano) add a unique dimension to the group’s sound. Traditional and original songs round out the group’s offerings. They bring a lively show to audiences across the US and Canada.