Virginia Ramblers to come this summer?

The Virginia Ramblers (l-r: Jeff Vogelgesang, Donnie Shifflett, Charles Frazier, Zack Deming)

Thanks to Jeff Vogelgesang, mandolin player for a five-piece traditional bluegrass band, the Virginia Ramblers (USA), for news that the band are planning to book a 10-14 day tour in Europe, including these islands, in the coming year.

The Virginia Ramblers work festivals, concerts, wineries, etc., mostly through Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Delaware, and have also played at the Grass Valley festival in California and on the famous Prairie Home Companion radio show. They have an open period in their booking calendar between 10 and 22 June 2012; other blocks may be available in late July and mid-August.

You can enjoy quite a lot of Ramblers performances on YouTube: some examples are the medley: 'Unfaithful' and 'Lotsalove'; 'Pleasant Hill'; 'Mississippi Sawyer'; 'Don't hurry me'; and 'The old crossroad'. A warm recommendation of their self-titled CD is on County Sales. This is exactly the kind of band the BIB editor likes to see and hear, and we welcome comments from - say - Mel Corry or Sean McKerr.

Promoters, festival and event organisers, and others interested in contacting the Virginia Ramblers should send Jeff an e-mail.