One of Vancouver Island’s most popular bluegrass bands, Bluegrass Fever, returns to the Crofton Hotel Pub Showroom Saturday, March 30.
This will be the band’s third visit in as many years. The band will be featuring plenty of its most well-liked numbers, along with some tunes that should be new to the Crofton audience.
The band’s lineup has changed a little since Bluegrass Fever’s last visit to Crofton in 2012.
The mandolin is now handled by Jeff Ellis, an award-winning musician from Moneta, Va.
Ellis was born into a musical family, and his father Ricky is a five-time world champion mandolin player. Starting at the age of 13, Ellis began learning the acoustic bass, followed by mandolin, guitar, banjo and fiddle. He performed as part of his father’s band Common Ground, winning band and individual competitions throughout the United States.
Ellis has won the titles of Virginia State Champion for acoustic guitar and Virginia State Champion for acoustic bass and more than 50 first-place awards. The audience in Crofton can be sure of a truly memorable performance from this sought-after session player, whose background includes touring with some of the top names in bluegrass music.
One of the Island’s top banjo pickers will again be performing as part of the Bluegrass Fever band. Barrie Hemmings always makes an impression with his flair and style on the instrument. Here’s what the press had to say at a previous performance by Hemmings: “Barrie Hemmings’ relentlessly stunning banjo accompaniments and solos were the centrepiece of the band’s performance. It was worth going to the concert just to hear him play.”
Hemmings also provides many of the vocals in the band’s repertoire.
Bob Johns will return as guitarist. Johns also does the songwriting for the band’s original music, as well as providing some of the vocals. The upright bass, and the wonderful vocal harmonies, will again be ably handled by Port Alberni’s Guy Langlois.
The show gets underway at 9 p.m., and tickets are available for just $10. The Crofton Hotel Pub Showroom is located at 1534 Joan Ave.
— Submitted
