An Evening of Traditional Americana at Painted Sky Studios

Bluegrass-roots trio Little Black Train will perform An Evening of Traditional Americana at Painted Sky Studios on Saturday, November 13 at 8:00 pm.

Fresh from two weeks in the studio in Santa Cruz, where they just finished recording their tenth record with Celtic folk group Molly’s Revenge, fiddler John Weed and guitarist Stuart Mason return to SLO County on Saturday for a concert with sizzling mandolinist Kenny Blackwell. Their trio Little Black Train will perform a fun, refreshing fusion of vintage fiddle tunes, bluegrass mandolin, and songs of old-time Americana.

The Little Black Train mash-up features a virtuosic bluegrass mandolinist, a traditional Irish fiddler, and an old-timey songster–but this is not your standard bluegrass band. Their music is old as the hills. From Depression-era gospel and blues to Appalachian and Celtic dance tunes, they dig up the roots of bluegrass that traveled to America from Ireland and Scotland in the 19th century. They combine new words and melodies with traditional songs from sources such as the Carter Family, Doc Boggs, and Charlie Poole. On the instrumental side, they mine fiddle tunes from archival sources in West Virginia, Ireland, and Scotland.

Painted Sky Recording Studios, located in the heart of Cambria’s historic business district, occupies the building once known as the notorious Bucket of Blood Saloon. Concert goers enjoy an intimate ambiance, where the warm voices of acoustic instruments blend with state-of-the-art sound equipment to create the ultimate folk venue.

“Each of these three is amazingly accomplished, but something magical happens when they play together, their instruments swirling around one another like curls of smoke from a smoldering fire. This is old-time music at its most riveting!” –Glen Starkey, New Times SLO