So Many Tunes...So Little Time.

 First Tuesday Maytan Workshop Songs for May
Don't This Road Look Rough and Rocky in D
Cripple Creek in A
 



If you would like to visit the website for our annual
Bowers Mansion Bluegrass Festival, click here:

http://www.bowersbluegrassfestival.org/





Closet picker alert!
 

Could you use a bluegrass slow-jam class, or do you know someone who could?

 

Bluegrass Jamming Class
taught by
Rick Sparks  

Thursdays Apr 25-May 30,  6:30-9:30pm

Sparks NV Great Basin Brewing Co

 

Hello, Reno area pickers! Pete Wernick here with some good news. Our previous Wernick Method bluegrass jamming classes in your area were so well received we are doing another! Rick Sparks's six-Thursday jam class in Sparks, NV starts April 25.

Informal jamming is a highly prized goal for almost any new-to-bluegrass picker, and yet isn't addressed in most music instruction. Since the mid-90s I've hosted jam camps, refining ways to get people jamming as easily and quickly as possible. Lately I've started a network of certified teachers trained to conduct classes using my methods -- the Wernick Method.

Rick's earlier classes have been a big hit, and his students couldn't have been more appreciative. They not only learned to jam, they loved the format. Local classes keep costs down and bring together friends and neighbors who might be future jamming buddies.  Rick's students reported: ... great class, great fun ... got us to make music together by the end of the first class ... did a superb job of teaching a mixed group to jam ... it seemed miraculous to me!

If you don't already know Rick... he is equally at home playing banjo, guitar, mandolin, dobro and pedal steel guitar, and singing either lead or harmony. He has developed a reputation as an outstanding teacher on all of his instruments and currently has over 30 students under his wing. Students say: ... patient and generous with his time and expertise ... knows how to put people at ease ...  gentle yet persuasive nature is perfect for a jam class.

The class will be held in Sparks NV upstairs at the Great Basin Brewing Co, from 6:30-9:30pm beginning April 25 and running for six Thursdays.

 

Special! Sign up before April 7 and get a $20 discount! And if you've taken this class before, receive another $10 off!

 

In the first part of each class Rick will lead everyone on 2- and 3-chord bluegrass standards at very manageable speeds. The other part will be small group jams coached by Rick and an assistant or two. This class format is intended to give you a chance to digest the new content each week and practice jam skills between sessions.

 

If you've ever wished you could be part of a bluegrass jam, or have friends who would like to but might need a push start, I strongly recommend this class with Rick. As in every Wernick Method class, everyone will be jamming at the first session! And if you can already jam but want to brush up on your picking and singing and meet new music buddies, you're welcome as well.

For more information about Rick's class, click here.

For more information about the Wernick Bluegrass Music Method, click here.

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Dan Levenson House Concert and Worksop Weekend
May 31 - June 2, 2013
at the home of Dave and Joyce Furlong
145 Thomas Ave, Reno, NV 89523

Click here for more info

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First row seated: Rebecca Shipley (vocals), Frank Mackin (vocals), Tony Martin (vocals, bass); Second row standing: Jeanine Mooers (vocals, keyboard), Sara Rosenow (Music therapist/Program Coordinator), Rachael Michaleson (vocals), Mark Geeson (guitar, bass, vocals), Michael Lahnala (bass, saxophone, vocals), Manal Toppozada (Executive Director/Artistic Director/Music Therapist), Mike Parsley (NNBA Outreach Coordinator.)

NNBA Donates to a Most Deserving Organization

By Mike Parsley

We all know that the NNBA does a lot for the community.  We conduct free monthly workshops; bring top-notch bluegrass bands to town, and every week our Monday Night Volunteers perform at assisted living facilities and nursing homes throughout northern Nevada.

Recently our association did another very nice thing for our community. 

The NNBA has a lot of wonderful, generous members who donate both time and money.  We are extremely fortunate to have an anonymous benefactor who donated some money to the organization with one instruction…Donate to music education in the community, and if our donation inspires others to donate, all the better.  Last year we donated $500 to the Vaughn Middle School Music Department.

After some discussion, the Board came to a unanimous decision.  We decided that this year, we would give a donation of $500 to Note-Able Music Therapy Services. Note-Able Music Therapy Services is a nonprofit organization with a primary purpose of providing inclusive music programs and music therapy services for children and adults of all ages and abilities.  We got to know the staff and some of the musicians this past year at the Bowers Mansion Bluegrass Festival when the Note-Ables performed a set of four songs.  If you were at the festival and had the privilege of hearing these men and women sing and play, you know what a fantastic band they are, and what a remarkable organization this is.

They not only have a performing band that plays everything from bluegrass to Sinatra, they also teach a variety of classes for piano, guitar, violin, voice, drum, and percussion.

The director, Manal Toppoazda, keeps everything going with the help of her small staff.  And these folks are the happiest group of people you’ll ever see.  They are always smiling, and when you are around them, you can’t help but smile too.

Rick Rinehart, NNBA Treasurer, and I, went down to the Note-Ables rehearsal on Monday, November 26, said “Hi” to our friends in the band, and had a little ceremony to present the check to Manal.  We even made an oversized mock-up of the check for the photo.

The NNBA did a very nice thing for a great organization.  We certainly fulfilled the primary request of our generous benefactor; donate to music education endeavors in our community.  And we hope you, the general membership of the NNBA, will be inspired to find a good music-related cause to help.  Donate an unused or gently used instrument to a school, or let any board member know you have an instrument to donate, and we’ll find a good home.  If you would like to donate to the Note-Ables too, go to their website and check them out.  The Note-Ables:  www.note-ables.org 

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First Tuesday Workshop
(now including "Band Camp" mini-workshop)
As has been the case for many years, our organization conducts a workshop open to all, for Beginner and Intermediate Bluegrass instrument players.  The workshops are free and open to the public.  NNBA membership is not required.  These workshops are held at Maytan Music Center on the first Tuesday of every month. For the past couple of years the workshops have been organized and led by Rick Rinehart.  Rick has done an amazing job and under his guidance, the First Tuesday workshops are a huge success. One of the new features Rick has brought to the workshop recently is "Band Camp".  The concept behind Band Camp is to set up microphones, monitors, and speakers, and give our musicians a band experience.  Participants learn to set up the equipment, learn how to share microphones, how close to hold your instrument to the mic, experience singing into a mic, etc.
In the picture below, several workshoppers "perform" in Band Camp.


From left to right: Bridget, Maureen, Mick, Jan, Dave and Tim
For more information about the First Tuesday Workshops,
check out the Events page, or
contact Rick Rinehart at 775-849-7988,
rvrinehart@charter.net or
Mike Parsley at 775-772-4263,
mm.parsley@sbcglobal.net
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Bowers Mansion Bluegrass Festival 2012
-August 17, 18*, 19-

Photo by Bob Piechocki

The Bowers Mansion Bluegrass Festival was a huge success.  We had great performances from several local bands and a few bands from out of state. The weather was fantastic, the crowd was enthusiastic, we had lots of participation for our workshops, and the vendors were well visited.

To watch a photo montage compiled by Randy Shelton, click here:
Bowers 2012 on YouTube




For all information about the festival,
visit the website at:


www.bowersbluegrassfestival.org

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Bowers Bluegrass Festival 2013

Bowers Mansion Bluegrass Festival Website:
www.bowersbluegrassfestival.org

Tickets


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Welcome to the website of the Northern Nevada Bluegrass Association.  Our organization is dedicated to promoting and preserving bluegrass, old-time, traditional and related folk music, acoustic music from a common American heritage.
       

            
The NNBA recieves support from The Nevada Arts Council, a division of the Nevada Department of Cultural Affairs, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.


Webmaster: Cameron Little
littleclan1@yahoo.com 
The Northern Nevada Bluegrass Assn is a 501c3 non-profit organization registered in the state of Nevada.  Your donation is greatly appreciated!






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