Music of our roots at the Aquarium

By Diane Miller
Contributing Writer

One year ago I tagged along with a local folk group, The Johnson Family Band, to Winona, Minnesota, for The Boats and Bluegrass Festival. Around that time I had been taking banjo lessons with the world’s fastest banjo player, Johnny Button, so my ear and my excitement for the genre had become full-fledged. I even brought my banjo along to the festival to potentially join a jam with my newly learned skills. Pretty much, I came to the festival thinking I’d be the most bad ass banjo chick in the whole camp ground.

Boy was I wrong. The Blackberry Bushes Stringband, with two leading females, rocked my world. Being a female musician, my awakening was far from anything abrupt; instead it was that of pure excitement! While in the audience absorbing the unexpected, I could not help but be inspired and demand from myself that I practice more.

Coming September 15th, you too can be inspired! The Blackberry Bushes are coming all the way from Olympia, Washington, to play at the Aquarium alongside the Johnson Family Band.

For those of you who don’t know, bluegrass is a genre dominated primarily by male musicians and vocalists, so to see two girls take center stage and SHRED their instruments, particularly the banjo and guitar, is a real treat. Not to mention the rest of the backing band consisting of a fiddle, mandolin, and bass put the icing on the cake. On top of them being great instrumentalists, they write and sing with exceptional craft, playfulness, and appeal.

Their music is spot on “old-timey” sounding for a group of such young musicians. “Old-timey” is a phrase used to describe folk music that is old-fashioned sounding. They are comparable to other local “old-timey” heroes around Minnesota such as Amanda Standalone, Pert Near Sandstone, and the Johnson Family Band, yet by mixing in different personalities and backgrounds, you are sure to get a fresh new upbringing of folk music with these Washington natives. According to their Facebook page, they call their music “new roots Americana with a bluegrass bent.” Their playing style is energetic and melodic while their vocals style displays their femininity.

You can listen to their music for free on the internet through their Facebook page. Songs such as “Take It Slow,” “Old Oak Grove,” and “One Promise” are some notable tunes to look at out of the dozen they have posted.

The show will start at 9:30 p.m. with the Blackberry Bushes opening and the Johnson Family Band to follow. This will the the JFB’s long awaited return to the Aquarium after months and months of being absent from downtown Fargo. Fans beware, JFB has gotten really, really good, especially ever since the bands newest addition of banjo virtuoso, Johnny Button.

If you come, be prepared to have your face melted!

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IF YOU GO:

WHAT: Johnson Family Band and the Blackberry Bushes String Band
WHERE: The Aquarium
WHEN: Thurs. Sept.15 at 9:00pm - Fri. Sept. 16 at 1:00 am.
INFO: $7 cover 9 pm Doors 21+; Facebook the event: http://tiny.cc/Strings