The High 48s Bluegrass Band to perform Sept. 17
The High 48s Bluegrass Band will perform at Centennial Auditorium in Staples on Saturday, Sept. 17, at 7:30 p.m., kicking off the Staples Motley Area Arts Council’s new season.
Since forming in 2006, The High 48s have been making music that combines the soulful sound of classic bluegrass with a modern attitude, original songs and a wide range of influences far beyond Bill Monroe, the Stanley Brothers; and Flatt and Scruggs.
In a genre created and dominated by artists from the South, The High 48s were born and raised in the upper Midwest; and in a music scene where playing standards is the norm, The High 48s are a band of songwriters who perform their own material in addition to the “festival favorites.”
The band’s name, The High 48s, is railroad slang for boxcars originally used to transport troops on the front lines in WWI that could carry 40 soldiers or eight horses; and were later used in the US on fast-moving “hot shot” freight trains by train-hoppers looking for work during the Great Depression.
In 2014, the High 48s honored their namesake by recording an album of train songs in Nashville with Grammy-winning engineer and producer Randy Kohrs. The album is the band’s sixth release.
According to Minnesota Bluegrass.org, “Since arriving on the Minnesota bluegrass scene in 2006, The High 48s have achieved national recognition, taking first place in the prestigious RockyGrass Bluegrass Band Competition in Lyons, Colo., touring the national bluegrass festival circuit, and earning the respect of bluegrass musicians and audiences in both the North and South.” Individually, the band members have made their mark in the bluegrass world, playing with notable musicians along the way, including Grammy-nominees Special Consensus and traditional bluegrass legend James King.
For more information about The High 48s, visit them on Facebook or at their website, www.thehigh48s.com.
Still to come on this year’s SM Area Arts Council season are The Koopmann Family, with their New Year’s Eve concert; Dawn Timbs, Ted Feyder and Gary Timbs, performing folk, country and gospel music; and Mikko & Friends, a traditional Irish Pub Band.
For more information, check out the arts council’s website at www.staplesmotleyarts.org.
Tickets for The High 48s are available online at the arts council’s website; or purchase them by cash or check at the Staples World, located at 224 4th St. NE in Staples. For more information call 218-894-1112.
