The Lovell Sisters Band will be the featured performers at this year’s Southeast High School Bluegrass Jamboree to be held April 15.
The Lovell Sisters Band first gained national attention upon winning National Public Radio's (NPR) A Prairie Home Companion 2005 National Teen Talent Competition hosted by Garrison Keillor. Since their debut at the Signal Mountain Opry just barely over a year ago, the band has steadily increased its following.
They finished among the finalists at the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music Association (SPBGMA) 2005 Band Competition, won the 2005 Englewood, TN Band Competition, performed with the Charleston Symphony at this year’s Piccolo Spoleto, and performed at the Chattanooga Nightfall Concert Series. They have also opened for Ronnie Milsap at the 2005 Chickamauga Down Home Days Festival, Greg Cahill and Special Consensus, The Kennedy Center, and performed at too many festivals to even begin to name. Adding to this impressive resume, are the noteworthy accomplishments of Rebecca and her mandolin. Rebecca won 3rd place in the Mandolin contest at Merlefest this past spring and placed 2nd at the Walnut Valley Mandolin Competition in Winfield, Kansas.
The sisters - Jessica, 19 (violin/fiddle); Megan, 16 (resophonic guitar); and Rebecca, 14 (mandolin) of Calhoun, Ga. are joined by fellow Georgian Andy Nall, on bass, and 19-year-old guitarist Brad Frazier, of Evansville, Tn.
The group performs a nice blend of originals written by the band members and cover songs ranging from the Andrew Sisters to Jim Croce. This summer the band recorded their first CD project. Entitled “When Forever Rolls Around,” the project was produced by Brent Truitt and recorded at the Unpainted Huffhines studio in Nashville.
This year the SHS Bluegrass Jamboree will be composed mainly of bluegrass performed by talented teens. In addition to the LSB, will be The Baker Boys from Indiana, The Barker Brothers from Copperhill, TN; Browngrass of Gainesboro, TN; and Garrett Arb and the Grassy Mountain Boys of Dalton. There will also be veteran bands appearing, including Peach Tree Station of the greater Atlanta area, Autumn Harvest of Dalton, and Spatial Effects from Northwest Georgia.
Thomas Brown, the club’s sponsor, stated, “We are hoping to make this an even larger event this year with an emphasis on the many talented youngsters that play bluegrass. There seem to be quite a number of them out there whose playing abilities are well beyond their ages and we wanted to feature them. It should be one of the finest line ups of teen talent every to appear at a venue in the Southeast.”
There will be concessions, door prizes, free parking, and jam areas. SEHS is located off I-75, approximately 85 miles north of Atlanta and 35 miles south of Chattanooga, at 1954 River Road S.E. just off of the Dalton South By-pass.
The music will begin at 3 p.m. and last until 10 p.m.
The Southeast High School Bluegrass Jamboree is sponsored in part by Arb’s Insurance, Dalton, J. D’Addario and Company, and Mountain Music of Red Bank.
For further details about the jamboree please contact the club’s sponsor Thomas Brown at the following email address: tom_brown@whitfield.k12.ga.us
Tickets may be purchased by mail or at the following locations:
Mountain Music, 3304 Dayton Blvd., Red Bank and Bigham Music, 409 N. Glenwood Avenue, Dalton.
To order by mail send check or money order to:
The Bluegrass Club
Southeast High School
1954 Riverbend Rd.
Dalton, GA 30721