The Strzelecki Stringbusters proudly announce that as part of his 2012 Australian tour, Peter Rowan and his Bluegrass Band will be performing in Yinnar on Sunday March 25th.

As a house-hold name in US bluegrass circles, Peter Rowan’s legacy to the genre is still being written, but rest assured that after more than 40 years of touring, writing and recording, his shadow is cast across every musician and lover of bluegrass music around the world.

In a departure from our usual end of month pub show, and to utilise an under-used facility, The Stringbusters are holding the show at the Yinnar Community Hall. A twilight event, the 6:00pm show will be preceded by a 5:00pm free community BBQ and town reception for Peter and the band.

All patrons are invited to bring BYO drinks and nibbles for consumption during the show. Tables of up to 10 are available.

Another progressive step for the Stringbusters for this event will be ticketed seating. Tickets are strictly limited, and bookings are essential, and can be made through the Webticketing Website.

The red carpet is being washed, the main street vacuumed, and the Stringbusters have promised to behave. Let the show being….!

The last set included the rare meeting of two Double Bass’s with Maria Duff and the rest of BGP joining John Werner on Bass with the Stringbusters, it was a blast and sounded great, but sadly ended all to soon.

As with all of our visiting acts we offer them a bed for the night and on this occasion Danny and Dana Boothman deserve thanks for being such great hosts, whenever we have had a guest act coming through it has never been a problem finding one of the boys willing to open their homes and look after them, Arnie Young has been exceptionally helpful in this area and I’m sure has really enhanced the whole “Yinnar” experience for whoever has the good fortune of staying at his place.

Mike didn’t disappoint, from the strong accent and mellow tones to the ripping yet finessed style of mandolin he is a world class musician in every aspect and as we found out an absolute gentleman to. Mike took the time to talk about and teach us things we would never get to know from anyone else, he spoke about people who are our major influences and he spoke of them as friends, not very often you can find that in your own little home town.

  That’s right he came to town to do a show didn’t he, that was taken care of, it had been booked out for months. The crowd built early and the mood was one of high expectation and Mike didn’t disappoint, his expert skills on his new Duff mandola produced the sweetest sound ever to grace the walls of the Yinnar Community Hotel, his style is unmistakable and produces a sound that is somehow loyal to the Munroe teachings but yet dripping with blues undertones, this man is in a league of his own and once again proved it with his amazingly natural performance, he played and laughed and told stories that kept the crowd more than entertained all night. When it came time for the last set the Busters were treated to an up close look at how to adapt and play in any situation, you could see him pick up a song on the run so easily and then when called on he would

Rip out a perfect solo that would have us all grinning like idiots at each other, we played for what seemed like five minutes but ended up being an hour later. The pub informed us it was the biggest night they have ever had there and thanked Mike. We all caught up the next day at Ray’s place for a couple of our local butchers world famous Viagra sausages and got another chance to pick Mike’s brain but mostly we relaxed with what we hope is our newest international friend.

When it came time for the now traditional “all in” for the last set everyone was smiling and having a great time with Parvyn’s lovely tones smoothing those strong Stringbuster voices, it ended up being a late one but no one seemed to mind at all.

 It didn’t disappoint with the Cajun sound ringing through the community hotel for probably the first time, the crowd warmed to it very quickly and with Andy on song everyone had a blast, Andy joined the Busters for a couple in the last set and our ulterior motive was once again discovered, Andy’s fiddle and mandolin were fantastic showing this man’s versatility no matter what style it is.

The day of their show coincided with Australia Day. It kicked off for the Stringbusters on Wednesday morning playing Australia Day celebrations at a breakfast function in Yinnar followed by more festivities in Warragul at lunchtime. This time Martha and Jackson came along and added a little piece of Americana to Australia Day. 

The Yinnar Hotel was full by the time we all arrived there in the early evening. As usual Martha and Jackson were greeted warmly and as usual had the crowd in the palm of their hand from the first tune, Golden Slippers.

Going through all of their favorites, the Yinnar crowd was held captive for nearly an hour by their amazing talent. Of course the Stringbusters soon snapped everyone out it and brought them back to earth with The Mountaineers joining in to give the Busters a big new higher kind of sound. When Martha finished with “Will the Circle be unbroken” the roof nearly came off the place. 

Thursday morning saw The Mountaineers bundled in the car and it was off to the ABC studios in Sale, things were a little tight as we had to fit in the 4ft x 4ft board that Martha dances on but we managed, we were warmly welcomed in Sale with Martha and Jackson’s fan base well and truly evident. Follow the link for footage – http://www.abc.net.au/local/videos/2011/01/25/3121610.htm 

Thursday night had the Mountaineers booked in at the Briagalong Hotel, with a few of the Stringbusters coming down for a look. We arrived early and soon settled in, it was a very relaxed setting in the beer garden at the back of the pub with a smaller audience and a personal kind of feel, once again the raw talent that comes from these two is a joy to watch and listen to and the crowd was left wanting more. 

Friday came around all to fast and it was time for Martha and Jackson to move on, we caught up at Garry and Liz Robert’s place in the morning and said our “see ya later’s”. I know we will see these guys again and hopefully it will be sooner rather than later. Special “Thanks” to the Roberts family for taking such good care of Martha and Jackson during their stay and to John and Sophia Werner for pioneering our connection to these wonderful people and their music during a visit to the US in 2008. 

Well the luck seems to have continued into 2011, after we wrap up the year with Coolgrass on November 24th 2010, we will take a break in December to work on our tans.

That’s the bad news, well for our neighbours anyway.

Good news for 2011, it will start on Australia Day, Jan 26th at our regular last Wednesday of the month gig at the Yinnar Hotel. Our almost regular and most talented friends The Whitetop Mountaineers will make their third return to Yinnar and with any luck will be running a couple of workshops on the Tuesday night before.

Wednesday Feb 23rd will see Andy Baylor with his Cajun Combo, which is sure to be great night with some excellent music.

March is yet to be confirmed but we’ve got something real good cooking on the stove, stay tuned.

April, well April is gonna be a doosie.

We have the honour of hosting Mr Mike Compton himself, yep I’m not joking, Mike Compton will be playing at the Yinnar Hotel with The Strzelecki Stringbusters on Weds April 27th.

All shows kick off around 8pm and cost $10 to get in.

Yinnar Pub do a great meal so if you want a feed before the show give them a call on 0351 631263

For those that are going we will catch you all at Harrietville this weekend, we will be playing in the main tent at 7pm on Friday night and at the pub at 8pm on Saturday night, and of course around the camp very late at night.

Hope to see you there.

Scott Simotachhi on guitar provided solid rhythm playing and delivered his original tunes with great vocal clarity while Eric Thorin on bass impressed all with his perfect timing and some wonderful solo’s that tapped into his diverse musical background.

The boys also entertained the audience between tunes with witty stories of their Australian experiences, and some of the inspirations behind their original offerings.

The house was packed and the audience was treated to some of the best acoustic music the USA has to offer right here in Gippsland new home of acoustic music – the Yinnar Hotel.

Other acts confirmed for this year’s Kelly Country Pick (Beechworth) include: Coolgrass, Flying Engine String Band, The Stetson Family, Orange Blossom, Fat Chance and the Bluegrass Playboys, High and Lonesome, The Le Blanc Brothers Cajun Band, String Theory, Hotwired, The Lonesome Low, Charlie Horse, Chilli Strings, Mel and Bec, Appalachian Heaven and Andrew Clermont.

Check it out here