Piper Road Spring Band - Celebrating 50 Years! | $15

" . . . February thaw, four days of rain" is a line from the title song of the 1977 recording Kettle Moraine. The words speak of the beginning of Spring Band Music at a place called Fiends Club on Piper Road, Whitewater Wisconsin. The year was 1973. That was fifty years ago. Magic was happening and a small group found themselves together at the right place at the right time. There were pickers and grinners; there was dancing and fun. Family and friends enlarged the circle. Piper Road Spring Band took advantage of right time/right place as fortunes of a young band playing for tips anywhere and everywhere, quickly evolved into sharing a billing with Bill Monroe and an invitation to the Grand Old Opry. PRSB performed at festivals and needed a record and a fan club. They formed their own production company and Fiends Club Records released their first (self-titled) record in 1976. A second recording, Kettle Moraine, and a European tour soon followed. And the rest is history. Flash forward fifty years from those humble beginnings to find Piper Road Spring Band in Gainesville Florida for four days in February to rehearse and record eight new tracks (plus two originals from 1978) in Celebrating 50 Years. The band you see today featured three members of the summer of 1973: Bob Mason (mandolin), Barry Riese (guitar), and Billy Kangaroo (washboard) are joined by Randal Harrison Hoecherl (fiddle) and Mark Hembree (upright bass) who together add 25 years with Piper Road Spring Band. Some of our shows will feature guest appearances from two other long-time bandmates: Johnny Widdicombe (upright bass), Mike Schmidt (banjo) and Ken Baldauf (banjo). Tickets: $15 (get it online or at the door)