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bands playing on the main stage in 2022

Scroll down for bands playing Friday, Saturday and Sunday
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THURSDAY AUGUST 4

EMMY & THE BLUEGRASS PALS (NDL)

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Thursday 7.45 - 8.30 pm
A broad range of songs in contemporary Bluegrass style ...
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Bass, mandolin, banjo, guitar and fiddle are the ingredients of this band, who play a broad range of songs and tunes that will move you and make you want to tap your toes. Everybody sings, everybody plays, just the way this music is intended to be. Come and see, come and listen, come and enjoy y’all!
Emmy Benning – Upright Bass
Johan Lubben – Mandolin 
Jan Klungel – Banjo 
Ron Duursma – Guitar
Tilo Helfensteller - Fiddle

roger mason & the strings fellows (usa/fra)

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Thursday 9 pm
For many French music fans of the 1970s, this will be a highlight of the festival as Roger Mason comes back to France to play with some old friends ...
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Roger Mason, finger picking guitarist emeritus, is a major player from the French Folk music scene of the 1970s. He shared the stages round the legendary folk clubs of the time with other pioneers of the acoustic music movement such as Alain Stivell, Steve Waring and the early French Bluegrass bands. He also opened for Pete Seeger and Robert Charlebois at the Olympia theatre in Paris.
He made several successful recordings including the hit “Blues de la Poisse”, which saw him invited to appear on TV with the top French show hosts of the day.
Back in the US in 1996, Roger completed his doctorate on “Music Education” and became a successful speaker on subjects relating to Ethnomusicology.
On a trip to France in 2019, he met up with the Strings Fellows, themselves all headline pioneers of the French Bluegrass scene in the 1970s and 80s, and invited them to make an album of Cajun and Bluegrass songs — Cajungrass !
Each member of the Strings Fellows played at the legendary Toulouse Bluegrass Festival the same year, but each with a different band !
This concert in La Roche is going to be major event in the history of Bluegrass in France. Do not miss it !
Roger Mason - Guitar, Vocals;
Christian Poidevin - Bass, Harmonica, Vocals;
Hervé Nicolle - Guitare, Vocals;
Jean-Marie Daviaud - Mandolin, Vocals;
Jean Darbois - Fiddle, Nyckelharpa, Banjo Old Time;
​Bertrand Conqueugniot - Banjo, Vocals

SILÈNE & THE DREAMCATCHERS (FRA)

Thursday 10.30 pm
As one of the stand out acts in our reduced 2021 festival, we had to invite them back to play on the main stage for a full audience ...
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Silène is a multi-instrumentalist with a passion for all styles of acoustic music and energised by a long stay in Ireland early in her career. 
With this group of excellent musicians they travel through all areas of acoustic and Americana styles from Bluegrass all the way to groovy pop.
Silène Gayaud - Guitar, Ukelele, Bodhran, Lead Vocals;
Glenn Arzel - Mandolin, Guitar;
Rémi Videira - Bass;
Pierre-Marie Bommier - Fiddle;
​Guillaume Faure - Banjo
Vincent Dijoux - Sound engineer 

FRIDAY AUGUST 5

STEREO NAKED (DEU)

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Friday 6 - 6.45 pm
The great multicultural European answer to the Americana genre ...
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Stereo Naked is the multicultural European answer to the Americana genre. Julia Zech on Banjo and Pierce Black on doublebass are exploring the boundaries of this limited instrumentation and also love to collaborate with fellow pickers who know how to complete their sound. 
Based in Cologne, they have used the break during the pandemic to write and release their second album "Unseen Course",where they mingle their folky song with elements of Oldtime, Bluegrass, Swing and sometimes even Swedish nyckelharpas.
Pierce Black – Bass ;
Julia Zech – Banjo ;
Pepita Emmerich - Mandolin/Fiddle ;
​ Theodore Barnard - Guitar

the fountaineers (gbr)

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Friday 7 -  7.45 pm
These four young musicians caught our eye playing at the IBMA World of Bluegrass virtual international showcases in 2021...
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With some serious musical background and education, these guys from Scotland, Australia and North Caroline started to play as a band during the pandemic. They love to play traditional Bluegrass with a “progressive intent” that leaves room for their own individual touches, and they cite Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs, Tony Rice and Alison Krauss & Union Station among their musical influences.
Callum Morton-Teng - Mandolin;
Michael Wright - Guitar, Vocals;
Jeri Foreman - Fiddle;
​Rob Hart - Banjo

Zenkl & Kozák band (CZE)

Friday 8.15 - 9.15 pm
When a group of award winning Czech musicians with years of professional experience come together, you know you want to see them play ...
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These guys are brining a menu to the La Roche audience that mixes flavours from different parts of the world with carefully selected Bluegrass ingredients.
​The result is a musical feast with spicy rhythms, fresh vocals and juicy solos. Bon apétit !!!
Radim Zenkl - Mandolin, Vocals;
Ondra Kozák - Guitar, Fiddle, Vocals;
Jiří Válek - Bass;
​David Benda - Banjo

country gongbang (kor)

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Friday 9.45 - 11.00 pm
These incredible musicians from Korea wowed audiences with their virtual shows at the CBA Jam-a-thon and the IBMA Leadership Bluegreass  in 2021. You don't want to miss their first overseas trip.
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Incredible as it may seem there is Bluegrass in Korea and we are proud to introduce you to this great band from the Land of the Morning Calm for their first visit to the West.
These fine young musicians have been learning and playing exclusively through YouTube, and they really get it. They write and perform their own material in Korean and they play excellent cover versions of some of the masters - and it is all brilliant and delightful.
I first discovered them when IBMA asked me to help curate some international shows for last year’s virtual Leadership Bluegrass Seminar and then I saw their 60 minute show at the California Bluegrass Association Jam-a-thon in January 2021. They blew everyone watching away and in the green room we were all competing for our festivals to be the first to book them in the West. I am really happy that we are able to bring them over for you to see them.
Hyun Ho - Banjo;
Yebin - Mandolin, Vocals;
Ki Ha  - Bass;
​ Jongsu - Fiddle; 
Sujae - Guitar

Level Best (usa)

Friday 11.30 pm - 00.30 am
James Field is well known in France and around Europe having spent much time over here living, playing and singing. And we are delighted to have him back in La Roche with an impressive band of veteran musicians ...
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If you don't know the names of these musicians, you’re sure to know some of the bands and artists they have played with.
With exciting instrumental solo work, Level Best has that soulful polish, earned with years of playing Bluegrass and Country music; and their four lead singers provide a unique range of vocal combinations and colours. 
Level Best is sure to make its mark with the La Roche audience thanks to an engaging repertoire of Bluegrass and Country gems.
James Field - Guitar;
Wally Hughes - Fiddle, Dobro;
Lisa Kay Howard-Hughes - Mandolin;
Ed Lick - Banjo;
​Joe Hannabach - Bass.

saturday august 6

BUNCH OF GRASS (DEU)

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Saturday 4:30 - 5:15
This 5-piece German band plays modern tranditional Bluegrass ... 

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With a sound based on the modern traditions in Bluegrass Music and a mixture of re-worked Bluegrass standards and original compositions, this band’s music covers the whole gamut from soulful to hard driving ‘grass.  Playing live is an important part of the band’s identity, as you will see from their obvious joy of playing and singing. 
Jesper Rübner Petersen – Mandoline ;
Markus Rapke - Guitar, Vocal ;
Susanne Sievers - Fiddle, Vocal ;
Bernd Müller - Bass, Vocal ;
​Steffen Thede - Banjo

JUST AS BLUE (SWE)

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Saturday 5:30 - 6:15
Bluegrass with soul from Sweden ...
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This band from Sweden plays a soulful kind of bluegrass where they take on both traditional songs and newly written songs with their own special sound. The songs share a traditional bluegrass setting with arrangements that are sometimes more modern. The most important thing for them is their love for the lyrics and the stories they tell through their music. 
Ulla Tanggaard - lead Vocals, Guitar;
Jörgen Berg - Banjo;
Erik Sundberg - Double Bass ;
​Lasse Williamsson - Fiddle 

flamengrass (esp)

Saturday 6:45 -7:45
When Bluegrass meets Flamenco. Spanish banjo maestro, Lluis Gomez, explores his own national musical heritage ... 
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When Spanish Bluegrass banjo maestro Lluis Gomez decided to explore his own musical heritage, he turned to the local Barcelona folk scene to bring together a group of musicians willing and able to realise his dream of producing new and traditional songs that reach back into the roots of American, Spanish and Catalan folk traditions. 
The result is a sometimes joyous and sometimes soulful blend of music performed by four masters of their instruments. 
Lluis is creating a new musical genre that perfectly captures the current European trend of re-integrating Bluegrass with our own national musical heritages across the continent.
Carol Duran - Fiddle, Vocals;
Maribel Rivero - Bass, Vocals;
​Javier Vaquero - Guitar

long john brothers (CHE)

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Saturday 8:5 - 9:15
Our neihgbours from Geneva were a big success at our reduced festival in 2021 so we are delighted to have them play for the full festival audience ... 
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Long John Brothers from neighbouring Geneva wowed the audience at the truncated 2021 festival and we decided then and there to invite them back. After honing their skills through many years playing Bluegrass standards they turned to writing their own material and produced an excellent all original album in 2019.
Their onstage show is full of joy, energy, emotion and humour. All four musicians are at ease with their instruments, and their harmony vocals, behind two lead singers each on a different register, are solid and authentic.
The band will delight you with some great arrangements of covers and original material from the worlds of Bluegrass, country, gospel, folk and rock.
Sylvain Demierre - Guitar, Vocals;
Sylvain Merminod - Bass;
Jean-Michel Pache - Mandolin, Fiddle, Vocals;
​Olivier Uldry - Dobro, Banjo.

missy raines & allegheny (USA)

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Saturday 9:45 - 11:00
10 times (and reigning) IBMA bass player of the year
 Missy Raines brings her latest line up to La Roche with a couple musicians some will recognise ...
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Missy Raines is coming to La Roche as the current holder of the “Bass Player of the Year” award, voted for by the members of IBMA for the 10th time. As such she was a member of the Bluegrass Supergroup the First Ladies of Bluegrass alongside Molly Tuttle, Becky Buller, Alison Brown and Sierra Hull, all of whom were the first women to win the award for their respective instruments. These are a just a small sample of the great musicians with whom she has shared the stage or a recording studio during her career.
Her latest album (Royal Traveller), which was nominated for a Grammy award in 2020, contains many original songs that reflect on MIssy’s history in the music business. Rooted in Bluegrass the album will appeal to the Americana audience who will appreciate her obvious enjoyment of folk, rock and jazz.
Missy performed at La Roche Bluegrass Festival in 2019 with Della Mae, and two more artists familiar to the La Roche audience will feature as she brings her own band Allegheny over this year.
Missy Raines - Bass, Lead Vocals;
Ben Garnett - Guitar;
Ellie Hakanson - Fiddle;
​Tristan Scroggins - Mandolin
​Eli Gilbert - Banjo

rapidgrass (usa)

Saturday 11:30 - 00:45
Rapidgrass are no strangers to the La Roche audience as they are often back to lead the camp. Every show is different, every show in an electrifying experience ...
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Rapidgrass are no strangers to fans of La Roche Bluegrass Festival as they come back regularly to lead the 3-day Bluegrass Camp before the festival and have played the festival in various configurations (Hickory Project, Gypsy Cattle Drive, Rapidgrass) many times.
With each trip their show is different and every set is a powerful display of energetic virtuoso playing and singing of traditional or modern bluegrass mixed in with some soulful country ballads.
Mark Morris - Guitar, Lead Vocals;
Alex Johnson - Mandolin, Lead Vocals;
Billy Cardine - Dobro;
Coleman Smith - Fiddle;
Charlie P Mertens - Bass;
​Kyle James Hauser - Banjo

sunday august 7

MILKEATERS (CZE)

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Four of Czechia's finest came together in 2015 to find their own true Bluegrass sound ...
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Milkeaters were founded in 2015 with four of the Czech Republic’s finest, having been playing around the Czech Bluegrass for some time, came together to look for their own true sound. 
Havin played around in Czechia for some time they now want to tour outside their home country playing original songs and covers with their own driving sound.
They see their main mission as creating a good mood, not only through music, but also with humour, where the most important thing for each of them is the energy and passion they communicate to the audience. 
David Benda (banjo) was crowned champion of the World Virtual Bluegrass Banjo Contest in 2020. 
Their first CD came out in 2020 with also their first professional video clip. 
David Benda – Banjo
Honza Bláha – Fiddle
Petr Šolc - Upright Bass
Petr Ježek – Guitar

COUNTRY GONGBANG (KOR)

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Sunday 5.30 - 6.15 pm
These incredible musicians from Korea wowed audiences with their virtual shows at the CBA Jam-a-thon and the IBMA Leadership Bluegreass  in 2021. You don't want to miss their first overseas trip.
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Incredible as it may seem there is Bluegrass in Korea and we are proud to introduce you to this great band from the Land of the Morning Calm for their first visit to the West.
These fine young musicians have been learning and playing exclusively through YouTube, and they really get it. They write and perform their own material in Korean and they play excellent cover versions of some of the masters - and it is all brilliant and delightful.
I first discovered them when IBMA asked me to help curate some international shows for last year’s virtual Leadership Bluegrass Seminar and then I saw their 60 minute show at the California Bluegrass Association Jam-a-thon in January 2021. They blew everyone watching away and in the green room we were all competing for our festivals to be the first to book them in the West. I am really happy that we are able to bring them over for you to see them.
Hyun Ho - Banjo;
Yebin - Mandolin, Vocals;
Ki Ha  - Bass;
Jongsu - Fiddle; 
​Sujae - Guitar

COMPTON & NEWBERRY (USA)

Sunday 6.45 - 7.45 pm
Mike Compton and Joe Newberry are masters of their craft playing traditional and new American music that honours the past and forges a path toward the new tradition of the future...
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Compton & Newberry's music has been featured on many famous shows and movies (Transatlantic Sessions, Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?), and rings true to fans of bluegrass, early country, blues, gospel, and string band music. 
A typical show features a familiar combination of tunes and songs from the great American songbag, mixed with their own newly composed numbers which are already taking their rightful place in the new tradition.
Together, Compton & Newberry are shining a much-deserved contemporary light on the roots, as they tend to the branches too. They are just the artists to bring fans together for a multi-generational celebration of music we all can love.
Mike Compton - Mandolin, Vocals;
​Joe Newberry - Guitar, Banjo, Vocals
Photo David Bragger

crying uncle bluegrass band (usa)

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