DAY STAGE ACTS

Rick grew up playing in his parents’ Faris Family Band before joining the award winning Special Consensus with Greg Cahill (Bluegrass in La Roche 2023), playing first mandolin and later guitar for 11 years. In 2021, he decided to form his own band and signed to Dark Shadow Recording. Success came quickly as Rick received the New Artist of the Year Award at IBMA 2022, along with nominations for album and song of the year. Further nominations followed in 2023.
Rick is also a first class luthier and has just moved his Rick Faris Guitar Co. to Owensboro, near to the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum, as part of that town’s drive to consolidate its place as the Bluegrass Capital of the World.
As well as performing two sets at the festival the band will be teaching the camp in the week before the festival.
Rick a grandi dans une famille de musiciens, jouant dans le Faris Family Band, avant de rejoindre le célèbre groupe Special Consensus avec Greg Cahill (Bluegrass in La Roche 2023), avec qui il a joué pendant 11 ans, d'abord à la mandoline puis ensuite à la guitare.
En 2021, Rick décide de former son propre groupe et signe chez Dark Shadow Recording. Le succès est rapide puisqu’il reçoit l'Award du Jeune Artiste de l'Année à IBMA en 2022, ainsi que des nominations pour l'Album et la Chanson de l'année. D'autres récompenses ont suivi en 2023.
Rick est également un luthier de premier ordre et il vient de déménager son atelier Rick Faris Guitar Co. à Owensboro, près du Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum, dans le cadre des efforts de cette ville pour consolider sa place de capitale mondiale du Bluegrass.
C’est notre groupe “résident” 2024 puisqu’en plus de donner 2 concerts, chacun des musiciens enseignera son instrument lors de notre stage annuel qui précède le festival.
Rick Faris (guitar),
Chris Luquette (mandolin),
Eli Gilbert (banjo),
Jim Bob Faris (bass)

Video

Album : Uncommon Sky (2023)

CAMPBELL JENSEN (USA)
Country Music Royalty comes to La Roche ...

Vertical Divider

For the last 3 years these two have been writing, playing and singing together forming a unique meeting of musical genres with Ashley coming from the world of country and Americana and Thor having a diverse background from rock to gypsy jazz.
Ashley Campbell started playing at a young age in her father’s band (yes, that’s country legend Glen Campbell), before finding success as a soloist, performing all around the world as a headliner and opening for Kris Kristofferson and the Bellamy Brothers, among others.
They teamed up as a duo in 2021, creating a fresh sound with beautiful harmonies backed by exceptional acoustic guitar and banjo playing. In 2023, they brought a portable recording studio to a remote cottage on an island off the coast of Northern Ireland, and made an album.
We are so excited to have them play for you at La Roche.
Depuis 3 ans, ce duo écrit, chante et joue ensemble dans un croisement original de genres avec Ashley, venue de la musique Country et Americana, et Thor avec un parcours éclectique entre le rock et le jazz manouche.
Ashley Campbell a commencé jeune dans le groupe de son père (eh oui, il s’agit bien de la légende de la Country Glen Campbell) avant de faire carrière seule et de jouer dans le monde entier, soit en tête d’affiche, soit en ouverture de grands artistes comme Kris Kristofferson ou the Bellamy Brothers, entre autres.
Leur duo se forme en 2021 avec un son nouveau fait de jolies harmonies soutenues par des jeux de guitare et de banjo exceptionnels. En 2023, ils ont installé un studio portable dans une petite maison sur une île au large de l’Irlande du Nord pour y enregistrer leur premier disque.
Nous sommes ravis de vous les présenter à La Roche.
Ashley Campbell (guitar, banjo),
Thor Jensen (guitar)

Album : Turtle Cottage (2023)

STELLA PRINCE (USA)
Making folk music cool, one festival at a time ...

read about the artist

We saw Stella at an Irish Music Conference in January and, although she is not mainstream Bluegrass, we really wanted to showcase her at La Roche as she pursues her quest to make folk music cool. You will see why.
2024 has already been a groundbreaking year for Stella Prince. Her first single charted on the Americana Singles Chart, was played on over 100 radio stations internationally, and was the most added song on folk radio in March. Her debut music video for the song has received over 120,000 views on YouTube. Stella has been featured over 50 times in major country and folk magazines. She has toured in the US and the UK and has performed at some of the world's most prestigious venues, including Austin’s “Cactus Cafe” and Nashville's "Bluebird Cafe".
Please give her a great Bluegrass welcome in La Roche.

Nous avons eu la chance de découvrir Stella lors d’une conférence sur la musique en Irlande en janvier et, même si elle ne joue pas vraiment du Bluegrass, nous avions très envie de vous la présenter à La Roche pour l’aider dans sa quête de faire du folk une musique branchée.
2024 est déjà une année phare pour elle. Son premier single a été dans le top des chansons Americana, a tourné sur plus de 100 chaînes de radio internationales et a été la chanson la plus “ajoutée” sur Radio Folk en mars. Sa première vidéo de la chanson a plus de 120,000 vues sur YouTube et elle a fait l’objet de plus de 50 articles dans des revues folk et country. Elle a fait une tournée dans le Sud-Ouest des Etats-Unis et au Royaume-Uni, en jouant dans des salles célèbres comme le Cactus Café à Austin et le Bluebird Café à Nashville.
Merci de lui réserver un bel accueil à Bluegrass in La Roche.
Stella Prince (guitar, vocals)

Albums : Dear Future Me (2024), Eighteen (2022)

TRICYCLETTE (FRA)
3 bons amis du festival font de la chanson française ...

Vertical Divider

Watson Bridge, Sous la Lune, Chapeau de Paille, Bluegrass 43, Acoustic River … Some of the bands the 3 members of Tricyclette have played with in over 20 shows at Bluegrass in La Roche since 2008.
All three of them have also performed “chansons françaises” during their musical careers, with a particular fondness for the poetry, tenderness and humour expressed through songs of the 1950s. Over their long friendship, the desire to adapt this repertoire to the instruments and sounds of Bluegrass, tinged with swing and a wry sense of humour provided by the little wheels that go round and round in their heads.
Christophe, Isabelle et Jean-Paul sont bien connus du public du festival : à eux trois, ils ont déjà donné plus de 20 concerts à La Roche depuis 2008, avec les groupes Acoustic River, Bluegrass 43, Chapeau de Paille, Nashville Airplane, Sous la Lune et Watson Bridge.
Tous les trois ont aussi pratiqué la chanson française dans leur parcours musical, avec un goût particulier pour la poésie, la tendresse et l'humour exprimés dans les textes des chansons des années 50. Une longue amitié leur a donné envie d'adapter ce répertoire à la rythmique, aux instruments et aux harmonies du Bluegrass, avec une bonne dose de swing et d'espièglerie fournie par les trois petits vélos qui leur trottent dans la tête.
Christophe Constantin (mandolin),
sabelle Groll (guitare),
Jean-Paul Delon (ukulele, bass)

KIDS ON BLUEGRASS EUROPE
A chance to see how our European kids are getting on after our second 3-day camp at La Roche

Vertical Divider

KOBE Website

CAMP INSTRUCTORS
Maybe this will become a tradition. The French tutors at the Camp during the week before the festival found some time to work up a few songs together ..

LA ROCHE BLUEGRASS CAMP

EAST NASH GRASS (USA)
Last chance to see the hottest band in Nashville before they fly home ...

Vertical Divider

"Nashville's newest bluegrass ambassadors," East Nash Grass is a superb balance of undeniably hard-driving bluegrass alongside surprisingly introspective songwriting and earnest narration. What started out as an informal Monday evening collective at Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge and Bar in East Nashville has turned into the hottest show in town and made the band a must-have on the US Bluegrass Festival circuit.
The each have impressive solo career bios with a Grand Master Fiddle champion, a Presidential Scholar for the Arts in Jazz, two IBMA Momentum Award-winners for Best Instrumentalist, and they all play and have played with some of the best (Tim O’Brien, Dan Tyminski, Blue Highway…).
We are truly honoured and excited to welcome them to La Roche.
James Kee (guitar),
Maddie Denton (fiddle),
Gaven Largent (dobro),
Jeff Picker (bass),
Cory Walker (banjo),
Harry Clark (mandolin)

Video

Album : Last Chance To Win (2023)
Album : East Nash Grass (2021)

CISCO & THE RACECARS (USA)
The Jam Pak kids have grown up and are back for one more set ...

Vertical Divider

In 2024, Bluegrass in La Roche is delighted to welcome Jam Pak, an Arizona based association founded 30 years ago by Anni Beach to help kids find strength through the community of music: “The mission, indeed the singular goal, of this organisation is to make people and ourselves happy with our music. Everything we do revolves around this goal. And from that, many good things follow.”
Cisco & the Racecars is a band that grew out of this community and has grown to become one of the premier Bluegrass bands in the Southwest.
As well as playing an energetic style with diverse arrangements and instrumentation of old and new songs, the musicians give back by mentoring the next generation of players in the Jam Pak program.
Francisco Briseno (banjo),
Mark Hickler (guitar),
Giselle Lee (fiddle),
Chester Carmer (mandolin),
Katie Carmer (cello),
Joelle Tambe-Ebot (bass.)

jam pak

BUSTER SLEDGE (NOR)
More from this fabulous Nordic outfit ...

Scandinavia has long been an important hub of innovation for Bluegrass in Europe and when you add a songwriting fiddler from California into the mix, it’s definitely got to be worth checking out. We got to see them at IBMA WOB last year and with adventurous story-telling lyrics backed by a tightly-woven ensemble sound peppered with streaks of improvisatory action in the back, Buster Sledge delivers in a way that is as exciting for bluegrass-nerds as it is for normal civilians.
We can only agree with Mike Wistow’s description in Folking.com of a "musical experience that leaves you simultaneously with a smile on your face at the same time as a sense of awe for what’s been achieved.”
Michael Barrett Donovan (fiddle),
Mikael Jonassen (banjo),
Jakob Folke Ossum (guitar),
Vidar Starheimsæter (bass)

Website

Album : Nice Time on Earth Today (2023)
EP : Dreamer (2022)

young talent

Vertical Divider

BLUE LASS (GBR)
The first of 2 young talent bands that caught the eye at last year's Street Festival ...

Vertical Divider

Blue Lass (GBR) — Young TalentHere’s another young and exciting band that rocked the Street Festival last year and that we wanted to showcase as a “Young Talent” because they are, well, so talented. Their innovative arrangements reflect a true appreciation of modern American folk music, show a deep love of the roots of the genre and leave room for great improvised solos that confidently embellish the pieces throughout. The music is clean, sensitive, empowered and dynamic, and we are sure their authentic and heartfelt playing will thrill you with their sound and their character.
Abbey Thomas (mandolin),
Holly Wheeldon (guitar),
Jeri Foreman (fiddle),
Ruth Eliza (clawhammer banjo),
Steph Doe (bass)

YOUNG TALENT

Vertical Divider

COW COMINO TRAIN (FRA)
And the second young talent band to come up through the Street Festival in 2023 ...

This Bluegrass/Folk band from Lyon were a big hit when they played the Street Festival in La Roche last year with their infectious enthusiasm and original, contemporary, roots-based takes on traditional Bluegrass, alt country, folk and blues. That is why we are happy to invite them back in our drive to promote young European Bluegrass talent and give you a chance to enjoy their music.
Myriam (mandolin, fiddle),
Noémie (bass),
Caroline (guitar, banjo)
Coraly (Harmonica)

facebook