AudioFarm Recording Studio

Yesterday, after a big breakfast, we headed to Goldsboro, NC to start the process recording our first cd at our friend, Michael Rose's studio. We arrived there around 10:45 a.m. and started recording a little after 11. We recorded 12 songs taking approx. 11 hours! After 2 hours of instrumentals, we recorded the vocal trcks. Over-all, we had a great time and look forward to when the cd is released! Check us out on Facebook and our website: www.bethesdabluegrassband.com for more information! A special thanks to Michael Rose for the time he took into helping us on our first cd! Below are some photos taken in the studio.

Virginia

Caleb

ConnorHolly

Jackson

A Bunch of News!

Over the past few months, we've been practicing and performing. On February 10th we had two shows. One at the Cranberry Thistle in Jonesborough, TN, and The Pickin' Porch in Bristol, TN. We had a wonderful trip, met up with a friend, and also met a lot of new people. Last Wednesday (16th), Virginia's sister, Katie Beth, took 300+ photos of the band at Duke Gardens. The pictures were outstanding and we thank her for taking time out of her day to help us with those. Pray for us as we prepare for big events coming up. Below are a few updated pictures of the band. For more information about the band visit: www.bethesdabluegrassband.com.

N.C. State Fair

warming up

warming up

On Wednesday October 20th, we competed at the North Carolina State Fair Folk Festival. We had two shows. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. In our first set we performed "Sing Me a Bluegrass Song", written by our good friend, A.L. Wood. The second one we did was an instrumental called "Rebecca". We also played instrumental solos: Jackson played "Salt Creek", Connor played "Cherokee Shuffle, and Holly played "Jerusalem Ridge", and Caleb played "Foggy Mountain Special". Our results came in yesterday and here they are: Holly: Honorable Mention Adult Catergory-fiddle division; Caleb: Honorable Mention Adult Catergory-bass division; Jackson: 3nd Place under 16 catergory-banjo division; Connor: 2nd Place under 16 catergory-mandolin division; Bethesda Bluegrass Band: 2nd Place Adult Catergory-band division. Thank you all for your continuing support!L to R: Connor, Holly, Jackson, Virginia, and Caleb.

Ashe County/Galax

On August 6th, we entered the Ashe County Fiddler's Convention. We got our results the next night and were honored by placing 2nd! Jackson and Connor entered individually as well, and Jackson placed 2nd in Youth Banjo, and Connor placed 1st in Youth Mandolin. On August 9th, we headed to Galax, Va to the Galax Fiddler's Convention where Jackson placed 5th in Youth Banjo! Over-all, we had a wonderful weekend!

Gorman Baptist Church 7.23.10

This afternoon, we practiced w/ Virginia, and headed to Gorman Baptist in Durham. We performed for the final night of Vacation Bible School in front ofabout 200 parents, and 300 kids! It was an amazing performance! We performed some new songs. One of which, Caleb wrote: "Turn To Him". It was the first performance he ever added the song to, and the crowd loved it! We had some delicious BBQ, slaw, rolls, hotdogs, and tea provided by members of the church, which we greatly appreciate the hard work and effort they put into the wonderful meal! We also ran into some great friends! The MacIntyre Family, Tammy and Tristan Keith, Pam Williamson, Chandler Watson, Don and Sharon Tilley, Monroe and Doris Scoggins, Joel McMillon, and others! Below are some photosfrom tonight.
Virginia.Connor, Caleb, Virginia, and Jackson.Caleb, Chandler Watson, Jackson and ConnorWhitley and Evan MacIntyre, Caleb, Jackson and Virginia.

Alleghany Fiddler's Convention

We took a few day vacation, and headed to West Jefferson, NC to our friend's cabin and stayed there while we were in town for the 16th Annual Alleghany Fiddler's Convention Bluegrass Competition in Sparta, NC. Last year, we entered and and placed 4th in the Junior Band Division; Jackson placed 3rd in the Junior Banjo Division, Connor 2nd, in the Junior Mandolin Division, and Caleb 1st in the Junior Bass Division. After months of practice, our results had shown we improved since last year. The results were: Junior FIDDLE Division: Holly placed 3rd! Junior BANJO Division: Jackson placed 2nd! Junior MANDOLIN Division: Connor placed 1st! Junior BASS Division: Caleb placed 1st! and Junior BAND Division: The Bethesda Bluegrass Band placed 1st!!!!!! It was a true honor, and we credit the Good Lord for this, as well as the talents HE has blessed us with!!!!! Below are some photos from the Convention.
Connor w/ former Mandolin player for Alison Krauss, Adam Steffey.
With our good friend, Mr. A.L. Wood.(From L to R w/ ribbons) Mark: 1st Place Junior Band, Caleb: 1st Place Junior Bass, Holly: 3rd Place Junior Fiddle, Connor: 1st Place Junior Mandolin, Jackson: 2nd Place Junior Banjo.)

4th of July

I don't kow about you, but we had an epic 4th of July weekend! Yesterday, we had the honor of perfoming at the American Tobacco Complex in Durham, under the Lucky Strike Water Tower. It was the ATC's first annual Red, White, Blues, and Bluegrass Festival. It ran from 4-8 p.m., and we took the stage at 4. Two other bands: Triple Fret and Mandolin Orange, performed after us and did a great job! We also had some support from friends: Titus and Elsie Duke, Bobby and Yolanda James, Kay Whitfield, Ron Cooke, Mikaela Bailey, Mike and Cindy Garrard, Don and Karen Ladd, and Charlie and Elaine Lunsford. We look forward to other oppurtunities to play there. We would like to thank God for the freedom He has allowed us to have here in the United States of America. We also thank the troops for their service towards our great nation. For we are a NATION UNDER GOD! GOD BLESS AMERICA! Below are some photos from the show.Caleb, Virginia, Jackson, Holly, and ConnorCaleb and Charlie LunsfordCaleb, Mikaela Bailey, Jackson and Holly

Murdoch Center/Spouse Night

Last Wednesday, we performed for the residents out at the Murdoch Center in Butner, NC. It does our heart good to go perform for them whenever the oppurtunity comes! It's good to see their smiling faces, which puts smiles on ours as well! We have a closeconnection with Pastor Willis Herman and we look forward to more oppurtunities God will allow us to go and perform for them!

The next night, we performed at the Bethesda Ruritan Club for our monthly meeting. This meeting was a special one, because it was spouse's night. The member's who's spouses are not members, are invited to attend a party-like meeting. We were the entertaiment and we thouroughly enjoyed performing and receiving the audience's reaction. Many members have not heard us and came upand thanked us and gave their comments! Thank you BRC for asking us to perform for this wonderful occasion!

PreddyFest

This past weekend, we camped and picked at PreddyFest, an annual bluegrass festival located in Franklinton, NC, located on the tar river. We camped from Wednesday - Sunday. It was a very humid weekend, but thankfully, it cooled off before the weekend was over! We listened to many bands including: Marty Raybon and Full Circle (former Shenandoah lead singer), Al Batten and the Bluegrass Reunion, Constant Change, Lorainne Jordan and Carolina Road, James King Band, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, and many, many others. We also enjoyed jamming with friends at the shelter and other camp sites; socializing, and meeting new people. On the last day of the festival, we were honored to have been asked by Rodney Preddy, host of PreddyFest, to kick off Saturday's line-up of music. We played a 15-min set before giving the stage to our friends, Constant Change. Again, PreddyFest is an annual bluegrass festival located in Franklinton, NC. We highly reccomend you attending next year! For more info, visit: http://www.preddyfest.com/. Below are some photos from this weekend.warming up.still warming upgetting a sound check on the stage.Us with legendary bluegrass musician, Doyle Lawson.

The Rex Theater/HillBilly Hide-A-Away

We drove up to Galax, Va. Friday morning, stopping to check in at Best Western in Hillsville, Va before heading to the Rex Theater. Before performing, we ate across the street at the Galax SmokeHouse. They have delicious BBQ, sandwiches, and other great foods! We performed from 8 - 10 p.m. The audience was very responsive and appeared to have enjoyed it just as much as we did! We appreciate everyone who came out and listened to us over the internet. Please visit the Blueridge Country 98.1's website at: www.blueridgecountry98.com and listen to them live!

On our way back home on Saturday, we stopped in Mayberry (Mt. Airy) before heading to the Hillbilly Hide-A-Way in Walnut Cove, NC to play. Before performing, we ate some delicious southern-style food such as: BBQ ribs, fried chicken, greenbeans, delicious sweet tea, etc... If you ever want to try something new, we suggest making a trip to the Hillbilly Hide-A-Way. You will be satisfied! They have music every Saturday night. So, plan a Saturday to go eat and listen to some great music! You can visit their website at: www.thehillbillyhideaway.com. We would also like to thank our grandparents Bill and Sarah Hagwood, and friends J.R. and Judy Mendenhall for coming to both performances and supporting us!