RSS
Courtesy of the Vilar Performing Arts Center www.vilarpac.org
Headline RSS Feed- Soulive to kick off free Hot Summer Nights concert series at Vail's Ford Amphitheater June 15
- NBC's 'Last Comic Standing' coming to Beaver Creek in January of 2011
- Yo-Yo Ma celebrates imagination with local children at Vail amphitheater June 26
- Wyclef Jean will headline Spring Back to Vail 2010
- Vail Valley votes Zivanai Masango and Pachedu to play Street Beat March 31
- Back by popular demand, the Bud Light Street Beat public pick
- Barenaked Ladies to headline Vail Snow Daze Dec. 12
- Local faves Laughing Bones to join Gandalf Murphy for Vilar Center fall music series
- Vail Oktoberfest on tap through the weekend in Lionshead and again Sept. 18-20 in Vail Village
- Rick Springfield to rock Beaver Creek’s VPAC as part of End of Summer 80's Bash
- All Real A&E Articles
February 16, 2009 — Fifteen years ago, Jere Cherryholmes was working as a carpenter in Louisiana while his wife Sandy raised the family in Nashville. The last thing on his mind was forming a family bluegrass band.
However, the death of the couple's oldest daughter of a heart ailment changed all that. In an effort to get the family's minds off their grief, Jere organized a road trip ... to a bluegrass festival. He came away so impressed that he started a band with his wife and kids, picking everyone's instruments for them.
Jere Cherryholmes, dad, bass player and self-described "benevolent dictator," brings his Grammy-nominated family bluegrass band to the Vilar Performing Arts Center for a one-of-a-kind musical experience Tuesday, March 10, at 7:30 p.m.
Winners of the 2005 International Bluegrass Music Association's
Entertainer of the Year Award, Cherryholmes' sound is a unique blend of twin fiddles, Irish step dancing, yodeling, clawhammer banjo and gospel singing, in addition to bluegrass and vocal harmony.
While dad hammers the bass, Cia Leigh often takes the vocal lead and plays banjo, Molly and BJ man the fiddles, Sandy plays mandolin and Skip picks guitar.
"I've been able to watch my kids mature physically, mentally and
emotionally, as well as musically," says Jere. "They have started to write some great music of their own and it's interesting to see how, even without any real influence from us, how they gravitate toward musical sounds that Sandy and I really enjoyed."
The band's new release, Cherryholmes III: Don't Believe, features a track entitled "This Is My Son," a song Cia wrote after talking to a Knoxville DJ whose son was heading to Iraq. It will be the first Cherryholmes tune targeted specifically for country radio.
Cherryholmes III: Don't Believe was nominated for a 2009 Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album of the Year, while the group received a second nomination for Best Country Instrumental. In addition, the band's musicianship and family dynamic will also be chronicled in a documentary by noted television producer Bill Hayes.
This past January, Cherryholmes performed a show backed by a full
symphony in Portland, Ore. Five other such dates are in the offing for later in 2009.
Needless to say, the history of Jere's family band is anything but conventional. However, the future certainly looks bright for the family Cherryholmes.
Tickets for Cherryholmes are $45 and are available online at www.vilarpac.org, by phone at
(888) 920-ARTS(2787), or in person at the Vilar Center box office in Beaver Creek. Tickets are available online 24 hours a day; the box office is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with additional hours on performance days.
1 Comment on "Grammy-nominated family bluegrass band Cherryholmes to play Vilar March 10"
Daphna Cherryholmes-Wardrop — February 16, 2009
Great article, however contains some major errors. First, Jere never lived in Louisiana. Fifteen years ago Jere lived a few miles from me (his younger sister) in Los Angeles, California. He did indeed work as a carpenter, but it was for the Los Angeles City School District in Los Angeles, California. . .NOT any where in Louisiana. Sandy was a stay at home Mom and also home schooled all six kids.
Hope this helps set the record Straight. Thanks again for the article.
