A chameleon of musical genres, guitarist Peter Rowan’s original songwriting is the driving force of his musical diversity. One engaging musician. Multiple choices.
Born in Wayland, Massachusetts to a musical family, Rowan learned to play guitar from his uncle. He spent his teenage years absorbing the sights and sounds of the Hillbilly Ranch, a legendary Country music nightclub in Boston frequented by bluegrass acts like The Lilly Brothers and fiddler Tex Logan. In 1956 Peter Rowan formed his first band, the Cupids, while still in high school after hearing Elvis Presley for the first time. Soon thereafter, influenced by the blues musician Eric Von Schmidt, Rowan traded his electric guitar for an acoustic and began to play the blues. He was also influenced by the folk sound of Joan Baez. In college, he discovered bluegrass after hearing The Country Gentlemen and The Stanley Brothers. He soon discovered the music of Bill Monroe, and with some help from banjo player Bill Keith, he was to audition for Monroe who invited him to Nashville. Accompanied by Keith, Rowan went to Nashville and was hired in March 1965 as guitarist and lead vocalist of Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys. His recording debut as a “bluegrass boy” took place on October 14, 1966 and he recorded a total of fourteen songs with Monroe before his tenure ended in the spring of 1967.
In a recent article with Sharon Turner, Rowan said, “He used to stand behind me…I remember one particular show, that mandolin chop was banging away behind me, and he’s yelling at me on stage, and he’s embarrassing me – ‘Sing it like Pete Rowan! Tell ‘em it’s Pete Rowan!’ Because he could maybe hear me trying to sound like him instead, you know. He was cracking the whip!” The “he” in Rowan’s story is none other than the Father of Bluegrass himself, Bill Monroe, and the young man whose feet he held so close to the fire onstage was Peter Rowan. Although he’s now an icon in his own right, back in 1965 Rowan was a young man of 23, still learning the rules from the headmaster of the Old School.
Since then the Grammy-award winner and six-time Grammy nominee, Rowan has established himself in the bluegrass world as one of its living icons. His singer-songwriter career spans five decades. From his early years playing under the tutelage of Bluegrass veteran Bill Monroe, to his time in Old & In the Way and breakout as a solo musician and bandleader, Rowan has built a devoted, international fan base through a solid stream of records, collaborative projects, and constant touring.
Rowan has been involved in many group and solo projects, including Peter Rowan and the Free Mexican Airforce, and continues to tour. He composed songs performed by New Riders of the Purple Sage, including “Panama Red,” “Midnight Moonlight” and “Lonesome L.A. Cowboy.” Rowan’s released “Quartet” (2007), the second collaboration with guitarist and bluegrass musician Tony Rice. His most recent release is “The Old School” (2013) on Compass Records.
Rowan will make his Sedona Bluegrass Festival debut Saturday, June 7 at Los Abrigados Resort in Sedona with Tibetan singer-songwriter Yungchen Lhamo now living in exile in New York City. She has won an Australian Record Industry Association award for best Folk/World/Traditional album, and was then signed by Peter Gabriel’s Realworld. Since her 1989 pilgrimage on foot from her beloved homeland of Tibet, Yungchen Lhamo has emerged as the world’s leading Tibetan vocalist. From the quays of Sydney, Australia to the spotlight of New York’s Carnegie Hall, her haunting a cappella performances have enchanted audiences in more than 70 countries and garnered critical praise worldwide. Her music has been described as “brilliant” (The New Yorker), “sublime” (Rolling Stone), and “spine-tingling” (The Times, London); she has been called “angel-voiced” (Newsweek) and praised for her “pristine, gliding vocal lines” (The New York Times
“I understand there is one Darol Anger responsible for getting me to Sedona,” said Rowan. “He’s a dear friend and an extraordinary artist.” In August 2013 Anger agreed to head-up the 8th Sedona Bluegrass Festival. “Hey, I’ve been to Sedona with Psychograss, and earlier with Mike Marshall and the Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient Calder Quartet. I’ve invited many of my favorite bluegrass friends to join me including Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum, Ben Sollee, The Furies and we’re rounding it out with the Phoenix based Pick and Holler quartet, and the Tucson-based Sonoran Dogs – old friends of Laurie and Tom’s. Before the Festival concerts begin there are activities beginning Tuesday as part of the Sedona Arts Week. It promises to be a great festival,” said Anger.
Tickets and information for the June 7 and 8 Festival can be found at www.SedonaBluegrassFestival.org Adult tickets are $40 each day and youth to age twelve are free with a paying adult – limit one child per adult. Student tickets for ages 13-23 are $20. The first seventy-five youth twelve years of age and under will receive a free Delta Dental Smile Bag including floss, toothbrush and toothpaste.
Festival sponsors include Los Abrigados Resort, the City of Sedona, Dan and Karyl Goldsmith, Draxler Insurance, Avanti Consortium and Arcos Cielos, Sedona Dental Arts, El Portal, Briar Patch Inn, Arizona Music Pro, Delta Dental, and the Sedona Community Foundation.
The Sedona Bluegrass Festival is part of the Chamber Music Sedona’s 31st Season and is made possible with support from The City of Sedona, The Arizona Commission on the Arts with funding from the State of Arizona and the National Endowment for the Arts, The Sedona Community Foundation, The Verde Valley Medical Center, Aspey Watkins & Diesel PLLC. and WESTAF.
Chamber Music Sedona is a Not-for-Profit Organization
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