IBMA and beyond!

Happy September... and its almost over!

We have a busy little weekend before heading to Nasheville on Sunday night for The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Convention.

We have two exciting showcases on Monday night. The first one is in Suite 2004 at 10:45 for Acoustic Trail Productions. The second one is at 11:30 in room 108 for Patuxent Music.

The lineup for Ashleigh Caudill & Narrow Gauge for IBMA 2010:

Ashleigh Caudill, a Berklee College of Music alumni, was quickly accepted into the New England acoustic music scene, upon her arrival in 2003. While climbing the ranks of freelance bassists, she discovered her love of songwriting. Shortly after releasing her debut solo album, "I'm not Fallin," Bluegrass Unlimited declared her "a voice to be reckoned with." She has recently relocated to Asheville North Carolina where she was awarded first place in bass, and vocals in the North Carolina Mountain State Fair Bluegrass Competitions. Ashleigh has just released her sophomore album, Fruit of the Vine, produced by Jim Hurst, featuring performances by Claire Lynch, Mark Schatz, Jim Hurst and many more! "Ashleigh is not just a bass player keeping the beat, she is leading her band in a fresh, new, captivating and genuinely entertaining stage show." --Dick Pierle, Old Blue Sound.

Rebecca Frazier holds the honor of being the first-ever woman on the cover of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine (September 2006). She has also been featured in Bluegrass Now (April 2006) for her flatpicking guitar and vocal accomplishments. A native of Richmond, Virginia, Rebecca has played guitar since she got a Yamaha dreadnought for Christmas at age 12. Since then, she has dedicated herself to the flatpick guitar and bluegrass music. Rebecca is a co-founder of award-winning Hit & Run Bluegrass and has toured festivals and venues across the U.S. and Canada. She was also a co-founder of the All Night Honky Tonk All Stars, a Gram Parsons/Emmylou Harris influenced 70's alt-country band based in Colorado. She currently resides in Nashville, TN, where she does freelance studio and stage work and continues to perform with Hit & Run and Donna Hughes Band.


Growing up in Upstate South Carolina, Matt Purinton, was exposed to a ton of traditional music, and began touring all over the South East at a young age. Now a resident of Asheville North Carolina, he was awarded second place in mandolin in the North Carolina Mountain State fair Bluegrass Competitions in 2009. He was also an original member of the first place band at the Pickin at the Pavilion band contest in 2008. Matt's fiery mandolin playing can now be seen turning heads all over the country.

Zebulon Bowles has been playing music for over 26 years. He has had the pleasure of working with some of the world's finest players and continues to amaze music lovers every time he steps on stage. He has performed with a variety of talented people including Big and Rich, Gretchen Wilson, James Otto, Cowboy Troy, Randy Jackson, Jim Lauderdale, Blueground Undergrass, Benevento Russo Duo, Jackie Green, Larry Keel & Natural Bridge, The Everyone Orchestra, Jeff Sipe, Ike Stubblefield, Robert Walter, Rushad Eggleston, Ivan Neville, George Porter Jr., Stanton Moore (Galactic), Kevin Ponton, Electric Codpiece, Stop Drop & Roll, Ralph Roddenbery Band, Donna Hopkins , Deep Blue Sun, and Kelly Zullo.


We're really looking forward to our showcases and the rest of the IBMA week! We hope to see some old friends and also make some new ones!

See you soon!

-Ashleigh

The rest of the Big Duo Tour of the North East

Ok, lets see... I think I finished my last tour update on day 6, so now I'll be filling you in starting with day 7. Lets see how much I can remember from a few weeks ago.

Day 7

I think it was a Wednesday... a rainy Wednesday. We left my aunt's house in Maryland and headed north for NYC. When we got there we were greeted with more rain and of course, traffic. Not too much traffic, but more than we are used to! We managed to find our way with out too much trouble and played for some nice folks. After that we got to hang out with my favorite Emily and my favorite Todd.









Day 7

On Thursday, we explored New Jersey... Hoboken to be specific. The advantage to being in New Jersey is that you have a great view of the city, and fortunately the weather warmed up and we had a beautiful day for exploring!

Day 8

On Friday morning, we braved the City. We rode into town on the Path Train and walked all over NYC following a map drawn for us by my cousin, Emily. Nothing like a walking tour of a city guided by someone who lives there! We saw street vendors, statues, bridges, weird buildings, weird people, but the thing that stuck with me was this girl playing piano in a park. The piano was on wheels... so my guess is she rolled it from somewhere. I hope not somewhere far. I thought that carrying a bass around was a pain, but at least I don't have to roll a piano around New York City, or any other city for that matter. Later that night we met up with Emily & Todd again and went out on the town. The funny thing about New York is that places stay open a whole lot later than anywhere else. When you think to yourself, "man, I'm tired... Why am I so tired?" its because its 4 in the morning and you expected to be kicked out of the place two hours earlier!

Day 9

Needless to say, Saturday morning came earlier than anyone expected. Bright and early we drove straight through Manhattan to pick up Grace Van't Hof, banjo player for Della Mae, and drive up to Rhode Island where I was to sit in with the ladies of Della Mae. It was a long drive, but a beautiful one. It was a good festival for a good cause and a good time was had by all. And they had all sorts of awesome vendors. I thought we had lost Matt for a moment, but then found him where cheese is found. Leave it up to him to find the one and only booth at the entire festival that had cheese samples! Very sleepily, we headed back to New York that evening... very sleepy and Matt very cheesy.



Day 10

We got up late. Very late. Ate some breakfast and wandered around the neighborhood and before long, it was time to take the public transit to our gig. We played at a little place called the Parkside Lounge. It was a very cozy show with friendly faces and... Mrs PACKMAN!! we were sure to get a few games in before we took to the stage.

Day 11

This was the day we'd been waiting for for a long time... since we started the tour, to be exact. It was time to go to Boston! The drive flew by and we were there before we knew it. Met up with some awesome old friends, hung out on a porch and played some music. Couldn't have asked for a better welcome back.

Day 12

Cantab Tuesday! The Cantab Lounge is one of my vary favorite places to play. In fact I used to live across the street from it and hung out there every single Tuesday. In addition to getting to play at the Cantab, we got to play with the lovely and talented Courtney Hartman. We got together with her at her house a few hours before the show and picked some tunes, hopped in the van and drove over to Cambridge where we played for the usual rowdy Cantab crowd. We had such a great time, and the audience must have as well, because they wouldn't hardly let us off the stage! As is pretty normal for this gig, the picking went on until they kicked us out of the bar, and then relocated and went on until the wee hours.

Day 13, 14 & 15

We had some down time. Ran all around Boston, went to all my favorite places, and then left early Friday morning. Anytime I hear tell of a hurricane headed straight for where I am, I'm usually pretty eager to leave, even if the hurricane has a cute little old man name like Earl.

Day 16

Saturday very well could have been the highlight of the little tour. We picked up the two best guys we could have ever even imagined playing with us: Bill Keith, and his guitar player, Brian Hollander. What a show! and on top of that, some of the best food we've had in a long time. Getting to play with legends is always a good thing, but to top it all off, after the gig we caught the tail end of a concert at a barn in Woodstock, NY, that just so happens to be owned by the one and only Levon Helms. Not only that, but the band that was playing this particular night was the man himself, along with a full big band, guitars, pianos, a full horn section, and singers galore! This was particular high point for Matt. He's been talking about this place for as long as I've known him, and this was the first time he's gotten the chance to go.

Day 17

We got up. Got in the van and headed to Maryland, back to my aunt's house to sleep a little, and then we drove straight home. We drove through the night and ended up in Six Mile South Carolina picking up my furry little friends at eight in the morning. After a little nap, it was back in the car, back to my happy little home in Asheville.


Well, that was the trip. Consider yourself all caught up. Check back again, for more exciting stories and pictures of our silly little adventures.

-Ashleigh

Thank you to all the DJ's!

I'd like to thank all the DJ's who have been playing my new album, Fruit of the Vine, produced by Jim Hurst! These are just the stations and DJ's that I know of that are playing it:

Frank Hoppe, KCSN LA, CA
Tom Henderson, WMNF-FM Tampa, FL
Michael Chasse & T.C. Hirsch, KGPR Great Falls MT
Billy Meyers, WRFL Lexington KY
Badeye Carson Payne, WHAY, Emlyn KY
Al Shusterman, KCBL Fair Oaks, CA
Sky Powers, Pacifically Bluegrass, http://www.bluegrassmix.com/
Robyne Fawx, KDVS, University of California
Bob Mitchell WKWC-FM, Owensboro KY
Dave Bowman - KVNF, Paonia CO
Vita - KAFM, Grand Junction CO
Andrea Bradstreet, KRFC, Fort Collins CO
Echo Propp, WAMU, Washington, DC

Thanks guys!

If you've heard it on a program that I don't have listed, please let me know! All of these are awesome programs and you can listen to most of them online! Remember to support your local bluegrass radio programs!


-Ashleigh

AC & NG with Brian Hollander at the Rosendale Cafe!

Hey everyone!

I know I haven't updated in a while... I will. I promise I will fill you in, but I want to share with you an extra special exciting show.

We will be performing at the Rosendale Cafe on Saturday the 4th with Brian Hollander (of Bill Keith's Saturday Night Bluegrass Band) and perhaps another extra special guest! The show starts at 8:00pm and only costs $10!

Here's the address:


434 Main St. • PO Box 436 • Rosendale, NY 12472 • 845.658.9048


For more info visit: 

http://www.rosendalecafe.com/


I really hope some of you can make it!

See you soon!

-Ashleigh