June 14, 2014 3pm – 10pm
The Time Jumpers, featuring Vince Gill, Ranger Doug, Dawn Sears & Kenny Sears
The Gibson Brothers
The Sierra Hull Bluegrass Band
The Greencards
Alaska & Madi (The Voice, Season 6)
The Radials
White Oak Amphitheater
Greensboro Coliseum
Greensboro, NC
The Wildfire Music Festival was created to honor the life and legacy of Brenna Marie Currie. The proceeds of the festival will be used to give a music scholarship in Brenna’s name and to bring the music programs of the I’ll Fly Away Foundation to the Greensboro area schools. This festival is being put together by the friends and family of Brenna and some of her favorite bands have been asked to attend.
More about Brenna Marie Currie.
Brenna Marie Currie
Brenna Marie Currie, or simply “B”, as many of her friends called her, was an extraordinary spirit with a beautiful heart. She passed from this life in March of 2013 at age 22, leaving behind a legacy of love for others. A friend of hers once said, “She loved life and it loved her right back”.
Beginning as a young child, she was a compassionate person who had an innate desire to help and befriend others. She was passionate about life and lived it to the fullest extent, seldom passing up an opportunity to experience something new.
Brenna Marie Currie
Three of her passions in life were her family, her friends, and her music. The classical guitar was her instrument. With every breath she lived music, never keeping her guitar too far out of reach. She inspired others to learn to play and got great enjoyment out of sharing her knowledge. She liked to play all genres of music, but most of all she enjoyed playing bluegrass with her dad and brother.
Brenna always recognized the power of music. She knew music could comfort, heal, and help people find their voice. She was passionate about helping people discover how music could enrich their lives. Brenna attended Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. She selected a major that would combine her love of music and helping others. Her deep belief in the healing power of music led her to pursue a Music Therapy degree. She was excited to be working toward becoming an accredited music therapist.
The Time Jumpers
About the Time Jumpers: Tap any member of The Time Jumpers on the shoulder and the face that turns to greet you will be that of one who’s made major contributions to the richness and vigor of country music.
The Time Jumpers was established in Nashville in 1998 by an assemblage of high-dollar studio musicians who wanted to spend some spare time drinking beer and jamming with their sonically gifted buddies. The notion of building a rabidly devoted following was the last thing on their minds. But that’s what happened. Learning that Monday evenings were the slowest in the week for the Station Inn bluegrass club, the superpickers settled into that fabled venue at the start of each week and set up shop. Pretty soon Monday nights were sounding a lot like Saturday nights—and drawing commensurately lively crowds.
As word spread along Music Row that something special was happening at Station Inn, big stars began dropping by, some to sit in with the band, others just to enjoy the vast array of country, swing, jazz and pop standards The Time Jumpers rejoiced in playing. Among those drop-bys were Bonnie Raitt, Reba McEntire, Norah Jones, Robert Plant, The White Stripes, Kings Of Leon, Jimmy Buffet and Kelly Clarkson. None asked for their money back.
The current edition of The Time Jumpers includes 11 members, each a master of his (and, in one case, her) instrument. Alphabetically—which is the only diplomatic way to present such a phalanx of evenly matched talent—they are Brad Albin (upright bass), Larry Franklin (fiddle), Paul Franklin (steel guitar), Vince Gill (vocals, electric and acoustic guitars), “Ranger Doug” Green (vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar), Andy Reiss (electric guitar), Dawn Sears (vocals), Kenny Sears (vocals, fiddle), Joe Spivey (fiddle, vocals) Jeff Taylor (accordion, piano) and Billy Thomas (drums, vocals)
To list the artists these pickers have recorded and toured with would be tantamount to posting all the Billboard country charts for the past 30 years. Suffice it to say that the list ranges from Ray Price to John Anderson to Carrie Underwood. And the stages these luminaries have graced extend from the Grand Ole Opry to Carnegie Hall. That there are three fiddles in the band is a tipoff that these guys have an overwhelming affection for western swing.
The Gibson Brothers
About the Gibson Brothers: Plucking away with unfaltering determination and skill, The Gibson Brothers emerged onto the bluegrass scene, with Leigh Gibson on guitar and Eric Gibson on the banjo. From their humble beginning in upstate New York, the brothers have, since, carried their careers thousands of miles to play hundreds of shows. It has been a journey on which they have fine-tuned their abilities to blend powerhouse harmonies with virtuosic picking, and the caliber of their live performance is a clear reflection of their dedicated and developed musicianship.
Eric and Leigh now lead a quintet that has brought, and continues to bring, great honor to the deeply-rooted traditions of country and bluegrass music, through the concert and festival performances they provide over eighty times a year. Considering that the Gibson Brothers were the 2012 & 2013 recipients of Bluegrass Music’s highest honor, the IBMA Entertainer of the Year trophy, it is safe to say that The Gibson Brothers are truly delivering an award-winning live sound.
Sierra Hull
About Sierra Hull: Sierra Hull is a bluegrass singer, mandolinist and guitarist born in Byrdstown, TN. She began playing mandolin at age 8 and released her first album, Angel Mountain, when she was 10. At age 11, she was befriended and mentored by Alison Krauss, who was once a child prodigy on the fiddle. Alison invited Sierra to join her on stage at the Grand Ole Opry. Sierra began jamming with her family and entered several talent contests. Her parents took her to many bluegrass festivals and it was at an International Bluegrass Music Associations (IBMA) event that she caught the eye of Ken Irvin, a talent scout for Rounder Records. Sierra signed with Rounder at age 13 and released her professional debut album Secrets in 2008 at age 16. (Recorded when 15). The album peaked at #2 on the Billboard Bluegrass Charts. After graduating High School, Sierra accepted the Presidential Scholarship and attended Berkley School of Music. In 2011, Sierra was invited along with Alison Krauss and Dan Tyminski to play for President Obama at a White House Event.
The Greencards
About The Greencards: From the first down-beat in 2002, through tours with Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson, The Greencards have won hearts and acclaim for their multi dimentional Americana vision.
Drawing on their Aussie upbringings, their American experiences and their restless natures, The Greencards use imagery and instrumentation to evoke moods and suggest movement; the songs themselves ebb and flow like tides.
Young and Warner have traveled far, literally and metaphorically, since forming The Greencards in 2002 after transplanting themselves in Austin TX. Their debut album, Movin’ On, earned them a deal with Nashville-based Dualtone Records, so they headed east. Weather and Water, Viridian, Fascination and The Brick Album followed, along with three GRAMMY nominations, a 2006 Americana Honors & Awards win as New/Emerging Artist Of The Year, and a number one position on the Billboard Bluegrass Chart.
Not only does the guest list in this wonderful body of music contacin some of Nashville and Austin’s finest, Sons of Fathers, Aoife O’Donovan and Gusters’ Luke Reynolds, it’s also a short-list of The Greencards favorites – purposely gathered together as a gift of sorts to their supportive fans. The band’s last release, 2011’s The Brick Album, was a collaboration with those fans; donors who helped get it made even got their own “bricks” in the album art. But this time, says Warner, “We wanted to turn the tables and give back.”
About Alaska & Madi:
The Radials
About The Radials: TWANG. TORCH. TONK. The Radials have a flair for melody and a knack for great stories. Put those elements together with a cacophony of upstate California jangle, swampy cajun spice and downtown Nashville honky-tonk, and you have a unique blend of Americana roots music with a modern twist. The Byrds, Loretta, Replacements, Beatles, Neil, Willie and Cash cast a shadow on the instruments of the Radials, but it is the unique blend of these five musicians that lift the crowd to their feet to move to the music. The Radials make their home in Greensboro, NC.
Order your Wildfire Music Festival T-Shirt
We are offering the Wildfire Music Festival T-Shirt on a Pre-Sale! Get it now for $15 before May 1, 2014. After May 1, 2014 the price will increase to $20. Shipping is $2 per order. The Shirts will ship May 15, 2014. Buy your shirt now before the price goes up. Sizes available from Small – XXLarge.