Monthly Archives: October 2013

Tuning up for next week

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Next week holds many opportunities for us to have a great time and play with many talented musicians in the area for all your listening and dancing pleasures!

On Wednesday, October 23 at 7PM, we'll be performing at Gillies Restaurant in Blacksburg. Come out and try their special for the day…chances are it'll be really good!

Thursday, October 24 at 6PM, we'll be at Heartwood in Abingdon, VA playing with many other great musicians for a dance. If you havent' been to Heartwood yet, this is a great opportunity to check it out. There are SO many neat things there that exhibit the special things about Southwest Virginia that we all hold dear to our hearts. They also have a fine cuisine (and adult beverages 😉 – check out this great poster!).

Saturday, October 26 at 9AM, we're playing for SQUASH BASH at the Market Square in Blacksburg. In addition to the usual tables that offer you the best the area has to offer in fresh produce, meat, bread, etc., there'll be much to do about squash! Come out and meet your friends and neighbors!

Looking forward to seeing all our fans, friends, and new faces!

– IRSB

Wonderful Weekend

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Hi friends!

Thank you to everyone who came out to dance and enjoy the weekend with IRSB – from Our Daily Bread Bakery on Saturday morning to dancing the night away at the Homestead Farm. We want to give a shout out to Kayla from ODBB and Phil Louer for being such an energetic caller at his barn in Riner.

Looking forward to seeing you all in a few weeks at our string of four gigs starting October 23rd. More info to come on that….but for now, enjoy this super awesome poster advertising the Heartwood Events for October:

Also, we're updating and moving some things around on the website. If you like something (or not!) please let us know via facebook or our e-mail (go to the Contacts page).

With LOVE, IRSB

Get thirsty for some more live tunes!

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After a great time last Wednesday at the Farmers Market Jam and Crooked Road banner presentation,  then Sunday at the WVTF station – we took the past few days to recover and make sure we could still make our day jobs (a huge accomplishment sometimes, if you know what I mean)!!!

Well, we were certainly honored to be the host band for the jam on the 25th. SO many wonderful supporters of the music and the community came out, and we are enternally grateful for everyone – expecially the wonderful dancers!! Please go to our gallery and see what the festivities were all about. And, go check out the announcement on the Town of Blacksburg website.

Sunday, we had the honor to go to the WVTF station in Roanoke (behind the Red Lobsta!) and play on Kinney Rorrer's Back To The Blue Ridge program. We've been listeners of this program for YEARS so, it was a real honor and treat to now be a part of the Back To The Blue Rige family. Our wonderful audience members were so supportive – it can be hard to play to an imaginary audience. When you're on air, you never know who may be listening! 

Kinney, his wife, Bonnie, and all the staff and volunteers at WVTF were just about the lovliest people we've met. And the Bluegrass band that came after us was really rockin' and rollin' (did you check them out?). We hope our tunes brought in some well-deserved monetary funds. We know many of our friends called in to support the station, and we would like to thank them from the bottom of our hearts for supporting, not just the station, but the culture that each one of us here at IRS has poured our hearts and souls into.

Now, it's on to the next of our gigs…and it all goes down on Saturday!! Come toOur Daily Bread Bakery on October 5th (starting at 9:30a) to have a scrumptious breakfast and work up an appetite with our palate-friendly tunes. We'll be there till 11:30a – plenty of time to swig back a few cups of coffee, get your errands done, and then…

Come out to The Homestead Farm in Riner that NIGHT and dance to the beat of your own happiness! Afterall, life is all about attaining happiness…so why not get a little physical with it? We start at 8, don't be late!!

Bristol Rhythm and Roots was a HUGE success

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Friday at noon, IRS jammed our gear into our trusty car and rolled down I-81 to the birthplace of country music: Bristol, VA. We go to the hospitality center at the old train station with plenty of time to wet our whistle and catch up with some familiar friendly faces, whom we were excited to see again!

Our set that evening was spectacular! We were welcomed to the Cumberland Park stage by lovely sound and crew people and were energized to play a lively set by the beautiful (albeit very, very sunny) weather, which persisted for the rest of the evening into the late night. Paul and Ginger sounded like two love birds whilst being backed up by a steady beat laced with gut-punching rolls and licks! After the set, we all enjoyed amazing tunes from our great friends, The Corklickers, as well as amazing artists like Sheets Family Band, Enter the Haggis, and Lucinda Williams. What a night!!

Saturday was full of surprises…including very soggy skies. But never fear: your fearless Old Time band was out and about, grabbing the dog by the hair (read: bloody mary's and mimosas) and catching some jaw-dropping,energizing tunes by Al Scorch (truly a kind man and a fantastic artist – check him out!! http://www.alscorch.com/). Afterwards it was off to the jam tent with the Possum Creek Playboys – always a good time, lads! If you missed it this year, folks, you will NOT want to next year: you'll not hear a better Old Time jam in the whole…festival. Our set on Saturday was, to sum it up in one word, killer! We ROCKED O'Mannins Pub and look forward to coming back there again in the future. The crowd was jolly, the drink was flowing, foots were tapping, mouths were singing in unison – can it get any better?! The rest of the day was a whirlwind of music: The Corklickers, The Black Twig Pickers, The Travelin' McCoury's, The Masters of Bluegrass, Deer Tick…and more…

Sunday was the day to wind down it all…and finally chug down some water. Didn't go without music, though: The Empty Bottle Stringband, Spirit Family Reunion, Mountain Park Old Time Band, and the great (and little) Carson Peters and his band. With hearts filled to the brim with soul-reviving music, minds rattling with great conversation and pleasantries with friends, stomachs stuffed with delicious comfort food, IRS once again packed the car and headed north to our happy home in Blacksburg. THANK YOU everyone who came out to hear us play, told us that they enjoyed it, and bore the weather to bask in everything the festival has to offer. 

Much love, IRSB