Mid-Summer Meltdown July 21, 2012

Hundredth Monkey Productions presents

The 1st Annual Mid-Summer Meltdown
Featuring Smokin' Bandits
SweetGrass
Chicago Farmer
and Chicken Wire Empire (with members of Stealin' Strings, Honest Monday, and R.A.S. Movement)
Saturday, July 21st, 2012, 7:00 pm door, 8:00 pm show
Majestic Theatre, 115 King St, Madison, WI
All Ages Show
$10 adv, $15 dos, tickets available online at http://bit.ly/HOqeM2, at the Majestic Theatre Box Office, or by phone 1-800-514-ETIX
*Event proudly sponsored by Pearl Street Brewery who will be conducting a special Madison release of their Smokin' Hemp Porter as a part of the event and will have other of their award winning beers on tap all night
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Bringing the summer festival feel to one of the Midwest’s premier music venues, the Mid-Summer Meltdown presented by Hundredth Monkey Productions is set to shake the roof off of the Majestic Theatre showcasing four of the Midwest’s top touring bands: Smokin' Bandits, SweetGrass, Chicago Farmer, and Chicken Wire Empire!

SMOKIN' BANDITS
Partnering with Hundredth Monkey Productions as well as headlining the event are the Smokin’ Bandits who have been a staple on a powerful Midwest scene for nearly a decade with their original, high-energy form of music they call "Grass n' Roll." With a catalog of original material mixing influences ranging from The Allman Brothers Band to Leftover Salmon, Rolling Stones to Gov't Mule, the band brings a powerhouse performance each time they take the stage sure to make you move, shake, and promising for every show to be one of different form. Forming as a string band in La Crosse, WI in 2003, the Bandits electrified in 2004 to form a sound that is uniquely theirs but reaches to music lovers of all different genres and generations.

In nearly a decade of touring the Smokin' Bandits have shared the stage with and have been support for the likes of Little Feat, Dr. John, Gov't Mule, Great American Taxi, ekoostik hookah, Jazz Mandolin Project, The Big Wu, Melvin Seals & JGB, Steve Kimock, Bill Miller and Trampled by Turtles amongst many more and each of the last six years have hosted their Bandit County Fair Music Festival featuring the best regional and national talent the Midwest has to offer. Past performers at the Bandit County Fair include Great American Taxi (featuring Vince Herman of Leftover Salmon), Willy Porter, steez, Heatbox, Natty Nation, Fat Maw Rooney, Stealin' Strings, Roster McCabe, Shoeless Revolution, Two Many Banjos (featuring Dave Caroll of Trampled by Turtles), The Grasshoppers, White Iron Band, Nicholas Mrozinski & The Feelin' Band, Clovis Mann as well as dozens of others who have graced the stages with their talent.

Smokin' Bandits feature Christian Staehly on rhythm acoustic guitar and vocals, Pat Ferguson on lead electric/acoustic guitar and vocals, Matt Mahlum producing the percussion, Gregg "Cheech" Hall on electric slide guitar/lap steel and vocals, and Tim Powers on bass.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Smokin-Bandits/25844988426
http://www.myspace.com/thesmokinbandits

SWEETGRASS
SweetGrass is a Wisconsin-based bluegrass quintet uniting the traditions of American roots music with youthful creativity. Their playful temperament, energetic live performances and diverse original repertoire have earned them attention and respect beyond the Midwest’s premiere festival and club circles. Whether they’re raising a ruckus in barrooms or serenading crowds in lawn chairs, they’re making waves wherever they go – simply put, SweetGrass is the people’s band.

SweetGrass cut their teeth busking on the street corners of Madison, and in the process conjured a multigenerational bluegrass following almost instantly. In 2009 they became MBOTMA’s (Minnesota Bluegrass & Old-Time Music Association) “Race for a Place” champions, catapulting them onto the festival scene. Last summer they were runners-up at RockyGrass in Lyons, Colorado and supported Blue Highway at the Minnesota Bluegrass Festival (IBMA nominated “Event of the Year” three times). SweetGrass has also shared the stage with the Infamous Stringdusters, Bearfoot, Greensky Bluegrass, Bruce Molsky & Big Hoedown, Danny Paisley and SouthernGrass, The Gibson Brothers, Pert’ Near Sandstone, Cormeal and more.

SweetGrass is: Shauncey Ali (fiddle, vocals), Cole Christianson (banjo, vocals), Trent Cuthbert (guitar, vocals), Dale Ward (mandolin, vocals) and Patrick Spaay (bass, vocals).
Learn more about SweetGrass at:
http://www.facebook.com/sweetgrasspickin
http://www.myspace.com/sweetgrasspickin

Chicago Farmer

Cody is a folk-singer’s folk-singer and a poet’s poet. He was born and bred in Delavan IL, population 25, surrounded by the endless skies of the American Midwest. Before moving to Chicago in 2003, Cody tried his hand at sessions in Nashville and carefully hewed and tested his art in college town bars and honky-tonks around the Midwest. He now plays regularly in the city and it’s not uncommon to see whole rooms full of strangers erupt and sing along to the choruses of his songs on their first listen (I’ve seen it happen). Cody’s voice is powerful and gritty, emotionally piercing while subtly imbuing additional layers of meaning and poignancy in his lyrical delivery. His song-writing is deeply rooted in the American Folk tradition and all of its grit but with a post Dylan sense of wit, perspicacity and that certain savior-faire. He didn’t go to college but he drank all of their beer.

Every folk-singer has to migrate to the city, in a way it seems to be hidden in definition of a folk singer anymore. Cody has come to remind Chicago that it is in Illinois. And to remind the rest of the world that when Louis Armstrong redefined, some say invented the art of Jazz in the 1920′s he brought his Hot Fives to Chicago to do it. When Robert Johnson wanted to put his Mississippi Mud on wax, his hellhound chased him to Chicago to do it. And same like, Cody has come to Chicago to deliver what it needs, when it isn’t even sure itself. He is currently recording a collection of songs from his vast back-catalog and performing across the heartland.

Chicago Farmer is a veteran of national music festivals including but not limited to Summer Camp, John Hartford Memorial Festival, Whispering Beard Folk Festival, Camp Euforia, Chicago Blues & Bluegrass Festival and has shared the stage with Todd Snider, Del McCoury Band, Gene Wene, Emmitt-Nershi Band, Leftover Salmon, The Ragbirds, Cornmeal, Greensky Bluegrass, and David Mayfield Parade to name just a small few.

“My favorite discovery of last year, Chicago Farmer was near the top of my festival must see list. His songs feature a warmth and a sense of humor that recalls Arlo Guthrie along with many other of the greats in the singer-songwriter genre, though he truly does stand on his own. Featuring a sense of lyrical energy and quirky word play that can bring a smile to even the most jaded of music aficionados, his Saturday afternoon set was a highlight of the weekend. If he is ever anywhere near your hometown, I cannot urge you strongly enough to go.”

-Rex Thompson - festivalfamily.com

www.chicagofarmer.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chicago-Farmer/52963674291?ref=search&sid=539828013.1592001740..1

CHICKEN WIRE EMPIRE
Milwaukee quartet Chicken Wire Empire (feat. members of Stealin’ Strings, Honest Monday, and R.A.S. Movement) will be starting the night off right at the Majestic. Influenced by Bluegrass, Folk and Roots/Americana music, Chicken Wire Empire was started as a side project in the fall of 2008. By combining acoustic experimentation and traditional bluegrass, CWE provides an upbeat and unique experience onto itself.

The band is comprised of Seth Foerster on guitar and vocals, Jordan Kroeger on bass and vocals, Ryan Ogburn on mandolin and vocals, and Chad Whitty on the banjo and vocals.

CWE has begun spreading their eclectic blend of Folk ’n Grass around the local Milwaukee music scene, recently recorded their first full-length demo and has quickly become a force to be reckoned with amongst the Midwest live music scene.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chicken-Wire-Empire/240151929395485
http://www.myspace.com/chickenwireempire

*PEARL STREET BREWERY*
Based out of La Crosse, WI, the Mid-Summer Meltdown is proudly sponsored by the Pearl Street Brewery who will be having their special Madison release of the one batch a year "Smokin' Hemp Porter" named in homage to their good friends Smokin' Bandits and released every year for their Bandit County Fair Music Festival of which the brewery is also a sponsor. PSB will also have multiple other award winning beers on tap and on special throughout the entire night.
www.pearlstreetbrewery.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pearl-Street-Brewery/139462999252
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Mid-Summer Meltdown – The Majestic Theatre, 115 King St, Madison, WI 53703, Venue Info: (608) 255-0901
All Ages Show. Tickets are $10 adv, available at the Majestic Theatre Box Office, online at http://bit.ly/HOqeM2 or by phone at 1-800-514-ETIX.