The River Ramblers will present a concert entitled “An Afternoon of Bluegrass Music” Sunday, Feb. 10 at 4 p.m., as part of the Lincoln Land Community College Recital Series.
The concert is free and open to the public and will be held in the Trutter Center on the LLCC-Springfield campus.
The River Ramblers are a five-piece bluegrass band from Springfield and surrounding areas.The group assembled in 1987 with the commitment to maintain the traditional bluegrass sound. To date, the group has issued four recordings, which include mostly traditional songs combined with some original tunes. If you’re familiar with the music of bluegrass icons such as Bill Monroe, the Stanley Brothers, and Flatt and Scruggs, you will recognize many of the tunes this band performs.
The River Ramblers are Marc Bourne, guitar, mandolin, vocals; Duane Patterson, mandolin, guitar, vocals; Jennifer Ramm, fiddle, vocals (Jennifer is also a professor of chemistry at LLCC); Don Randle, bass, vocals; and Mike Smith, banjo.
Three of the band’s original members – Patterson, Bourne and Smith – are still with the band, and the current lineup has been together for more than 12 years. Such longevity is rare among bands and has helped the River Ramblers develop a solid sound and large repertoire. The band has performed in eight states throughout the Midwest and helped organize and sponsor festivals and community events. They have also performed at The Station Inn in Nashville, Tenn. and opened locally for nationally known bands such as the Del McCoury Band and the Infamous Stringdusters.
Upcoming performances in the LLCC Recital Series are:
Feb. 24
“La Vie en Rose”
Melinda Pitt Kaye, Soprano
April 7
“Musical Soup”
Jason Waddell and Friends
April 14
“Perspectivas Cubanos”
Millikin University Latin Jazz Project
April 28
“88 Keys for 2”
Piano duet recital by Maria Horváth and Pei-I Wang
May 12
“Music of the Lincoln Era”
The Lincoln Troubadours
