Two Events in Northern CA
March 9 & 10, 2013

James Reams & The Barnstormers, a bluegrass band that was nominated
by the International Bluegrass Music Association in 2002 as Emerging
Artist of the Year, will be appearing at two venues in Northern
California during March.

On Saturday, March 9^th, the band will be performing for the 21^st
Annual Redwood Bluegrass Associates Concert Series (co-sponsored by the
Northern California Bluegrass Society). The show is held at the First
Presbyterian Church located at 1667 Miramonte Ave at Cuesta Drive in
Mountain View, CA (http://www.rba.org). Tickets are available online at http://rba.org/tickets.html. 
This is a great opportunity to see this long-established iconic
bluegrass band playing in an intimate setting with legendary bluegrass
fiddler, Blaine Sprouse.

The Sonoma County Bluegrass and Folk Festival will be held on Sunday, March 10^th.
James Reams & The Barnstormers are a featured performer at this one
day family-friendly event that is co-sponsored by the California
Bluegrass Association and the Sonoma County Folk Society. The festival
is being held at the Sebastopol Community Center located at 390 Morris
Street in Sebastopol, CA (SCB&F Festival). Tickets are available online through the California Bluegrass Association (SCB&F Festival Tickets).
This festival promotes a sense of community and interaction between the
festival goers and the performers. All-in-all, a wonderful day of music
from nationally known as well as international musicians.

Noted bluegrass authority Stephanie P. Ledgin describes James Reams & The Barnstormers in her book, Homegrown Music: Discovering Bluegrass
(Praeger Publishers, 2004): “A plentiful selection of younger, emerging
artists continues to grow in both traditional as well as progressive
bluegrass camps. James Reams & The Barnstormers rely on early
country material and originals written in authentic style. The results
are a virtual history of the music and its roots, played in a clean,
heartfelt manner that is somewhere between Bill Monroe’s and the Stanley
Brothers’.”
          
Raised in eastern Kentucky but now living in Phoenix, James Reams puts a
layer of desert grit over a solid base of traditional bluegrass music.
His band treads the terrain where bluegrass, old-time, classic country,
honky tonk and rockabilly meet in the night to swap stories. These are
the sounds of the hills and hollers combined with the sounds of
factories, railroad yards and honky tonks.

In 2013 the band is celebrating 20 years of playing bluegrass music with
a coast-to-coast tour and the much anticipated release of the DVD
documentary “Making History with Pioneers of Bluegrass Music” that
should be available by mid-year. Their latest CD, One Foot in the Honky Tonk, made two Top Ten CDs of 2011 lists and had a single that charted nationally.

Here are some reviews of their most recent CD (One Foot in the Honky Tonk):

• Lonesome Road Review by Larry Stephens:
  “[James Reams & the Barnstormers] have been around almost two
  decades, playing their own style of music. James’ music is hardcore
  traditional bluegrass and acoustic music. There’s no indication that he
  feels bound to the Monroe tradition and you’ll hear some old-time sound
  in his music, but if he isn’t in the same vein of coal with Monroe he’s
  certainly in the same coal mine.”
• Joe Ross, reviewer for Bluegrass Now and SPBGMA’s Bluegrass Music News: “James
  Reams and the Barnstormers have built a solid reputation for lively,
  spirited, soulful, no-frills-added bluegrass with a nice mix of
  traditional numbers, covers and originals. Fronted by his rustic and
  rural lead vocals, they dish up exciting bluegrass in a classic
  old-school style of yesteryear…this album has plenty of songs that
  belong on today’s jukeboxes and ipods.”
• JP Tausig, Country Standard Time:
  “With a voice like Del McCoury’s, Reams has captured the feel of old
  honky-tonk jukebox music. ‘I Can’t Settle Down’ is a great example of
  what Reams and the Barnstormers can do. ‘Snake Eyes’ is an original
  Reams tune about bad luck and gambling, with clean instrumentals and
  surprising harmonies on the chorus… Reams’ style turns even this topic
  into a song you might dance to on a Saturday night.”
• John Lupton, in Country Standard Time, wrote this about the band’s first album, Barnstormin’:
  “The music on this disc features elements reminiscent of the
  sophisticated stylings of fellow Kentuckian Bill Monroe mixed with the
  old time, deep-hollow sound of the Stanley Brothers…This is hard-core
  bluegrass from down home.” In honor of the band’s 20^th anniversary, this album is now available as a FREE download from www.NoiseTrade.com/jamesreams.     

For more information about James Reams & The Barnstormers visit www.jamesreams.com or http://cdbaby.com/Artist/jamesReams.