Music in the Air. . . with Mark ‘Fenny’ Fenichel: A Night at the Grange brings bluegrass to South Valley with band Sideline

Published in the February 6 – 19, 2019 issue of Gilroy Life

Bluegrass returns to the Morgan Hill Grange Hall Feb. 23 as The California Bluegrass Association presents the band “Sideline.” Founder of the annual Night At The Grange event, local bluegrass guru Tim Edes, has brought some of the biggest and most amazing national bluegrass acts to the stage of the Grange Hall during the years. Sideline is the perfect band to fill the bill.

Sideline is a powerful six-piece band whose style has set the pace in the Bluegrass world for more than two decades. Founders Steve Dilling, Skip Cherryholmes and Jason Moore can all claim their own historical significance to the genre as members of highly awarded groups, multiple Grand Ole Opry appearances and years of national and international touring.

What started as a side project for the seasoned players soon became their main gig as the three were joined by Bailey Coe on guitar, Troy Boon on mandolin, and Daniel Greeson on fiddle. They soon began to record and release albums.

To listen to Sideline reminds fans of why so many people fall in love with bluegrass in the first place with their pulse-pounding, hard-driving tunes all sung from the heart with perfect timing and beautiful dynamics. A band that was started as an off-season fun experiment has turned itself into a full-time dream team of players and singers.

The band’s repertoire includes hard-hitting neo-traditional covers of classic songs and crosses over to new material curated by a band with a perfect sense of who they are and what they have to say. Combine all this with their on-stage energy and finesse as well as their powerful and affecting harmonies, and you have the embodiment of the North Carolina bluegrass sound. Sideline has released three national projects and currently records for the highly awarded Mountain Home Music Company based near Asheville, N.C.

For information and tickets, call Tim Edes at (408) 595-4882 or send an email to [email protected]. If you want to see more details on the band you can find them at Sidelinebg.com.

On other notes, Clos LaChance Vineyards will have live music every Sunday in February from 1 to 4 p.m. The line-up features “Free Spirit” Feb. 3, “ The Mary Ellen Duo” Feb. 10, “P.S. Acoustic” Feb. 17 and “Carlos Padilla” Feb. 24. Enjoy them all at one of the most beautiful wineries in the region.

I had the pleasure of hosting the second week of Chris & Friends Open Mic at 88 Keys Café while Chris was out on a leave of absence for a week.  It was a real joy to see that despite the heavy rain and wind, many came to play and others came to listen, eat, drink and enjoy a relaxing evening of great entertainment. I think this open mic shows us that the music scene in South Valley is long-term and this event will continue to grow as the weeks, months and years progress. I am truly proud to be involved. Please come out any Wednesday and support the live, local music scene.

The 9th Annual San Jose Jazz Winter Fest 2019 featuring more than 20 concerts throughout downtown San Jose runs from Feb. 14 to 27. The Bad Plus joins an electrifying artist lineup for SJZ Winter Fest 2019, which includes Gilles Peterson (DJ Set), Catherine Russell with the SJSU Jazz Orchestra, Charles McPherson, Anton Schwartz with Kenny Washington, Aaron Diehl, Bells Atlas, La Dame Blanche, Tiffany Austin with Leon Joyce, Marcus Shelby and Adam Shulman, JC Smith Band All-Star Blues Blowout Featuring Fillmore Slim, Kid Anderson and Rick Estrin, The Rad Trads, Kathy Kosins, SJZ Collective plays Mingus, Chéjere, Richie Goods, and some of the Bay Area’s foremost youth jazz ensembles.

Finally, your Valentine might enjoy an evening at Guglielmo Winery with The Houserockers. This event includes dinner, champagne toast and dancing from 5 to 10 p.m. Thursday Feb. 14. For tickets visit www.houserockers.ticketleap.com/bemyvalentine.

Got a music photo? Email [email protected].