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EWOB 2003
The weather was sunny and hot - practically steaming! - as 42 bands from the far corners of the globe came to showcase on May 29, 30, and 31, at the 6th annual European World of Bluegrass festival, held as always in Voorthuizen, Holland. For three colorful days and nights, banjos, mandolins, guitars, dobros, fiddles, and basses were everywhere, blazing like tulips all over this tiny Dutch town, in and around the festival site, in the marketplace, in front of stores and restaurants. The EWOB festival is the apex of 30 days of bluegrass music events across Europe, a fantastic celebration of International Bluegrass Month, organized by the European Bluegrass Music Association (EBMA), with support from IBMA.
We are very proud to announce that NUGGET (Austria) won the award for #1 European Bluegrass Band 2003 at EWOB, making them the only band to win this prestigious award twice. In 1999, Nugget, long Europe's premiere bluegrass group, became the first band ever to win EWOB's #1 European Bluegrass Band title. EWOB's top honor for professional musicianship in a European band is only the latest in a long array of European, Austrian, and Czech awards from both bluegrass and country music organizations, garnered by this versatile and accomplished Austrian group and its individual members. Nugget was founded 27 years ago by ace mandolin player and songwriter Helmut Mitteregger, from Vienna. The band boasts wonderful singers, Helmut & Katarina Mitteregger, on mandolin and electric bass; as well as two of the Czech Republic's finest bluegrass pickers, Jakub Racek and Jarda Jahoda, on guitar and banjo. The #2 European Bluegrass Band 2003 award went to MONOGRAM (Czech Republic),
The #3 European Bluegrass Band 2003, was for the MIDEANDO STRING QUARTET (Italy) The top 3 European Bluegrass Bands each year are chosen by a jury of their peers on the basis of those indefinable achievements to which all musicians aspire, such as musical virtuosity, creativity, impact, professional presentation. Only musicians performing at the festival are allowed to vote for these awards.
The EWOB festival attracts a discerning public too, including not only a regional Dutch audience, but many people who travel long distances to enjoy the music. Although it's an unusual practice and creates quite a task for our Dutch volunteers, EBMA also tabulates votes for an annual EWOB Audience Popularity Award. This year's winners are a young band from Sweden called the LONESOME MOUNTAINEERS, who performed their own brand of hillbilly bluegrass, featuring four singers: Mikael Grund (guitar), Tobias Stromberg (dobro), David Ekberg (mandolin), Nicklas Nordqvist (banjo); plus Anna Lund (fiddle), and Daniel Hoglund (bass). The second and third Audience Popularity Awards went to the Looping Brothers from Germany and Monogram from the Czech Republic respectively. Showcase sets are only 30 min. long, including 5 min. for changing bands - and some bands drive 30 hours round trip to perform at EWOB! Our bands are very dedicated, and the level of musicianship in evidence is impressive, both onstage and off. Bands interested in performing at the EWOB festival submit demos and applications (to rienk@ebma.org) before the end of November, and are selected by committee.
EWOB always features wonderful guest artists from the USA and Canada. Recent years have included Laurie Lewis & Her Bluegrass Pals, Kate MacKenzie Band, Bill Clifton & Pick of the Crop, Hickory Project, Tammy Fassaert Band, Linda Thomas & Dan DeLancey - and 2003 brought us John Reischman & the Jaybirds, Chris Jones & the Czech Drivers, the Buddy & Tina Wright Band, and Liz Meyer with Nugget, on the Voorthuizen festival itself. Other "foreign" guests playing at nearby EWOB festivals this year included the Horseflies, Amy Gallatin & the Hot Flashes, and Marc Bristol (a performing songwriter, in addition to being the editor of Blue Suede News).
Each year the best performances of the EWOB festival are released on an annual CD from Holland's bluegrass label, Strictly Country Records. EWOB 1998-2002 CDs receive international airplay and have gotten terrific reviews from music publications worldwide. So far, the 5 CDs have each featured 20-26 different artists. (scr@pietergroenveld.com)
EWOB: SEE BLUEGRASS MUSIC DRESSED IN EUROPE'S BRIGHTEST COLORS