Mile Twelve

Location: R.A. Fountain

for our promo for this concert

[Fountain, NC] The Boston-based bluegrass quartet Mile Twelve plays a concert of traditional and original bluegrass at Fountain General Store on Saturday, September 24.

“This is one of the best new bluegrass bands in New England,” said Alex Albright, Fountain General Store. They will be featured in three showcase events at the International Bluegrass Music Association’s World of Bluegrass, staged in Raleigh Sept. 26 -Oct. 1.

“Individually, these will be some of the best young pickers we’ve hosted,” added Albright. “And together, they’re a terrific band that also features excellent lead and harmony vocals.”

Bluegrass legend Tony Trischka says their instrumental skills “reflect natural abilities enhanced by serious study of bluegrass tradition and a fearless desire to create fresh pathways.”

Guitarist Evan Murphy, a Milton, Mass., native, graduated from Boston College in 2012 with degrees in theatre and music. While living in New York City, he played with the bluegrass band Tenafly Rye and studied bluegrass guitar with Michael Daves and classical guitar with Jason Sagebiel.

Catherine “BB” Bowness, a native New Zealander, began playing banjo when she was 6. She won the Frank Winter memorial award at the Auckland Folk Festival, which allowed her to travel to the United States, where she has studied with Tony Trischka, Alan Munde and Noam Pikelny. In 2009, she became the first banjo player accepted to the New Zealand School of Music, where she graduated in 2011 with a degree in jazz performance. She won first place at the 2015 Freshgrass Banjo Contest and stays busy in New England these days recording, teaching and performing.

Bassist Nate Sabat is from New York City, where he graduated from the voice program at LaGuardia High School. He earned his degree in bass from the Berklee College of Music in Boston and has performed with the New York Pops, Kronos Quartet, Eugene Friesen, and Bruce Molsky. This past winter, he was one of 16 young acoustic musicians accepted to the Savannah Acoustic Music Seminar, where he worked with Bela Fleck, Mike Marshall and Chris Eldridge.

Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, originally from Charlottesville, Va., graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2013 with a degree in violin performance. She’s played with Peter Rowan, the Milk Carton Kids, Anais Mitchell, and Tony Trischka, among others. And among her awards: first place at the Walnut Valley Old Time Fiddle Championship in Winfield, Kan.,and first place at the Freshgrass Fiddle Contest. She teaches at Berklee College of Music and also independently in Boston and world-wide via Skyp

Mile Twelve will perform at the World of Bluegrass showcases at different Raleigh clubs on Sept. 28, 29, and 30. Their September 24 show at Fountain begins at 7:30. General admission is $10; reserved seats, $12.50.

RAF is closed next weekend, when we’ll also be at IBMA’s World of Bluegrass, hoping to catch at one venue or another some of the excellent acts that have played Fountain. Among them: Mike Compton & Joe Newberry; the Slocan Ramblers; Alice Gerrard and the Piedmont Melody Makers; the Malpass Brothers; the Grass Cats; the Piney Woods Boys; Nixon Blevins & Gage; Tommy Edwards; clogger extraordinaire Rodney Sutton; the Green Grass Cloggers; and of course Mile Twelve.

Tags: bluegrass gospel, original, tradtional bluegrass