Railroad Earth 11/28

For over two decades, Railroad Earth has captivated audiences with gleefully unpredictable live shows and eloquent and elevated studio output. The group introduced its signature sound on 2001’s The Black Bear Sessions. Between selling out hallowed venues such as Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO, they’ve launched the longstanding annual Hangtown Music Festival in Placerville, CA and Hillberry: The Harvest Moon Festival in Ozark, AR—both running for a decade-plus. Sought after by legends, the John Denver Estate tapped them to put lyrics penned by the late John Denver to music on the 2019 vinyl EP, Railroad Earth: The John Denver Letters. Beyond tallying tens of millions of streams, the collective have earned widespread critical acclaim from David Fricke of Rolling Stone, American Songwriter, Glide Magazine, and NPR who assured, “Well-versed in rambling around, as you might expect from a band named after a Jack Kerouac poem, the New Jersey-built jam-grass engine Railroad Earth has let no moss grow under its rustic wheels.”

"The Keel Duo: Larry Keel & Winston Mitchell", consisting of Keel on acoustic guitar and Mitchell on mandolin and acoustic guitar, are masters of their instruments and deeply soulful singers, drawing heavily from Keel’s catalog of original music and imaginative interpretations of choice covers.

Winston's love for music started with his dad who was a skilled guitarist, singer, songwriter, and pedal steel player. Playing mostly electric guitar until his early-20s, he was introduced to the music of Jeff Austin and Yonder Mountain String Band and was immediately captivated by the energy and improvisation coming off of a pile of acoustic bootleg CDs. After playing guitar in several bands he decided to try out mandolin and immediately was hooked. With his strongest inspirations deriving from Jeff & Sam Bush’s playing, he worked his way backwards through time to get to the origins of bluegrass.

One listener likened the experience of watching this act to being backstage while the artists are running tunes, relaxed yet energized, nailing songs while taking musical risks and letting it all hang out. That’s the vibe they bring to the stage, inviting listeners to have fun and be part of the creative process happening before their very eyes and ears.