Log In


Reset Password
Columnists View from the Center Bear Smart The Travel Troubleshooter Dear Abby Student Aide Of Sound Mind Others Say Powerful solutions You are What You Eat Out Standing in the Fields What's up in Durango Skies Watch Yore Topknot Local First RE-4 Education Update MECC Cares for kids

Bluegrass band takes musical mission overseas

The media needs more watchdogs who single out positive government programs.

Our federal government makes so many decisions and policies that are ridiculed, playing out like bad television some scriptwriter thought was a good idea (think “Saved By The Bell: The College Years”). Good ideas on paper quickly turn to doubt, anger and that empty feeling of being powerless. But is it possible to have media watchdogs who alert the nation to great things happening in Washington, D.C.?

If Americans had a say in where their tax dollars go, music lovers could invest in the American Music Abroad program, the State Department’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs’ effort to promote America’s contribution to music. People forge friendships through music, and a government-backed tour sending bands out into the world to communicate, entertain and foster bonds is a good thing (unless the government is sending the band Florida-Georgia Line). Instead, it sends bands like the Henhouse Prowlers, a Chicago group contributing to the greater good of the world by serving as performers, educators and ambassadors.

The 2010 winner of the band competition at the Rockygrass Festival in Lyons and finalist at the Telluride Bluegrass Band Contest will be in town tonight, performing at the Animas City Theatre. Band members are Ben Wright on banjo, Star Moss on guitar, Jon Goldfine on bass and Dan Andree on fiddle. Everyone sings.

They’re fresh from a tour in Nigeria, their second stint in the overseas program.

“When we started this band, if someone had told me, ‘Within the next 10 years you’re going to have the chance to play music in Europe a few times and also in Africa twice,’ I wouldn’t have believed them,” Goldfine said. “It’s a cultural exchange. It’s a whole range of shows, from playing orphanages and schools, some in nice areas and some in slums, all the way to public concerts or swanky parties at embassies. It’s an incredible experience, especially when you interact with other musicians.”

The band just celebrated its 10th birthday. Formed by Goldfine and Wright, the Prowlers went through a handful of players before settling into the current lineup. Like Colorado’s bluegrass scene, Chicago is ripe for musicians – a creative collection in a fruitful music climate.

While the band spends plenty of time doing traditional tours, it also has a mission to get its music, and the idea of playing music, to anyone. It does this through overseas trips to perform to ears that have never heard bluegrass and classroom sessions in American schools. The band has ambitions beyond the typical formula of tour, perform, repeat, so much that members have formed a foundation to teach.

“The motive of it is to be able to bring music to schools in places where they wouldn’t be able to afford to bring in musical entertainment and instruction,” Goldfine said. “No one is born knowing how to play an instrument. So it’s kind of like a good way to give back. It keeps the circle going.”

Liggett_b@fortlewis.edu. Bryant Liggett is a freelance writer and KDUR station manager.

Bryant’s Best

Today: Music in the Mountains presents Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis, 7 p.m., $39/$49, Festival Tent at Durango Mountain Resort, 1 Skier Place, 385-6820.

Today: Bluegrass with the Henhouse Prowlers, 10 p.m., $7, Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Drive, 799-2281.



Reader Comments