Southern Maryland Bluegrass

Description

A Trailblazer in Bluegrass and The Most Awarded Bass Player In The History of the International Bluegrass Music Association. Missy Raines is a bass player’s bass player, singer, songwriter, teacher, sideman, and bandleader. She’s received multiple awards for Recorded Event of the Year and Song of the Year and is featured in The Country Music Hall of Fame as part of their American Currents exhibit. California, MD – March 27, 2025, — The Southern Maryland Bluegrass Concert series will close the season presenting its 8th show featuring, Missy Raines & Allegheny on Sunday April 27, 2025. Hosted by Jay Armsworthy, the 2024-2025 series have brought some of Bluegrass music’s national known female singers and pickers to the Calvert Elks Lodge. Missy Raines will take the stage starting at 2 pm at the Lodge, located at 1015 Dares Beach Road in Prince Frederick, MD. GRAMMY nominated and 10-time International Bluegrass Music Association Bass Player of the Year, Missy Raines, has received this honor more than any other bass player in the history of the organization. In January of 2020, Missy debuted on the Grand Ole Opry with her band, Allegheny. Missy Raines & Allegheny is Ben Garnett on guitar, Eli Gilbert on banjo, Ellie Hakanson on fiddle, Tristan Scroggins on mandolin, and of course Missy on bass fiddle. The band is named for the Allegheny highlands of West Virginia where she grew up. This band is a significant nod to her deep traditional Bluegrass roots. The music is traditional and hard driving at its core but energized with Missy’s well-known innovation for originality. Missy grew up in West Virginia, just a few miles from the historic C&O Canal, the headwaters of the Potomac River, and the Maryland and Pennsylvania state lines. Geographically, it was a pretty straight shot down ‘out of the hills’ to the Washington DC, Baltimore, and northern Virginia areas. Her family would travel there as much as possible to hear all the incredible bluegrass that was made there during the 60’s and the 70’s. Washington, D.C. was a hotbed of bluegrass (both traditional and progressive) at the time with bands like Bob Paisley & Ted Lundy, Del McCoury and the Dixie Pals, the Country Gentlemen, and the Seldom Scene. All of that music affected her deeply then. Today she is having the time of her life letting those influences shine through with this band, Allegheny. Though Missy emerged onto the national scene through the ancient tones of bluegrass music, her unrelenting urge led her to many collaborations in the areas of Americana, country and folk music. As a Bluegrass/Americana icon, her latest album, Highlander on the Compass Record label, is sort of a homecoming for her. It takes her back to where her roots started, traditional Bluegrass music. When she started to make a full-time career in music, she headed for the bright lights of Nashville, ultimately garnering some of the biggest accolades in the music industry, including 14 International Bluegrass Music Association honors, with 10 being awarded for “Bass Player of the Year. Peeling back the layers of Highlander, Missy returns to her Bluegrass roots. Coming into the recording process, Missy found herself, perhaps subconsciously, digging deep into the people, places and things residing at the foundation of her life and career. She watched that first generation of Bluegrass people creating traditional music, then breaking away from it to do their own thing. And all of it is still surviving and flourishing today. As quoted by Missy Raines, “there’s nothing more Bluegrass than the act of absolute innovation — and that’s what we’re doing, because that’s what (Bill) Monroe did from the start.” Missy Raines & Allegheny will begin at 2:00 pm with doors opening at Noon. Tickets are $23.00 per person and under 12 free with a paid adult. Hamburgers, Hot Dogs with all the trimmings will be available for sale from Noon until 2:00 pm by the Calvert Elks. Tickets are available at the door. Although not required, if you prefer to pay in advance, you may do so by going to www.somdbluegrass.com or call 301-737-3004. The 2025-2026 Southern Maryland Bluegrass Concert Series will start back up on Sunday October 5, 2025, with the award winning, Seldom Scene. Bluegrass Country Radio (www.bluegrasscountry.org) is a proud media sponsor of Southern Maryland Bluegrass at the Elks.