Embracing the Collective

11/25/2015

As the last leaves begin to fall and the cold wind starts to howl, Autumn slowly fades into Winters darkest hour, but we don't feel cold at all here at the Fireside homestead. We are warmed by all the thoughts and memories of all the good friends who we got to share music with over the past couple of months! Here are some of our highlights...

Early in the summer, we got to play with Justin Eisenman, a great friend and excellent musician. Jesse recovered well from his Zombie attack...

The band was joined by Drew Matulich on a trip up to Pennsylvania. Drew's excellent musicianship along with his positive attitude and fun demeanor made this trip unforgettable!

We had a bunch of friends join us at Natalie Faulkners fundraiser for Nepal! Virtuoso bass player and one of the happiest dudes we know Jake O'Connor on bass, our good pal and excellent musician/percussionist Mike Evans, and our extremely talented friend Laura Smith on the fiddle. This was a fun jam!

Drew joined us again along with our great friend and awesome fiddle player/fiddle maker, Mr. Jack Devereux. We had a blast eating fine food, playing music, and being treated like kings by the fine folks at the Pinehurst Resort!

The Collective reached it's peak at the IBMA's in Raleigh this fall. Tommy rockin' the soundboard, Laura sawin' on the fiddle, our friend from Japan, Hiroshi Arakawa on the guitar, Jesse on the mando, George Wagman and Derek Vaden on the dueling banjos, Carson on E-bass, and Cara Mastrianni singing some tunes. Wow, what a blast!!

Tommy takes the helm at the Biltmore Estate as 2 new friends lend their talents to the Collective. An excellent guitarist and well rounded musician, Joe Cicero on guitar, along with a great person and incredible banjo player, Judo Allison.

A stripped down Collective features Jesse on his new guitar, Carson on his new Upright Bass, and frequent guest Cara Mastrianni with her beautiful vocals and excellent stage presence. This was a great show for a great cause raising money for local animal shelters.

One of the highlights of our Fall tour was performing as a 6 piece bluegrass band at the Catawba Brewery in Morganton. Newcomer Emilie Phelps came out for a short but sweet performance playing the fiddle and singing some great songs. It was a blast having so much talent on one stage!

As we close out the year, reflecting back on these shows reminds us of the incredible power of music to unite and inspire. We got to play some shows with some incredibly talented people and we look forward to featuring more guests as we journey onward. We will also be bringing in some new full time members and announcing some exciting shows on the horizon including a residency in Asheville in January and another tour out West!

Last but not least, we would like to take a minute to thank our fans. It means so much to us to have so many people come out and support us as we travel around this country, sharing our music. We made so many new friends this year and every interaction, no matter how brief, has impacted us in a positive way. We have to thank all the kind people who have given us a place to stay, especially CP Harris who basically gave us a house in Raleigh! To everyone who took the time to come out and see us thank you! To everyone who has listened to our CD, thank you! To everyone reading this right now, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your love and support!