Tickets are still available!

What:  The West & Rhode Riverkeeper presents an evening of lively Americana and bluegrass music featuring the High and Wides

Where:  Galesville Memorial Hall, 952 Main St, Galesville, MD 20765

When: Saturday, October 29, 2016   8 – 10 p.m.

Admission: $25

Click here for Reservations or call 410-867-7171 

From left: Sam Guthridge on banjo, Nate Grower on fiddle, Marc Dykeman on guitar and Mike Buccino on bass. 

‘High and Wides’ bluegrass concert to benefit the West & Rhode Rivers

The West & Rhode Riverkeeper will present an evening of electrifying acoustic bluegrass and Americana music by the “High and Wides” at the Galesville Memorial Hall on Saturday, October 29, at 8 p.m. Admission is $25. Beer and wine will be available. Click here to purchase tickets, or call 410-867-7171.

The High and Wides, comprising Sam Guthridge on banjo, mandolin and vocals, Marc Dykeman on guitar and vocals, Nate Grower on fiddle, mandolin and vocals, and Mike Buccino on bass, are mostly renegades from the high-energy Eastern Shore touring group Chester River Runoff, except for Buccino, world-class jazz bassist. They play music inspired by the days when the lines between bluegrass, old-time, country, boogie, blues, rockabilly and western swing were blurred, back before string bands got stuck in a particular genre.  

“When you hear these guys play, you get carried away by the music—it’s fun, it’s melancholy, it’s foot tapping, it’s corny and it’s all under one grand folky umbrella,” says Jeff Holland, West and Rhode Riverkeeper. “Good voices, good instrumentals, good group.”

Proceeds from the concert will help the Riverkeeper keep the West and Rhode Rivers fishable, swimmable, kayak-able and crab-able.  The Riverkeeper gratefully acknowledges the support of the West River Improvement Association in making this concert possible.

Contact: Jeff Holland / 443-758-7797 / 

Band Bios:

Sam Guthridge (banjo/mandolin/vocals) has been on the musical scene for going on two decades now, fine tuning his own eclectic banjo style and sharpening his vocal chops. An old-time instrumental trio album he recorded with Aaron Jonah Lewis and Erica Weiss was named to the "Top 10 Indie/Roots” albums of 2013.

Marc Dykeman (guitar/vocals) has been playing music professionally since the early 90s, when he played with ska bands Nope and the Pietasters. A man of wide ranging tastes, Marc also plays bass and composes for the Baltimore-based art rock band Pläns Pläns, who released their second studio album in the fall of 2008. When Marc isn't playing music, he is the interviewer and sound editor for an oral history project on the Eastern Shore, and has edited radio spots for these interviews on several radio stations, including WRNR Annapolis and WKHS Worton. 

The youngest member of the group, fiddler Nate Grower (fiddle/mandolin/vocals) was motivated to take up the fiddle as a teenager after hearing bluegrass music at his home in western New York. Since moving to Delaware in 2005, he has concentrated his efforts on mastering the art of bluegrass fiddle and was the 2011 Delaware State Fiddle Champion. 

Mike Buccino (bass) has a master’s in music theory and composition from the University of Northern Colorado. As a bassist and guitarist, he has performed jazz, salsa, R&B, folk, and classical music with various ensembles, including the Dover Symphony Orchestra. Mike is also a regular performer at the Chestertown Jazz Festival and is active with the Baltimore Jazz Alliance. His thumping bass lines perfectly match the rhythms of the group, with periodic sorties into powerful solo bass riffs that can really spice up a song.