Following the success of its Robert Cray concert last year, Tahoe Donner has announced its summer concert for 2012. Tahoe favorites Dead Winter Carpenters will open for bluegrass legend Sam Bush on July 21.
Sam Bush is a three-time Grammy Award winner known for being one of the primary originators of the “newgrass” or progressive bluegrass movement. The genre takes traditional, acoustic bluegrass and adds a little electricity with rock and jazz influences.
Bush is an incredible mandolin player who has performed with the likes of Leon Russell, Emmylou Harris, Bela Fleck, Lyle Lovett, Garth Brooks and Jerry Garcia. In 2010, the Kentucky Legislature named Bush “The Father of Newgrass.” He visits Tahoe Donner shortly after other performances at Bonnaroo, the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall.
North Tahoe’s Dead Winter Carpenters is a rollicking five-piece band that mixes rock, country, folk, bluegrass and world music into a unique blend. The sound comes from fiddler Jenni Charles, upright bassist Dave Lockhart, drummer Ryan Davis and guitarists Jesse Dunn and Sean Duerr. The band has moved quickly from local bar band to an impressive national touring schedule. In 2011, Lake Tahoe Action named them Tahoe Band of the Year. The band played 175 shows last year and expects to do just as many this year in support of its new album “Ain’t It Strange.”
Tahoe Donner is a homeowners association that also offers a number of outdoor recreational facilities for the general public to enjoy. Along with golf, mountain biking and an equestrian center, the summer concert is part of a busy summer schedule. The show takes place on Tahoe Donner’s driving range, on a gentle slope surrounded by giant pines. Performers often say that it is one of the more beautiful and relaxed settings they have ever played.
Inner circle tickets (closest to the stage) are available for $50 and outer circle tickets are $35. Purchase tickets here or at the Member Services office (530) 587-9400 at Northwoods Clubhouse, 11509 Northwoods Blvd. in Truckee. The show begins at 6:30 p.m. Gates open at 5 p.m. Food and beverage items are available for purchase at the show. Parking is free.