Banjo Dan and the Mid-Nite Plowboys

1999 email newsletters

October 1999
Hey, everybody -- Where'd summer go?  It always seems so short.  Maybe because time flies when you're having fun, and summer is when most of the gigs are.  We had a fine old time this year with festivals, concerts in the parks, and a whole lot more, including some dynamite parties, pig roasts and weddings.  I hope you were able to get to a show or two.  I know our mailing list about doubled over the last few months.  Which is good, because if you're interested in our music, we're interested in keeping you up to date on the band.

The schedule we posted in the spring is played out, and only a few private functions remain.  Except, we have added one more concert (which had to canceled as of Oct. 12--may be rescheduled for spring).  On Saturday, October 23, we'll be playing at St. Luke's Church on the park in the middle of St. Albans, Vermont.  It's a great venue, and we'll be helping the Samaritan House of Franklin County raise some bucks.  We're looking forward to getting back to good old Franklin County, where Banjo Dan first set foot on the Vermont shore.  If you've heard the recordings, you know, it's the site of the St. Albans, Raid, Dream Lake, etc.  The show starts at 7:30 PM, and we'd love to see you there.  (Of course, with email I can't tell if our subscribers are in Vermont, Kenya, or Russia!)

Which brings up a matter of housekeeping.  If you don't care to get our Newsletter and bulletins, don't be shy.  Just use my address above and let me know.  I won't be mad -- I just won't write you any more.

And oh, yeah -- one final reminder.  You're invited to spend New Year's Eve with us.  Banjo Dan and the Mid-nite Plowboys will be playing First Night St. Johnsbury, starting 4 PM and alternating with your other favorite group, the New Bremen Town Musicians.  That goes till about 8.  The the Plowboys, gluttons that they are, high-tail it for Burlington to launch A.D. 2000 at Burlington's major-league First Night celebration. We'll do two shows, 10 PM and 11 PM, at the College Street Congregational Church.  Hope we see you, either the last day of this century or sometime in the next.  Have a great rest of the year.  For all the fun-loving Mid-nite Plowboys,

--  Banjo Dan

Omigosh!  How could I have forgotten the most important thing of all? It's time to do your Christmas, Hannukah and Kwanzaa shopping!!  Our stock is getting low, but we still have cassettes of "Banjo Dan and the Mid-nite Plowboys," our greatest-hits collection of 19 bluegrass songs old, new and original.  And "The Catamount is Back -- Banjo Dan's Song of Vermont, Vol. II" is still available on CD or cassette.  We'll ship anywhere, of course.  Cassettes are $11, CDs are $16.  Send a good check or money order to Dan Lindner, 25 Kent Street, Montpelier, VT 05602.  Thanks.  I'll quit bugging you and go watch the Red Sox.  BD

May 1999
MAY is International Bluegrass Music Month. Why? Because the International Bluegrass Music Association says so. What can you do to celebrate bluegrass this month? Go out and buy a bluegrass recording (preferably by Banjo Dan), go to a live show (somebody else's -- we don't get going till June), take up the banjo, harass your local radio station to play more of the music you love.

As we approach the millennium, Banjo Dan and the Mid-nite Plowboys are struggling valiantly to join the 1990's -- while retaining the bluegrass sound of the 1950s! A large number of friends and fans are now receiving this message electronically, which is a good thing, since the price of postage keeps creeping up as our mailing list continues to grow. (Perhaps if each of you wrote to your congressperson to suggest non-profit status for bluegrass bands we could afford to do these newsletters more often.) IF YOU HAVE AN E-MAIL ADDRESS PLEASE SEND IT TO ME at jdlind@together.net (be sure to include your name), and I'll switch you to the electronic list. The band will save money for new shoes, and you will receive more frequent updates and bulletins. And if you have access to the internet, be sure to visit our web site from time to time. Our friend Dan Axtell always has the latest info on upcoming shows. And now, here's how the season is shaping up:

June 11-13: VT Bluegrass Family Festival, Fairgrounds, Essex Jct. The third year for this wonderful festival, with great national and regional talent. If you are anywhere near Vermont, please come join us for a weekend of fantastic music.
June 18: Rutland, Vermont, Depot Park, 7 PM.
June 19: Rattling Brook Bluegrass Festival, Waterville, VT. This lively one-day festival has been going on for many years. Always a good time.
June 26: Newport, VT, Gateway Park, evening.
July 13: Fort Ticonderoga, New York. Festival Series concert, town park, 8 PM.
July 17-18: Smith Meeting House Bluegrass Festival, Gilmanton, NH. An excellent festival featuring the best northeastern bands.
[The August 13th gig listed on this web page earlier was not really here.]
August 26: Berlin, NH, Northern Forest Heritage Park (tentative).
August 27: Rangeley, Maine, The People’s Choice (Main Street), 8 PM.
August 28: Caledonia County Fair, Lyndonville, VT.
Sept 4: Wolfeboro, NH, Bandstand 7:30 PM. Beautiful setting by the lake.
Sept 5: New Boston, NH, concert in the gazebo, 6 PM.
Sept 8: Vermont State Fair, Rutland, evening.
Sept 11: Plainfield, VT, Trailblazers 4-H Bluegrass Festival, East Hill Farm. One of the great bluegrass tent parties of all time. Info: 802-479-2723.
Sept 18: Shelburne Farms Harvest Festival, Shelburne, VT. Traditional crafts, music and dance.
Oct.16: Long Island, NY. Details pending.

Additional shows are in the works. You are welcome to contact us at any time, through any medium, to request info on shows at a particular time or location.

Many Plowboy fans also enjoy the New Bremen Town Musicians, a family group with Banjo Dan and brother Willy, featuring the exquisite vocals of Nancy Mosher, Deanna Booth and Jaye Lindner, along with bass ace Matt McGibney. The Bremens invite you to join them at the following performances:

May 15: Moonlight in Vermont Cabaret, Bethany Church, Montpelier, VT, 7:30 PM.
June 26: Pillsbury Manor, S. Burlington, VT, barbecue, all invited, 1 PM.
August 1: Franklin, VT, Summer Sounds Concert Series, 7 PM.
Sept 12: First Congregational Church, Burlington, VT, gospel singing and service, beginning 9:30 AM.

The Bremens will also be performing at the Vermont Bluegrass Family Festival and the Trailblazers 4-H Festival, mentioned above.

And finally, there's the fabulous Lindner Brothers, Banjo Dan and Willy, who play coffeehouses and other intimate venues during the off-season and occasionally take their old-time duet act on the road in the summer. The "Fabs" will be playing at the Kindred Spirit Coffeehouse in Olmstedville, NY on the evening of August 20.

So there you have it, as of today. We'll look for you on the bluegrass trail this summer. Come on up and say hi. It's always good to see old friends, and to know this Newsletter is serving some earthly purpose.

Thanks for your support.

RING IN THE NEW YEAR WITH SOME OF THE BEST ACOUSTIC MUSIC IN NEW ENGLAND!
BANJO DAN AND THE MID-NITE PLOWBOYS WILL PLAY FIRST NIGHT
(12/31/99)
IN BOTH ST. JOHNSBURY AND BURLINGTON, VERMONT.
THE NEW BREMEN TOWN MUSICIANS ALSO APPEAR AT FIRST NIGHT, ST.J.
Locations and times to be announced.

Banjo Dan & the Mid-nite Plowboys

March 1999 email newsletter

Happy New Year to all our Banjo Dan Newsletter subscribers. One of my resolutions for the year is to learn how to use the Internet, and to get a lot better at using email. I'm trying to solve the annoying problem of having all your addresses appear at the top of our email news bulletins. They tell me it can be done, and I've downloaded stuff I don't understand in order to accomplish it, but no luck so far. The other odd quirk about email -- and this one ISN'T MY FAULT -- is that I don't know who or where most of you are. I just have your quirky little email addresses. Hey, you could be ANYBODY! So if we get a hot gig in Honolulu I'm gonna tell ALL of you, in hopes that one of you will show up in a grass skirt...

OK, here's the truth. Banjo Dan and the Mid-nite Plowboys are kicking off the 1999 season with a concert in Bennington, Vermont, on Saturday, March 27, at the Oldcastle Theatre (directions), and showtime is 7:30. I hope at least a few of you out there are near enough to make the show. We're really looking forward to it. We've been cooking up a lot of nifty new material, and we're eager to hit the stage with it. The rest of the season is shaping up and we should be putting out a full newsletter with the 1999 schedule and other Plowboy news early this spring. We'll look for you somewhere along the bluegrass trail. And remember, if you're gonna get even with someone, make sure it's somethat that's done something nice for ya.

Banjo Dan