Hello all. I am a big bluegrass fan. Before I moved here I lived in NC and could quite easily find live shows to attend. However, since I moved here my only exposure to it has been internet radio and the cd's I brought with me. Does anyone know of any venues in Switzerland that book bluegrass acts? Does bluegrass/country have any kind of following here in Switzerland? I know there is a country festival in Toggenburg - but I don't know anything about the quality of the acts. Any info would be appreciated.
Thanks.
SCM

Sorry, you just missed this yesterday. If you had posted 2 days ago...

That is a shame. If only I had thought to post something sooner. Thanks for the info though i will keep the link for next year.

Well, I will at least give a partial answer to my question. For those who are interested, here is a website of the Swiss Bluegrass Music Association.

http://www.bluegrass.ch/

Oh, I snagged a few of their pens yesterday. Where is Rhinetal? Are you anywhere near Basel? Do you play an instrument yourself?

Thanks for the links! I'm arriving in July with lots and lots of bluegrass music in tow. I don't play at all - utterly without talent - but will go see any local shows. Too bad you missed Uncle Earl. It looks like they have an almost totally new lineup, but they have always been fun to see in the past. I guess they must have skipped Bela Fleck & Abagail Washburn's wedding for that festival...

A very good friend of mine is the lead singer in the group "Bluebird".

You can follow them and check out forthcoming gigs etc. by going to their website here. (Their website is quite new and still "under construction". The French section is the most up to date part.)

HTH
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Yes, Uncle Earl played last weekend. They were very convincing with their energy and flexibility. All the members played most of the instruments, switching the instrumentation around every few songs. They were fun to watch.

The group that really caught me was a Canadian group called RedGrass. They are a young trio that played almost without amplification, very intimate, almost introverted. Really tight arrangements.

The Katy Kallick Band was also a lot of fun.

Rhinetal is in Eastern Switzerland. I work in Grabs and live in Wildhaus. At one point I played around a bit with the Mandolin, but haven't touched it in awhile.

Oh. Too bad. Way too far away. I'm trying to get my mandolin going.

Resurrecting the question.... Bluegrass shows or jam sessions in Switzerland??

Recently moved to Geneva with my mandolin, and hoping to hook up with a few other BG fans in the area. Have found a few listings on bluegrass.ch, but all a couple hrs drive from Geneva, mostly in the Zurich area.

There's bound to be a few players and fans in the Geneva area? I'm no talent on the mandolin, but really enjoy playing and have done my share of chopping chords. Just returned from a week at the Winfield festival (in Kansas, of course), and hate to loose the mojo...

I moved here from NC and really miss bluegrass ...
Festival season is coming to a close but see the following for future reference:
http://www.ebma.org/

Thanks Suemck2, at least I can signup for the Euro BG magazine. Have you ventured out to any of the BG jam sessions in the Zurich area that are listed on bluegrass.ch? I've been thinking about a weekend in Zurich sometime, and wondering if it's worthwhile to time with one of those sessions.

Will have to suffice to spend the winter honing my mandolin skills, while waiting for festival season to start back up again!

No I haven't checked out any of the BG jam sessions yet. PM me if you ever want to go though - I'd be into checking them out. There was recently a pretty good BG band from the Netherlands at El Lokal