BILL & BONNIE HEARNE
Friday, 6:30 pm

Austin transplants Bill and Bonnie Hearne have long been among New Mexico's best-loved country acts. Their credentials are impressive, to say the least. Nanci Griffith, Lyle Lovett, and Jerry Jeff Walker lent their time and efforts to bolster Diamonds In The Rough, the Hearnes' major label debut on Warner Western. Which makes sense, considering that Griffith used to sneak into clubs to see them play and Lovett once opened a show for them in Houston. "We try to take that old-time country feel and put that in songs with a strong lyrical content," says Bill. The duo has just released a new CD, Celebration! Live at La Fonda, which captures a typically upbeat evening at the Santa Fe night spot they've been playing for years.

JOHN MCEUEN
Friday, 7:45 pm

A long-time member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, multi-instrumentalist John McEuen has ventured into television specials, film scoring, and concert production, all the while keeping up an active road schedule with Nitty Gritty and as a duo with lifetime musical collaborator Jimmy Ibbotson. As a solo performer, McEuen is noted both for his virtuosity on the strings and for his hilarious stage antics. McEuen made more than 24 albums with Nitty Gritty, including the 1971 classic Will The Circle Be Unbroken, widely considered a milestone in American music. Capitol Records recently released the critically acclaimed, chart-topping Will The Circle Be Unbroken, Vol. 3.

ELIZA GILKYSON
Friday, 9 pm

Flowery-voiced, Austin-based Eliza Gilkyson will head up a special, stripped-down Friday evening that focuses on singer-songwriters. A third-generation poet-musician, Gilkyson moved to New Mexico in her teens to pursue an alternative lifestyle and eventually raised a family, while continuing to perform, write and record. Over the years she developed a style shaped almost exclusively by personal experience, cutting numerous records including 1987's Pilgrims, her most popular but least representative record. The 2000 release of Hard Times In Babylon, followed by 2002's Lost & Found (both on Redhouse), secured Gilkyson's place on the contemporary folk music scene with a strong collection of songs, lean production, and a vocal confidence only hinted at in her previous recordings. All the while, she's been building an audience in the Southwest unrivaled by most of her peers.

KEN VALDEZ
Saturday, 12:30 pm

One of Santa Fe's original young guitar slingers of the 1990s (along with Alex Maryol, with whom Valdez once shared a band), it's hard to believe that the guitarist-vocalist-songwriter has only been playing a few short years. Valdez has release two strong records that boast a prodigious talent for songwriting and melody: Approach and Every Little Lie. But the live stage is where the real magic happens. See for yourself when the Ken Valdez trio kicks off Saturday's festivities.

RED STICK RAMBLERS
Saturday, 2 pm

Hailing from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in the heart of cajun country, the Red Stick Ramblers embrace a delectable mix of cajun fiddle tunes, western swing, traditional jazz of the 1920s and 1930s, and a steadily growing number of tradition-inspired originals. The band plays the songs of seminal fiddlers like Dennis McGee and Dewey Balfa alongside those of jazz and country swing bandleaders such as Bob Wills and Django Reinhardt, finding a common thread of danceable rhythms and strong, elegant melodies.

MEM SHANNON
Saturday, 3:30 pm

Deep-voiced bluesman Mem Shannon has got the soulful, funky rhythms of his native New Orleans written all over him. Well-crafted urban blues heavily spiced with funk and jazz movements, with intelligent, literate lyrics and an emphasis on original material, is perhaps the best description of this former cabdriver's music. "While thousands can play the blues on the guitar, perhaps only 10 percent of those can also write great songs, and a smaller fraction of those can also sing," wrote the Houston Press of Shannon's musical prowess. "Fewer still are possessed of a keen social conscience." Shannon's assured mix of groove-heavy blues and alternately heartfelt and humorous songwriting has resulted in a string of solid records, the lastest of which is Memphis In The Morning, a fusion of New Orleans and Memphis sounds.

KIM RICHEY
Saturday, 5 pm

An acclaimed singer-songwriter characterized by an introspective song style and unique melodies, Kim Richey has written songs for other artists that have reached number one on the country charts: "Nobody Wins" for Radney Foster and "Believe Me Baby" for Trisha Yearwood. But nobody does Kim Richey like Kim Richey. 1999's Glimmer, perhaps her most personal statement, made Time Magazine's Top-10 of the year. Her latest CD, Rise, which features her warmest and most immediate vocals, has just been released by Lost Highway Records.

COREY HARRIS & HENRY BUTLER
Saturday, 7 pm

Back for his third festival appearance, Corey Harris is clearly one of Thirsty Ear's favorite bluesmen. At first exposure to Harris' timeless voice and earthy guitar, you might mistake him for one of the old masters, because the Virginia-based artist sings and plays with a depth and power that belies his relatively young age. B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Pinetop Perkins and other icons have either toured or recorded with Harris. This weekend another icon, New Orleans pianist Henry Butler, joins Harris for a spirited set of Deep South romps, jazz-inflected boogie woogie, and the spirituals that have become a Harris staple. In 2000, Harris and Butler teamed up to record Vu-Du Menz, easily one of the deepest and most joyous blues recordings of the year. We are jazzed to present one of the finest blues duos ever to hit the stage. And don't miss Saturday's late-night blues jam, over which Harris will preside.

Note to Thirsty Ear buffs: Check out the photos on Harris' classic Live At Starr Hill (available at the Bank). Look familiar?

IRIS DEMENT
Saturday, 9 pm

Born the youngest of 14 children in rural Arkansas, DeMent moved to California as a young girl after the family farm failed. An avid radio listener through her teens, she quit high school and took a job at K-Mart, the first in a string of unfulfilling jobs that brought into disturbingly sharp focus the unromantic side of the American experience. Those years were full of self questioning and yearning to embark on a lifelong dream to "write songs and sing 'em for people." She finally took the plunge at age 25, and in a relatively short time was signed by Rounder Records, which was attracted in no small part to her fervent vocals. DeMent has released a trio of high-folk records to international acclaim. Her latest projects include a spate of duets with John Prine and a turn on the Songcatcher soundtrack. Thirsty Ear is very proud to present one of American folk music's most timeless voices.

MARY & MARS
Saturday and Sunday, 10:30 pm

"Even the staunchest bluegrass hater might take a liking," claims the Durango Herald. While Mary & Mars can best be described as a bluegrass trio, their high-energy shows belie a host of influences, from Bill Monroe to Bob Dylan to Motown. Indisputably New Mexico's reigning bluegrass jam band, Mary & Mars boasts Sharon Gilchrist's virtuoso mandolin playing, Ben Wright's formidable guitar picking, Josh Martin's driving bass lines, and soulful three-part harmonies. For those who like to stay up late, Mary & Mars will host our famous late-night Bluesgrass Stomps on both Saturday and Sunday.

ALEX MARYOL BAND
Sunday, 3:30 pm

A Santa Fe native, Alex Maryol is one of the Southwest's most promising artists. At 18, Maryol released his debut CD, They Call Me Lefty, which immediately established him as the most impressive blues-based guitarist of the talented young crop of Santa Fe players. At 19, he was playing an average of five nights a week at the area's most popular bars and clubs. By age 20, Maryol landed a spot on the Thirsty Ear Festival stage along with many his heroes. That performance helped garner the attention of the international media, and he was soon playing some of the country's biggest stages, including Telluride Blues & Brews and King Biscuit in Helena, Arkansas. Maryol's latest album, Make Everything Alright — a typically high energy electric blues rock concoction featuring mostly original compositions — was released this summer.

TONY FURTADO & THE AMERICAN GYPSIES
Sunday, 5 pm

"Think Ry Cooder, David Grisman and Jerry Garcia rolled into one," says the Philadelphia Daily News of Tony Furtado & the American Gypsies' deft juggling of folk, blues, funk, celtic, and improvisational jazz-like jamming. The truth is, it's hard to label Furtado, who easily switches between banjo and guitar, frequently using a slide, and fronts a band that is high in virtuosity, deep in groove, and wildly eclectic in style. His sound has been called "serious modern-day hoedown stuff" and Furtado has proven himself a leader in the rapidly expanding New American Roots movement.

KENNY BROWN BAND
Sunday, 6:30 pm

Musician Magazine praises him as "simply the best white slide player you might ever hear," and if you've seen Kenny Brown live or heard him play on records by R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, and any number of Mississippi bluesmen, that's not a hard pill to swallow. In concert and on his solo discs, the self-released Goin' Back To Mississippi and this year's Stingray (Fat Possum), Brown delivers a ripping brand of rock-&-roll that marries the Mississippi Hill Country stomp he created with R.L. Burnside with the country-inflected sounds of the early Stones. Kenny will follow up his main stage set by hosting Sunday's late-night blues jam.

GOV'T MULE
Sunday 8 pm

Formed in 1994 by guitarist-vocalist Warren Haynes, drummer Matt Abts, and bassist Allen Woody-all of whom are Allman Brothers Band alumni-Gov't Mule has burned itself into the fabric of American music with dense, brawny guitar-heavy, blues-based rock music that has made the prolific trio heroes to intensely devoted jam band loyalists as well as stalwarts for lovers of traditionalAmerican rock. When co-founder Woody died in 2000, the survival of Gov't Mule was a shaky proposition. Would one of the world's greatest "jam bands" continue without its third pillar? Luckily the band went on to record The Deep End, Volumes 1 and 2, new material featuring collaborations with dozens of the world's best bass players (Flea, Bootsy Collins, Phil Lesh, Dave Schools, Jack Bruce, and John Entwistle among them). No one knows what the future holds for Gov't Mule, but for now Thirsty Ear is proud to present one of America's most respected rock bands.

DAWN KINNARD
Sunday 12:30 pm

The daughter of a Baptist preacher, singer-songwriter Dawn Kinnard writes songs with a lot of lonesome-sky atmosphere, an indie sensibility, a heavy heart, and a little twang. Raised in rural Pennsylvania where she grew up singing in the church choir, at the age of 16 she started playing guitar and naturally turned toward songwriting. She spent the next four years in a self-described "bubble," listening only to Elvis and the pantheon of great artists that defined American roots music. Kinnard has just completed her debut solo CD that is equal parts tribute to classic country and the progressive alt-country of the present. To fund the CD, she sold her beloved Harley-Davidson motorcycle, a parting that she likens to "having your dog die." It was the solo cross-country rides on her Harley that inspired many of the songs on the album, finding inspiration in the freedom and isolation of the open road.

SADDLESORES
Sunday, 2 pm

Our favorite Albuquerque-based Americana band, the Saddlesores have been barraging the Duke City for more than a decade with a high-energy Stones-meets-alt country brand of twangy roots rock. Very much steeped in the American South (various members have roots in South Carolina, Alabama, and Texas), the band focuses on craftsmanship, storytelling, and humor, and their often over-the-top live shows have made them favorites throughout New Mexico. "After ten drummers, four bassists, and countless sidemen, we are still very much alive," quips charismatic frontman Cole Mitchell, as festivarians will see when the band takes the stage Sunday afternoon.

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