After being cancelled in 2021, and delayed from its usual January date this year, Fiddle Fest is coming back to the Sawmill Saloon in Seeley, Wisconsin, on Saturday April 2nd from 2:00 pm to 9:00 pm.
“It was going to be a fiddler’s feast of fun with bluegrass, Celtic, old-time stringband, and Americana music on the menu,” says Jed Malischke, event organizer and member of The TrueGrass Trio, a bluegrass music group from Northwest Wisconsin and the hosts of Fiddle Fest along with WOJB Radio in Hayward.
But then one of the members of the trio, Tom Draughon from Ashland, suffered a stroke last month while preparing for a weekend of performances with his other group, Molly & The Danger Band. Both groups were scheduled to perform at Fiddle Fest, and both have now decided that the show will go on, but now as “Fiddle Fest For Tom,” a fundraiser to help the Draughon family cope with medical expenses.
In addition to the original line-up of Molly & The Danger Band, Annie & The Oakleys, and Four Mile Portage, local favorites Eric Schubring, Sean Okamoto, and Valerie Carr have been added. Kim Ritchie & Squirrel Cage have stepped up to donate their time and talents. Draughon is also a member of the Big Top’s Blue Canvas Orchestra in Bayfield, and fellow members Stevie Matier, Tom Mitchell, Phillip Anich, and Vincent Osborn are also on board to appear at this now charity event.
“It was going to be a fiddler’s feast of fun with bluegrass, Celtic, old-time stringband, and Americana music on the menu,” says Jed Malischke, event organizer and member of The TrueGrass Trio, a bluegrass music group from Northwest Wisconsin and the hosts of Fiddle Fest along with WOJB Radio in Hayward.
But then one of the members of the trio, Tom Draughon from Ashland, suffered a stroke last month while preparing for a weekend of performances with his other group, Molly & The Danger Band. Both groups were scheduled to perform at Fiddle Fest, and both have now decided that the show will go on, but now as “Fiddle Fest For Tom,” a fundraiser to help the Draughon family cope with medical expenses.
In addition to the original line-up of Molly & The Danger Band, Annie & The Oakleys, and Four Mile Portage, local favorites Eric Schubring, Sean Okamoto, and Valerie Carr have been added. Kim Ritchie & Squirrel Cage have stepped up to donate their time and talents. Draughon is also a member of the Big Top’s Blue Canvas Orchestra in Bayfield, and fellow members Stevie Matier, Tom Mitchell, Phillip Anich, and Vincent Osborn are also on board to appear at this now charity event.
“The really exciting thing about an event like this,” explains Malischke, who has produced hundreds of music festivals and concerts throughout the Upper Midwest, “is the interplay that can happen between the musicians. With more than twenty musicians and entertainers now on the bill, we can expect to see some collaboration between groups, some impromptu jam sessions in the hallways, and some one-time entertainment experiences you’ll never see again.”
There will be stage performances in the Sawmill theater, old-time dances (with dances taught and called by Allison Jonjak) upstairs in the dance hall, and intimate acoustic performances in the coffee shop. Acoustic musicians are encouraged to bring their instruments and join in the impromptu jam sessions during the day and the old-time jam party upstairs in the evening. Food and beverage from The Sawmill will be abundant.
The suggested admission donation is $10 (students 1/2 and kids free) and all the proceeds will go to the Draughon family (If you can’t be at Fiddle Fest you can still help by making a donation at GoFund.Me/ad211765). Admission includes all the shows and activities from 2:00 pm to 9:00 pm on Saturday April 2nd at the Sawmill Saloon in Seeley WI (13505 N U.S. Highway 63). Follow the event at www.facebook.com/truegrasstrio.
There will be stage performances in the Sawmill theater, old-time dances (with dances taught and called by Allison Jonjak) upstairs in the dance hall, and intimate acoustic performances in the coffee shop. Acoustic musicians are encouraged to bring their instruments and join in the impromptu jam sessions during the day and the old-time jam party upstairs in the evening. Food and beverage from The Sawmill will be abundant.
The suggested admission donation is $10 (students 1/2 and kids free) and all the proceeds will go to the Draughon family (If you can’t be at Fiddle Fest you can still help by making a donation at GoFund.Me/ad211765). Admission includes all the shows and activities from 2:00 pm to 9:00 pm on Saturday April 2nd at the Sawmill Saloon in Seeley WI (13505 N U.S. Highway 63). Follow the event at www.facebook.com/truegrasstrio.
FiddleFest Tentative Schedule
Theater Stage
2:30 Eric Schubring
3:45 Four Mile Portage
5:00 Sean Okamoto
6:15 Kim Ritchie & Squirrel Cage
7:30 Molly & The Danger Band w/Big Top Friends
Upstairs Dance Room
3:15 Dance with Annie & The Oakleys & Caller Allison Jonjak
4:30 Dance with Annie & The Oakleys & Caller Allison Jonjak
5:45 Dance with Four Mile Portage & Caller Allison Jonjak
7:00 Dance with Four Mile Portage & Caller Allison Jonjak
8:00 Old-Time Jam Party
CoffeeShop Acoustic
2:15 Celtic Ceilidh w/Annie & The Oakleys
3:15 Eclectic Tunes w/Valerie Carr
4:15 TBA
5:15 Songs That Tell A Story w/Phillip Anich
6:15 Storytelling w/Stevie Matier
Theater Stage
2:30 Eric Schubring
3:45 Four Mile Portage
5:00 Sean Okamoto
6:15 Kim Ritchie & Squirrel Cage
7:30 Molly & The Danger Band w/Big Top Friends
Upstairs Dance Room
3:15 Dance with Annie & The Oakleys & Caller Allison Jonjak
4:30 Dance with Annie & The Oakleys & Caller Allison Jonjak
5:45 Dance with Four Mile Portage & Caller Allison Jonjak
7:00 Dance with Four Mile Portage & Caller Allison Jonjak
8:00 Old-Time Jam Party
CoffeeShop Acoustic
2:15 Celtic Ceilidh w/Annie & The Oakleys
3:15 Eclectic Tunes w/Valerie Carr
4:15 TBA
5:15 Songs That Tell A Story w/Phillip Anich
6:15 Storytelling w/Stevie Matier