(Flagstaff, AZ) Acoustic Americana/bluegrass mandolin and guitar duo Growling Old Men will be hosting a Master Class in Bluegrass Flatpicking Guitar, Songwriting and Mandolin skills on Thursday, June 1st. Ben Winship (mandolin, octave mandolin and vocals) and John Lowell (guitar and vocals) present a relaxed set of original, traditional and obscure music that is never the same each night.
The Growling Old Men are favorites at festivals and concerts all over the western world, having played at the Shetland Folk Festival, the Didmarton and Shrewsbury festivals in England, plus many festivals in the US and Canada. They were a favorite on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion, and are in demand as instructors at music schools in the UK, Europe, Canada and the US. Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine said, “A huge strength of this act is that their playing and singing are totally complimentary, both in vitality and elegance. And while it’s risky to declare that any act has a distinctive sound, I’ll venture that the Growling Old Men has one, inspired by the hills of Appalachia, but informed by the plains and mountains of the West.”
“I really enjoy playing with Ben. We challenge each other every evening,” said John Lowell in an interview from his home near Yellowstone. “We never know how any individual song is going to turn out, and we try to add a couple of new songs every show.”
““The Growling Old Men is a musical framework which allows both John and I an ideal combination of comfort and freedom...” ”
“The Growling Old Men is a musical framework which allows both John and I an ideal combination of comfort and freedom,” Ben Winship added from his home in Idaho. “Given our long history of playing together, we have built up a large repertoire from which to draw from; but more importantly, we have built a mutual trust which allows us to stretch out and explore new ground - both vocally and instrumentally.”
“We’re looking forward to presenting this class in Flagstaff,” said Lowell. “I went to school there, but it’s been a long time since I’ve been back. The workshops at Arizona Music Pro will be comprehensive and will give everyone valuable tools on improving your guitar, mandolin or songwriting skills.” The Growling Old Men are on a regional tour with stops throughout the West and Southwest. Dates include stops in Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
For more information on the show or workshop, please go to www.AZmusicpro.com. For more information on the band, please go to www.growlingoldmen.com. You can hear the Growling Old Men perform here: