MONROE CROSSING AT  

THE COLLINS THEATRE

PARAGOULD, AR

JANUARY 26, 2015

 

 

MONROE CROSSING blew into Paragould, AR, recently on their annual ABM Tour(Anywhere But Minnesota) throughout the South. Smart people! They left their home base when the

temperature was a frigid 14 below zero! Very smart people! To say that the band is dynamic, lively, traditional, and edgy would be an understatement. They are all of that and then some. Monroe Crossing hits the stage and plays as though their hair were on fire! Hundred miles an hour for two wonderful sets! Oh! These folks are good! You are going to want to see Monroe Crossing when they begin their 2016 ABM Tour which brings them right back through Paragould to the stage at the beautiful Collins Theatre. (Monroe Crossing even has a summer bluegrass cruise planned for 2016, if you cannot wait until next January to see this exciting band and some of their bluegrass band friends. See information about the 2016 Monroe Crossing Bluegrass Cruise below this blog. Plan now to go!)

KASU 91.9 FM Program Director Marty Scarbrough arranges for Monroe Crossing (note where their strong influences originate) to stop by the Collins Theatre for "Bluegrass Monday" each January, before the band begins to work its way back to Minnesota. KASU 91.9 FM originates from the campus of Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, AR. Marty takes it one step further for each band by playing the audio portion of their shows each Sunday afternoon following the band's performance. Monroe Crossing's Bluegrass Monday show will be part of Marty's Sunday bluegrass and old-time show on Sunday, February 1, 2015, from 12:30 PM until 3:00 PM Central. Be sure to listen if you were not able to catch Monroe Crossing 'live and in full living color! Or listen again if you're still awe-struck by how wonderful this band is! Listen 'live at 91.9 FM or online at www.kasu.org.

Monroe Crossing has an amazing cast of characters! Lisa Fuglie handles fiddle and fine vocals; Matt Thompson plays mandolin and fiddle, along with handling the MC work for the band; Mark Anderson plays bass like nobody you have ever seen; Derek Johnson is on guitar and superb vocals; and David Robinson plays banjo and handles the bass vocals. Snappy dresser, too, that David! Put them on your list as a must-see band. You will not be disappointed! They are traditional bluegrass, newgrass, gospel, and 'a little bit rock-n-roll'.

Here are the selections from Monroe Crossing: Set 1 - Mule Skinner Blues, Old Home Place, Ground Speed, Sonny Don't Go Away, Chattanooga, River of Jordan, Doin' My Time, Sea Cruise, In the Pines, Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress, Who Will Watch the Homeplace, and The Bullet Train. Set 2 - Rocky Top, Joy Joy Joy, Footprints in the Snow, Foggy Mountain Breakdown, Crazy, 20/20 Vision (And Walkin' 'Round Blind), Atlanta Church (in Minnesota, not Georgia), Hoboes in the Roundhouse, The Chicken Dance, Nail That Catfish to the Tree (Instrumental with fabulous local clogging sisters Lillie Doyle and Jacqueline Doyle), Purple Rain (bluegrass style), At Last, Orange Blossom Special, and two standing ovations with Act Justly Have Mercy and Walk Humbly with Your God, followed by Man of Constant Sorrow (from O Brother, Where Art Thou?). The band must have been plum' tuckered out! The appreciative audience begged for more!

Marty Scarbrough introducing Monroe Crossing at

the Collins Theatre, Paragould, AR

                     

David Robinson, Matt Thompson,

Derek Johnson, Lisa Fuglie,

Mark Anderson

Lillie Doyle and Jacqueline Doyle

 

Matt Thompson, David Robinson,

Lisa Fuglie, Derek Johnson,

Mark Anderson

Lillie and Jacqueline Doyle,

Mark Anderson, David Robinson,

Matt Thompson, Lisa Fuglie

Derek Johnson behind Lisa Fuglie

We should also mention that Terry's Café opens from 4:30 PM  to 6:45 PM each Bluegrass Monday for a delicious buffet dinner prior to the show which begins at 7:00 PM. The little mom-n-pop café is in walking distance from the Collins Theatre. Be sure to make that a part of your bluegrass adventure in Northeast Arkansas.

Sign up and post your Northeast Arkansas bluegrass and old-time music events at the Yahoo group that this writer began just for YOU! Let us know what is going on in your neck of the woods! It's free! Here is the information:  ne-ar-bluegrass@yahoogroups.com

For additional information:

Historic Collins Theatre, 120 W. Emerson St., Paragould, AR

Terry's Café, 201 S. Pruett, Paragould, AR (near the Collins Theatre)

KASU 91.9 FM  www.kasu.org

Monroe Crossing www.monroecrossing.com

Monroe Crossing Bluegrass Cruise www.monroecrossing.com/bluegrasscruise.html

Coming up at Bluegrass Monday at the Collins Theatre, Paragould, AR:

February 23, 2015   Nothin' Fancy

March 23, 2015       The Tennessee Mafia Jug Band (Leroy Troy)

April 27, 2015         David Davis and the Warrior River Boys

May 18, 2015          Darrell Webb Band (date change due to Memorial Day)

June 22, 2015          The Jeanette Williams Band

July 27, 2015           Breaking Grass

August 24, 2015      Southern Raised

September 28, 2015  The Farm Hands Bluegrass Quartet

Pick away!

Betty