The Larry Keel Experience w/ Jeff Sipe at Oskar Blues’ 3rd Annual NYE Hootenanny in Brevard, NC

The Larry Keel Experience is excited that Jeff Sipe is joining the band for the evening to perform at The 3rd Annual Holiday Hootenanny at Oskar Blues Brewery in Brevard, NC on Wednesday, December 31, 2014. Based in Lexington, VA, the Larry Keel Experience is Larry Keel on acoustic guitar and lead vocals, Jenny Keel on stand up bass and harmony vocals, and Will Lee on Banjo and lead vocals. Also performing for NYE are Jeremy Garrett & Travis Book (of the Infamous Stringdusters), Steve “Big Daddy” McMurry (of Acoustic Syndicate), Mike Guggino (of the Steep Canyon Rangers), and the Jon Stickley Trio.

The NEW Oskar Blues CHUBurger food truck will be slingin’ the goods throughout the evening and a photobooth will be onsite to capture all of your NYE memories (so that you don’t have to). Hotel specials are available, just check the Oskar Blues website for more info. The Oskar Blues trolley will be making the rounds to local hotels and downtown Brevard to give you a safe ride to and from the Hootenanny. Trips will start at 6 p.m. and the trolley will stop at each stop roughly every 30-40 minutes. Tickets are on sale now and more information is at http://brew.oskarblues.com/events/nye-brevard.

The CAN’uary 1st Hangover Brunch will be hosted the following afternoon at noonat the Oskar Blues REEB Ranch, their new 145-acre farm that is located about 8 miles from the Brevard-based Oskar Blues brewery in Hendersonville, NC. The January 1, 2015 brunch will be hosted by Jeremy Garrett, Travis Book, Sarah Siskind, and Larry & Jenny Keel. Proceeds from the brunch will benefit Oskar Blues CAN’d Aid Foundation. Included in the $80 ticket price (or as part of the NYE package deal) are a Southern-style family-style meal, drinks (including Mama-mosas and Café con FIDY), and the exclusive VIP concert. Limited tickets are available. The CAN’d Aid Foundation will give an update on their work in our community and the work ahead in 2015.

Larry Keel has had a fantastic 2014 and is excited to celebrate with you! Some highlights include his appearance with Sam Bush at this year’s Lockn’ Festival and he’s been on tour with Yonder Mountain String Band throughout South east, Mid West, North East this fall. He’ll be heading to Puerto Morelos, Mexico w/ all the Bluegrass buddies to play Strings and Sol in Mexico in mid-Dec. Also, stay tuned for more information on an upcoming studio release due out in the spring of 2015 with some very special guests!

Larry Keel is described by some reviewers as the most powerful, innovative and all-out exhilarating acoustic flatpicking guitarist performing today. Keel has absorbed the best lessons from his Bluegrass family upbringing, both sides deeply steeped in the rich mountain music culture and heritage of Southwest Virginia. From there, he has always integrated that solid musical grounding and natural-born talent with his own incomparable approach to flatpicking the guitar and composing original music. He’s also got a knack for choosing interesting and appealing material from all realms of music with guts, whether it’s a tune written by a fellow songwriter/musician friend, or a tasty cover from any number of genres all over the map.

Keel has a variety of musical formats swirling around the calendar each year: look out for his core band, The Larry Keel Experience (featuring Will Lee on soulful, blues-grass 5 string banjo, penetrating vocals and exceptional song-writing contributions and Jenny Keel on upright bass, with impeccable timing, solid yet imaginative bass lines and vocal harmonies). “Hot and fluent bluegrass act showcasing Larry Keel’s dazzling guitar skills and gruff, baritone vocals, wife Jenny’s granite-firm bass guitar work… Good folks, amazing roots music,” writes Tad Dickens with the Roanoke Times.

Other projects of Keel’s include Larry Does Jerry (Keel performing the music of Jerry Garcia), Keller Williams and The Keels, Keel paired with artists such as Drew Emmitt, Danny Barnes, Peter Rowan, Sam Bush, and a multitude of guest spots in great bands on the tour circuit including the Traveling McCourys, Steep Canyon Rangers, Infamous Stringdusters, and Greensky Bluegrass.

The versatility of his talents is pretty irresistible, and has earned Keel the highest respect and billing among the top acoustic musicians alive, and some now gone: Tony Rice, Chris Thile, Vassar Clements, Sam Bush, Del McCoury, John Hartford, Bill Monroe, Peter Rowan, and Darol Anger to name a few. And his fierce, high-spirited energy also appeals to young rockers, jammers and alt country pickers and fans who are equally drawn to Keel’s deep rumbling voice, his earthy and imaginative song-writing, and his down-home-gritty-good-time charm. Keel regularly collaborates with JamBand and Rock giants Yonder Mountain String Band, Keller Williams, Jorma Kaukonen, David Nelson, Little Feat, Rebirth Brass Band, Dirty Dozen Brass, Railroad Earth, members of String Cheese Incident and Leftover Salmon, amongst others.

Throughout his career, Keel has released 14 albums and is featured on 10 others. The most recent release, March 2012, is CLASSIC, the 3rd album recorded by Keel and his powerhouse ensemble, Natural Bridge. The project is filled with originals written variously by Keel, the band members or by musician/song-writer friends. “Classic is not a derivative work stuck in the quagmire of a romanticized past. It’s forward-thinking, spontaneous, audacious, and full of surprises. Fresh. All the Keel’s are doing is watering the seeds the old Masters planted and widening the Circle a little bit,” writes Robert Kimmel with Bluegrass Today.

For Keel the musical mission is always clear: to let technical skill, honest emotion and fearlessness connect the playing and singing to audiences, to entertain and to thoroughly enjoy the experience of creating and sharing in music.

Larry Keel Experience on Tour
11/11 Tue – 9:30 Club – Washington, DC*
11/12 Wed – Higher Ground Ballroom – South Burlington, VT*
11/13 Thu – Paradise Rock Club     Boston, MA*
11/14 Fri –  Theatre of the Living Art – Philadelphia, PA*
11/15 Sat – Brooklyn Bowl Brooklyn, NY*
11/21 Fri – The Lincoln Theatre – Marion, VA
12/05 Fri- The Southern Charlottesville, VA
12/06 Sat – Acoustic Stage Concert Series – Hickory, NC
12/11-15 – Larry Keel at Strings & Sol – Puerto Morelos, Mexico
12/19 Fri – Clementine Cafe – Harrisonburg, VA
12/31 Wed – Oskar Blues Brewery – Brevard, NC %
01/01/15 Thu – Oskar Blues REEB Ranch – Hendersonville, NC ^

* LKE w/ Yonder Mountain
% LKE w/ Jeff Sipe. Also performing are Jeremy Garrett & Travis Book, Steve “Big Daddy” McMurry, Mike Guggino, and the Jon Stickley Trio
^ The CAN’uary 1st Hangover Brunch with Jeremy Garrett, Travis Book, Sarah Siskind, and Larry & Jenny Keel. Proceeds from the brunch will benefit Oskar Blues CAN’d Aid Foundation.