Author: Geoff

The Bow-Legged  Skeeter are a 5 piece band playing hard driving Bluegrass and American Old-Time music with an emphasis on strong vocal harmonies.   Our influences span American Old-Time and Original & Modern  Bluegrass and stretch typically from the Stanley Brothers, Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs to Alison Krauss, Dan Tyminski, Mountain Heart, Blue Highway and the Steeldrivers, with a bit of Gospel thrown in for good measure.

Contact Peter Minkey on 01425 489376 or Email peter.minkey@yahoo.co.uk for all Band enquiries.

The band was formed in 2010 and the current line up is:-

Mick Franks: Five string Banjo. Mick is a left handed Banjo player who has recently joined us. He is a very experienced musician who plays a Gibson Mastertone Banjo.

Lindsey Cole:   Double Bass and Vocals  Lindsey is Charlie’s sister and has been singing and. playing the Bass for four years. She is also a professional Artist.

Richard Filleul:   Guitar and Vocals   Richard is an experienced Bluegrass Guitarist and Singer who has also played with the Bluegrass band ‘Steamboat’.

Pete Minkey:   Mandolin and Vocals   Pete is an experienced gigging musician who has played and recorded in other genres including Rock, Celtic and Jazz.

Tim Hextall: Fiddle. Tim is an experienced Old-Time Fiddler who is now adding Bluegrass to his Bow. A very welcome addition who gives us the extra dimension of the Old-Time tradition.

Whilst the Biggin Hillbillies mainstream is bluegrass music, their varied repertoire of acoustic music includes country and folk numbers, 50’s and 60’s pop, Irish favourites and jazz standards. As well as bluegrass standards from Flatt & Scruggs, The Stanley Brothers & Bill Munroe they also include numbers from the likes of The Country Gentlemen, Banjo Dan Lindner and Don Reno, plus of course the ever requested ‘Duelling Banjos’ and ‘Foggy Mountain Breakdown’ featuring Bobs’ unmistakeable bluegrass banjo style.

Their Country and Western music list draws on the hits of Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, John Denver, Jimmie Rodgers, Don Williams as well as lesser known items from the likes of Buck Owens and The Red Clay Ramblers. Irish music favourites such as ‘Whiskey in the Jar’, ‘Muirsheen Durkin’ and ‘The Masons Apron’ form cornerstones of their repertoire. They also include a few jazz standards like ‘Sweet Georgia Brown’, ‘Sweet Sue’ and ‘Bye Bye Blues’ in the list, often inspired by Bob’s in depth knowledge of old time favourites going back to his days of tuition from a ‘Black & White Minstrels’ banjo artist. Of course no gig would be complete without some vintage rock and pop numbers from Buddy Holly, The Beatles and other 50’s/60’s stars.

The boys have recently added two original numbers to their repertoire, Billys Night Out (note this has been downsampled to allow quicker download) and ‘On This and Every Day’ penned by Bob and John respectively. Bob’s number is included on the band’s first CD which can be reviewed by clicking the above link. The band is available for gigs throughout the South East and have performed at concerts, pub gigs, club events, private parties, barn dances, weddings, barbecues and outdoor fetes. They are very flexible and take a pride in making each gig a success.

Here’s a little clip from You Tube of the band picking:

Blossom Hill Bluegrass Band plays a mixture of hard driving bluegrass and contemporary music.  Led by the energetic showman Gary Payne, you are always in for an entertaining show featuring close harmonies, brisk and soulful melodies.

They have not yet recorded a CD but look forward to that challenge.

Gary Payne has played in many British bluegrass bands over the years including Grassfire, A Band Like Alice and (the UK) Blackjack. His high tenor voice is widely recognised in England, as well as his excellent rhythm guitar.  You will always find him leading a dynamic and accessible session at the BBMA tent during most festivals in the UK.

Lennie Harvey is a singer/songwriter, fine guitarist and dobro player who has been playing folk, rock, blues, country in numerous bands for 25 years. He has finally found his true musical home playing Bluegrass with Blossom Hill.

Richard Holland has played guitar for many years in a folk duo which recorded and played on National radio. For the past ten years he has found the bluegrass family and played banjo and guitar with the Lynne Butler Band, Contraband, Dalebilly and North Drive.  If you like Ron Block, you’ll like Richard.http://britishbluegrass.org/wp-admin/edit.php?post_type=page

Sherryl Payne also hails from the English folk scene and was recruited into bluegrass by husband Gary around twenty years ago. Sherryl also plays double bass for A Band Like Alice and was previously a member of Blackjack.