The club held it's first jam session in the fall of 2003. Since that we have continued to build membership and promote bluegrass music on a continuing basis. In the summer of 2008, we changed our name to the Thames Valley Bluegrass Music Association (from Thames Valley Bluegrass Association) and became a legally registered non-profit corporation in the Province of Ontario.

What does one do to promote bluegrass? We've had some successes:

 

The Bluegrass In The Schools program, where we distribute (free of charge) to Ontario schools a copy of the "Discover Bluegrass" DVD produced by the IBMA. (International Bluegrass Association). This DVD comes with lesson plans - all a music program teacher needs to implement the DVD into the school program. So far, the club has distributed over 400 DVDs.

 

Also, one method is to PLAY THE MUSIC. We've had a number of bluegrass concerts in and around London, with both prominant US based bands, and local bands from Ontario.

 

February 2005 - Honi Deaton and Dream concert. This Georgia based band knocked our socks off! At the same time, we were able to feature two London based bands, Foxtail and Lonesome Wind.

 

August 2005 - First performance in Ontario for Cherryholmes, a Nashville based award winning bluegrass group making big waves in bluegrass circles. Local bands featured were Silverbirch, from Newmarket, and London based Lonesome Wind.

 

March 2006 - The Williams and Clarke Expedition from Nashville, Tennessee. Also featured: Hard Ryde, one of Canada's top award winning groups.

 

February 2007 - Michelle Nixon & Drive from Virginia. Our own club members band "Gid-R-Done" also performed.

 

April 2007 - Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper. This young fiddle prodigy put on a hard-driving bluegrass show. The opening act was none other than London's own The Dixie Flyers. 'nuff said!

 

February 2008 - We hosted New Found Road, from Franklin Ohio. This relatively new group is making waves in bluegrass circles, so we had to see for ourselves! London's Foxtail opened the show.

 

May 2007 - Our biggest project to date - Rhonda Vincent & The Rage. The lady has won so many awards in the bluegrass world, it's hard to keep up! We held the concert at London's Centennial Hall, and Rhonda did not disappoint! The group put on a dynamic and energetic presentation of bluegrass music and left us all wanting more.

 

And a bit of future history:

 

January 2009 - Our "January Thaw" picking session, with special guest Don Rigsby and Joe Clark. These two individuals have independantly played with dozens of top bluegrass acts.

 

July 2009 - The Sally Creek Music Festival. A 3 day event in Woodstock, Ontario. Featuring: Grasstowne, The Lonesome River Band, The Nashville Bluegrass Band, Nothing Fancy, 3 Fox Drive, The Spanky Moore Band, The Foggy Hogtown Boys, Leavin' Train, The Northern Sons, Foxtail and many more......