Windy City Dawg: David Grisman & Friends @ the Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Fest – TRAILER from Kingtello Presents on Vimeo.

by Mike Mering, mikemering@gmail.com, Senior cbbfestival.com correspondent

Starbucks. Burger King. (Insert large cell phone company of your choice): Need NOT apply.

You may have noticed this absence of large corporate involvement and major sponsorship at the inaugural Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival (www.cbbfestival.com)

Besides being the only winter music festival, Chicago Bluegrass & Blue is also the only independent music festival of this scale to hit Chicago in recent memory. The festival boasts major acts such as the Avett Brothers, David Grisman and Ha Ha Tonka alongside a roster of surging local and national talent.

“Major producers and major labels are not needed to throw a major event, just independently minded people looking to invest in a righteous cause” explains festival founder Mike Raspatello.

It’s this sort of resolve that has united festival artists and organizers for what is gearing up to be a groundbreaking event

In fact, nearly all of the artists and producers participating in the Chicago Bluegrass & Blues festival are independent entities.  While the Avett Brothers have recently joined forces with the renowned Rick Rubin and his American Recordings label, they have long been faithful to their Ramseur Records roots.

Check out the stats…

The Labels:
“There is an inherent spirit of independence that resonates with all parties involved in the event from sponsors to the artists and their record labels,” says Raspatello.

Alligator Records and Bloodshot Records, both Chicago-based labels, along with David Grisman’s Acoustic Disc Records, have been nurturing indie artists for decades and will spotlight artists of its own at the Chicago Bluegrass & Blues festival. Grisman’s Acoustic Disc Records is best known for its collaborations with Jerry Garcia who, in 1990, decided to record with Grisman’s independent label for his first acoustic-only disc.

The Venue:
Providing the platform for the festival is the legendary Congress Theater, a successfully run concert hall that operates free of overriding corporate ownership or partnership. This is a rarity today as most existing concert halls with large capacities and prime locales have succumb to the lure of corporate takeover.

Jam Production and Live Nation have a stranglehold on all large concert production, even with C3 Presents recently entering the market with Lollapalooza and a limited partnership with the Congress Theater.

Sponsors:
Take one look at the festival’s “Partners” page and you will see an assortment of independent-minded businesses (www.cbbfestival.com/partners)

Producers:
Just a couple of guys, such as independent producers Michael Raspatello, Lucas King, Max Wagner, Jeff Callahan, and Will Lambert, with great support from the Congress Theater

What does all this mean to the concertgoer?
Saturday November 22, you will be a part of history in the making. Creativity will be tapped in many forms. There will be no restraint from those corporations more concerned with squeezing money from your pockets than producing a quality, free-flowing, energized assembly of music and art.

Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve had a handful of our artists featured on podcasts around the land, including the Chicago staple that is Michael Teach’s Chicago Acoustic Underground , In Search of a Song, and Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour.

Throw these on in your new fancy earbuds and enjoy the sweet stylings of The Giving Tree Band, How Far to Austin, Majors Junction, and Eli Jones (who played our official pre-party at Fitzgerald’s last week)

Radio Relics Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival Special from WRLR: http://www.mypodcast.com/cached/radiorelics_20081118_0903-332937-159989-2-25.mp3

Green Arrow Radio’s Preview: http://www.greenarrowradio.com/2008/11/18/chicago-bluegrass-blues/

The Giving Tree Band: http://www.woodsongs.com/showlist.asp

The Giving Tree Band: http://isoas.wordpress.com/category/1-americana/the-giving-tree-band/

David Grisman Quintet: http://isoas.wordpress.com/category/1-americana/david-grisman/

Eli Jones: http://chicagoacoustic.net/podcasts/episode-167—eli-jones.html

How Far to Austin: http://chicagoacoustic.net/podcasts/episode-166—how-far-to-austin.html

Majors Junction: http://chicagoacoustic.net/podcasts/episode-169—majors-junction.html

And for the greatest acappella performance in the history of anything:

CHICAGO’S MOST SOUGHT-AFTER ROCKUMENTARIANS POISED TO FILM A FIRST FOR CHARITY: WIGGLE PUPPY PRODUCTIONS ON BOARD TO CAPTURE INAUGURAL CHICAGO BLUEGRASS & BLUES FESTIVAL

An event boasting such a diverse bill piled into such a historic building couldn’t go unrecorded.  Wiggle Puppy Productions, the enigmatic filmmakers behind popular High Definition concert films of icons like Phish,, The Flaming Lips, Umphrey’s McGee, Matisyahu, and the Secret Machines, have offered their services to ensure that it won’t.

From WPP's "Umphrey's McGee: Wrapped Around Chicago"

While David Grisman, The Avett Brothers, The Giving Tree Band, Ha Ha Tonka, Lil ‘Ed and the rest of the artists lead the foot-stomping on-stage at the inaugural Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival (www.cbbfestival.com), director Mark Krieglstein and producer Sara Yule will coordinate the filming of 18 sets and 24 hours of music. The duo will use their footage to create a live album and concert documentary of Chicago’s historic winter music festival, available for digital download in return for a donation to the Saving Tiny Heats Society’s (www.savingtinyhearts.org) research efforts.

In addition to helping a righteous and homegrown cause, the production will mark the first performance to be filmed inside the historic Chicago City Landmark.

Upon completion of the feature length documentary, Wiggle Puppy’s cinematic tribute to this needed addition to the city’s winter concert calendar will be available on cbbfestival.com and leading download destinations.  All profits from the sales of these HD video downloads will go to support the Saving Tiny Hearts Society’s mission to find cures for America’s #1 birth defect.

ABOUT WIGGLE PUPPY PRODUCTIONS:

WPP has cut out a small niche making films and videos working with an eclectic group of organizations and bands including but definitely not limited to: Phish, The Flaming Lips, Super Furry Animals, Dios (Malos), Ingrid Michaelson, Candylion (w/ Gruff Rhys of SFA), The Benevento Russo Duo, Dead Meadow, Preface 73, Califone, Dan Wilson, Meiko, Natalie Walker, Bustle in Your Hedgerow, Grace Potter, The Benevento Russo Duo, Addison Groove Project, The North Mississippi AllStars, Taj Mahal, Los Lobos, moe, Matisyahu, The Mink Lungs, Burning Spear, Jennifer Hartswick Band, Big Frog (”Japan’s only Jamband”), Chris Berry & Panjea, The Violent Femmes, Raq, Joshua Radin, Panavision, The Hotel Café Tour 2008, The Art of Being, etc. as well as local Chicago talents such as: Umphrey’s McGee, Ultra Sonic Edukators, Gio, The Giving Tree Band, Future Rock, Todd Carey, Dearborn, Andreas Kapsalis Trio, Oucho Sparks, Treologic, Wicker Park Festival, Silver Wrapper Presents, Triple Dat Mas, amongst many many other

by Josh Downs, Senior cbbfestival.com Correspondent, dtrain692@yahoo.com

David Grisman is known as a pioneer of the newgrass movement in Folk music.  His unique musical style incorporates elements of traditional bluegrass, as well as jazz, folk, and stringband and has influenced countless numbers of musicians and collaborators during his storied career.

However, when he takes the stage at the Chicago Bluegrass & Blues and Festival this November, on display will be the influence of one of the most celebrated voices of American music upon Grisman.  The friendship between Grisman and Jerry Garcia has been well documented, it was Garcia who famously gave Grisman his nickname “Dawg,” but within that friendship blossomed a musical partnership that both fed off and contributed to the immense talents of both individuals.

The two met at a Bill Monroe concert in 1964 and began a camaraderie stemming from a common love of traditional American folk music that would ultimately become the bluegrass quintet Old and in the Way and lead to countless as of yet unreleased collaborations at Grisman’s house famously documented in “Grateful Dawg.”  The traditionally trained Grisman and the mercurial Garcia inspired and tempered one another as the two shaped their evolving personal styles.  While Garcia brought several traditional folk numbers into the repertoire of the Grateful Dead, Grisman began journeying into free-form, jazz-inspired movements that helped define his idiom.

Sadly, while Jerry’s passing has left the world lacking one of the more inspiring and inventive musicians ever, his influence forever lives on in the creativity of David Grisman.  Witness this firsthand at the Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival at the Congress Theater, November 22.

Tickets are currently on sale at www.cbbfestival.com/tickets

About the Festival:

On November 22nd, 2008, the Congress Theater will host the inaugural Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival (cbbfestival.com). While rooted in the foot-stomping influences of bluegrass and blues, the festival will transport the concertgoer through the genre-defying evolution of music today.  The one-day event will serve as a tribute to two schools of music that continue to shape and inspire contemporary rock, jamband, funk, folk, roots, Americana, and indie cultures, while allowing festivalgoers to save a heart.  A portion of each $31 ticket will be donated to the Saving tiny Hearts Society (www.savingtinyhearts.org), an non-profit organization that raises money for America’s #1 birth defect, congenital heart defects (CHD).

MORE RAUCOUS FOOT-TAPPERS AND CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED BALLADS TO BE EXPECTED FROM BILLY CHILDERS, ONE OF COUNTRY’S FASTEST RISTING TALENTS

When the inaugural installation of the Chicago Bluegrass & Blues festival touches down at the historic Congress Theater later this month, the city’s surprisingly-vast mainstream country music fan base won’t go unfulfilled.

That’s because the Midwest’s latest country music sensation will be there to greet fans from the festival’s main stage, showcasing a range of styles that has perked the ears of mainstream and alt country fans alike.

After upwards of 400 fans filled the Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Chicago last June to help Billy Childers land a spot in Kenny Chesney’s “Poets and Pirates” shows at Soldier Field, Billy’s career ascension was unstoppable.  First up: Sharing the stage with an all-star lineup comprised of Chesney, Luke Bryan, Gary Allan, LeAnn Rimes, and Keith Urban at the Midwest’s biggest venue.  Next came premiere spots in front of the region’s biggest country music gatherings, including Country Thunder and the Chicago Country Music Festival, and the growing legion of fans that inevitably followed.

Fresh off a set of Vegas dates, Childers is ready to take his modern honky-tonk stylings to one of Chicago’s most historic stages, alongside a roster of Roots and Americana powerhouses that includes David Grisman, The Avett Brothers, Ha Ha Tonka, Lil ‘Ed, Giving Tree Band, and Waco Brothers offshoot Dollar Store.

Learn more about Billy’s November 22 date at Chicago’s only winter music festival at www.cbbfestival.com  Learn more about Billy at www.billychilders.com

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL:

On November 22nd, 2008, the Congress Theater will host the inaugural Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival (cbbfestival.com). While rooted in the foot-stomping influences of bluegrass and blues, the festival will transport the concertgoer through the genre-defying evolution of music today.  The one-day event will serve as a tribute to two schools of music that continue to shape and inspire contemporary rock, jamband, funk, folk, roots, Americana, and indie cultures, while allowing festivalgoers to save a heart.  A portion of each $31 ticket will be donated to the Saving tiny Hearts Society (www.savingtinyhearts.org), an non-profit organization that raises money for America’s #1 birth defect, congenital heart defects (CHD).

The Giving Tree Band planted its roots more than five years ago, built on a foundation of Americana and a sustainable philosophy. The Chicago Blue Grass and Blues Festival is not quite the one year anniversary of their first release, Unified Folk Theory. Since then, TGTB have been the first band ever reviewed in Mother Earth News. They have recorded 2.5 more albums: the ‘world’s greenest album’; a Concert for Peace celebrating the Dalai Lama; and several songs inspired by the upcoming movie, “Public Enemies” with Johnny Depp as John Dillinger. TGTB submitted the songs live one Saturday and so impressed the casting director they were extras in scenes by that Monday. Studio versions include Casey Driessen of Sparrow Quartet on fiddle.

Their positive and accessible personalities, including appearances at music and eco fairs, make them a media friendly interview. NBC, ABC, WGN and RedEye have all ran pieces on TGTB. November, the same month as the CBGB Fest, “Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour” will have TGTB ask guest November 3. That Monday at 7 PM the live recording will stream from Woodsongs.com, then again two and three months later on 500 stations and XM respectively, with PBS a possibility.

Songs from all their projects will be performed in prime time at the Chicago Blue Grass and Blues Festival, November 22 at the Congress Theater. Playing two slots before David Grisman and the Avett Brothers, The Giving Tree Band is set for special main hall balcony performances in the classic one mic tradition.

What to Expect at CBGB November 22:
The Giving Tree Band Rocks Green Festival 2008-
“For those of you who were not one of the 30,000 attendees at the Green Festival that took place at Navy Pier in Chicago last weekend, here’s what you missed…an outstanding performance by Chicago’s very own eco-folk rockers, The Giving Tree Band. The largest audience of the weekend gathered as the band took the stage.”     — EcoRazzi.com

Interviews available before or at the festival… Thanks for your support of the band and the first annual “indoor all day fest” dubbed Chicago Blue Grass and Blues Festival.

World’s Greenest Album Recorded at Aldo Leopold ‘Studios’–
Great Possessions, the now named album mentioned below, is finished and will be released Spring/Summer ‘09. The Giving Tree Band presents the World’s First Carbon Free Album. Recording the ‘world’s greenest album’ took place at the ‘world’s greenest building’, the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center. Carbon Free meaning no pollutants are made during the recording and production, a step farther than offsetting emissions (Carbon Neutral).

The Giving Tree Band produced their second album using only renewable energy and recycled materials. The album was created in the most environmentally friendly way currently possible and is 100% carbon neutral. No electricity came from a grid source. All of the power used in the recording, editing, mixing, mastering, post-production, even the manufacturing and CD duplication, comes from renewable wind and solar energy. The CD packaging will also be made from 100% recycled materials of the highest post-consumer content, and after the completion of this project, ten trees will continue to be planted for every thousand CD’s produced to offset emissions created in the shipping process. Essentially, this album will be the greenest ever and do no ecological harm to the planet.

Mother Earth News Magazine First Music Review Ever!-
Giving Back to the Trees, The Giving Tree Band makes music with a mission.
The Giving Tree Band’s “Unified Folk Theory” is worth a listen.

“Folk fans will appreciate the varied American music traditions found on The Giving Tree Band’s double-CD set, “Unified Folk Theory.” The acoustic quartet from Chicago seamlessly combines their traditional folk style with plucky bluegrass, then tosses in a dose of early Bob Dylan for good measure.

Even better, the band’s on an eco-mission: the CDs were manufactured at the wind-powered Earthology Records using recycled materials; manufacturing and shipping pollutants are offset by planting 10 trees for every 1,000 CDs sold, and the band’s instruments are made of naturally fallen trees and recycled wood. The Giving Tree Band encourages a spirit of community through artful expression, with lyrics that give an uplifting boost to like-minded souls who care for the Earth.”      –Stephanie Bloyd

SAMPLE REVIEWS
“They’re an all-acoustic folk music group that sings about cherishing the earth and living simply.”
-Steve Edwards, Chicago Public Radio

“They write songs worth hearing.”
-Richard Milne, 93WXRT Chicago

“The band sounds awesome, absolutely. The music has a serious atmospheric quality to it, mighty fine stuff.”
-Cary Allen Fields, Columnist for Bluegrass Now

“Their music is real and vibrant; a good piece of Midwestern Americana.”
-Brian Campbell, ChicagoAtHome.com (CBS radio)

“The best folk songs you’re likely to hear in a long time. The Giving Tree Band’s status as a band to watch is undeniable.”
-Anthony Bennett, CDREVIEWS.COM

“Great songwriting and passion for the concepts behind the words and music and stands up to the best in the folk/newgrass/Americana music industry.”
-Rich Reardin, “In Search Of A Song” (Syndicated Radio)

“Living what they sing, transforming words into a journey through time, The Giving Tree Band promotes wholesome, earth friendly living, giving back to the community through their songs.”
-Nina Goodrich, JAZZREVIEW.COM

For Interviews with David Grisman, The Giving Tree Band or Chicago Blue Grass and Blues Festival Organizers…
CONTACT: Anthony Scott Piatt
fly@flyonthewallmedia.com
812.336.7938

Press kits for TGTB, Grisman and CBGB here…
(Press Ready Pics, Music, Bios)
www.FlyOnTheWallMedia.com

By Michael Mering, cbbfestival.com Senior Correspondent, mikemering@gmail.com

Blue grass and blues. Chicago and Nashville. A grand stage and a hallway haven side stage. Husband and wife.

Our panel of writers here at Chicago Bluegrass & Blues couldn’t have imagined a more successful marital state of affairs for this year’s inaugural festival. Of course, we (the writers) met one another at a swingers’ conference for journalists. It’s quite a scene. One minute you’re discussing obscure documentaries, the next you are tossing your keys into a large bowl and being whisked away to the bondage room by an NPR executive. I guess our parameters for holy matrimony veer from the norm.

Let’s talk music…

Majors Junction and Blue Mother Tupelo… These two bands will help fuel the sonic landscape at the inaugural Chicago Bluegrass & Blues fest, and both feature a dynamic husband-and-wife duo.  Don’t scoff at the sentiment, as you’ll soon be scooped up by the love in the air.

Check the stats:

Blue Mother Tupelo (BMT)

Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
They moved there in 2001 and have since earned rave reviews and gained momentum with their live shows.

Band Members: BMT is the husband/wife duo of Ricky and Micol Davis

Hollywood Moment: BMT’s video for “Head On My Shoulder” is featured on the DVD of the movie Daltry Calhoun (Miramax, 2005) starring Johnny Knoxville and Juliette Lewis.

Sounds Like: If Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty were actually married and decided to take over Dixie.

They describe their sound as: “Swampadelic Southern Soul Rock”

Majors Junction

Hometown: Chicago, Illinois

Band Members: The husband and wife tandem of Mike Mulcahy (guitar, vocals) and Heather O’Brien (vocals) front the band. Their harmonies are accompanied by Brian Wilkie (pedal steel), Matt Gandurski (guitar), John Hasbrouck (bass), and Colin Williams (drums).

Sounds Like: Everything you love about Johnny Cash and early Wilco.

Their sound has been described as: “Plush Lonesome Western Blues.”

Live show: Keep your eye on chicagoacoustic.net for a podcast with the legendary Michael Teach, and your ear on Hambone’s Blues Party every Thursday night at 10pm on WDCB 90.9FM.  They are scheduled to turn up on both in early November, when you’ll hear them ripthrough several numbers in a very intimate setting.

ABOUT THE CHICAGO BLUEGRASS & BLUES FESTIVAL:

On November 22nd, 2008, the Congress Theater will host the inaugural Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival (cbbfestival.com). While rooted in the foot-stomping influences of bluegrass and blues, the festival will transport the concertgoer through the genre-defying evolution of music today.  The one-day event will serve as a tribute to two schools of music that continue to shape and inspire contemporary rock, jamband, funk, folk, roots, Americana, and indie cultures, while allowing festivalgoers to save a heart.  A portion of each $31 ticket will be donated to the Saving tiny Hearts Society (www.savingtinyhearts.org), an non-profit organization that raises money for America’s #1 birth defect, congenital heart defects (CHD).

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, the Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival is all about helping and entertaining as many people as humanly possible.  So we’re damn glad to have another local charity on board, OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS, founded by Oak Park’s very own Mike Carmody.
They’ll be raising money for their wonderful initiatives by helping us sell tickets to the event on November 22nd, so if you know him and need a ticket, give him a call.  But for now, check out the wonderful things OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS is doing for our developmentally disabled friends…

ABOUT OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS:

Opportunity knocks believes that each developmentally disabled person has both the right and the ability to thrive in his/her community. Our goal is to establish an environment of independent living that fosters the personal, social and occupational development of these individuals.

Opportunity Knocks (OK), a 501c 3 non-profit charity, will serve young adults fifteen years of age and older with a range of developmental disabilities, both mild and profound. Realizing that these young adults will function at varying levels, Opportunity Knocks is prepared to fashion an individualized program to accommodate their particular needs.

It is the five-year goal of OK to acquire two facilities that will serve as self-sufficient-entities of the organization.  The facilities will be inhabited and maintained by approximately 15-20 residents.  Access to programs and facilities will include, but not be limited to the residents.  In addition to serving as a group home, these facilities will play host to a slate of programs designed for residents as well as site participants.

Among other programs, OK will be assist in job placement, health and lifestyle coaching and recreational and leisurely pursuits. These will be executed with the ideal of promoting positive and meaningful activities that involve community interaction.

Initiatives
•    Institute a staff and administration that is experienced, certified, committed to the mission of OK, and educated for the special needs of each individual.
•    Pursue the identification and acquisition of a location/facility conducive for the survival and growth of the organization.
•    Develop an open-ongoing communication and integration with parents and the community.
•    Establish a support system that allows and encourages individuals with developmental disabilities to initiate and develop positive relationships with disabled and non-disabled peers.
•    Cultivate a reliable network of outreach connections, including but not limited to business, church and school agencies to creating opportunities for volunteer programs and to collaborate with one another.
•    Create a safe, community-based recreational program that promotes self-sufficiency and personal dignity.
•    Offer opportunities to perform community service and volunteering for all participants of O.K.

INNOVATIVE TRADITIONALISTS THE GIVING TREE BAND AND TANGLEWEED TO TREAT FESTIVALGOERS WITH POP-UP SETS FROM THE HISTORIC CONGRESS THEATER BALCONY

When each of the main stage acts finish their set at the Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival, fans won’t have to wait a half-hour for a continuation of their musical fix.  They’ll merely have to turn around.

Festival organizers have finally announced a poorly-kept surprise long in the making, and confirmed that two of Chicago’s leading bluegrass acts will in fact be part of the day’s festivities.  When the lights go down on each main stage set, the spotlight will immediately shift to the boys of Tangleweed, stationed around a sole mic up in the wings of the historic Congress Theater balcony.

After a few pop-up sets by Tangleweed, they’ll pas the torch to The Giving Tree Band, who’ll entertain fans from above leading up to David Grisman and The Avett Brothers’ headlining sets.

ABOUT THE GIVING TREE BAND (WWW.THEGIVINGTREEBAND.COM):
The Giving Tree Band is a four-piece group of versatile Chicago musicians. Their sound is all acoustic, expanding from a variety of folk and roots traditions. The band has a very dynamic and inventive approach to songwriting and music-making, which they use as a tool for exploring the mystery of life and serving the needs of the community and environment. These troubadours creatively chronicle their own experiences, random thoughts, and deep feelings into a musical diary. By opening it freely, they hope to bring a little joy and inspiration to the lives of the listeners.

The Giving Tree Band’s eclectic and unique brand of soulful folk is the collaboration of four friendly multi-instrumentalists. Bob Salihar adds appeal on guitar. Pat Burke brings brightness on mandolin. Todd Fink contributes color on banjo. Eric Fink delivers depth on upright bass. The members also perform with other instruments such as the classical guitar, slide dobro, dulcimer, ukulele, violin, harmonica, and harmonium. The band sings in four part harmony with each member taking his turn as lead vocalist.

ABOUT TANGLEWEED (WWW.TANGLEWEED.ORG):

Formed in 2004 on Chicago’s north side, Tangleweed is rapidly developing their own innovative slice of Acoustic Americana.  Their first two cd’s have received positive press and frequent radio play in over 20 countries, and they have just released their third, “Most Folk Heroes Started Out As Criminals.”

In 2008, Tangleweed was named “Traditional Musicians of the Year” by the Rural Roots Commission, heard their music featured on the PBS series “Roadtrip Nation”, and performed warmly-received debut shows in Tennessee, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Colorado.

The band features four very different lead vocalists, and is just as nimble with classic bluegrass, folk, mountain music, hot jazz, western swing, and Irish rebel songs as they are re-interpreting the occasional Pere Ubu or Velvet Underground cover.  And yes, their bassist custom-built his own instrument out of a de-commissioned Howitzer Shell.

ABOUT THE CHICAGO BLUEGRASS & BLUES FESTIVAL:

On November 22nd, 2008, the Congress Theater will host the inaugural Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival (cbbfestival.com). While rooted in the foot-stomping influences of bluegrass and blues, the festival will transport the concertgoer through the genre-defying evolution of music today.  The one-day event will serve as a tribute to two schools of music that continue to shape and inspire contemporary rock, jamband, funk, folk, roots, Americana, and indie cultures, while allowing festivalgoers to save a heart.  A portion of each $31 ticket will be donated to the Saving tiny Hearts Society (www.savingtinyhearts.org), an non-profit organization that raises money for America’s #1 birth defect, congenital heart defects (CHD).