Wil Maring and Robert Bowlin - Keeper of the Farm

Wil Maring performs an original composition, "Keeper of the Farm", with frequent musical collaborator and former Bill Monroe Bluegrass Boy, Robert Bowlin. Order a CD at www.shadymix.com/cds.html .

As Wil Maring sat for long summer hours as a teenager at her family's roadside vegetable stand, picking out self-made tunes on her Sears guitar to pass the time, she never dreamed of the path she would one day follow. Wil has become a highly acclaimed songwriter, a previous winner of the prestigious Chris Austin Songwriting Contest at Merlefest, and has appeared on the Grand Ole Opry with her original music, in addition to touring extensively in Europe and Japan. She honed her songwriting skills playing music professionally in Europe with her group Shady Mix.

Wil Maring and virtuose guitarist and fiddler Robert Bowlin have been recently combining talents to create beautiful original acoustic music which straddles the fence between bluegrass, folk and country music. Wil's beautiful airy vocal style and heartfelt lyrics have raised the eyebrows of the acoustic music world in recent years with the release of her three solo cds and four band cds with her band Shady Mix. Robert, a two-time National Fingerpicking and Flatpicking Guitar contest winner, has been a band member with legendary artists like Bill Monroe, Maura O Connell, Kathy Mattea, the Osborne Brothers, and many more. Their music will leave audiences spellbound long after the show is over. For bigger venues, Wil sometimes appears with whole band, Shady Mix, which includes instrumental lineup of upright bass, fiddle, mandolin, and sometimes banjo.

Mixture of bluegrass, oldtime, folk, country, and even a little pop. Wide variety of influences, and live show includes a heavy emphasis on originals, but also bluegrass and country standards, fiddle tunes, and cowboy and western swing music. Current favorite artists and influences are wide and varied.... Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Martin, James Taylor, John Hartford, John Prine, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Flatt and Scruggs, Bob Wills, Asleep at the Wheel, Tony Rice, Hot Rize, Dougie MacLean, Kate Rusby, Lyle Lovett, Kim Richey, Patty Griffin, Lucy Kaplansky, Nanci Griffith and so many more... from my youth: Dan Fogelberg, John Denver, Jackson Browne, Eagles, and many bluegrass artists.

Robert Bowlin started at age 1 and a half playing the ukelele, graduated to his dad's guitar at age 5, and has been creating unique and beautiful guitar music ever since. He won the National Fingerpicking Guitar Championship in Winfield, KS in 1979 and got 2nd in the Flatpicking Guitar Contest in 1978. His professional career has included stints with artists such as Maura O' Connell, Kathy Mattea, Tom T. Hall, the Osborne Brothers, Bill Monroe, Ray Price, Bobby Bare, Faron Young, Ricky Van Shelton. He was a session guitarist and fiddler in Nashville for countless recordings. He has played onstage with artists such as BB King and Ricky Scaggs, Tony Rice, Peter Rowan, and Vassar Clements. He has performed his original music on the stage of the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. He has a new cd of solo guitar instrumentals entitled "Six String Soliloquy".

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