The Joe Freeman Bluegrass Band

Band BIO

The Joe Freeman Bluegrass Band is made up of a father, son and cousin along with a few good friends. Dr. Joe Freeman holds a PH.D., in Public Health Administration. The band has been together in some form or another and under many names since the early 1980’s. The band is made up of musicians who were self taught and play by ear without the ability to read musical notes but with the ability to play almost any song we hear within a few minutes in our musical genre. The band is the 3rd and 4th generations of musicians that date back to the early 1940’s when their great uncles, The York Brothers were members of the Grand Ole Opry.

The band has opened shows and or shared the stage with such Bluegrass musical legends as DR. Ralph Stanley, Banjo Legend J.D. Crowe, Third Tyme Out, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, Lou Reed and Carolina, New Found Road, Larry Cordle, Mountain Heart, Rhonda Vincent, Osbourne Brothers and former country music entertainer of the year, Ricky Skaggs. We are considered the best local talent in our area for our type of music and are featured performers on a Sunday morning Bluegrass gospel show called, America’s Bluegrass on WSAZ TV 3 with National DVD/CD market sales.

We feature a 19-year-old musical prodigy who plays several instruments and has created much talk in the Bluegrass world. We also incorporate comedy and comical songs very heavily in our shows. We work a bass, guitar, fiddle or mandolin and banjo at our core and also can bring drums and electrical instruments for classic country, classic rock and oldies rock. We also have a Willie Nelson impersonator that is a crowd favorite. All band members do NOT always perform at every show. We only guarantee the core members.

We use the best of equipment including BOSE PAS PA gear, Yamaha, JBL, and Mackie speakers and monitors, Shure KSM44 and E/V 957 Mics and Shure PS7 ear monitors, Taylor acoustic guitars and basses, Fender electric guitars, Collings and Silver Angel mandolins, Stelling and Deering banjos, Dean and Azola upright electric basses.

DEMO/RECORDINGS:
The On Our Best Behavior CD is dated about 5 years ago. Some of the band members have changed or left but all of the current band members appear on the CD. The Lessons Learned CD has just been released and includes 6 original tunes. Both of the CD’s were recorded “on the fly” without overdubs or the ability to fix mistakes so they give a good idea of how we sound in a live setting.

Geographical Area:
We mainly perform within 500 miles of where we live in Southern Ohio.

CONTACT:
healthceo@aol.com
www.joefreemanpromotions.com
740-377-9095 M-F 9-5PM ask for Joe
304-412-3047 Cell 740-256-1564 Home 740-377-9591 FAX

Former shows of interest:

Community Block Party, Ann Arbor, MI 2007
July 4th Summer Party and Fireworks, City of Honeoye, NY 2007
TN Beef Cattle Convention at Music Road Hotel Pigeon Forge TN 2006
Open for DR Ralph Stanley Greenup County Fair Greenup KY 2006
Open for Rhonda Vincent at Ariel Theater Gallipolis OH 2006
Bob Evans Farm Festival guest band 2006. Host band 2007 and 2008.
Open for Doyle Lawson, Mountain Heart, Lou Reed at Lawrence County BG Festival
Open for Ricky Skaggs at Harris Riverfront Park Huntington WV 1997
Open for Third Tyme Out Sept 16 2007 Poage Landing Days Ashland KY
Open for IBMA Entertainers of the year Grascals @ Bob Evans Farm Festival 2007
Picked banjo on stage with J.D. Crowe DEC 28th 2007 Paramount Arts Center, Ashland
Filled in on Banjo for National recording artist Larry Cordle and Lonesome Standard Time Dec 2008.
Performed with Huntington Symphony Orchestra July 4th 2008 at Big Sandy Arena
Performed at Ohio Governors Mansion for Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and former Senator and Astronaut John Glenn. NOV 14th 2008
Appear on National CD release called, “America’s Bluegrass Gospel Live”

Maximum crowd:
10,000 plus at Ricky Skaggs show
Average Crowd:
500-2000 per show.

Availability and Booking requirements:
Band is made up of 4-5 full time working band members, National Guard and military members. Availability is limited based on several factors. (Vacations, work schedules, military duty requirements, etc.) Weekend and local shows have the greatest chance of availability. In order to book, we require your request then we verify availability of band within 4 hours and availability of band members within 24 hours. We require you sign our personal contract and submit deposit prior to confirming the booking by outside interest. (Booking agent, website, E mail, etc.) We usually book up 30-90 days in advance but short notice shows are sometimes available.

Internet Contacts:
www.google.com
www.youtube.com
www.gigmasters.com