DESCRIPTION:
Wil Maring performs her Merlefest award winning song, "Bottomlands", accompanied by Brad Davis. This was filmed at the 2007 Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis, TN.

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.

Sounds like Wil Maring.....have been compared to many, but one word that keeps coming up in review and commentary is "unique". If one must compare, then maybe in the direction of Nanci Griffith.

Grammy award winning artist Brad Davis spent ten years (1992-2002) performing on stage as a member of Marty Stuart's road band. For the past six years he has played lead acoustic guitar with Earl Scruggs and Friends, and for the past five years he has played lead electric and acoustic guitar with movie actor Billy Bob Thornton's rock band. He spent two years (2003-2004) as the guitar player for the Sam Bush Band and also performed with John Jorgenson's Gypsy jazz Quintet in 2005. He occasionally performs with an exciting new bluegrass band, calling themselves "Greenbroke," consisting of Brad Davis, John Cowan, John Moore, and Dennis Caplinger.

Brad has worked for, or recorded with, Willie Nelson, Emmy Lou Harris, Pam Tillis, The Forester Sisters, Tommy Shaw (Styx), David Lee Roth (Van Halen), Sheryl Crow, Sam Bush, Warren Zevon, and The Sweethearts of the Rodeo. He is currently the host of Commerce County Line, a singer/songwriter television program on the iTelevision network. Additionally, Brad has recorded two album projects featuring Billy Bob Thornton on Mercury Records and has toured both Europe and the United States as the lead guitar player for Billy Bob Thornton's band. Brad's two solo recordings on FGM Records "I'm Not Gonna Let My Blues Bring Me Down", and "This World Ain't No Child Anymore" were both released to rave reviews. He also appears on an FGM concert DVD video release "Live in Kansas City" with Cody Kilby and Tim May. ( more )