When it comes to movers and shakers in the bluegrass world, Full Cord is a super-group on the rise.
After winning the prestigious 2022 Telluride Bluegrass Band Competition in Colorado, the Michigan-based group followed that with another much-coveted honor when the International Bluegrass Music Association named Full Cord its “Momentum Award Band of the Year.”
While mandolinist Brian Oberlin notes the band’s music “is new and fresh to the ears of seasoned bluegrass fans,” the bluegrass traditions in Full Cord have deep roots.
The group’s members – Oberlin, guitarist Eric Langejans, bassist Todd Kirchner – boast decades of musical artistry, with experience in popular performing bands from Michigan to Oregon. The group brings along top players to fill in fiddle and banjo to round out that rich bluegrass tone.
The band’s debut album on Nashville’s Dark Shadow Recording released in Nov. of 2023 and has maintained charting positions through spring of ’24.
Full Cord’s songwriting has reached a new “tipping point,” Manager Katie Kirchner suggests, enhanced by the group’s vast repertoire and robust experience in numerous band projects over the years.
And Oberlin insists the band is “just hitting its stride” – ready to follow in the footsteps of fellow Michigan bluegrass icons Billy Strings and Greensky Bluegrass as yet another star in the making.
Pre-Show
3lb Cut
Opening in our Downstage Club at 7pm will be 3LB Cut, a Marshall, Michigan based band featuring local musicians Kjell Croce, Adrian Bagale and Derek Smith. They will be joined by members of other local bands such as Danae and The Grind and The Fat Animals. The band covers a wide range of music territory from folk and blues to bluegrass and rock and roll. Along with performing at many of the local venues, they have been on the Franke Center stage many times. Armed with a variety of instruments and capable of pulling off any song, they are always a crowd favorite.
Kjell Croce of 3lb Cut
Northfield Instruments
Showroom Open House
This show’s title sponsor, Northfield Instruments, is inviting one and all to a special showroom open house at their downtown Marshall location, 130 W. Michgan Avenue. Showroom hours are 10a – 5p Friday, May 2nd and Saturday, May 3rd. There will be many of their original products available at special pricing including mandolins, guitar stands, and lots of other items.
Please inquire further at [email protected].
