THE RIVERTOWN TRIO has been playing all over the Bay Area for the last 9 years, and play their country/folk rock and Americana tunes with heart, passion, and veteran musicianship. They have a beautiful, rich, unique sound and people love their 3-part harmonies and their chemistry together. The members, GARY VOGENSEN (lead guitar, harmonica, vocals) and RUSS GAUTHIER (guitar, mandolin, fiddle, vocals) toured with New Riders of the Purple Sage for many years and have played with Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Mike Bloomfield, Etta James, Delbert McClinton and so many more. JULIE BERNARD (vocals, rhythm guitar, percussion) has played for over 12 years with various local bands and brings her talent, warmth, and enthusiasm to the trio.
THE FAMILIAR STRANGERS play an Americana grab bag of roots music from western swing to country, bluegrass, folk, blues and even a little bit of gypsy jazz! This band generates a big response from audiences with their friendly banter and responsiveness to requests from audience members. This is a band with a sense of humor that can easily move between material designed to get you up on your feet dancing or tugging at your heart to buy another beer and lose your sorrows. Their musical palette runs from Bob Wills to Doc Watson to Django Reinhardt and more.
The band celebrated their first recorded project, Masqurade 2020, which has proven to be a critical success. They have recently begun their sophomore project for release in the early spring 2023.
The Trio/quartet:
Candy Girard – fiddle, vocals & killer smile
Tim Sarter – bass, vocals & infectious friendliness
Kevin Russell – guitar, vocals & set list maker