I first heard Bearfoot in an internet radio transmission of a concert at the 2008 Merlefest. I have recently listened again to the recording of this concert and wanted to collect some videos and information about Bearfoot for this blog.
The current band members of Bearfoot are:
- Kate Hamre – acoustic bass,
- Odessa Jorgensen – fiddle,
- Mike Mickelson – guitar,
- Jason Norris – mandolin,
- Angela Oudean – fiddle
The sound of Bearfoot is dominated by the twin fiddles of Odessa Jorgenson and Angela Oudean and the harmony singing of the three women in the band. Some songs are also sung by guitarist Mike Mickelson and mandolinist Jason Norris, the male part of the band.
There are some fantastic sounding a capella songs, you can hear typical bluegrass songs like Sally Goodin or Molly and the Tenbrooks, oldtime and original songs, blues, a very interesting mixture of styles and sounds that I like very much.
The band was founded as a band to promote the results of fiddle camps held in Alaska by Mick’s mother. They have become a full time professional band some time ago and have produced several CDs.
The following interview is a good occasion to learn more about Bearfoot and its members:
Bearfoot Interview
There are many videos of Bearfoot available at youtube, the most popular songs are:
- Molasses
- Caroline
- Good in the Kitchen
- My Bucket got a hole in it
I have collected the videos in the following playlist, I tried to place the videos I like most at the beginning.
Playlist Bearfoot
I would like to add one special song here in this blog, a song sung by Annalisa Tornfeldt who was the lead singer and fiddle player before Odessa Jorgenson. This song is one of my favorites in the Bearfoot repertoir.
It’s a bluesy piece about a woman waiting on a train track, which has a nice arrangement and gets a lot of energy in the middle of the song, including a powerfull mandolin solo by Jason Norris.
Bearfoot AC&T 4/23/2008 – 2
Bearfoot, Alaskan bluegrass band, performs at Ashland Coffee and Tea, Ashland, VA on 4/23/2008
Enjoy Bearfoot!
Links
Bearfoot at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/bearfootband
Homepage with some songs of the current CD Doors and Windows: http://www.bearfootband.com/
Interview “Bearfoot lead singer Odessa Jorgenson on the band’s new album”: http://folkmusic.about.com/od/artistsaj/a/BearfootQA.htm
Annalisa Tornfelt at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/annalisatornfelt
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Doors and Windows – Bearfoot