John Moore taps top notch bluegrass cast for legendary picking sessions
PERFORMERS
2 0 2 4 O I B F P R O G R A M OKLAHOMA ’ S INTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL
John Moore and More
John Moore taps top notch bluegrass cast for legendary picking sessions
JOHN MOORE MARK SCHATZ RICK FARIS BRIAN WICKLUND JENS KRUGER
by JOE MACK
What do you do when you have a festival bill full of great bands from across the globe ? I ’ d say there ’ s always room for more , or better yet , John Moore … or best of all , John Moore & More !
In addition to being the mandolinist , guitarist and vocalist for the internationally acclaimed band Bluegrass Etc , California native John Moore is also an educator ; his workshops on horsemanship and livestock handling have educated scores of riders and ranchers around the globe .
The OIBF family knows John well ; he was in the band California with OIBF founder Byron Berline , which won the International Bluegrass Music Association ’ s Instrumental Band of the Year three years in a row ! Subsequently , he ’ s performed Byron ’ s beloved festival in Guthrie several times , and they remained friends and collaborators until Berline ’ s untimely death .
According to johnmoore4horses . com , John ’ s musical performances have led him throughout the U . S ., Canada , Europe and Japan , as well as into the studio doing radio and television commercials , movie soundtracks and sessions for other artists . He is also a sought-after music teacher at festivals across the country . His methodology works : for exhibit A , I submit to you a fellow by the name of Chris Thile , who was under the tutelage of Moore in his youth . Thile is now regarded as the foremost mandolin player in the land .
Mark Schatz knows Thile quite well , spending decades on the road as the touring bassist for Nickel Creek . An in-demand session player , Schatz has been burning up the road the last
few years with Bela Fleck ’ s super band subsequently named after the Grammy Award-winning album , My Bluegrass Heart . Mark ’ s methods and playing style can handle anything John wants to throw at him .
Rick Faris might be the youngest member of the Moore & More unit , but he ’ s no slouch . Faris recently won IBMA ’ s “ New Artist of the Year ” in 2022 , and recruited a mandolin player from Guthrie to join his band , Mr . Henry Burgess .
Their new album , Uncommon Sky , is a true testament and document affirming that the future of bluegrass is in good hands .
There are some folks out there who are good at doing things , then there are those that literally write the book on it – enter Brian Wicklund . The Minnesota native is one of the finest fiddle and mandolin players in the Midwest , and he wrote the best-selling American Fiddle Method , published by Mel Bay ( yes , that Mel Bay , that published all the sheet music , chord and sightreading books we gazed upon ). Wicklund can chop and saw with the best of them , and he ’ s not afraid to step on the gas , either .
Last , but not least … Jens Kruger . The icing on this musical cake , there is nary a banjo player at this festival or anywhere in the world that plays with as much intent and emotion as Jens . It ’ s widely believed that Jens Kruger is the first banjo player of European decent to play on stage at the Grand Ole Opry , albeit alongside the grandfather of the genre , Bill Monroe . His Kruger Brothers band are familiar faces to the OIBF faithful . IBF
OKLAHOMA ’ S INTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL 2024 / 7