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Photo by Larry Bilansky

Amy Gallatin,
born in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, lived in several states before settling
in the West, where she was raised. During her ten years in Idaho and Montana,
she had had the good fortune of being able to work at two of her loves
in life: horses and music; Amy helped to organize the horseback riding
programs and was the featured entertainer at various guest ranches. Her
performing background had been as a solo artist out West prior to her
meeting some Connecticut musicians while wintering in New England in 1992.
With that Connecticut connection came the opportunity to tour as a working
unit, so Amy packed her guitar and moved east in the fall of 1993 to pursue
her music. Four albums later (including a live album and a project recorded
in Nashville with ace producer Rich Adler), Amy Gallatin and her band
Stillwaters have taken the stage at some of the most prestigious venues
in the U.S., Mexico, and Europe. They were invited in 1996, '98, and 2003
to tour several European countries. Their most recent performances in
The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Denmark drew extremely
enthusiastic crowds at house concerts, music clubs, theaters, country
& bluegrass festivals, and National Radio, as well as representing the
United States as the featured performers at the European World of Bluegrass
convention in The Netherlands.
Amy is at home singing various musical styles -- country, folk, bluegrass
or western swing--branding each song with soulful sincerity. Her influences
are diverse, ranging from old and contemporary cowboy tunes learned out
West, to great country artists like Emmylou Harris, Merle Haggard, Loretta
Lynn, and the Everly Brothers, with even a dash of blues influence thrown
in--Koko Taylor, Katie Wilson, BB King, and Shemekiah Copeland.

Photo by Larry Bilansky
Roger Williams started
playing the resophonic, Dobro style guitar in1963, when he was just a
young teenager. Within the first year, he had already debuted with The
Lilly Bros. and Don Stover at the Hillbilly Ranch in Boston, Mass. where
they had performed for nearly two decades. Since then he has gone on to
perform and/or record with many well respected Bluegrass and folk acts
on the national and international circuit, including Don Stover,White
Mountain Bluegrass, Hazel Dickens, Joe Val, Bill Harrell, Wyatt Rice,
Delia Bell & Bill Grant, Southern Rail, Ray Legere, Mark Schatz, Mac
Wiseman,The New England Bluegrass Band, Salamander Crossing, Amy Gallatin
and Stillwaters, Slavek Hanzlik, Mark Erelli, Hiro Arita and others. Career
highlights include nine overseas tours with various artists, including
a performance at the prestigious Dobro Festival in Slovakia, and teaching
workshops during Bluegrass Week at the Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins,
WV. Roger has recorded three solo projects: 'Fireball', 'Rt. 2 To Amherst',
and 'River Of No Return', a collaboration with long-time friend and musical
associate Ray Legere. Most recently, Roger has been involved in CMH label's
'Pickin' On' series, where different musical genres are interpreted in
the bluegrass vein. About Roger, Bluegrass Unlimited magazine has
said: "Williams, like all great acoustic slide players, can be mellow
and lingering or crisp and jaunty. He's also a very fine singer (with)
more than a little of Merle Haggard in voice and emotion."
"Roger Williams is one bad-ass Dobro player."--Jim Chapdelaine,
Engineer/Composer/Producer/Guitarist
Stillwaters is...

Photo by Larry Bilansky
John Urbanik,
a seasoned acoustic bassist from Salem, CT, blends his husky baritone
in harmony with Amy's soprano and Roger's tenor, making for some great
country and "brother-style" duets. John's musical experience
and tastes span a wide range of genres and instruments, beginning with
guitar at age 8, jamming to old time bluegrass with family members, then
as a drummer at age 14 with the rock-and-roll group Davy and the Dolphins.
He played percussion in a jazz group, the Jimmy D Trio, while he was in
the Air Force, a country band in the 80's, and then bluegrass bass in
the Eight Mile River Band with local legend (and cousin) Dave Liska in
the late 80's and 90's. John has fond memories of his Air Force days of
playing clubs six nights/week until 3 am, going to breakfast and then
straight to work! For many years John, with his brother Don, owned and
operated Cardinal Sound, providing professional sound reinforcement for
music festivals and concerts. He is an invaluable and experienced resource
for those engagements for which Stillwaters provides sound.
Photo courtesy Northern Lights Band
Dave
Dick
(banjo, guitar, mandolin, harmony vocals) is joining Stillwaters for the
spring season. Dave and Roger go 'way back to the 80's, when they gigged
together in a group they formed called The Alternative. Dave has played
with many other bands including Southern Rail, the acclaimed folk-bluegrass
group Salamander Crossing (both with Roger), and most recently the contemporary
bluegrass group Northern Lights. He is also a member of the Blackstone
Valley Bluegrass Band with his brother, acclaimed bassist and former Front
Range member Bob Dick, who has also played bass for Stillwaters on numerous
occasions. Dave is a staff producer for CMH Records' Pickin On series,
producing and perfoming on "Pickin' on Jack Johnson", "Pickin'
on Brad Paisley", and "Pickin' on Dwight Yoakam". When
not gigging or in the studio, Dave is the stringed instrument repairman
at Union Music in Worcester, MA. For a peek at Dave and Roger in the old
days, surf on over to Roger's Gallery on his website:
http://rogerreso.net/rwgallery.htm
Photo courtesy www.mikebarnettfiddle.com
Mike
Barnett
Also joining Stillwaters for selected shows will be talented fiddle prodigy
Mike Barnett. At 17, this high school junior is already a seasoned veteran,
having toured with Jesse McReynolds (Jim & Jesse), including dates
on the Grand Ole Opry. He is the youngest instructor (at age 15) ever
to teach at the Blair Music School Fiddle Camp at Vanderbilt University,
and he released his own CD, Lost Indian, in 2004. Reversing the
trend, this Nashville native moved from there to New England,
making his home with his family in Longmeadow, MA. We're lucky to have
him right in our own backyard.
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