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KANE'S  RIVER

Now the rest of the bluegrass world will have the chance to find out what fans in the Northwest have known for some time: there's nothing more refreshing than a long, cool musical drink from Montana's Kane's River.

Kane's River, based in Bozeman, Montana, is an acoustic bluegrass band made up of five talented singers/songwriters/instrumentalists who thrive on blazing their own musical trail.

Their music features classic and contemporary themes, killer harmonies, and hard-core drive, and appeals to aficionados of bluegrass, folk, and just about any kind of popular music. The band is rapidly gaining a national reputation for truly compelling songwriting and a refreshing approach to bluegrass as well.

Past performance highlights include the International Bluegrass Music Association's Artist Showcase and Fan Fest 2000, along with shows all over the U.S. and Canada. Click on the "Performance Schedule" link to see when Kane's River will be performing in your area.

The band's first recording, The Cottonwood, was released in the spring of 1997 to rave reviews, and their critically-acclaimed self-titled release on Doobie Shea Records peaked at #8 on the national charts, with the first track "This Whole World" reaching as high as #7 on the singles chart.

David Thompson

Along with John Lowell, Dave is a co-founder of Kane's River.  Dave is originally from Boston and moved to Montana in 1993 to spend more time fly fishing, hiking, skiing, and basically everything outdoors. Bringing a
 widely-varied musical background to the band, Dave's contribution to Kane's River's sound is evident
 in both his tasteful yet urgent playing, and his well-crafted, emotionally convincing songs.

 

*Note of interest--Dave prides himself on having the  largest instrument in the band.....He's also a male model
 (watch those Ford Truck ads closely!) and has frightful hypoglycemic tendencies.

Julie Elkins

Julie, a champion banjo player, is rapidly gaining a reputation as
one of the top female vocalists in bluegrass. Her musical partnership
with John Lowell goes back to a band called Wheel Hoss, which she joined before she was old enough to drive. A lengthy stint with North
Carolina's renowned New Vintage helped to hone her solid, driving banjo style and super soulful and compelling vocals. Now living in Colorado, Julie moved back out west and joined Kane's River in 1999.

*Note of interest--Julie is most famous for her lack of skills in basketball, however, she's very good at reading books and has an extraordinary ability to sleep through even the loudest of noises.

Ben Winship

Ben is a multi-instrumentalist originally from the Boston area, who now resides in Victor, Idaho. Winship was a founding member of Loose Ties, with whom he performed from 1986 to 1996. In addition to his band recordings, Ben has two solo records to his credit, as well as Growling Old Men recorded with John Lowell in 1998.

*Note of interest-- If you smell something funky while near Ben, don't freak out -- he's an amateur garlic farmer and and lives in a converted chicken house.

John Lowell

The originator of Kane's River, John is a master of driving rhythm guitar and flexible, inventive flatpicking leads, a sensitive, clear-voiced singer and a writer whose work has been performed by several well-known artists. A veteran of Wheel Hoss, he also toured with Loose Ties in the mid-90s and released Growling Old Men with Ben Winship in 1998.

*Note of interest-- John (a.k.a. "J. Lo,") holds the distinction of playing what has become known as the "12 Wrongest Notes in the History of Music," on April 1, 2001, causing trauma from which scores of unfortunate Canadians have still not recovered.