Returning to Years of Farming at Double S Entertainment, 150 Foster Street, Flemingsburg, for the seventh time on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 2 p.m., are winners of 2023 SPBGMA Bluegrass Band of the Year Po Ramblin Boys.

Thomas Albert on steel guitar, Ryan Gillum, Elizabeth Bowman and Heather Alley will be the opening band. Tickets can be purchased in advance on the website or at the door for $20. Children 12 and under accompanied by an adult are admitted free.

Attendees will have the chance to win door prizes provided by our sponsors including two tickets to the Feb. 26, 2023, show featuring the Dale Ann Bradley with Yocum River Band, back by popular demand, opening.

At a time when most people feel constantly distracted by technology and barraged by the news, authenticity and straightforward honesty are paramount. There’s something about the music of The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys that cuts right through the noise of the world and speaks plainly to the soul.

Formed in the Smoky Mountains, The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys are not exactly what you would expect from a tattooed East Tennessee Bluegrass outfit. No strangers to hard work, the boys are as much at home riding in their restored Eagle tour bus as they are crawling underneath to fix it when it needs maintenance. But they take pride in being ambassadors of their genre, and the group has brought their music from rural bluegrass festival stages to the rock clubs of Europe, and even the Grammy Red Carpet, with stunning results.

The original four guys in Po Ramblin Boys started their band in 2014 mainly playing at Ole Smoky Moonshine Distillery in Sevierville, Tenn. Not many bands have the same original members after nine years. Their first gig out of town was a festival in Alberta, Canada, and a week later a two-week tour of Europe.

The Po Ramblin Boys were Emerging Artist of the Year at the 2018 IBMA Awards.

In 2020, the finishing touch was added to the quartet when Laura Orshaw, a seasoned fiddle player and singer joined the Boys. Material for their music is a combination of original songs and old numbers that honor the group’s mentors and bluegrass heroes.

“We love to dig up old songs that haven’t been heard in years and bring them back into the spotlight,” band members said. In fact, two of those gems are “Next Train South” and “Hickory, Walnut & Pine.” Their latest cd “Never Slow Down” with Sound Biscuit Productions describes them perfectly. With their new bus wrapped in Ole Smokey Moonshine design, their new cd, their heavy touring schedule and the many awards they have won, I can’t wait to see what 2023 holds for them and us as fans!

The opening band features former Kentucky Center for Traditional Music students at Morehead State University. Thomas Albert on steel guitar and one of the first graduates of the music program at KCTM is now a professor in the music program at MSU. Ryan Gillum attended MSU on a golf scholarship, Elizabeth Bowman and Heather Alley were all favorites in the KCTM program. We look forward to their reunion band!

Years of Farming’s goal is not only to provide bluegrass music in our area, but also to promote our local businesses. These businesses employ a lot of people in our community. Most of our sponsors have sponsored all the shows we have scheduled since 2011. We appreciate our sponsors whether this is their first show to sponsor or if they have sponsored all and we hope you will thank them for helping us bring such great groups to Flemingsburg. Please take the time to thank our sponsors for helping us bring great bluegrass music to Flemingsburg.

Join us at Years of Farming for an afternoon of awesome bluegrass music. It is a terrific opportunity to see this caliber of artists in our area.

If you are not familiar with any of our bands, whether a feature band or an opening band, check their websites and/or YouTube for some of their music and history and you will want to attend! Keep checking our websitewww.yearsoffarming.com for updates on our schedule. Tickets are now available on our website or at the door.

For more information contact Paula Hinton at 606-748-0798 or paulahinton2000@yahoo.com.