HGB in the NEWS
April 3, 2024
Our 25th Anniversary Album "Blue & Gray"
received four 2024 New Mexico Music Awards Nominations:
Best Bluegrass, "No. 9 Coal"
Best Bluegrass, "Back to You"
Best Religious/Gospel, "Cast Your Nets"
Producer of the Year, Higher Ground Bluegrass for "Blue & Gray"
September 23, 2023
Come see us a the ABQ Folk Festival
National Hispanic Cultural Center
October 7th
1030 - Jam with the band
1230 - Fiddle Workshop with Pat
1430 - HGB at the BofA Theater
August 21, 2023
Come see us a the Santa Fe Trad Fest
Camp Stoney, Santa Fe
August 26th, Banjo Workshop with Duke 10 am
August 27th, Main Stage 10 am
July 11, 2023
HGB will be opening for
Danny Paisley and the Southern Grass
at the Kimo Theater in Albuquerque, NM
July 29, 6 pm
Buy Tickets HERE.
June 19, 2023
Next up for the band is the
High Mountain Hay Fever Festival in
Westcliffe, CO
July 6-9, 2023
June 2, 2023
"Blue & Gray"
HGB's 25th Anniversary Album,
five years in the making, is finally done!
CDs at the HGB store,
digital downloads and on-line streaming
available June 3rd!
April 15, 2023
HGB competed recording their 25th Anniversary Album
"Blue & Gray" at The Kitchen Sink Studio.
The band was thrilled to have Ian Fleming (far right)
play lead and rhythm guitar for the project.
March 27, 2023
We are excited to announce that Ben Monroe from Austin, TX has joined
Higher Ground Bluegrass for our 25th Anniversary Year!
Ben brings superb guitar and outstanding vocals to the group!
Look for upcoming performances!
February 4, 2023
Pat and Duke were back in The Kitchen Sink Studio
cutting vocal harmony tracks for the 25th Anniversary Album!
Progress continues with five songs in the can!
January 14, 2023
Higher Ground Bluegrass began the recording of their
25th Anniversary Album at The Kitchen Sink Studio with Jono Manson!
Missing Fred Bolton, but thankful for
Ian Fleming who has graciously stepped in with flair on guitar!
Celebrating 25 years of
Higher Ground Bluegrass in 2023!
November 11, 2022
Happy Veteran's Day!
Thank You to All Who Have Served and Continue to Serve!
Our 2018 Song, "Put My Mind At Ease" for those suffering with PTSD.
November 3, 2022
Check out the November Issue of
The Bluegrass Standard!
Thank you for the nice article on
Higher Ground Bluegrass!
September 24, 2022
Working on the forthcoming album!
Songs are written, fine tuning arrangements!
We'll be in the studio in no time!
July 27, 2022
Pat's progress continues to be steady and positive following
heart transplant surgery in February! He will be traveling back to
Milwaukee next week for a checkup with the transplant team!
We'll be back performing soon!
June 12, 2022
Fred, Dave, Laura, and Duke visited with Pat at his home in the Jemez Mountains today!
It was the first time the entire band had been together since last November.
Pat had a follow-up appointment in Milwaukee this past week and he continues to break all records
in recovery from heart transplant surgery! After some great burgers on the grill cooked by Pat,
HGB spent several hours on Pat's Pickin' Porch! Had a blast!
Stay Tuned!
May 29, 2022
Pat is Back in New Mexico! Duke and Fred visited Pat at his home in the Jemez Mountains. They spent several hours catching up and of course, got in some serious pickin'!
Pat's progress has been steady and positive following heart transplant surgery in February!
March 28, 2022
Pat is continuing to make great progress
following heart transplant surgery.
He is now doing cardiac rehab 5 days a week
and picked up his fiddle to start knocking off the dust!
All remains well and with continued success and progress,
we'll see Pat back in New Mexico by early summer!
March 14, 2022
We have some Great News to share with you on the health front.
Pat Mahoney, our dear friend, bandmate, fiddler, and frontman, allowed us to share that he underwent a successful heart transplant in February after being diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure in December of 2021. He is doing extremely well, and has been discharged from the hospital to the local area where the procedure was performed. Pat wanted to send along his thanks for the prayers and well wishes. They are already paying huge dividends. He will be in rehab for the coming months but already has a tremendous start on his 'road to recovery' only one month after surgery! We'll keep you posted on Pat's progress!
January 29, 2022
Happy New Year!
The band is currently on a break for the next few months as
we face several health challenges in our musical family.
Well wishes are welcome! We hope to be back soon!
November 28, 2021
HGB's last show of the year
December 4th, 7 - 9 pm
Buffalo Grass Music Hall
Panhandle, TX
November 11, 2021
Happy Veterans Day!!!
To all who Served and Continue to Serve,
Thank You for your Service!
November 2, 2021
The November 13th event has been cancelled.
We have one year-end concert:
December 4 - Buffalo Grass Music Hall
Panhandle, TX
Check out the Events page for details.
August 8, 2021
46th Annual Southwest Pickers Bluegrass and Traditional Music Festival
13-15 August 2021 in Red River, NM!
HGB will serve as the Host Band
Festival Headliner - Shawn Lane Family Band!
Hard Road Trio, Higher Ground Bluegrass, Blue Canyon Boys
Mystic Lizard, Augusta Road, Fritz Davis Band
A Wonderful Festival in a Beautiful Setting!
Make your plans to attend!
Schedule of Events
July 24th, 2021
Summerfest at North Domingo Baca Park in Albuquerque
is scheduled for July 31st!
Higher Ground Bluegrass will be performing!
Stage 2
6:15 - 7:00 pm
July 9th, 2021
This year marks the 20th Anniversary of our 1st album
Black and White - Faded and Torn
A 16 song HGB classic with 14 originals!
Check out the title cut!
July 4th, 2021
Happy 4th of July!
245 Years and Counting
Painting by Col. A.F. Weddington, USMC (Ret)
weddingtonartgallery.com
June 27, 2021
HGB will be performing at the
Santa Fe Traditional Music Festival
27-29 August 2021 in Santa Fe, NM!
Festival Headliner - Alan Munde Bluegrass Trio and The Onlies!
Elliot Rogers, Cahalen Morrison, Higher Ground Bluegrass,
Maddy Mullany & Clarke Williams, Karina Wilson and So Many More
Make your plans to attend!
June 6, 2021
HGB will serve as the Host Band for the
46th Annual Southwest Pickers Bluegrass and Traditional Music Festival
13-15 August 2021 in Red River, NM!
Festival Headliner - Shawn Lane Family Band!
Hard Road Trio, Higher Ground Bluegrass, Blue Canyon Boys
Mystic Lizard, Augusta Road, Fritz Davis Band
Make your plans to attend!
April 24, 2021
We will be performing via Zoom on
May 28th, 7pm,
as part of the Covenant Virtual Concert Series.
Join us for an hour of HGB staples!
Covenant Concert Series
January 12, 2021
We are looking forward to returning to live performances this year.
Stay safe everyone and we'll see you all very soon!
Duke, Fred, Dave, Laura and Pat
August 28, 2020
"Put My Mind At Ease"
written by Duke Weddington, Felix Rodriguez, Jose Antonio Ponce, Dan Johnsen
dedicated to raising awareness of PTSD in Veterans
was selected as an Alternate in the 'None of the Above" category at the
Walnut Valley 2020 New Song Showcase
July 1, 2020
Our 8th album, Auburn Sky, had a nice review in the
July edition of Bluegrass Unlimited!
"Weddington is a Masterful Banjo Player and Tunesmith."
...
"This is not the bluegrass of yesterday
or even necessarily the South.
It's a new bluegrass that extends boundaries." - RCB
May 7, 2020
Our album "Auburn Sky" was nominated in 5
2020 New Mexico Music Award Categories
Best Bluegrass - "Maiden Mollie/Mollie in the Glens"
Best Instrumental performance - "Auburn Sky"
Best Recording Engineer - "Maiden Mollie/Mollie in the Glens"
Packaging/Design - Auburn Sky Album
World - "Maiden Mollie/Mollie in the Glens"
January 1, 2020
The new album "Auburn Sky"
Duke's second solo project, the band's eight album overall,
with 10 new original instrumentals was released on December 27, 2019!
Prior News
September 1, 2018
Our 20th Anniversary album, HGB 20, and our 7th album CLANN were reviewed in the September edition of Bluegrass Unlimited!
"These are fine recordings from the more progressive side of bluegrass and should appeal to those who are looking for something new and different. Both CDs provide strong programs of highly listenable music."
HGB 20
"Their music has a broad appeal with its uptempo approach and contemporary vocal stylings."
...
"They are a creative bunch with the songwriting and spiffy arrangement and probably do well with live audiences."
…
CLANN
"He is a highly accomplished musician and the tunes reflect this with his inventive playing—from newgrass pieces like 'Alamance' to the Celtic sounds of 'Maddie's Dream/Erin's Jig," on which his banjo glides along with an easy grace." -RCB