Red Desert Ramblers
| RED DESERT RAMBLERS plays Bluegrass, Newgrass, Old Country, and Swing music. With combined experience of over 150 years, members blend traditional harmonies with skillful instrumental breaks.
Notable performances include: Memorial Day Bluegrass Festival (Grand Junction, CO); Southern Nevada Bluegrass Music Association (Logandale, Nevada); Bannock County Bluegrass Festival (Pocatello, Idaho); Intermountain Acoustic Music Association Concert Series (SLC); Red Rocks Bluegrass Festival (St. George); Windwalker Ranch Bluegrass Festival (Spring City); Holladay Arts Festival; Mountain Town Stages; KRCL radio. In addition, we have played hundreds of private gigs for County Fairs, Chambers of Commerce, Non and For-profit businesses, private parties etc. Our steady gig is currently at the Firehouse BBQ Grill in SLC, Utah. We recently performed at the Snowflake Festival at Alta, and the bluegrass festival at Wolf Creek Resort. Group members are: Steve Hewson sings lead and harmony vocals, and plays guitar and mandolin. Best known as the host of the Rockport Dam Jam, he hails from Huntington Beach, California proving that country twang can come from the land of sand and surf. After going electric with the country band "Desert Skies", Steve has now returned to his first love of acoustic music with the "Red Desert Ramblers". Steve is the manager of Rockport State park, and also plays with the "Shepard of the Mountains Lutheran Church Bluegrass" group and "Summit County Line". He is currently involved with the renovation of the historic "old church" at Rockport Reservoir. Steve is active in the Intermountain Acoustic Music Association. Sharon Mitchell has played music since she was 8, playing Hammered Dulcimer since1989. In addition to Around the Bend/Red Desert, she currently plays with the Public Domain String Band (Apalachian Old-Time), and Last Night's Fun Celtic Band. Past Bluegrass bands include- Around the Bend, Four on a String, and Lonesome Ridge. She also serves on the board of the Intermountain Acoustic Music Association and coordinates the groups Local Concert Series. Sharon adds an old-time flavor to Red Desert, and is a member of the AFM Local 104. Desert and is a member of Musicians Union Local #104. Mike Iverson is a multi-instrumentalist and baritone vocalist. He has been playing banjo and guitar since 1975 (high school), and is a mandolin virtuoso as well. He performs throughout the Western States with his own Cowboy Band "Blue Sage" and has been featured in movies, and on PBS-TV. Mike is a sought after studio musician and is considered to be one of the finest Western banjo and mandolin players. He has been performing professionally for over 25 years. Shauna Iverson has been playing upright bass for ten years. Her first band was an all women folk band known as the "Ripe Tomatoes". She currently performs with Mike in the Blue Sage Band. Her powerful bass technique and driving bass lines add a strong bottom line to the Red Desert Ramblers. Ken Sager is a multi-instrumentalist who has played rock, classical, folk, jazz, punk, and nowprograssivebluegrassnewgrass. He plays mandolin and banjo with the Red Desert Trio. Prior to joining Red Desert, Ken played mandolin with The "Van Lizard String Band" and "Around the Bend" and is also playing many different instruments with "John Boy's Mule" and "The BuckleBusters." He performs each year with the Mandofest Mandolin Orchestra in Lawrence, Kansas. He is a Utah State Mandolin and Flatpick Guitar champion (2004). | |
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