5-17-2015

by:  Karen Hefter
photos by:  Bob Nelson, Karen Hefter

The EBBC made a very strong showing at the 2015 Sacramento BanjoRama.  We were one of the largest banjo bands present that day, with 19 performers up on stage. We also had more singers than any other banjo band.  Our performance was very spirited and was very well received by the large crowd.  We started out with our club’s theme song, “The Banjo Picker’s Ball,” and our club members sang the song with gusto the second and fourth times through.  This gave the performance a very strong start.

We played a total of 9 songs, which featured 6 of our fabulous singers: Bob Ehrhorn, Don Granberg, Red Higgins, Kit Nelson, Bud Pearce, and Danielle Torres.  The singers were all real crowd pleasers and the audience happily sang along to many of the songs.  One of the crowd favorites was “Crawdad Song,” led by Banjo Hall of Famer Harry Higgins and sung by his wife Red Higgins and granddaughter Danielle Torres.  Bud Pearce always gets a lot of enthusiasm from the crowd when he sings “Hello Ma Baby” with his tiny plastic megaphone. The other singers were equally well received.

This year’s BanjoRama performance was a real showcase of our club’s talents – songs were led by 4 different banjo players and sung by 6 of our singers.    Our performers included:  Tom Brunetti, Jack Convery, Betty David, Clyde Dedmon, Bob Ehrhorn, Don Granberg, Karen Hefter, Harry Higgins, Red Higgins, Garry Kerr, Bob Malucelli, Diane Malucelli, Dina Melamed, Phil Myers, Kit Nelson, Bud Pearce, Larry Risner, Danielle Torres, and guest performer John Stafford on bass.

Later on in the day, our own Jack Convery was featured in his own solo set and he started out performing solo, accompanied by Evan Dale on bass.  Next, Jack invited John Stafford up with his clarinet for another song.  As time went on, Jack slowly built up the group on stage by inviting several outstanding EBBC members, including Kit Nelson, Harry Higgins, Danielle Torres, and Bud Pearce, to join him one or two at a time. Jack ended his set by playing Dueling Banjos with a friend who played the 5-string banjo.  Jack’s set was a half hour of outstanding music!