The sounds of Bluegrass will fill Wieden Auditorium on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. when Blistered Fingers performs at the University of Maine at Presque Isle.
Blistered Fingers is a fast-moving traditional Bluegrass Band from the Central Maine area that travels extensively around the northeast and eastern Canada. They will present “Blistered Fingers: A Night of Bluegrass” during their performance at UMPI. This concert is sponsored by County Bluegrass, WCXU-Channel X Radio, and the UMPI Cultural Affairs Office.
Carol Ayoob, the University’s Cultural Affairs Director, said that she was approached by organizers of the County Bluegrass Festival to consider hosting the band as a way to generate excitement for the annual festival, which takes place each year in Fort Fairfield.
“This is a genre that I haven’t really presented before at the University and it’s a great opportunity to get people excited about the County Bluegrass Festival returning this summer,” Ayoob said, “so we’re very excited to present Blistered Fingers and have them deliver an energetic performance for us on the Wieden stage.”
Blistered Fingers is a mostly-family affair composed of four musicians and singers. Sandy Cormier, with her powerful vocals together with solid lead guitar sings lead as well as harmony with the group.
Her husband, Greg Cormier, comes from a musical family, giving him a strong background for some fine banjo work. Their son Chad joined the band in 1997, playing the mandolin along with other instruments. He also sings lead and harmony.
Blistered Fingers’ newest member, Bob Fletcher, plays the upright acoustic bass and sings lead, tenor and baritone. Fletcher lives in Hartland with his wife Belinda. He has played with The Kennebec Valley Boys, The Fred Pike Show, The Misty Mountaineers and Midnight Flyer.
Their obvious love of bluegrass, their fans, and field picking makes Blistered Fingers a special group with their delightful mix of original material, soulful ballads and hard-driving traditional bluegrass music with a little good humor thrown in.
According to its website, Blistered Fingers has been awarded Maine’s #1 Bluegrass Band of the Year by the Maine Country Music Association in 1998, 1999 and 2000 and also placed in the “All Time Greats” category. In 2004, 2005 and 2006 Blistered Fingers was also voted “Bluegrass Band of the Year” by the Maine Academy of Country Music.
For more information about the group, visit www.blisteredfingers.com. Tickets are $10 for adults, $2 for students, and free to UMPI, NMCC and SAGE students with ID. For more information, call 768-9462.
