It'll be a bluegrass weekend in Palm Beach

Just as sure as his banjo has five strings, Joe Mullins invariably receives compliments when his award-winning band performs. When it comes to bluegrass newbies, he said, compliments can even be a variation of: “I didn’t think I liked bluegrass, but wow — I liked you guys."

That’s because both bluegrass novices and devotees appreciate the way Mullins and his band, The Radio Ramblers — which headline two upcoming Palm Beach performances — weave up-tempo pickin’ and fiddlin’ with ballads, gospel and story songs and more, Mullins said.

“I enjoy presenting our stage shows with the kind of variety a good radio program features,” Mullins, also a longtime radio broadcaster, told the Daily News.

Named Entertainers of the Year in 2019 by the International Bluegrass Music Association, Joe Mullins and The Radio Ramblers will perform during a bluegrass concert at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Flagler Museum’s Flagler Kenan Pavilion and at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Society of the Four Arts’ Walter S. Gubelmann Auditorium.

Another bluegrass group, The Larry Stephenson Band, also will perform during the Flagler Museum’s Bluegrass in the Pavilion, which “is always a highly anticipated (annual) event” benefiting the museum’s children’s education programs, public affairs director David Carson said.

Stephenson’s band, a Grand Ole Opry regular and 30-year concert headliner, also is set to play at the 10:30 a.m. worship service Sunday at the Royal Poinciana Chapel.

Mullins and his band plan to sprinkle both of their island performances with songs from their new album, “Let Time Ride,” which was released last month. A song called “Black and White” on the album is “fun, but deep,” Mullins said, noting, “I don’t think many people plan to hear about 'I Love Lucy'and computer screens in the same song.”

A lyric in the song references “when conversations happen face to face.” Mullins said that’s “one of the best things about live performances. We can share a few minutes uninterrupted by technology.”

Known for 15 years for their energetic performances and hit songs, Mullins and The Radio Ramblers have been regular guests on the Grand Ole Opry. As a radio broadcaster, Mullins is heard daily via Real Roots Radio and as host of the syndicated program "Front Porch Fellowship." He produced "Industrial Strength Bluegrass," the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Album of the Year in 2021.

What makes bluegrass concerts special isn’t just the music, Mullins said, but also what happens in between songs. He and his band members routinely exchange light-hearted banter and share stories with the audience.

“When we can relax and present music we love and entertain each other for a few minutes, audiences usually find it contagious,” Mullins said. “Each band member has traveled as a professional performer for a lifetime and most of us in the band have been together several years through hundreds of shows and thousands of miles. We know way too much about each other, so to laugh a little and not take ourselves too seriously is easy.”

If you go:

This weekend will feature performances in Palm Beach by two award-winning bluegrass bands:

Joe Mullins and The Radio Ramblers and the Larry Stephenson Band will headline a Saturday concert at 3 p.m. at the Flagler Museum’s Flagler Kenan Pavilion. Tickets for Bluegrass in The Pavilion are $40 and advance purchase is recommended. For information: www.flaglermuseum.us or call 561-655-2833, ext. 10.

Joe Mullins and The Radio Ramblers also perform at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Society of the Four Arts’ Walter S. Gubelmann Auditorium. Tickets are $40 (no charge for Four Arts members) and advance purchase is recommended. For more information: www.fourarts.org or call 561-655-7226.

The Larry Stephenson Band also plays for church-goers during Sunday's 10:30 a.m. worship service at Royal Poinciana Chapel. For information, visit www.royalpoincianachapel.org or call 561-655-4212.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Flagler, Four Arts, Royal Poinciana Chapel in Palm Beach to host bluegrass bands