West Michigan’s Full Cord wins prestigious Telluride bluegrass contest
Telluride has long been synonymous with the best in bluegrass.
Now, another West Michigan band has claimed top honors in the Colorado festival’s annual bluegrass competition.
Full Cord earlier last month week topped nine other bands to win the annual contest, earning a $750 top prize, and more importantly, a main stage appearance in the 2023 Telluride Bluegrass Festival held in Telluride, Colo.
The Grand Haven-based group played three songs in two different rounds as part of the competition which featured five bands from Colorado and four from other parts of the West.
“To share the stage with all of the amazing musicians that have played that stage is an incredible feeling as well as humbling. I personally had a super charged feeling when we went on that stage for the second round and I played and sang to the very best of my ability,” said mandolinist Brian Oberlin of Grand Rapids.
“I’m not sure how I did because I was so high on an adrenaline buzz. Our main focus for winning the contest is so we could play an entire set at the 2023 festival.”
Full Cord, which also won some studio time to record an EP, isn’t the first Michigan band to impress judges in the contest.
National progressive bluegrass powerhouse Greensky Bluegrass from Kalamazoo is a past contest winner, along with notable national genre stars such as the Dixie Chicks, Trout Steak Revival, Lil’ Smokies and Nora Jane Struthers & The Bootleggers.
Full Cord — which features Oberlin, guitarist and co-founder Eric Langejans, bassist and co-founder Todd Kirchner, fiddler Grant Flick and banjoist Gabe Hirshfeld — released an acclaimed studio album, “Hindsight,” last year and has a busy summer of performances lined up. (Due to a family emergency, Matthew Davis filled in on banjo for the Telluride contest.)
The band plays Bell’s Brewery Eccentric Café on Friday (July 8), the Soundz of Summer Concert Series in Zeeland on Tuesday (July 12) and the Rollin’ on the River series in Allegan on July 29. After several northern Michigan performances, Full Cord plays Dunesville Music Festival in Lake Ann July 23-24, Wild Thyme Music Festival in Allegan on July 30 and Hoxeyville Music Festival in Wellston on Aug. 19.
“We’re always pumped to play Hoxeyville (in August) and you can catch us there at the silent disco and a main stage set,” Oberlin said. “We’re also really excited to play the Wild Thyme Festival in Allegan (taking place July 29-31). This is a new festival, but it is really well done.”
Full Cord recently was signed to Dark Shadow Recording and is starting work on a new studio album, set for release in spring 2023.
Oberlin, who had attended Telluride twice before, credits the festival for inspiring him to “set my shoes in the path of being a professional musician.” On his second visit in 2013, he was a finalist in the event’s troubadour contest and played the main stage as a soloist.
For this year’s Telluride competition, he said renowned bluegrass guitarist Stephen Mougin helped Full Cord “with polishing our arrangements the night before and the band nailed it” during its contest appearance.
— Find more West Michigan music news and concert listings at LocalSpins.com. Email John Sinkevics at john@localspins.com.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: West Michigan’s Full Cord wins prestigious Telluride bluegrass contest
