Recorded at the Wagon Shed Concert Series in New Freedom PA: The Critton Hollow String Band in the first hour, then Loren Barrigar & Mark Mazengarb
Since 1975, The Critton Hollow String Band has brought traditional American music to audiences throughout the United States, Canada, Japan, Ireland, and Scotland. The four members of the band – Joe Herrmann, Sam Herrmann, Joe Fallon and Pete Gordon – combine precise instrumentation, melodic interplay, and three part harmony to create a warm and engaging sound.With fiddle, hammer dulcimer, banjo, mandolin, guitar, and bass the band tends a stable of songs from the first settlements of Appalachia to the best of contemporary American folk music. Songs that express a range of experience that can make you laugh or make you cry and occasionally do both at the same time, ballads that tell stories of bad men and disappointed lovers. Instrumentals that will make you want to get up and dance or sit back and listen.
Central New York acoustic guitar great Loren Barrigar and New Zealand star Mark Mazengarb were instantly aware of the musical magic that was created the first time they played guitar together. They share a unique musical chemistry seldom found among musicians. Their live performances feature not only their spectacular technical grasp of the guitar, but also their outstanding musicality and ability to be spontaneously creative. The interaction between the two musicians is as much a feature of their shows as is the world-class guitar playing that they both display.
It is difficult to classify the genre of music Barrigar and Mazengarb perform; they simply describe it as ‘fingerstyle guitar’. Their varied repertoire consists of stunning guitar duets as well as songs (they both sing) which gives them a wide appeal. The music is influenced by Bluegrass, Jazz, and Country, and their style of guitar playing is largely built upon the thumb-picking techniques pioneered by guitar greats Merle Travis, Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed.
