The band took top honors at RockyGrass this year, folks.  You can see more photo’s on the Facebook page here:  www.facebook.com/henhouseprowlers. The festival was amazing and we’ll see you all next year on the main stage!

Best Country/Western entertainer of the year!  Thanks to everyone who voted and helped make it happen.  The ceremony was a blast (and unbelievable swanky).  The bands performance went over really well and some great connections were made.   

The Prowlers nearly found themselves stranded this weekend.  Our battery light came on about 70 miles shy of Kalamazoo on Saturday. We nervously watched the battery slowly drain and crossed our fingers in hopes that it would hold out.

The van rolled into the lot with a shot alternator and no lights or blinkers.  Alas, within 30 minutes the fine folks at the brewery had located a humble handy-man.

“If you can find the part, I can fix it.” said our new friend Ryan Kramer.

We got a ride from his equally awesome girlfriend to the auto parts store and he worked in the freezing cold on our van while we played.   Near the end of the show he came in and quietly declared it fixed.

We rejoiced.

The moral of the story?  Drink Bells Beer.  They’re good people that make excellent beer.

Check them out here:  www.bellsbeer.com

Hot off the digital press, folks! Download the full album for $9.99. The link is below.

http://itunes.apple.com/album/a-dark-rumor/id343345267?v0=9989&ign-mpt=uo=1

This is a nice surprise.  We just got word that we’re on the ballot for the “Country Music” portion of the Chicago Music Awards.  Right next to The Hoyle Brothers (our favorites) and Wilco! Voting is open to the public and goes through December 31st.  Click on the link below to vote!

http://www.martinsinterculture.com/cmapoll

Not much more needs to be said about this.  The band is honored and excited to be the opener for both shows at the Old Town School of Folk Music.   This is the best place in Chicago for acoustic music.  The sound is incredible and the room doesn’t have a single bad seat.  There are a few seats left @ www.oldtownschool.org.   Do NOT miss this guy.  He is a living legend.  The show is this Saturday, Nov 7th.  7pm and 10pm

If you’ve come out to see the Prowlers recently you may have noticed a new face on stage.  The man behind the mandolin is Steve Haberichter.  Steve is a veteran bluegrass picker who has been lending his talents to the Henhouse Prowlers since he joined the group for the group’s inaugural tour of Colorado tour in late spring.  Prior to joining the Prowlers, Steve was a member of the popular and talented Chicago based “Leadfoot String Band.”  In addition to his lightning fast mandolin, Steve has already introduced several new tunes to the bands repertoire.  You can hear Steve sing on the Mississippi Sheiks’ classic folk blues tune, “Sittin on top of the World” or enjoy his mandolin stylings on his original compositions like “Heavy Schtettle”

When Steve isn’t onstage you can find him at his store. Stop in and say hi at Down Home Guitars in Frankfort Illinois.  Steve is the co-founder of  Down Home Guitars which specializes in fine acoustic instruments.  www.downhomeguitars.com

You can catch Steve and the Henhouse Prowlers this weekend at the Barnes Family Bluegrass Festival in Aledo, Illinois.

Henhouse Prowlers CD Release Party September 18^th  

Come join the Henhouse Prowlers as they celebrate the release of their latest album: A Dark Rumor.  This special concert will be held at Bill’s Blues in Evanston, Illinois on Friday September 18^th at 9:00 PM.  A Dark Rumor is a collection of new and road tested material from Chicago’s favorite bluegrass pickers.  The twelve song album, which will be available for the first time at the show, features 10 original compositions. Guitarist Ben Benedict contributes three songs and additionally sings crowd favorite “10 Miles More” written by the talented Naomi Ashley. Ad hoc Prowler and longtime band collaborator James Weigel assists in the singing and lends his pen to the lyrics five tunes.  Rounding out the album are takes on The Stonemans “Turn me Loose” and the ballad “Angeline Malone” by the California ensemble Strungover.  Closing out the album is fiddler Ryan Hinshaw’s instrumental “Hadley’s Lament”  In addition to the touring band members other instrumentalists include James Weigel on Dobro and bluegrass legend Don Sternberg on mandolin.

The Track listing for “A Dark Rumor” is as follows:

Turn Me Loose – The Stonemans

Uncle Bubba – James Weigel

Simplify – Ben Benedict

Trouble – Weigel

The Ballad of Davey Robinson –Benedict

Angeline Malone - Strungover

10 Miles More – Naomi Ashley

Drifter – Weigel

Shadow of a Man – Weigel

Silver Lining – Benedict

Walkin’ Around In the Snow – Weigel

Hadley’s Lament – Ryan Hinshaw

Mark your calendars as this is sure to be a fun evening of bluegrass featuring tracks from “A Dark Rumor” and other Henhouse Prowlers favorites!

Bill’s Blues is located at 1029 Davis Street in Evanston.  Street parking is available and it is located just 2 blocks from the Davis Street Stop on the Purple Line CTA “El” Station.  Be there.

Before getting to the juicy details of our apprehension and detainment, we want to say a few things about Summer Camp. A big shout out goes to all the people who came to our performance on Sunday afternoon. We saw many familiar faces and even more people we didn’t know. Thanks to all of you who brought your friends along to see us. We really appreciate that kind of help and we can’t do what we do without it.

The festival was incredibly well attended and it felt like a gathering of the coolest people in the Midwest, combined with some of the best bands in the country. We were truly honored to be there. Personal highlights included Los Lobos, Backyard Tire Fire, Bass Nectar and (of course) Willie Nelson. Props to the organizers of the festival for all the hard work.

Now, onto the crux of the story . . . Read the rest of this entry »

This trip has been incredible so far folks.  The show in Sutherland Nebraska ranks as one of the most fun and welcoming shows we’ve ever played.  Last night’s show in Boulder had a warm crowd and we got re-acquainted with Lonesome Traveler, a band we bumped into at IBMA last year.  Future shows with them are a forgone conclusion.

More updates soon!  Tonight we play with Spring Creek.  These guys are hitting it big and we’re really looking forward to hanging out with them again.

Check back for more updates soon.  As ever, you can see more photos and hear about our trip as it’s happening on Facebook and Twitter.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Henhouse-Prowlers/7988416774?ref=ts

www.twitter.com/hhp