Nashville, TN (SINGING WOLF RECORDS) - Native American
Music Award-winning fiddlist/ flutist/ storyteller, Arvel Bird (Southern Paiute/Me'tis) and One Nation are making their first appearance at Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota, on Thursday, July 13th and Friday, July 14th. The band will perform several times between 10:00am and 3:00pm each day for thousands of visitors to the popular
Black Hills attraction.
Bird, a classically trained violinist, recently won the coveted Native American Music Award for Best Instrumental Recording for his Arvel Bird LIVE! CD. His latest solo recording, Animal Totems 2, is a finalist in the Contemporary Instrumental category at the Indian Summer Music Awards.
Bird performs and records in a number of diverse genres including blues, jazz, bluegrass, Celtic, Cajun, Western swing, American roots, and contemporary Native music which gives him a continually fresh, unique sound and making him one of the most in-demand Native recording artists on tour.
The recent formation of One Nation was a move to expand his live performance opportunities and provide an opportunity to collaborate with two new writers who are former members of the contemporary Native American group Brule: traditional Native American percussionist, Eagle (Apache / Cherokee), and guitar wizard, Vlasis (Greek). Together they join keyboardist Chris James (Irish), Bird's co-writer on Animal Totems and Animal Totems 2. Arvel Bird and One Nation are currently working on their debut CD scheduled for release on Labor Day weekend and are booking dates to support the release.
With the first half dozen shows under their belts, Arvel quipped, 'I've never had so much fun playing with a band. The music chemistry between us all has been explosive and I can't think of three better musicians with this much talent I'd rather write and tour with.'
Apparently the fans agree. Reviews of the July 4th weekend shows posted to Arvel Bird's Yahoo Group site groups.yahoo.com/arvelbird have been unanimous in their approval of the new group.
'The shows at Soda Springs Park (Manitou Springs, CO) were packed. All I heard this weekend was how great the band was. The show at the Garden of the Gods was magnificent! The great thing about having four real musicians is they can also improvise and create music like they've been playing together for years. It was pure magic.' Lynda – Colorado Springs, CO
Some drove many hours just to see them.
'The group sounded awesome! We are so glad that we made the trip to Colorado Springs. We can't wait for the next chance to see them,' Shelby - Oklahoma.
Bird has released ten albums and one DVD since 2001. His most recent CD releases are Ananeah (2005), Animal Totems 2 (2005), the sequel to Animal Totems; Arvel Bird Live (2005), and Big Chief Quetoos, Paiute Country Fiddle (2004).
For directions to and more information on Mt. Rushmore and other Black Hills events, visit events.blackhills.com. For more information on Arvel Bird and One Nation, visit www.arvelbird.com. Bird's music will be available at the performance and online at www.arvelbird.com, www.singingwolfrecords.com, www.amazon.com, www.cdbaby.com and www.burnlounge.com/singingwolfrecords.
