meet the band

Blue Moonshine is a string band from Roanoke, Virginia.

Blue Moonshine is three-part harmony, hot licks, a blend of original songs, traditional bluegrass tunes, and gypsy jazz instrumentals.

Blue Moonshine is friends making a joyful noise.

Blue Moonshine is new mountain music. Glad you’re here.

Take an area known for traditional music and add the vibrant energy of a new sound.
Start with the familiar high and lonesome of bluegrass and add the rowdy energy of a
rock band. That’s the essence of Blue Moonshine – inspired by tradition, with the fire
to create something new.

But if you want to know what really sets Blue Moonshine apart from the other
string bands of southwest Virginia, the answer is three: three part harmony, three
songwriters, three friends. It’s the singing, it’s the songs, it’s the good times that
these guys have on stage.

And on stage is where Blue Moonshine feels most at home. Beyond all the
gigs done together, the individual members have logged thousands of gigs in
previous musical endeavors.

Warren Amberson and his trusty mandolin bring the bluegrass bona fides to
the group. He founded the first officially recognized US Army bluegrass band,
and was recently nominated for an IBMA award for his live recording work with
Tony Rice & Vassar Clements.

Bassist and lead guitarist Will Farmer is the youngest member of the group
and in his spare time he lends his powerful tenor vocals to the popular party
band Monkey Fuzz. Those dance music credentials help him hold down the
bottom while his easy-going stage presence and multi-instrumental talent help
glue together Blue Moonshine’s sound.

Rhythm guitarist Phil Norman took the crooked road to playing mountain music,
with pit stops as an itinerant folksinger and front man for a touring rock band.
But his songwriting talent quickly helped shape Blue Moonshine’s direction
and his newness to the genre brings a raw and joyful energy to the band.

Their individual histories disappear as soon as you hear these guys sing together.
There is a rare meshing of voices that few bands have – and crowds respond
to the sound. Both the band and their 2005 debut CD, New Mountain Music,
were voted one of Roanoke, Virginia’s favorites of the year by the readers of The
Roanoke Times, and their reputation has only grown thanks to their vibrant live
performances.

Blue Moonshine isn’t traditional bluegrass – they are growing a new sound in
the fertile mountains of southwest Virginia — a sound that is at home in attentive
theaters, rowdy bars, and backyard barbeques. Blue Moonshine takes the
familiar and makes it new – grounded in tradition, reaching for great heights.

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