Thursday, August 20, 2009
In this musically minded town in the Midwest, The Midday Ramblers are waiting for someone to challenge them. The locally rooted bluegrass outfit has been playing together for the past 12 years and has managed to keep the same four members throughout their tenure in Lawrence. According to the group’s mandolin player, Kory Willis, this makes The Midday Ramblers the longest-running band in town with all the founding members intact. Willis says the band has no hesitation about proudly wearing that title until someone dares to put it to the test.
Leo Posch is the group’s banjo player and the only member who’s a native Lawrencian, but over the years all four of The Midday Ramblers have come to call Lawrence home.
“We’ve all got families and we like playing around here,” says Willis.
The band, who describe themselves as being “over the hill, or at least on it,” have found a perfect fit for their low-key familial lifestyles in the Lawrence bluegrass scene. But don’t let their age fool you.
“Bluegrass is something that ages well,” Willis says. “You can play it when you’re 16 or when you’re 60.”
The Midday Ramblers weren’t spawned out of the mellow world of bluegrass — each member spent their younger years playing rock music in bars. But when their years caught up to them, things changed.
Since their good old days the band has moved on from rock to bluegrass and, as a result, more diverse venues. An upcoming gig at the Kansas State Fiddling and Picking Championships, which takes place this weekend in South Park, has been a yearly favorite. The band always looks forward to the long-standing event and has played it multiple times. They say it’s a great way to expose people to bluegrass, a genre that can often be tough to get your hands on, but one Willis says has broad appeal.
“It’s great music to dance to.”
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