User:Bethesda Bluegrass Band

Bethesda Bluegrass Band originated in the summer of 2003, when the three Hagwood brothers, Caleb, Jackson, and Connor took up interest in playing and singing with their father, Mark. Mark had played in a previous band with some friends before splitting up and going their separate ways. At that time, Caleb learned to play an electric bass that his father gave him and Connor started with mandolin. Jackson began with fiddle and after realizing that banjo was his instrument, he picked it up and hasn't put it down since. They performed the group Bethesda Bluegrass Boys in 2004 after holding a temporary name as The Hagwood Family. The group would play local events, churches, parties and in 2005 started Monday Night Music at the Ruritan, which was held at Bethesda Ruritan Club near their Durham home. The music lasted 7 years due to busyness in the group's schedules. Caleb realized that playing in a bluegrass band that there should be an acoustic bass, not electric. So, his father surprised him one day with an upright bass and he continued playing bass, the double bass.

Early Career

The brothers began taking lessons from Jan (pronounced "Yon") Johansson in Cary (from 2003-2004). After some illness and health related issues Jan faced, the boys began music lessons with J. Michael Pope (from 2005-2011). The boys learned the versatility of music, how to write music, and did voice lessons on top of learning their instruments individually.

Name Change

In 2008, they met Holly Riley from Durham and she had been playing classical music her whole life and had a recent interest in bluegrass. Caleb and Jackson met her in a homeschool class and she practiced some with the group. It didn't take long for them to decide to ask her to join. She officially joined the group in 2008 playing fiddle. A year and a half later, Mark decided it was time for the group to find someone their age to play guitar. The boys met Virginia Groover from Franklinton, NC in 2006 and had been in contact through the years, which led the group into asking her to join in 2010 playing guitar. With the girls in the band, they decided to change the name to Bethesda Bluegrass Band.

Awards

Bethesda Bluegrass Band has won several awards throughout their career. In 2004-2007 they won Honorable Mention at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds. in 2008, they won the Bauscom Lamar Lunsford Trophy at the folk festival. They won 3rd place at the Got To Be NC AGFest at the fairgrounds in May 2010, and in 2011, won first place in the AGFest, which won them a slot at a local bluegrass festival in Franklinton, NC called PreddyFest

Group Switch

In 2012, the brothers decided that they wanted to take a different direction. The girls began to get busy with work and school schedules and it came to the point that the group would have to look for a new fiddle and guitar player. Holly left in March and Virginia in April. Their search began immediately and they asked their friend, Nathan Aldridge to play fiddle for them. Nathan grew up playing bluegrass with his father, Mike who played in the original Bass Mountain Boys, and currently plays with Al Batten and the Bluegrass Reunion. Nathan's brothers, Brian and Daniel grew up playing as well and currently play banjo and mandolin in Constant Change. The boys met Skip Cherryholmesin 2011 and drew a close friendship. The group had the honor of Skip filling in on guitar for them during their 2012 tour dates. In the fall of 2012, fellow friend, Brice Hursey began to play guitar with the group and he and Nathan play with them to this day.

Personal Life

The Hagwood brothers reside in Durham, NC and all three have busy schedules. Caleb works part-time with Hudson Funeral Home, a local funeral home in the Bethesda community. Caleb is currently enrolled through Fayetteville Tech in the Funeral Service Program, in which he intends to pass and take the State Funeral Director's Exam to be a licensed funeral director. Jackson is currently in the automotive technician class at Durham Tech. Connor is a junior in high school and is homeschooled. Nathan is currently in school in Saxapahaw, NC and Brice is studying at Wake Tech.