GRASSROOTS GREAT GATHER AT WALTHER'S GRASSROOTS MUSIC FESTIVAL

Medeski, Martin & Wood, Maceo Parker, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, the David Grisman Quintet, Jazz Mandolin Project and Lake Trout are convening Aug. 19 at Oregon Ridge Park, 13401 Beaver Dam Road, Cockeysville, Md., for WALTHER'S GRASSROOTS MUSIC FESTIVAL. Gates open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Earlybird tickets are $30 until June 30; $35 in advance starting July 1; $40 at the gate and on sale now through Tickets.com (800) 955-5566, Ticketweb (www.ticketweb.com) and all Record Town, Coconuts and Olsson's Books & Records retail outlets. Children 12 and under admitted FREE with accompanying adult. For further details, call (410) 887-1818 or check the WALTHER'S GRASSROOTS MUSIC FESTIVAL Website at www.walther-productions.com/grassroots.htm.

All acts at WALTHER'S GRASSROOTS MUSIC FESTIVAL are vibrant live performers who have taken existing forms and applied exciting and innovative new twists while building and maintaining their followings the hard way -- with a grassroots approach based on fan outreach through touring. And most of them will be premiering material from brand new albums upon their arrival in Cockeysville.

Medeski, Martin & Wood have brought the traditional organ trio kicking and screaming into the present and beyond by blurring genre lines in the best possible way. Though their new live set, “Tonic," is an acoustic jazz effort, MMW will be plugging in with an electric set at WALTHER'S GRASSROOTS MUSIC FESTIVAL. MMW's next studio album, “Shacklyn," due in the fall, will feature an eclectic roster of special guests.

Sax legend Maceo Parker offers a complete shakedown of all things funk, with satisfying asides into jazz, soul and pop, in a style he immortalized under James Brown and George Clinton. His exceptionally eclectic new CD, “Dial M.A.C.E.O.," summons the likes of James Taylor, Ani DiFranco and Prince, who also shares production chores.

Three-time Grammy-winner Bela Fleck and his mentor, Greenwich Village folk scene original David Grisman, have grown from outstanding bluegrass players into probing, daring musicians who have reinventd the parameters of their instruments. Grisman's self-described “Dawg" music has long used the mandolin to fuse bluegrass and hot swing jazz. he's had a strong impact on a new generation of musicians, particularly banjo phenomenon Fleck, who'll be supporting his much-anticipated Columbia Records debut, “Outbound" (due July 25), following a string of esteemed albums on Warner Bros. The backbone of his incredible band, the Flecktones, is certified monster bass player Victor Wooten, an extremely high regarded Nashville session player who's had several well-received solo albums of his own.

Jazz Mandolin Project, just making its major label debut on Blue Note Records with “Xenoblast," is a visionary trio that takes the mandolin into new and unusual areas. “Xenoblast" displays JMP's knack for lengthy, jazz-based improvisational journeys into rock, blues and beyond. And Baltimore's nationally exploding Lake Trout has created an original, sophisticated dance-floor “Organica" groove that incorporates live beats and drum-bass elements with jazz, rock and pop sensibilities. Their new live CD, “Alone at Last: Lake Trout Live with DJ Who," spotlights their spontaneous on-stage combustion while capturing their nearly seamless flow.

WALTHER'S GRASSROOTS MUSIC FESTIVAL is one of five music festivals produced in 2000 by Baltimore-based Walther Productions in honor of its fifth anniversary. The 10-hour celebration of music, food, crafts and workshops epitomizes the foundation upon which Walther Productions continues to fortify its reputation as a dominant presence on the East Coast festival scene and a top promoter along the Baltimore-Washington corridor.

“We feel fortunate for what we've been able to achieve in five years, but we realize we're just getting started," says promoter Tim Walther, who founded the company in 1995 by investing $350 in a fax machine and business cards. “Walther's Grassroots Festival is our way of thanking the fans who've supported us by bringing them the boldest collection of grassroots performers they'll see back-to-back on one stage this entire summer. Every act on the bill is at the top of their game, and together, the magic is certain to reach a whole new level."

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