Broken Compass Plays at Aug. 29 Bands and Brews
Aug 19, 2024 05:40PM ● By Aaris A. Schroeder
ORANGEVALE,
CA (MPG) - Orangevale Bands and Brews is a free weekly family event Thursdays
from 5 to 8 p.m. It includes a farmers’ market, live music, food trucks and a
beer and wine garden organized by the Orangevale Chamber of Commerce and
Orangevale Farmer’s Market at Orangevale Recreational Center on Hazle Avenue.
Every Thursday from May to October, Orangevale residents gather to celebrate
their community. Businesses that participate include SMUD, Palmer Real Estate,
Orangevale Community Foundation and Orangevale Rotary Club.
This time around, Aug. 29 will also be a joint chamber mixer for both the Orangevale and Citrus Heights chambers of commerce.
The cost to attend is $20 and includes a meal voucher: your choice of food
trucks, beer, wine or seltzer and dessert.
Jam band Broken Compass will be on the Aug. 29 main stage. Kyle Ledson (mandolin, guitar, banjo and vocals), Django Kale Ruckrich (guitar, mandolin, slide guitar and vocals), Mei Lin Heirendt (fiddle and vocals) and Sam Jacobs (bass) blend bluegrass and Americana sounds.
Since its conception in 2021, Broken Compass has a few songs from its 2023
“Fools Gold” album on SiriusXM Radio. The band has found support from local
public radio that, according to band manager and Ledson’s father, Jeff Ledson “means
the world to the band.” In addition to managing, the father’s duties include
running sound, design, marketing and “driving the bus.”
This will be Broken Compass’ third time performing at Orangevale Bands and
Brews.
“We love a big crowd. We understand the event is not just about the music but having an attentive audience is always rewarding as a band,” Ledson said. “We also love connecting with the dancers. Seeing folks move to the music makes our performance better. It’s all a relationship, one that feeds off each other to make the show greater.”
According to the California Bluegrass Association, Broken Compass’ songs are “not linear with a beginning, middle and end but rather stopping points of observation filled with contrasts and ponderings.”
Broken Compass has performed at major summer events, including the High Sierra Music Festival in Quincy and Bluegrass in La Roche in La Roche-sur-Foron, France. The band has traveled internationally through the California Bluegrass Association.
“We were happy to give them our unique California style of ‘jam-grass’ and watch them react. It was all so positive, so uplifting,” Ledson said. “That’s the special sauce that music provides. Sometimes, a performance can feel like a job and sometimes, you can feel the magic.”
For more information about the Orangevale Bands and Brews events and to get advance tickets, visit www.orangevalechamber.com and click on the event calendar.
