For the unannotated narrative of the story of Chester River Runoff, visit our Facebook page.
www.facebook.com/chesterriverrunoff
Here's some places we've played:
- Purple Fiddle, Thomas, WV
- Seacrets, Ocean City, MD
- Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival
- The DC Bluegrass Festival
- Falcon Ridge Folk Festival
- Jalopy Theatre, Brooklyn, NY
- Avalon Theater, Easton, MD
- Kirkland Arts Center, Clinton, NY
- Austin, PA, Dam Festival
- Cheat River Festival
- Fagers Island, Ocean City, MD
- Bluegrass Inn, Nashville, TN
- Wilmington Winter Bluegrass Festival
- Sporting Club, Islesboro, ME
- Andy's, Chestertown, MD
- Jammin' Java, Vienna, VA
- Dogfish Head, Rehoboth, DE
- Dante's, Frostburg, MD
- Ram's Head Live, Baltimore, MD
- The Inter-Tribal Pow-Wow, Baltimore
- Firebox, Hartford, CT
- Triumph Brewery, New Hope, PA
- Bullfrog Brewery, Williamsport, PA
- Meeting of The Minds Festival
- Cantab, Boston, MA
- Green Door, St. Mary's, MD
- Billy Joe Bob's Drink'n'Fight, Everywhere, US
Here's some folks we've played with:
- Steep Canyon Rangers
- Avett Brothers
- the Fleshtones
- Afroman
- the Gibson Brothers
- Carolina Chocolate Drops
- the Hot Seats
- Caleb Stine
- Hackensaw Boys
- Seldom Scene
- Hoots and Hellmouth
- Jackass Flats
- Pläns Pläns
- Adrienne Young
Ben Armiger - guitar, singer, songwriter
A skilled songwriter known for his sincere lyrics set to catchy melodies, Ben grew up surrounded by all kinds of country music. One uncle gigged with John McEuen pre-Dirt Band, and another uncle and aunt toured the continent with the western swing group Cowboy Jazz. He took up banjo and guitar in his early youth, and started his first bluegrass band while attending Colby College in Maine. While living in Alaska in 2000, he helped to found and played banjo in the Matanuska Thunderpluckers, who are now a fixture on the Alaska bluegrass scene. Ben co-founded Chester River Runoff with Sam in 2004, and started his songwriting career immediately because it was the right thing to do. He quickly developed an ability to write memorable hooks and songs that you can sing to yourself on the way home. On stage, Ben plays guitar with a driving and unique rhythm style described by one as "like blasts of air in your face", and does most of the talking on behalf of the band. While his main job and love is music, Ben is a licensed captain, and can be found piloting skipjacks up and down the Chesapeake bay (and is for hire...) You can occasionally catch him with Pearl Creek, a country-rock band that also features Kate Bennett of Cowboy Jazz and Runoff alums Tim Parent, Greg Parent, and Ian Trusheim.
Sam Guthridge - banjo, singer, songwriter
According to a notable Washington area fiddler, band co-founder, singer, and banjo player Samuel Miles Guthridge “play[s] the banjo the way MC Escher draws pictures”. He has contributed many original songs and instrumentals to the bands repertoire, and as an instrumentalist and singer with an expressive and distinct personal style, Sam has contributed to the development of the Runoff's unique sound as well as their engaging live performances. He has performed styles of music ranging from old-time to funk, but with CRR filters these influences through his lifelong love of traditional bluegrass banjo (though it may not always come out sounding traditional). When not playing with the Runoff, Sam can be found wandering the country and playing music at every opportunity, or wishing he could. He has also performed with Caleb Stine, Jordan Tice, Tom Bailey and the Aristocrats, the Hot Seats, Abbie Gardner, Aspen Run, Avi & Celia, Cory Seznec, Belle Star, among others, does recording sessions here and there, and has composed and recorded music for television and podcasts.
Marc Dykeman - bass, singer, songwriter
The musical bedrock, sound engineer, and behind-the-scenes voice of reason in Chester River Runoff, Marc has been playing music professionally since the early 90s, when he played with ska bands Nope and the Pietasters. Since then he has played classical and jazz trombone, has become a great bassist, and is the only band member with a degree in music. Marc played the upright bass with Ben and Sam at the party which inspired the band's formation in 2004, but didn't join up until the fall of 2006 after the departure of the group's original bass player. A man of wide ranging tastes, Marc also plays bass and composes for the Baltimore-based art rock band Pläns Pläns, who released their second studio album in the fall of 2008. When Marc isn't playing music, he is the interviewer and sound editor for an an oral history project on the Eastern Shore, and has edited radio spots for these interviews on several radio stations, including WRNR Annapolis and WKHS Worton. He has taught college seminars on oral history, renovated his own house, and is an excellent mechanic who might fix your diesel Mercedes if you ask nicely.
Nate Grower - fiddle, mandolin, vocals, composer
The youngest member of the group, fiddler Nate Grower was motivated to take up the fiddle as a teenager after hearing bluegrass music at his home in western New York . He took a few classical violin lessons and made his debut with a symphony orchestra at the age of 17 at a performance of Stravinsky’s “Firebird”. Since moving to Delaware in 2005, he has concentrated his efforts on mastering the art of bluegrass fiddle. His fiery solos transfix audiences, and he is unmatched among fiddlers in his ability to play driving rhythmic backup. He joined Chester River Runoff in the fall of 2006, replacing a departing mandolinist, after he showed up to a concert with fiddle in hand and ended up sitting in for the entire show,. When Nate isn't playing with the Runoff, he is the fiddle player in the David Bromberg Quintet, has recorded with the Stonemans, has a solo album out on Patuxent records, and has subbed with high profile bluegrass acts such as Audie Blaylock & Redline and Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass.