Bison can be seen on the 10th tee at the Lake Tahoe Golf Course, and, no, it’s not a novel way for groundskeepers to organically trim the grass.
Heard of Bison? It’s making a comeback in these parts and the grass we refer to is blue.
The South Shore-based bluegrass quartet Bison opens a new monthly Sunday afternoon concert series on the first day of summer at the Lake Tahoe Golf Course.
The free 10th Tee Summer Music Series will feature two bands from 4 to 8 p.m. on the third Sunday of the month through September. A rock band, Little Norway, will open for Bison.
The 10th Tee events are an offspring for On Course Events based on the success of the FNCTN Winter Music Series, which presented shows inside the Clubhouse at the golf course and Sierra-at-Tahoe’s Equinox Series, which was moved to the 10th Tee of the golf course after Mother Nature threw some curveballs.
“This will be like a locals’ decompression,” said Bison mandolin player Andy Hatch.
So while swarms of visitors maneuver their SUVs toward the West and Echo Summit, people who stay here will relax at the weekend’s conclusion at the golf course Tahoe residents call the country club.
“We all chug along,” Hatch said, describing his band’s style of bluegrass. “We find our happy speed and then we kind of end up there. We are never quite at the speed of the bluegrass virtuosos. We have that happy medium going on. It’s good for us to realize that and not get out of our comfort zone.”
So don’t expect a hootenanny, just an old-fashioned hoedown on the grass. Bison plays about 70 percent cover songs ranging from Devil Makes Three to the Stooges. The band started in 2010 with original members Hatch and guitarist and singer Chris Seal, who in 2013 lived in Nashville. Now Seal is back and is joined with South Shore music stalwarts Raybob Bowman on dobro and Nate Alcorn on standup bass. When the group adds drums, it plays a rock and roll style with a Lou Reed bent and calls itself the Sierra Drifters.
The 10th Tee Music Series will include the On Course Events stage, myriad food, drink and art vendors and bicycle and other recreational options.
- 10th Tee Summer Music Series
Third Sunday each month
Venue: 10th Tee on the Lake Tahoe Golf Course,
2500 Emerald Bay Road, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150
Time: 4 – 8 p.m.
Lineup:
Date Headliner (genre) Opening act(genre) - June 21 Bison (Bluegrass). Little Norway (Rock & Roll)
- July 19 Extra Large (Funk Rock) ,Carolyn Dolan &
- Peter Supersano Trio (Rock/Blues)
- Aug. 16 Tracorum (Rock & Soul), Darren Senn Band (Bluegrass)
- Sept. 20 King Sugar (Ska/Reggae), Riotmaker (Reggae)
