Carl Towns & Upward Road

For the Client:
*Requests of songs or other details as needed with follow through if at all possible.
*Arrival at least an hour of performance time, unless other is requested.
*Provide our own sound in most cases, for small to medium events.
*Setup and preparation for our performance and ready to go at set times.

For the listener:
*Genuine Bluegrass experience
*Mixture of fast, medium and slow songs to combat ear exhaustion.
*A song mix according to the desires of the Client. Bluegrass and Bluegrass Gospel and some Bluegrass-flavored pop songs. From "That's Alright Mama" by Elvis to "Mama Tried" by Merle Haggard to "Mother's not Dead" by the Stanley Brothers. We can work up most songs by request within reason. We do not do any explicit lyrics.
*Fun music with minimal talking mixed with a but of humor.
*An hour's worth of fun at a time. With a break in between each if possible, to rest and refresh.

SHARING HIS GIFTS
Carl Towns is a singer, songwriter who has been singing since the age of 3, and playing mandolin since the age of 18. He is also proficient in Guitar, Bass, and Resonator Guitar.
Carl performed with his family in churches, singing the old hymns and Bluegrass Gospel songs. Later the family reformed as the Bluegrass Harmoneers touring for over 15 years at festivals and concerts, playing bluegrass music across the southeast and into parts of the northern region of the USA.
He formed Cherokee Wind in 1998 after a stint with Greenback Records as a country artist, and touring overseas. Afterwards; he performed in various outfits as Mandolin player or bass player and vocals.
"My voice is my real instrument." Carl has stated more than once.
Carl has won awards for his guitar playing and singing and songwriting, and been involved in bands who have been considered some of the top bands in the nation.
He was a member of Barefoot Nellie & Company, joining them in 2017.
After Covid hit, and shows were cancelled, Carl decided to leave that group and return to his singer/songwriter solo work where he developed "Positive Bluegrass". His band, Upward Road, now play Bluegrass and Traditional Country (Acoustic with Bluegrass instruments.) with the absence of murdering songs in their repetoire. Songs about Life and Love.

CT & UR are ready to provide entertainment for your event, whether large or small. We love to share our brand of music with you and lift up spirits. "Even sad songs sound happy with a Banjo!". :D

We prefer the "three-mic" system. It is quick to set up and easy to use. We generally can provide our own sound, however, if it is a larger venue (especially with a tall ceiling), a sound system will be required.
As we are acoustic, in general, we only need a small space to gather. 10 X10 feet is great. But we have played in much smaller areas as needed.
No special lighting is required. That is totally up to the client. As long as we can see ourselves and our instruments, we should be fine. ;)

We request waters and possibly a meal, if that is appropriate for the venue.