BETHEL — On Sunday, April 16, Bethel Area Arts & Music (BAAM) and the Gem Theater will present the Sandy River Ramblers, one of Maine’s finest folk/bluegrass bands, at a Bluegrass Brunch concert at the Gem Theater in Bethel at 1 p.m. The Ramblers are a uniquely Maine-flavored bluegrass band; their most recent 2 CDs, Cry of the Loon and Home in the Heart of Maine, feature songs about Maine exclusively. Rambler fan favorites include: “Slow Down (You’ll Hit a Moose),” “Bear in the Barn,” “Boots From L. L. Bean,” and “Cry of the Loon.” Stan Keach, the band’s chief songwriter, is a nationally-known bluegrass songwriter, as well as a published poet and an inducted member of the Maine Country Music Hall of Fame. The Ramblers also boast gorgeous 3-and-4-part harmony singing, and the lead vocals of Keach, and bassist Julie Davenport, who Keach says is “one of the best singers in Maine in any genre.”

The stellar instrumental playing of banjoist Bud Godsoe, mandolinist Bobby St. Pierre, and fiddler Bobby Kelley, all virtuoso pickers, will be prominently featured in the show. There will be a mix of serious and poignant songs, blazing bluegrass breakdowns, and sidesplitting comedy numbers.

According to Keach, the Gem Theater is one of the Ramblers’ favorite venues. “The sound system is great, the food is gourmet quality at great prices, and the people who run it are fantastic.”

2023 marks the 40th continuous year of the Sandy River Ramblers’ run. The Gem Theater is at 48 Cross St. in Bethel. Doors open at 12 p.m. Show at 1 p.m. Tickets are “Pay What You Can”, benefiting BAAM. For more info, contact The Gem Theater at www.thegemtheater.com, or the Gem Theater on Facebook, or call (207) 824-8248.