Bluegrass is folk music in > Overdrive

A Bangor-area bluegrass band will be taking part in an international competition next month.

Bluegrass Supply Co. won the Northeast Regional of the Pizza Hut International Bluegrass Music Talent Search in Boston in May. By doing so, the group will be a finalist at the Pizza Hut International Bluegrass Showdown on Sept. 20 in Owensboro, Ky.

The band’s banjo player, Bill Smith of Bradley, defined bluegrass as “folk music in overdrive.”

Bluegrass Supply Co. is made up of Smith, mandolinist Bill Tidwell of Bangor, guitarist and lead vocalist Ken Brooks of Glenburn and bassist Nancy Merrill of Clifton.

The band also took first place at the Winterhawk Bluegrass Festival in New York in July, beating out a field of 10 finalists selected from throughout the Northeast.

Bluegrass Supply Co. will be performing a number of dates in Maine during the next month. These are:

8 p.m. Aug. 17: Left Bank Cafe, Blue Hill

9 p.m. Aug. 21: Dennett’s Wharf, Castine

Aug. 27-29: Salty Dog Bluegrass Festival, Cambridge, three-day-long outdoor event

Sept. 3-5: Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival, Cook’s Corner, Brunswick, three-day-long outdoor event

9 p.m. Sept. 11: Dennett’s Wharf, Castine