Chairback Gap to bring bluegrass to Blue Hill

For people who enjoy the fast pickin’ and vocal harmonies of bluegrass music, the Left Bank Cafe in Blue Hill is the place to be Saturday.

The Bluegrass Association of Maine and the cafe will sponsor Bluegrass Day, an event filled with music and camaraderie, and capped by a performance of the up-and-coming quartet Chairback Gap.

Chairback Gap, named for the valley between Columbus and Chairback Mountains in the northern Maine wilderness, is composed of the husband-and-wife team of Kevin and Elise Sproul of Schoodic Lake, Bernie Staples of Norridgewock and Terry Spearrin of Skowhegan. Kevin Sproul plays mandolin and guitar, Elise Sproul plays banjo and guitar, Staples plays guitar and Spearrin plays stand-up bass. All four trade off on lead and harmony vocals.

The Sprouls, who have been together for 15 years, were formerly with the Rare Birds, while Staples and Spearrin were in Good Clean Fill. Sproul and Spearrin have known each other since they were children, when their families used to go camping together.

They united about a year ago, when Chairback Gap was formed.

“All of us had an interest in bluegrass music, and both our other bands had broken up,” Elise Sproul said. “So we made it a project to put something together.”

Their first gig was at the Hill Country Hoedown last August in Wellington. They’ve played at the Fryeburg Fair and several private functions. They haven’t performed much during the winter, but are planning to play at a benefit for BMAM in May in Brunswick.

Elise Sproul knows that Bluegrass Day is a good opportunity for the group.

“Hopefully, people will like us, and we can play there again, and gain some other venues as well,” she said. “This feels like an important gig.”

Chairback Gap plays traditional songs as well as originals by the Sprouls.

“Our goal is to add more originals all the time,” Elise Sproul said. “We like to do the traditional bluegrass as well, and people like to hear those songs.”

The Sprouls, Spearrin and Staples alternate 90-minute trips to practice at one another’s homes. Elise Sproul said the results are worth the effort.

“The vocal harmonies have come together fairly easily,” she said. “But we’ve practiced hard, especially considering the distance involved. We enjoy that purposeful work. We like to put the time into the music to try to sound good.”

The schedule for Bluegrass Day is as follows: 1 p.m., welcome and announcement followed by a short BMAM meeting and sign-up for open stage; 2 p.m., open stage; 3-6 p.m., jamming and visiting; 6-7:30 p.m., pasta dinner ($8 a plate); 8-9:45 p.m., performance by Chairback Gap.