The vocalists and upper strings (banjo, mandolin, five-string fiddle and guitar) perform in the old-time style, moving in an intricate dance around a single microphone, while their frenetic bass player hovers on the periphery. And they are so good.

They opened tonight with "Endless Stream of Tears," an up-tempo song with close vocal harmonies and punchy, slap-happy bass. "He’s relentless, and I’m defenseless," sang lead vocalist Lisa Fuglie, "drowning in an endless stream of tears." That was fun.

Benji Flaming, on the 5-string banjo, fostered much of the happy vibe, with a quick three-finger style so mesmerizing and delightful, I forgot I was hearing songs with titles like "The Children are Crying" and "Fox on the Run." Flaming’s banjo added zing to a murder ballad, a song about a hanging, and more than a few cheerful odes to heartless, cheating women.

In the all-request second set, the band members performed several songs with more hopeful lyrics, like the exquisite Etta James classic "At Last" and the gospel standard "Amazing Grace." These featured understated vocals, sparse textures, and slower tempos. Then the tempo picked up again for songs like "I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow," as the subject matter returned to grief and loss.

Highlights of the evening: a frenzied banjo solo in Earl Scruggs’ "Ground Speed," a feisty "Orange Blossom Special" virtuoso show-down, and an absolutely lovely performance of the sad-yet-hopeful Bill Monroe song, "The Walls of Time."

Monroe Crossing can lay claim to being the most active bluegrass band in Minnesota, and their travels take them all over the country, including a memorable set of performances at the 2007 CBA Grass Valley Festival. Their harmonies are carefully blended and the instrumentation follows the bluegrass tradition with some fine mandolin, banjo, fiddle, guitar and bass work.

The band members are Art Blackburn: guitar and vocals; Mark Anderson: bass and harmony vocals; Benji Flaming: banjo; Lisa Fuglie: fiddle and vocals; and Matt Thompson: mandolin, fiddle and vocals.

Monroe Crossing played a nice mix of original tunes, traditional bluegrass and gospel numbers. The show was so entertaining that the two children sitting in the front row were bobbing their heads along with the band until they finished the final set which was way past their bedtimes. Fiddler Lisa Fuglie wowed the audience with her phenomenal voice, and 25-year-old Benji Flaming impressed with his excellent banjo rolls. The guitar, banjo and bass player mesmerized the audience with their instrumental talent and their fancy shoes. The band sang beautiful leads and harmonies throughout the entire show.

It takes a lot of effort to make a living as a full time bluegrass band in the northern plains, and few understand that effort as well as the members of Monroe Crossing do. This Minnesota-based group has nearly 100 dates already booked for 2008, following up an intensive schedule in 2007. The portion of that schedule, which found them in Silver Dollar City in Branson, Mo. from May 31 to June 3 resulted in the band’s second live album release, “Live From Silver Dollar City.”

Monroe Crossing is no stranger to the studio, with six studio albums to their credit that keep getting better and better each time. The greatest strength of this group, however, is their live show. Their ability to connect with a crowd within the first few notes of a set cannot be captured in a studio and must really be experienced live. This live album is the next best thing to being at a live show. The band does an excellent job of capturing the crowd’s enjoyment of the show in addition to showcasing the band’s musical prowess.

The songs chosen for this collection were all audience requests and demonstrate an excellent cross section of the band’s potential set lists. The album kicks off with the four-part stacking vocals of “Fox On The Run,” hinting at things to come as each band member gets opportunities to shine collectively and individually. They move smoothly from the traditional hymn “I Love to Tell the Story” into the more contemporary “Jolene” and “Wayfaring Stranger” (both done in fine bluegrass style), then into classic Jimmy Martin with “20-20 Vision.” Other highlights include “Dueling Banjos,” “Rocky Road Blues” and ending with a smoking hot rendition of “Sally Goodin’” and “That’s What I Like About the South.”

Barnett manages to honor both the classical choral tradition and the improvisatory impulse of bluegrass music in her contemporary rendition of the mass. Poet Marisha Chamberlain creates lyrics giving each of the sections of the Catholic liturgy (Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, etc.) a contemporary interpretation. She also intersperses verses of a bluegrass ballad elucidating a joyful spirituality. In the performances of the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers and the bluegrass band Monroe Crossing, both traditions are in good hands, with formality and jubilance well balanced in this life-affirming celebration.

Just a note to say thank you for the fantastic concert you shared with us on August 22. It was so much fun! The church was just rocking. I’m not sure that I’m all that sorry we had to be indoors. As I go about town people are still stopping me and thanking me for bringing you here. There were so many that had not been in St. John before—what a wonderful introduction and association they have of us now. Thank you.

You are such wonderful musicians. It is such a joy to hear you and watch you perform. I would love to make this an annual event.

It was really fun to hear the feedback from some of my members. One couple I know very well really had fun. The wife couldn’t say enough about how good it was and how she enjoyed it. I’ve never heard her so excited about anything. Then she said, "John was singing! I looked at him and thought, "He never sings in church...and he’s singing! Is this my husband?" You were a hit with that family for sure.

SPRING VALLEY WI- Yes, they really are as good as you’ve heard. Monroe Crossing’s performance last Friday night at the Spring Valley Stagehands was one to see. Their precision pickin’, bass slappin’ and tight harmonies left the audience wanting more. And after a standing ovation they came back and amazed us once again.

This was the first time I have heard Monroe Crossing in concert and I was pleasantly surprised. Their performance flowed smoothly from beginning to end. The first set included favorite standards and some original songs. The second set was comprised mainly of well known songs, such as "Rocky Top" that the audience had requested during the intermission.

Monroe Crossing may be the hardest working bluegrass band in the upper Midwest, touring hundreds of days a year. Last Friday they performed music from their most recent release, "Into The Fire." It is about as honest a recording as you can get, recorded live, but with no audience. This collection of one-take tracks doesn’t use multi-tracking or overdubs, so there’s no interference with the group’s pure simplicity and authentic sound.

A striking feature of the band is that it makes full use of its talent. We saw Lisa Fuglie move easily from fiddle to mandolin. Her singing and songwriting is one of the band’s great strengths. And I was amazed by Matt Thompson’s clean, clear, precise mandolin playing and throughout the evening he also played twin fiddles with Lisa. Art Blackburn offered solid flat-picking and fine vocals, and bass player Mark Anderson, who was previously a drummer, was full of energy. Newest member, Benji Flaming’s strong banjo playing sounded great on his Deering banjo.

Monroe Crossing, a Midwest bluegrass and gospel quintet, derives its name from Bill Monroe and plays old-time, straight ahead, traditional bluegrass. The Minnesota Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Association has honored them with multiple awards including "Bluegrass Album of the Year," "Best Female Vocalist," "Best Guitar Player," "Best Mandolin Player" and "Best Banjo Player." They will be inducted into the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame in November of this year.

The band consists of Nigeria native, Lisa Fuglie on vocals, fiddle and mandolin. Art Blackburn contributes excellent vocals and guitar, while Matt Thompson supplies solid mandolin and vocals. Benji Flaming adds his exciting brand of banjo, notably on "One Life." Mark Anderson rounds out the group with a solid bass line. I especially enjoyed his slap bass on "The Old Cross Road."

Musical highlights of this all-gospel recording include the exhilarating "He Did Rise," "Get Thee Behind Me" and some impressive, staggered, three-part harmonies on "The Touch of God’s Hand." In short, harmony is a major strength of this group and it is no more apparent than on "Just a Closer Walk With Thee" and the energetic original title track.

You have a great festival there at the Carpenter Nature Center....it is a tremendous cooperative effort and TLT is proud to have been a part of the St Croix Valley Bluegrass Festival!

I have to tell you how much we enjoyed M.C.'s performance on Saturday night!! You guys have got it all and it was an exciting pleasure to watch you work the magic!!

Lisa may have started something. Her song sounds as good as any. It is good to hear her proved that you don’t need millions of dollars to sound good. - Bob Newton, WDAP

Good harmonies. - Wayne Nault, WYKX

Very good track. - Rein Wortelboer, Radio Venray

I’ve already played this and other tracks from this project on my show. Very nice. - Frank Hoppe, KCSN

Good job of writing and singing, Lisa. - Larry Roberts, WGCS

This is fine! - Bill Flagg, WTCC

Great vocals from Lisa and Matt’s mando chops shine above all. All around great album and song. - Matthew Fetterer, WELY

I’ve always liked Monroe Crossing’s material, but this is far and away their best material to date. Great song, excellent singing and inspirational. - Wayne Bledsoe, KUMR

I just discovered (maybe found would be a better word) Monroe Crossing. Put me down as a fan. Well done. - Hank Janney, WGTY

Toe tapping. - Al Shusterman, KCBL

Great! - Ed Stiner, WJFC

I have the project and it is top notch! - Arthur Berman, CITR

They blow out of the north country like a cold north wind and chill your bones with their talent. Keep the fire going, folks. - Billy Dunbar, KKRF/World Wide Bluegrass.com

Fine new song! Send entire project for more radio play! - Paul Morris, WXKQ/WTCW

Super song! - Garry Tilley, WDSL

Nice. Pleasant singing and music. - Graham Hassall, Radio Nightingale

I like it. You should do well with the right promotion. Good luck. - Howard Bonner, CFRC

Very good song. - Dominique Lemarechal, Radio RCF Rivages

Love it! Beautiful tune! Yeah! I’m diggin’ it! - Gracie Muldoon, WorldWideBluegrass.com

Awesome, natural and unique!!! - Stewart Beach, WRHC

Spectacular! - George Fair, Heartland Public Radio

Very interesting opening. I liked this enough to listen several times and sing along with this song! Hope Monroe Crossing crosses my path this festival season. One of the best selections on this Prime Cuts issue! - Joe Wills, WBZC

These folks can hold their own with most. - Carl Solander, WTIP/WRNC

Would like more of their material. - Verlin Sanders, WMMT/WNVA

Good gospel track. I’d like a copy of their full project. - Bill Reno, WMMT

Excellent! Tell Art Blackburn to send me the full CD! - Dusty Owens, TCM Radio

I’ve been listening to Monroe Crossing for some time now and am impressed with their contemporary sound. - Rich Baker, WOSU

Wow! What a great tune! Great performance, with interesting harmony instrumental intro and unique breaks. Nice, varied arrangement. More great stuff from a fine group! - Joe Steiner, WLFC

Ear catching intro and ending. This group has a very pleasing organic wholeness to it. - Steve Winters, WSHU/WSUF

This is really a wonderful track. - Jaap C. de Geus, Origineel FM

Often you can listen to a tune and predict every turn. Not so with "Into The Fire," so sit back, grin and enjoy ... I did. - Maurice Kurtz, Valley FM/QBN FM

This song had airplay on both the Bluegrass Crossroads show on WXLV and the Bluegrass Horizon show on WDVR. - Mike Wuerstle, WXLV/WDVR

As I mentioned on Sunday, I would love for you to return and collaborate with the Senior Choir sometime next spring... I think it would be fun for us to work with you in that fashion and it would certainly be meaningful for the adult choir to make music with the group.

One can only speculate at the interest the bluegrass community might or might not have in yet another recording of most of these songs ("Angels We Have Heard On High," "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear," "Up On The Housetop," "Beautiful Star Of Bethlehem," "Holly Jolly Christmas," etc.), but this seems not to be just a knock-off cash-in-on Christmas effort recorded in those last two hours of studio time the band had already paid for. If you have a yearning for the sounds of Christmas with a bluegrass tinge this year, this is a very well thought out and well-crafted effort. Lisa Fuglie, who handles most of the band's leads, has a wonderful pure vocal delivery that complements these songs nicely. The instrumental support is also creative and tasteful. One nice touch is tagging "Jerusalem Ridge" onto a fairly jazzy version of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." It fits very well. The band members also contribute two originals, "Heed His Fathers Call" by Anderson and "The Happy Holidays" by Anderson and Fuglie.

This last-minute review is to simply sing the praises of Monroe Crossing for a wonderful concert last night at the Stoughton Opera House. It was my second time to the Opera House and the first time I’d heard Monroe Crossing in concert. The Opera House was close to full, it’s a gorgeous space, it has excellent acoustics, and it’s a perfect place to listen to bluegrass music.

Where to begin with Monroe Crossing? In every way, they are shining professionals. Their instrumental prowess, strong lead and harmony vocals, varied repertoire with original songs/tunes, artful arrangements, and their warm and relaxed stage presence all made for a perfect evening of wonderful entertainment.

They do a lively show that is very entertaining as well. Their love of Bluegrass and other music styles is evident, as is their overall fun of working together. What they do appears to be more than “just a job.” They like each other as people, so that liking comes across as well.

The audience did a lot of toe-tapping and moving to the music. When you’re on stage and you observe the audience doing that, as they’re smiling, it makes you perform even better. You just know you’re bringing joy.

Their 15 songs in the set include an eclectic mixture of traditional, contemporary, and original material. Every holiday album should have some Christmas carols with new, fresh arrangements. Monroe Crossing certainly doesn’t disappoint us in this regard, and an exceptional instrumental take is given to “Angels We Have Heard On High.” The twin mandolins exquisitely breathe new life into this standard carol. “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” is given an upbeat jazz-like treatment that undergoes a genesis into “Jerusalem Ridge.” When Monroe Crossing takes off on a snappy 4/4 arrangement of “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear,” it reminded me of the energy one might find in Reno and Smiley’s bluegrass repertoire.

There is some country and bluegrass fare like “Christmas Time’s A-Comin’” and “Christmas Time Back Home.” The latter is attributed to John Duffey. A splendid song for bluegrass arrangement is Johnny Marks’ “Holly Jolly Christmas,” which became a big hit for Burl Ives when he sang it the 1965 movie, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Another winner is their version of “Silver Bells,” which showcases Lisa Fuglie’s breathtaking vocal abilities and Matt Thompson’s engaging mandolin.

Lisa Fuglie makes a strong and jazzy vocal statement with the Etta James' classic, "At Last," when this disc starts to spin. You immediately realize that Monroe Crossing is no ordinary bluegrass band. In fact, their fifth release is chock full of musical references to other genres too (some Greek influences in "Never on Sunday", a little country in "Rose of my Heart" and "Oh Lonesome Me," a little Motown soul in "My Girl," Celtic flavors in "The Call and the Answer"). Bluegrass is still this band's foundation, but more and more, I've come to appreciate their solid multi-dimensional music as Americana, rooted in tradition but with many branches into other territories.

Monroe Crossing hails from Minnesota, and bands outside Appalachia often take more adventurous tacks as they sail musical waters. Somewhat of a concept album, "Somebody Like You" concentrates on love songs. Mixing instrumentals ("Never on Sunday" and the western swingy "Maiden's Prayer") with plenty of vocal numbers, the thematic result is a set with slower to moderate tempos than typically found on your usual bluegrass album. But, then again, this entertaining band seems to be breaking more and more out of the bluegrass mold. When they cover Bill Monroe's "My Little Georgia Rose" and "Rocky Road Blues," their arrangements end up more subtle and indirect, than high and lonesome as the Father of Bluegrass did them. Unlike Jim and Jesse McReynolds' version, "Just Wondering Why" has a visceral and effective quality with a different type of emotional impact than the original. Blackburn's self-penned title cut is a longing to find just the right person for life's journey.

Monroe Crossing has kept fairly constant in their personnel lineup although banjo-player Graham Sones has moved on, and Jeff Whitson has been picking the five-string with them since 2004. From Clarksville, Arkansas, Jeff performed with Eversong since the 1990s. The other members are Lisa Fuglie (fiddle, mandolin, guitar), Art Blackburn (guitar), Matt Thompson (mandolin, fiddle) and Mark Anderson (bass).

Monroe Crossing always seems to have surprises up their sleeves. They are able to present their own eclectic interests with plenty of thrills to enthuse a crowd. In the past, I've said this band can be a bit hard to peg or categorize. They've found a way to walk the line between various genres and earn the respect from many corners of the music community. Their 2003 album, "The Green Mossy Ground" was a Minnesota Music Academy (MMA) award winner for "Best Bluegrass/Old-Time Recording." They were also the only bluegrass band ever nominated by the MMA as "Artist of the Year."

As always the vocals & the instrumental work were excellent but you really struck paydirt with your song selection. I just couldn't believe it!! That is why I had to play it twice. Starting off with "At Last", WOW!!! Then several songs later "My Girl", & "Oh Lonesome Me". Interspersed between those songs was Maiden's Prayer, My Little Georgia Rose, & Rocky Road Blues. Are you trying to give me a heart attack? And to wrap it up "Never On Sunday". I love that song, & have never heard it played with anything but a mandolin. Great job. I also love the way the bass had 3 solos within the project. Very nice touch. You have my vote!!!

I played the entire project for my listeners, & my request line was busy while it was playing. Based on their requests I will be playing several cuts each week until the project is played in total again.Thank you for sharing your fine project with us.

The "Green Mossy Ground," an original song by fiddle player and vocalist Lisa Fuglie, gives us an example of the quality original material Monroe Crossing has to offer. This ballad of love and death is reminiscent of the old murder ballads. Though a recent composition, the song has an old-time feel to it. "Eight Good Years" is another interesting original piece, penned by guitarist and band leader Art Blackburn. This song tells of a love that has reached a crossroads and declares the journey so far has been good. However, the lovers question whether to continue the shared path or go seperate ways. The song is well written and could easily cross genre lines.

The first of the two gospel songs is a nearly two hundred year old Lutheran hymn. "I Love to Tell the Story" showcases both Fuglie's fine singing voice as well as the band's tight harmonies. As with several other songs on the project, the band uses instrumental harmony techniques during the instrumental leads with excellent results. The Pete Wernick tune "Tequila Mockingbird" features banjo player Graham Sones. Sones is an outstanding banjo player and he really shines on this tune.

One highlight of this CD is "Just Because of You," written by Fuglie and Anderson...they were both members of "The Deadly Nightshade Family Singers" before joining Monroe Crossing. "Just Because of You" is an upbeat honky tonk swing (tune) that not only features the fine vocals...but is an intricately arranged song that gives the whole band a chance to strut its stuff.

Featured on Aubrey Haynie's Bill Monroe tribute, "Leavin' Rosine" is mandolin player Matt Thompson. With this tune, as well as all the others on the CD, you will find that Thompson is quite adept on mandolin. All of his leads and fill ins are most tasteful.