Dear Friends,

The redbuds are blooming but the forsythia got nipped back by two days of freezing temps. The dogwood is coming on and we had snow last week. These are sure signs that spring and winter are warring over whose season this really is. We have had a little break from our travels in March and are now getting ready for some upcoming work on the east coast.

There's a rotation going on of musicians in the "fourth chair" of The Fine Group and that is going to make this upcoming work really fun. We look forward to what all these great players will bring to our music. First up is the wonderful fiddle/mandolin player, Chris Brashear. He's been working with Kevin Costner in his band lately as well as in a duo with Peter McLaughlin and with the bluegrass band The Perfect Strangers. He will make is debut with us April 19-2l.

Our old friend and mandolin ledgend, Jimmy Gaudreau, will join us for our jobs in the northeast. He's been a visible fixture in The Fine Group for the last six years and we always look forward to playing with Jimmy.

Another extrordinary mandolin player, Tony Williamson, will be with us for our show at the 400th Anniversary Celebration of Jamestown. He's no stranger to The Fine Group either as he started joining us on dates in the summer of 2006.

And finally Nick Reeb will be sitting in with us in Big Stone Gap for a festival the end of May. Nick is a terrific fiddle player and a member of the hot, young band, King Wilkie. He did some work with us in the studio on our Christmas CD and joined us on stage in Ireland at a festival in 2005. We have been looking for the chance to play a live show with him for a while.

So we have a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks. We can't wait to join back up with Jim Watson and then let these players add their own spice to the mix.

Hope to see you somewhere along the way - you never know who'll be there with us!

Your pals,
Robin and Linda