Grammy nominated bluegrass band, Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen in Marblehead on Friday

The me&thee welcomes Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen to its stage on Friday March 11. There has been great anticipation for a new recording after their last album was nominated for the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album. The band is celebrating its first CD release show for Family, Friends & Heroes at the me&thee. Ethan Robbins from the band Cold Chocolate opens the show. Doors open at 7:30 PM for this 8:00 PM show at the me&thee coffeehouse which is located at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead at 28 Mugford Street.

Since Frank Solivan left the cold climes of Alaska for the bluegrass hotbed of Washington, D.C., he’s built a reputation as an absolute monster mandolinist. His band Dirty Kitchen has steadily become a festival favorite. Solivan, with banjoist Mike Munford (2013 International Bluegrass Association Banjo Player of the Year), award winning guitarist, Chris Luquette and bassist Jeremy Middleton, pack a powerful musical punch with instrumental, vocal, and songwriting skills. They have won the Washington area Music Association’s Best Bluegrass Band of the Year for four consecutive years.

Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen’s CD release party at the me&thee will celebrate this special new album that pays homage to Solivan’s family. It features the pristine playing of his closest music heroes including Sam Bush, John Cowan, Jerry Douglas, and Del McCoury among others. It was recorded in an intimate, living-room style; Family, Friends & Heroes is a generous glimpse into Solivan’s heart and the talents of his beloved family members. It’s a project that makes perfect sense coming from Solivan, says Craig Havighurst, music journalist and co-host of Nashville’s “Music City Roots: Live from the Factory.” “Family made Frank’s passion for and career in music possible,” says Havighurst, of his friend and colleague. “Friends have come easily as he’s taken his open-hearted way with bluegrass on the road, and heroes have guided his journey and, in many cases, have become like family. Family, Friends & Heroes is a toast to things that matter in life and a testimony to how good music can feel when talent is fused with soul and sincerity.”

The band’s previous release, Cold Spell (2014, Compass Records), proved a hit among fans and industry leaders alike and garnered multiple awards, a Grammy nomination (Best Bluegrass Album), and top prize in the Mid-Atlantic Song Contest. A Bluegrass Today review of Cold Spell and previous releases called Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen “what bluegrass music needs these days … master musicians who fully understand the history and tradition but aren’t afraid to explore new sounds and concepts.”

Talented guitarist/songwriter, Ethan Robbins, opens the show. He began his bluegrass career at Oberlin College and is founding member of The Outhouse Troubadours, an Oberlin Bluegrass Phenomenon, he began to explore how this hard-driving fast-paced genre could be stretched. A classical violinist from age four, Ethan fell in love with the guitar when he turned fourteen and his father bought him five quintessential albums: The Band’s Music from Big Pink, Bob Dylan’s Bringing it all Back Home, John Hartford’s Steam Powered Aereo-plane, Hank Williams Live at the Grand Ole Opry, and the Grateful Dead’s . Ever since, Ethan has attempted to bring those raw, rootsy sounds into his own original material.

Tickets for the performance by Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen are $20 in advance and $23 at the door. Tickets are available online at www.meandthee.org and can be purchased in person in Marblehead at either the Spirit of ’76 Bookstore or the Arnould Gallery As at all me & thee coffeehouse events, refreshments are available, including homemade pastries, coffee, and teas. The me & thee has a handicapped-accessible entrance and an accessible bathroom, is a smoke-free environment, and is easily reached by MBTA bus. The me & thee is the oldest continually running acoustic coffeehouse in New England, and probably the country. The me & thee has been and will always be a volunteer, non-profit organization sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead. For information and directions, call 781-631-8987 or check the website www.meandthee.org.

Next show: March 18: Neil Young tribute: Forever Young from Rhode Island