Stringtown

by Kevin Kerfoot, 07/02/2004

"The main reason we play bluegrass music is because we all love it and we want to keep it alive. One way of doing that is to introduce new people to that high lonesome sound. If we can catch their attention by singing Runaway or Happy Together, and they notice we’re doing it with bluegrass instruments, then we’ve planted a bluegrass seed in them that could possibly grow.” Ellery Milburn of Stringtown

With three projects, several awards and numerous performances behind them, Stringtown’s accomplishments have already exceeded mandolinist Tammy Stratton’s goals. “All I wanted was one gospel CD,” she said. “I never dreamed that Stringtown would have the response we’ve received.”

In addition to their recordings, Stringtown has been busy performing this year with a recent appearance in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, a result of participating in the 2004 SPBGMA competition in Nashville. The group competed along with over 20 bands, making it through the second round. Stringtown will perform at the Bean Blossom Festival, the Kentucky Opry and several local festivals throughout the season.

Formed in 2001 in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, Stringtown consists of husband and wife Anthony and Tammy Hahn Stratton, Kevin Chilton and Ellery Milburn. The group’s beginning traces back to when Lynn Carlton, a mutual friend of Kevin and Anthony’s, brought them together when they were both looking to play bluegrass. “Anthony told Lynn that he needed a banjo player and I told Lynn that I needed a band, and Lynn put us together in 2001,” Kevin said.

Before Stringtown, Tammy and Anthony had performed together in the bluegrass group Brushfire for a couple of years. “Tammy and I had been filling in with the group but there were some things we wanted to do because music, particularly the grass, is very important to us,” Anthony continued. “To do what we wanted to do we needed to have the people that had the same goals and focus.”

The group, which appropriately is a string band, takes its name from Stringtown, a community just south of Lawrenceburg, where all members live. There are several reasons the name is an appropriate one: Stringtown is where bassist Ellery Milburn serves as a minister of music and where banjo player Kevin Chilton grew up; it is also the location of the Stringtown Ruritan Club that has held many bluegrass events over the years. Each member holds a full-time job. Their music is a hobby, even though they devote a lot of time and energy to it. “I describe our music as being fun, hard driving and full of heart,” Kevin said. “You can expect a high energy, fast-paced show with a few jokes and lots of fun.”

Stringtown’s first big performance was in 2002 during A Night with a Legend - JD Crowe Concert in Lawrenceburg. The next year offered more performance opportunities where Stringtown appeared at over 40 shows, including the J.D. Crowe Festival, the Poppy Mountain Festival, Bourbon & Bluegrass, the Bardstown Bluegrass Festival, the Cavehill Festival and the Catfish and Bluegrass Festival. Stringtown has also performed all over Kentucky for the state park system, as well as at churches, schools, nursing homes, and fundraisers, including the Homeless Veterans Program. The group has performed for Kentucky governors Paul E. Patton and Julian Carroll.

During the 2002 Annual Springfield Sorghum Festival, Stringtown competed and took first place in the band division, along with other awards including: first in the banjo and guitar divisions; first and second place in the solo division; third in the guitar division; and second in the duet division.

This year continues to be rewarding. Stringtown won the International Bluegrass Music Museum Battle of the Bands in Owensboro, which led to an invitation to perform at this summer’s River Of Music Festival. The group was selected for the 8th Annual Frankfort Arts Foundation Grant and Showcase in Frankfort. And Stringtown appeared on its first radio program, Red Barn Radio’s Bluegrass from the Bluegrass.

Born and raised in Anderson County, Tammy Hahn Stratton, whose interest in bluegrass music began about four years ago, has been singing since she was three years old. Before taking up the mandolin in 2001, she also played piano and drums. Tammy’s musical influences, ranging from Patsy Cline to Linda Ronstadt, began with her parents’ love for gospel music. She was exposed to many seventies rock music groups through her older brother and sister that diversified her love for all types of music.

Tammy has performed music for over 20 years with several groups including The Misfits Band, a gospel group called Faith Creations, country groups Southern Pleasure and Dixie Highway, and Brushfire, a bluegrass group. Tammy has received awards in vocal competitions, including the National Fiddlers Jamboree in Smithville, Tennessee and the Springfield Sorghum Festival. “The most common response Stringtown gets after we play is that people come up to us and say, ‘You’re really enjoying yourself up there together,’ ” Tammy said. “The love and admiration and respect we have for each other really shows through and I think that’s what’s so appealing to people.”

Tammy’s husband, Anthony, was born and raised in Anderson County and began playing his older brother Wayne’s guitar when he was eight. He was also influenced by his grandfather and lists Jimmy Martin, Doc Watson and The Dillards as influences, as well as the Beverly Hillbillies theme and Dueling Banjos from the movie Deliverance.

After graduating from high school, Anthony, his brother and a few friends began performing at churches and community events. This evolved into the group Brushfire, which performed with The Osborne Brothers, Lester Flatt, J.D. Crowe, Doc Watson, New Grass Revival, Boone Creek, The Dillards and Keith Whitley, and also backed up Mac Wiseman for a live radio festival. In the eighties he opened Anthony’s Music in Lawrenceburg providing guitar lessons to future pickers. He also performed with Southern Pleasure, a local country band that included his wife Tammy and bassist Ellery Milburn.

“And not only is Stringtown a bluegrass group but we’re a family too,” Anthony said. “The thing that I like is that we may not be the best studio group but give us a crowd to play for and if any of us is down the other three will pick that one up.”

Born in Harrodsburg and raised in Stringtown, Kevin Chilton lists his father Leon Chilton, who performed with The Stoney Mountain Boys and Earl Taylor among others, as a great banjo player and his number one influence. His other influences include J.D. Crowe, Earl Scruggs, Ben Eldridge, Bill Emerson and Bill Monroe. Kevin’s bluegrass highlights are: opening for J.D. Crowe, backing up Josh Graves, and playing Bill Monroe’s Gibson F-5 mandolin.

“We have been performing traditional and contemporary music,” Kevin said. “Some of my favorite songs that we perform are The Crowe Man, an instrumental I wrote paying homage to J.D. Crowe; Pathway Of Teardrops; and an original called Big Black Wheels, written by a Stringtown native, the late Bernice Hatchett.”

As a fourth generation banjo player, Kevin began playing banjo at age 14 and joined Clyde and Marie Denny in the early eighties before helping form Briar Ridge. He played guitar in a few country rock groups over the next two decades including The Benson Rhodes Band. Kevin owns a variety of banjos, but his prized possession is a 1930s Gibson Mastertone that belonged to his father. In 2003, Kevin was approached by Bill Sullivan, owner of First Quality Music in Louisville. He now endorses the Sullivan banjo and proudly plays the Sullivan Bardstown style every show.

Ellery Milburn grew up in Springfield, hearing his Dad playing Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, The Osborne Brothers, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash and Tennessee Ernie Ford. He was also influenced by his Granny’s family, who sang and played music. He began taking piano lessons, but around age 12, he bought an old F-hole arch-top Harmony guitar from a neighbor for $15 and began learning Johnny Cash songs. He also cites Flatt & Scruggs’ Carnegie Hall album as an influence.

Before joining Stringtown, Ellery played bass and keyboards with area groups Brushfire, Southern Pleasure, After Hours and The Ray Kephart Band. Surrendering to a call to the ministry, he quit playing bars and nightclubs in 1994 and enrolled in the diploma program in The School of Church Music Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and has served as the minister of music and senior adults at Sand Spring Baptist Church since 1995.

Ellery felt that performing bluegrass music would be another venue in which he could witness to people and he decided to join the group. He likes the Bluegrass and Beyond CD because of songs like Runaway and Make The World Go Away. “It’s cool to have a guy come up to you at a state park and say, ‘I never cared for bluegrass and I didn’t think I’d ever buy a bluegrass CD, but because of these types of songs, I’m buying my first bluegrass CD.’ It’s neat to be able to attract people that didn’t necessarily grow up on the grass,” Ellery continued. “But more importantly, this venue has afforded me the opportunity to continue my ministry to those that I meet during our performances across the state.” Stringtown has given Ellery the opportunity to show his creative writing style too. Some of his original gospels are on two of Stringtown’s projects: Long Way To Heaven and Gloryland.

Stringtown’s style comes across on its variety of projects: which include its first project Make A Joyful Noise, an all gospel project; Bluegrass and Beyond, released in April of 2003; and a Christmas project entitled Merry Christmas From Stringtown, released in December 2003. Besides their diverse selection of music, the group is also known for its coordinated outfits, but most importantly their tight vocals and harmonies.

“Runaway has probably gotten more airplay than any of them,” Tammy said. “The song captured the attention of announcers at our first year of festivals and it seemed like it pushed us out there and set us apart.”

Stringtown describes its approach as bluegrass music - traditional and beyond. “The beyond is what sets us apart from the rest,” Tammy said. “We do a little country, a little rock and a lot of traditional, and it is just enough to capture the attention of the audience of all ages. We put a Stringtown spin on everything and make it our own.”

“Stringtown always gives 110 percent - whether it’s before a group of a few people or a large audience, we are met with frequent comments by the audience that our shows are entertaining with high energy and professionalism,” Anthony continued. “It’s the chemistry of the four individuals - Ellery, Anthony, Tammy and Kevin - that makes Stringtown. We just want to entertain the people.”

reprinted with permission from
July/Aug 04 Bluegrass Music Profiles Magazine

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