NORWOOD -- The Norwood Village Green Concert Series kicks off its Bluegrass/Americana Cluster with Sierra Hull on Thursday, July 18, followed by Balsam Range on Sunday, July 21. Both concerts begin at 7 p.m.

International bluegrass star Sierra Hull will play at the Liotta Band Shell on July 18.

“She plays the mandolin with a degree of refined elegance and freedom that few have achieved,” says Bela Fleck, the banjo master who produced Weighted Mind, her latest release. “And now her vocals and songwriting have matured to the level of her virtuosity.”

Alison Krauss, who has won more Grammy awards than any female artist in history, says of Hull, “I think she’s endless. I don’t see any boundaries. Talent like hers is so rare, and I don’t think it stops. It’s round.”

Hull has played the White House (with Kraus), Carnegie Hall, and the Kennedy Center, and she became the first bluegrass musician to receive a Presidential Scholarship at the Berklee College of Music. At 27, she has emerged as an acoustic musician, composer, and performer. The International Bluegrass Music Association granted Sierra Hull its Mandolin Player of the Year Award in 2018. She had previously won this award.

The Norwood Village Green Concert Series presents Bluegrass super-group Balsam Range on Sunday, July 21 at 7 p.m.

The five founding and original members of Balsam Range are all acoustic musicians and singers from western North Carolina.

Balsam Range was honored with the “Entertainer of the Year” Award at the 29th Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards held in Raleigh this past September 2018.

The band has received over a dozen other International Bluegrass Music Association Awards including the 2017 IBMA Album of the Year Award for Mountain Voodoo released on the Mountain Home Music Company label.

The Sweetgrass Foundation supports the series acoustic concerts including Sierra Hull and Balsam Range. The series is supported in part by the New York State Council on the Arts.

The series continues to solicit much needed donations by check. Checks can be mailed to:

Norwood Village Green Concert Series, 3 Bicknell Street, Norwood, NY 13668. All contributions are tax deductible.

Norwood Village Green Concert Series concerts are free but there is a “pass the bucket”. Donations are encouraged and needed, as it is the foundation to all of the series’ other support.

For further information consult the series website: nvgcs.org or call 315-353-2437 or 315-261-2866.