BIOGRAPHY

 

"BRAD OVIATT (fiddle, guitar and vocals) is the fiddle player of the 90s," wrote James King. In 2006 James said, "Man, he's still got it."

Brad joined his first band, Flatland Grass, and recorded his first LP, "The Wind", in Ohio where he was raised. The bands County Line Ramblers and Foothills followed, performing around the Great Lakes region. Brad is a two time West Virginia State Bluegrass Fiddle Champion, a Pennsylvania State Old Time Fiddle Champion, and a Great Lakes Regional Champion. He was a frequent guest on the Morning Exchange and Afternoon Exchange programs on WKYC-TV.

Following a move to the Washington DC area at the encouragement of the Seldom Scene, he joined Patent Pending with whom he recorded the successful
"Troubles and Trials" LP on the Flying Fish label. Brad appeared on Fox television's Late Show with the Capitol Steps, and recorded with Foggy Bottom and David Grier. With Patent Pending, he toured throughout the United States performing major festival and concert venues. Brad then joined South Central Bluegrass, and recorded the "We Can't Return to the Homeplace" album released on the Webco label, featuring more of his original material and "I Pressed Through the Crowd" which charted on the Bluegrass Top 40.

Brad was asked to join Beaver Creek with whom he recorded the award winning
"Just In Time" LP on Butler Records. Beaver Creek showcased twice at the IBMA Convention in Owensboro, Kentucky and hosted the well-known Beaver Valley and Rogers Bluegrass Festivals. With Beaver Creek, Brad recorded the Pinecastle Records Gospel release "Now Is the Time" featuring Dan Tyminski, which included two more original gospel songs, "My Lord Is a Rock" and "Remember My Children to Pray".

Brad now shares center stage with his wife, Dawn, where he is featured on fiddle, vocals and guitar.

DAWN OVIATT (guitar and vocals) was a feature performer in the Hank Williams Tribute show broadcast on CBC Radio One and has earned the accolades of bluegrass listeners, fellow musicians and reviewers for both her vocal performances and solid rhythm guitar work.

Dawn moved to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in 1994 and found her way to the Northern Bluegrass Circle Music Society Wednesday night jam, where she met Jim Storey and formed the band Blue Skies. Brad moved to Edmonton in 1997 and followed the same path to the NBCMS jam. A performance with Blue Skies at the 1997 Blueberry Bluegrass Festival (the last festival performed by Bill Monroe) was the beginning of Maple Creek. Two years later Brad and Dawn were married.

Together, Brad and Dawn held five different offices on the NBCMS Executive, participated in the founding of several new festivals and created new venues for live performance in Alberta. Both Brad and Dawn are recognized as outstanding workshop instructors in fiddle and guitar, teaching privately as well. As a team, they developed a very popular and successful vocal harmony workshop program. They are repeat instructors at the Foothills Acoustic Music Workshops (FAMI), the NBCMS Workshop and the British Columbia Bluegrass Workshops (BCBW) in Sorrento.

With Maple Creek, Dawn has found the perfect vehicle to showcase her extraordinary vocal abilities. Harmony singing played a major role in Dawn's musical formative years. Listen for it in Maple Creek's trios and quartets, especially in the blend of Dawn's duet with her husband, Brad.

Peter North of the Edmonton Journal said;
"One has to be impressed with the singing of Dawn Oviatt". That says it all.


KEVIN BOWEN (banjo, vocals) started playing the banjo at 24.

A few years later, you could find him picking and singing at the Bluegrass Express in Hartwell, GA most Saturday nights. While in Athens, GA, he helped form the band Crooked Mile, known and respected for their traditional style of bluegrass. He then moved to Rome, GA and played with a few groups there.

In March 2006, Kevin went to work for the legendary Paul Williams. During his two year stint with Paul, the band was awarded the 2007 and 2008 Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music Association (SPBGMA) Bluegrass Gospel Group of the Year Award.

With Paul Williams, he also recorded
Where No One Stands Alone for Rebel Records, which was nominated for a 2008 Dove Award.

Kevin's considerable talents and experience are well placed in Maple Creek, where his drivin' five is complemented by Brad's fiddle, and his baritone is a perfect fit for the Maple Creek trio and quartet.


DALE ROBERTS (bass and vocals) became interested in Bluegrass after meeting the Osborne Brothers, Lester Flatt, Marty Stuart and Bill Monroe at the Georgia State Bluegrass Festival in Lavonia, GA.

He has always had a love for Bluegrass music, and the opportunity to perform finally presented itself in 1994 when The Pine Log Mountain Band was performing for his family reunion where Dale filled in on bass. He later joined the band and performed with them for ten years.

In the fall of 2004, Dale joined The Shady Creek Outlaws and recorded a national selling cd for Rural Rhythm Records entitled
"Waylon Grass."

In his fifteen-year career, Dale has performed at major Bluegrass festivals and venues across the South.

A key member of the new Maple Creek, Dale's virtuoso bass style is a sure-fire attention getter.

 

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Copyright © Maple Creek 2000-2008