The Old Town Center for the Arts is pleased to present ‘An Evening of Musical Stories’ with the Storytellers bluegrass band on Friday, March 8, 7 p.m.

The Storytellers is a prominent progressive bluegrass ensemble on the Southern California Roots music scene, with an extensive repertoire drawing from the rich canon of traditional bluegrass, country blues, old time, and folk music as a basis for inspired improvisations and intrepid vocal harmonies. This concert is sponsored by the Best Western Cottonwood Inn.

They took just one year to go from busking on street corners of Los Angeles to gracing stages of bars, taverns, regional fairs and music festivals throughout the state. The Storytellers’ strong musical chemistry allows them to bring soulful and joyful harmonies, delicate acoustic sensibilities, soaring grooves, tight rhythms, substantive storytelling, and their own hippie, bluegrassy vibe to every stage they stand on.

Considered to be one of the region’s premier acoustic Grateful Dead cover bands, The Storytellers bring soulful and joyful harmonies, soaring grooves, and their own hippie, bluegrassy vibe to every stage they stand on.

Founded in the Fall of 2017 as a duo, the complete band formed in February of 2018, performing more than 30 Los Angeles-area shows through the end of the year. This intensive schedule included defining performances at historic venues such as The Mint, Molly Malone’s, Coffee Gallery Backstage, and a spellbinding set at the Laurel Canyon Love Street Festival, sharing the bill with Micky Dolenz, Wilson Phillips and Chris Stills.

The Storytellers have performed at the June Lake Jam Fest, the Huck Finn Jubilee, the Prescott Bluegrass Festival, the Calico Bluegrass Festival, the Good Old Fashioned Bluegrass Festival, as well as at numerous other regional fairs and festivals. They have performed at the Orange County Fair and the Ventura County Fair. The band performs regularly at Gilley’s Dancehall & Saloon at Treasure Island Casino and Resort in Las Vegas, and have earned residencies at several prominent venues

The Storytellers released their first live CD, ‘ Hear the Grass Grow’ Volume 1, the first of three live releases selected from live performances in 2021. The album features cover songs by The Stanley Brothers, The Carter Family, Doc Watson, Robert Hunter/Jerry Garcia and more.

The band consists of Scott Diehl (Guitar, Vocals), Lance Frantzich (Bass, Vocals), Tyler Emerson (Fiddle) and Steve Stelmach (Washboard, Percussion).

Guitarist Scott Diehl is a Los Angeles native who grew up in a family of music lovers.

After studying clarinet and piano as a boy, Scott took up guitar study after spending a full-moon, coyote-howling night in the desert, hearing a guitar being played and songs sung by friends around a fire at a neighboring campsite. He was sufficiently moved to obtain a guitar and begin practice. Scott went on to form the folk-mariachi duo Los

Bassist Lance Frantzich migrated to Los Angeles from the Central Valley of California to study music and theater.

Lance began his music education early on, studying piano and violin. In high school he focused on choir and theater, as well as serving two years as a standup bass player in orchestra. He earned a B.A. in Theater Arts from Chapman University, where he also studied voice.

Having acted in over 40 stage productions, musicals and short films, Lance became a member of Tim Robbins’ critically acclaimed theater company, The Actors’ Gang. He earned rave reviews for his work in the 2016 Hollywood Fringe Festival as a member of the award-winning troupe, Rogue Shakespeare. Lance joined The Storytellers in 2016 as vocalist and bassist.

Fiddler Tyler Emerson plays a wide variety of musical styles, but possesses a passion for bluegrass music.

Multi-instrumentalist Tyler Emerson began playing violin in 1988 in the Sierra Nevada mountains and foothills of Northern California, a region rich with arts and music. There he was influenced and guided by master musicians of many genres, from concert stages, theaters, bands and choirs, symphony orchestras, jazz clubs, to jam sessions around the campfire.

Tyler has been working as a freelance musician in Southern California for the past 20 years, performing an eclectic variety of music including gypsy jazz, mariachi, country music, weddings, studio work, composing and arranging and more. He has played music for theater productions at the La Mirada Theater Company and the Laguna Playhouse. From one end of the musical spectrum to the other, Tyler served as Concertmaster for the Yorba Linda Symphony Orchestra from 2002 through 2004, as well as performing progressive rock at the Whiskey a Go Go in Hollywood.

Multi-instrumentalist Steve Stelmach hails from San Diego, CA where he grew up playing drums and percussion.

He honed his chops playing in military clubs, church dances and private parties. He toured throughout the West with stalwart bands Mad Hatter and Starburst, performing in nightclubs throughout California, Arizona and Lake Tahoe. Steve also plays harmonica, guitar and keyboards. He joined The Storytellers as percussionist in 2018.

Tickets for this special event are $20 in advance, $22 at the door, and $25 priority seating in the first 3 rows. For ticket information and to learn more about upcoming concerts, classes at Studio B and community events at OTCA please visit oldtowncenter.org. Tickets are available online at showtix4u.com, in Cottonwood at Mount Hope Foods and Old Town Copper Co.; and in Sedona at The Mary Fisher Sedona Film Festival Box Office and Sedona Water Works. Old Town Center for the Arts is located at 5th Street & Main in Old Town Cottonwood. For more information please visit oldtowncenter.org or call Elena Bullard at 928-634-0940.