Chris Davis Band debuts at Years of Farming (11/9/25) – photo © Bill Warren
The past ten days has been a whirlwind of bluegrass activity.
It all started Halloween night when Kevin Prater made his annual trek to the Kentuckians of Michigan in Romulus, Michigan.
Kevin is approaching his 17th year leading the band. For 12 years before that he was with the James King Band. Kevin has surrounded himself with talented young musicians. He plays a lot of shows, so see him if he is in your area.
November 8 took the Candidpix.info cameras to the Masonic Lodge in Madison Heights, Michigan. The Powdermill Ramblers entertained. This is a band of well-seasoned Michigan bluegrass artists They have all played in many different configurations through the years. Most of them played in Wendy Smith’s band Blue Velvet, and the 92-year-old Smith was on hand to enjoy the music. The band honored Wendy with a couple of tunes he has written including Caroline the Teenage Queen.
Bright and early Sunday morning we pointed the car toward Flemingsburg, Kentucky, where Paula Hinton has realized her dream. 14 years and 114 shows later the results of that dream can be seen. She calls her endeavor the Years of Farming Bluegrass Show. The venue holds 300 people and Paula’s goal is to sell out every show. They are backed by nearly 50 sponsors!
This show was kicked off by southern Ohio’s Uniontown. The band is lead by veteran singer and promoter, Seth Carkeek. He has two Morehead Music Ambassadors anchoring the band. They play many festivals throughout the mid-west. Seth said, “It’s Sunday afternoon. I’m playing bluegrass. What could be better?!”
The main show was the debut of the Chris Davis Band. Chris has been a top-notch sideman for nearly 25 years. When Joe Mullins announced his retirement from traveling the road, Chris decided it was time for him to step forward. Radio Ramblers bandmate, Zach Collier joins Chris on bass. Swanagan Ray and Andy Teno round out the band.
Chris is the third of four generations of bluegrass musicians. His grandfather was a fiddler. His dad played bass for Dr. Ralph Stanley. His son Gibson is a touring banjo picker as well.
To say Chris was nervous would be an understatement. He and the band pulled everything together and did two great sets of music. All four band members can sing lead. This makes for great variety in the show.
Chris’ dad, Danny Davis, an avid deer hunter came out of the woods for his son’s band debut! He joined the band for a couple tunes. It’s always a treat to hear Danny sing.
Chris has a lot of dates booked for 2026. You will enjoy this band!
Allen “Styx” Hicks was on hand to video this show. He is a long time fixture in mid-western bluegrass.
Years of Farming’s next show is December 7 with Lonesome Express opening for Larry Cordle.
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