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Cumberland Gap is a new band to the String-Time on the Square music series and will perform 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday on the Courthouse Square in downtown Noblesville.

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Branded Bluegrass is a new band to the String-Time on the Square music series and will perform 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sept. 11 on the Courthouse Square in downtown Noblesville.

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Rock Bottom Boys of Madison County is a new band to the String-Time on the Square music series and will perform 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 14 on the Courthouse Square in downtown Noblesville.

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Stones Crossing is a new band to the String-Time on the Square music series and will perform June 26 on the Courthouse Square in downtown Noblesville.

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Bahler’s Golden Age Band with Alec Hurtubise will return this season to the String-Time on the Square music series and will perform July 10 on the Courthouse Square in downtown Noblesville.

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Cornfields & Crossroads is a returning band to the String-Time on the Square music series and will perform July 24 on the Courthouse Square in downtown Noblesville.

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Debbie Lanning and Medicinal Bluegrass is a returning band to the String-Time on the Square music series and will perform Aug. 24 on the Courthouse Square in downtown Noblesville.

The Times photo by Betsy Reason
PrairieTown is a returning band to the String-Time on the Square music series and will perform Sept. 25, unless there is a band in the series that will use a rain date.

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Want TO GO? What: Legacy Keepers Music presents String-Time on the Square summer concert series. When: Beginning Saturday with performances 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. the second and fourth Saturday of each month, June through September. Bands: Cumberland Gap, opener Brad McCord, June 12; Stones Crossing, opener Caleb Hawkins, June 26; Bahler’s Golden Age, July 10; Cornfields & Crossroads, July 24; Rock Bottom Boys of Madison County, Aug. 14; Medicinal Bluegrass, opener Dwayne Conaway, Aug. 28; Branded Bluegrass, Sept. 11; and PrairieTown or use as rain date for other bands, Sept. 25. Where: Northeast corner of Historic Courthouse Square in downtown Noblesville. Good to know: Lawn chairs, blankets and picnicking welcome. Info: https://www.facebook.com/LegacyKeepersMusic/

What: Legacy Keepers Music presents String-Time on the Square summer concert series.
When: Beginning Saturday with performances 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. the second and fourth Saturday of each month, June through September.
Bands: Cumberland Gap, opener Brad McCord, June 12; Stones Crossing, opener Caleb Hawkins, June 26; Bahler’s Golden Age, July 10; Cornfields & Crossroads, July 24; Rock Bottom Boys of Madison County, Aug. 14; Medicinal Bluegrass, opener Dwayne Conaway, Aug. 28; Branded Bluegrass, Sept. 11; and PrairieTown or use as rain date for other bands, Sept. 25.
Where: Northeast corner of Historic Courthouse Square in downtown Noblesville.
Good to know: Lawn chairs, blankets and picnicking welcome.
Info: https://www.facebook.com/LegacyKeepersMusic/

Grab your lawn chairs and head for the historic Hamilton County Courthouse Square this Saturday night for the first concert of the summer in the annual String-Time on the Square series in downtown Noblesville.
Four of the eight acts feature new bands to the series, annually coordinated by emcee and singer musician Noblesville’s Janet Gilray of Legacy Keepers Music.
The series continues from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. the second and fourth Saturdays through Sept. 25 on the northeast side of the Courthouse lawn.
The bands Cumberland Gap, Stones Crossing, Rock Bottom Boys of Madison County and Branded Bluegrass are new to the series.
The bands Bahler’s Golden Age Band with Alec Hurtubise, Cornfields & Crossroads, Medicinal Bluegrass and Prairietown are returning.
The Saturday night concerts are filled with toe-tapping bluegrass music, familiar songs we all love and lots of friendly folks. Lawn chairs, blankets and picnicking are invited. Dancing on the lawn is encouraged.
To learn more about all of these bands, read on.
The band Cumberland Gap, which will headline Saturday’s concert, “will open the series with gusto,” Gilray said. The band, based in Muncie, has been performing together since 2010, and offers “a fun-filled, family-oriented show full of energy, superb harmonies and solid instrumental performances,” she said. They play old-style, traditional tunes that include “Orange Blossom Special” and country tunes, like “Jolene” and remade bluegrass-style songs, such as “Hello Mary Lou.”
Brad McCord of Noblesville is Saturday’s opener and sings and plays guitar. He made his public debut in 2020 during the concert series and is designer of Legacy Keepers’ “Support Live Music, Support Local Business” benefit T-shirts available at the shows.
Stones Crossing is another new band to the series and will perform June 26. Mark Graham has been singing with his daughters, Shalynn Adams and Amanda Graham, their whole lives in church and at home. For 30 years, he played with an array of bands, and then one day had a chance to perform with his son-in-law Billy Adams. It wasn’t long before Graham quit the other groups to focus on the family band. Based in Greenwood, the band plays gospel, bluegrass, country and soft rock.
On July 10, Bahler’s Golden Age Band, which features singer and banjo player Alex Hurtubise of Zionsville, will headline. Together, they deliver an impressive blend of bluegrass and country from Radio’s Golden Age. The songs are from the 1920s, ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s, Mandolinist Brad Bahler is also joined by bass-playing wife Karen Bahler, and guitarist son John Bahler on lead vocals.
On July 24, Cornfields & Crossroads, formed in 2007, will play some of the best bluegrass music you’ll hear anywhere in the Hoosier state, Gilray said. The band features banjo player Dan Wethington of Noblesville, a founding member of the String-Time series, also features Joe Flowers of Lebanon, mandolinist Darrell Duety of Indianapolis and newest member guitarist and lead singer Eric Hardy of Martinsville. Wethington, Flowers and Duety also take turns on lead vocals. The group has recorded four CD albums, garnered significant radio play and shared with the with bluegrass royalty, including the likes of Rhonda Vincent, Ralph Stanley and the Grascals.
On Aug. 14, Rock Bottom Boys of Madison County, based in Anderson, and featuring Trent Palmer, Jason Varmer and Mike Snyder, perform Americana, folk, blues and bluegrass.
On Aug. 24, Medicinal Bluegrass features Debbie Lanning on vocals and guitar, Bob Auth on vocals and fiddle, John Funk on vocals, dobro and banjo, Jeff Klafka on fiddle and Bob Nelson on bass. The band, from Greentown, is influenced by Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Bill Monroe and others.
On Sept. 11, the well-known Branded Bluegrass band based in Kokomo, will perform. The band was collectively nominated in a record nine different categories for the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music Awards. The band also earned two Telly awards for a music video, “When Charlie Dreams.” Branded Bluegrass recently signed with Bell Buckle Records, owned and operated by national recording artist Valerie Smith.
On Sept. 25, PrairieTown, which claims to have the best old-time sound around, will perform unless there has been a rainout of a previous band in the series, and this date will be used for a rain date. Gilray is the lead vocalist of PrairieTown, which opened the series in 2017 with co-producers Dan Wethington, bassist Bob Foster of Noblesville, with guest players joining the mix.
“It is pretty amazing the high esteem to which bands hold this opportunity to play at the Hamilton County Courthouse,” Gilray said. “I love sharing this experience. I love the response the series is getting. Our fans are phenomenal. They are wonderful listeners and appreciators of the traditional styles we play here. They come from near and far, and they consistently remark on the lovely atmosphere of our town Square with its majestic nineteenth century architecture.
Legacy Keepers Music — which has brought free live music each summer to the Square with the String-Time on the Square series — is in its fourth season on the Square. Prior to the String-Time series, Legacy Keepers presented Pioneer Party in the Park in 2016 and 2017 at Forest Park and a Family Old Time Music event in 2014 at the former Logan Street Sanctuary.
Most recently, Legacy Keepers has been bringing live music to Noblesville this spring during a Thursday night live music series at Noblesville eateries, and will also offer an upcoming Sunday live music series at Purgatory Golf Club in Noblesville.
Musical artists Brad McCord and Dwayne Conaway, who debuted at String-Time series in 2020, and Caleb Hawkins (all three are performers in the Thursday night series) will be among the String-Time on the Square opening acts, and 15-year-old guest youth vocalist Addie McMillan of Noblesville, who has volunteered with Legacy Keepers since age 8, often sings the National Anthem at the concerts and has occasionally sang solos during the series. Also, 7-year-old Grace Stemen of Noblesville has gotten the nickname, “Tipper Skipper” by local celebrity Kolo Bell. “Grace, literally, supports live music each time she skips to the tip jug with a donation from other fans of live music,” Gilray said.
She is thrilled to continue bringing live music to the Square, thanks to Noblesville Township Trustee Tom Kenley and other generous sponsors that include Hamilton County Commissioner Mark Heirbrandt, State Rep. Chuck Goodrich and Gaylor Electric, Jean Roberts, George Kristo, Co-Alliance and CountryMark.
While the String-Time on the Square is going on from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., if you’re seeking to hop to another concert later in the evening, Noblesville Parks & Recreation will present The Wildflowers, a Tom Petty Tribute, and opener Roughouse Band, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. within walking distance at Federal Hill Commons, on the park lawn, just west of the White River bridge in downtown Noblesville.

-Contact Betsy Reason at betsy@thetimes24-7.com.