RANGELEY, ME — Eleven of the top bands in bluegrass music, including some of Maine’s best performers, will be coming to Rangeley, Friday and Saturday, August 12th and 13th for the 2nd Annual Saddleback Mountain Bluegrass Festival.

“This spectacular line up of talent represents the roots of bluegrass music right through to the most progressive artists in bluegrass today,” stated Mark Robie, Saddleback Bluegrass Festival Manager.

The two day event will be held on the slope in front of the base lodge of the Saddleback Ski Area. The festival includes food venues, beer garden and free parking. Tickets are $40 for both days if purchased online by August 1st, or $45 at the gate. Camping is on first come first serve basis beginning at 9 am Friday.

Friday’s festival starts at 3 pm and features some of Maine’s outstanding performers — The Pineland Fiddlers, 317 Main Street Student Ensemble followed by The Toughcats and Erica Brown & The Bluegrass Connection, two of Maine’s favorites.

Performances begin Saturday at 11 am with some of the top national bluegrass performers including Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, Crooked Still, The Farewell Drifters, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, Darol Anger’s Republic of Strings, Della Mae and local upstart, Mason Strunk.

For more information on the festival and the performers or to purchase tickets online, visit: www.saddlebackmaine.com . Or call toll free: 1-877-864-5441 .

About the Performers:

* Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder — 2011 marks the 52nd year since Ricky struck his first chords on a mandolin, and this fourteen-time Grammy Award winner continues to do his part to lead the recent roots revival in music.

* Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper — Michael is eight-time winner of the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Fiddle Performer of the Year Award and his band is four-time winner of IBMA’s Instrumental Group of the Year Award.

*Crooked Still — An explosive young band that is redefining traditional music. It’s genre-blending sound is the combination of five distinctive talents who are not content to limit themselves to any one project or style of music.

*The Farewell Drifters — The band creates harmonic roots music that draws influence from the traditions of folk, bluegrass, film scores, 60’s revolutionary pop, and their young Nashville peers.

*Darol Anger’s Republic of Strings — Famed fiddler Darol Anger and his numerous cohorts mingle bluegrass, jazz, classical, pop and various world musics.

*Della Mae — A 5-person, all-girl bluegrass super band includes a two-time National Fiddle Champion. The band plays traditional bluegrass music that tells a story while delivering a punch.

*The Toughcats — From Maine. The Toughcats shows are as exhausting for the audiences as they are for the beat-red-drummer and the blister-fingered string players. The intensity can induce a stoic crowd to dance, and a wild crowd to stop and take a look.

*Erica Brown & The Bluegrass Connection — From Maine. Her talent for combining the precision of classical music with the spontaneity of country and bluegrass fiddle makes for a fun-filled performance every time she plays.

*The Pineland Fiddlers — A touring ensemble of a dozen string musicians from central Maine who range in age from 8 to 16. Their repertoire includes old-time New England fiddle tunes as well as the jigs and reels of Canada, Ireland and Scotland.

*317 Main Street Student Ensemble — From Maine. This ensemble is comprised of student musicians who were selected to participate through a juried audition process. They work throughout the summer under the direction of Joe Walsh, mandolinist for the Gibson Brothers.

*Mason Strunk — Mason is the grandson of singer songwriter Jud Strunk. He has opened for legendary comedian Bob Marley and singer songwriter Jonathan Edwards and performed at last year’s Saddleback Bluegrass Festival.

Saddleback Maine, one of New England’s finest family ski resorts, is located in the legendary Rangeley Lakes Region of the Western Mountains of Maine. With a 2,000′ vertical drop, a 4120′ top elevation and 66 trails and glades, Saddleback offers New England’s best big mountain value and unspoiled, rustic beauty amidst the largest concentration of 4,000 foot peaks in Maine. Saddleback is committed to carefully crafting its growth with an environmental focus and support of community.

For more information about Saddleback and its year-round offerings, visit www.saddlebackmaine.com . For information about real estate investment opportunities, visit www.saddlebackrealty.com .