Mitch Rutman Group: News

Hey There, long time no see! Yeah we've been on a pretty long hiatus. 2007 was an awesome year for us, with some really fun gigs and we ended the year in November to do some other stuff. Check out the photos page for some shots of the band in Nashville and Atlanta playing Side Stages before a few Dave Matthews Band shows, and in Virginia Beach, Raleigh and Charlotte playing Side Stages before a few John Mayer shows. After that run we played the annual Knoxville Jazz For Justice Concert with tons of special guests including our good friends Jeff Coffin and Futureman from The Flecktones. That was a killer night that lasted until the wee hours and then we all crashed for the next few months! Lately Ben has been working on his own solo project Ben Maney and Countless Sheep, Vince has been playing regularly with Aquarium Rescue Unit's Jeff Sipe, Jon has been playing all over the place with Christabel And The Jons, Chad has been gigging non-stop and living part-time in Nashville and Mitch has been hard at work on his newest project, parenthood! (that's right!) (and yes, he's also been writng new material too)! Anyway, while we've been gone a few YouTube clips have turned up. Be sure to scroll through our Links Page to catch some old clips of Mitch sitting in with Dave Matthews Band, Jeff Coffin sitting in with MRG, our good friend singer-songwriter Mike Thomas and more. And by all means if you've got any photos or video clips that we don't know about send 'em our way - MRG@MitchRutmanGroup.com. We're all looking forward to our next gig and seeing what the rest of 2008 will bring. Come check us out as we reunite along with our friend Jeff Coffin for Knoxville's 2008 Sundown In The City Concert Series. We're opening for Umphrey's McGee on May 1st. The show is free. Doors open at 6:00pm and M.R.G. starts at 7:00pm. Make sure you say Hello. We've missed y'all !!!!

Hey thanks to our friend Palmer Gregg, we just discovered another new video clip of our show at Bonnaroo in 2006. Go to our Links page to check out the youtube clip of MRG with Jeff playing 'PBR's Rule'.

Mike Thomas and Mitch Rutman played a live radio show last week. Someone video taped it and posted it on YouTube. Go to the Links Page and click on Mike Thomas - Mitch Rutman Youtube clip' to see a couple of tunes written by our good friend Mike Thomas performed on WDVX's 'Blue Plate Special' with Mitch sitting in on acoustic guitar.

Check back soon for new photos from the Mitch Rutman Group including performance shots with FutureMan and Jeff Coffin from the Flecktones. Also a few shots from our recent John Mayer Second Stage Run. M.R.G. is taking a good long break folks. Look for us individually playing in other projects, Mitch will be writing new tunes, and appearing Solo, with Mike Thomas, with Tall Paul, and with Brent Thompson in the coming weeks. Vince, Ben Chad and Jon will also be doing different stuff and you can always check out their myspace pages for details. See ya' soon. And don't forget to check out the new photos.

Don't forget to come out this Monday Night, April 16th, to catch an all acoustic evening with Mitch Rutman and also Mike Thomas. Solo, and Together. Preservation Pub at 10:00pm. Knoxville, Tennessee.

Thanks to everyone who came out on such short notice last week to The New Knoxville Brewing Company's Tasting Room. That was the first in a series of interactive shows we're planning. In an effort to introduce some new material we're moving in to NKBC's cozy little home for a while and having the audience play an active role as the tunes evolve. With a little help from one of our new friends, we now have a tune called Dusty's Private Party!!! Come out April 23rd, April 30th and May 7th and be a part of new music in the making. Oh, and the beer rocks!

In conjunction with The New Knoxville Brewing Company, The Mitch Rutman Group will be playing a (first ever?) Interactive Concert Series. Over the course of the next few weeks The Brewing Company's Tasting Room will host the Mitch Rutman Group's live show, with a portion of the show reserved for audience participation in the construction of new tunes. Ever wonder how some of your favorite bands come up with some of your favorite music? We'll now you've got a front-row seat to observe the craft of song writing - live! And you can actually be a part of it. That bass riff not working for you? Tell the band. Loving that shuffle beat, but what would it sound like as a samba? Tell the band. Want to name the tune with your own title? Tell the band. Got an idea of your own? Tell the band. Or if your shy, write it down and put it in the 'feed-back box'. Just want listen to parts being composed, worked out and performed live, and learn a little about music and song-writing at the same time? Come out and be a part of this exclusive concert series from the start. Mitch Rutman Group at Knoxville Brewing Company's Tasting Room. First Show - This Monday Night, April 9th at 9:00. Full Schedule will be announced at Monday's performance. Oh, did we also mention they have great beer?

Check out the 'Show Dates' page. After a few well needed breaks, we're happy to announce that the calendar is starting to fill up again! Mitch will be playing a few Solo Acoustic shows, and The full band will be playing several of our favorite spots including Knoxville's Preservation Pub and The Downtown Brewery. Also, and in conjunction with the 2007 John Mayer Summer Tour, The Mitch Rutman Group will be playing a few 'Second Stage' spots including shows in Virginia Beach, Raleigh, and Charlotte. Stay tuned and check back soon for more dates to be added as they are confirmed. See ya' soon.

The Mitch Rutman Group wants to thank The Umphreys McGee Band for showing up at our gig on March 2nd. It was great to see you guys and it was even better to have Jake Cinninger, Andy Farag, and Kris Myers sit in with us, along with Jeff Coffin from The Flecktones. For those of you who weren't there, U.M. played a show in Knoxville on March 2nd with special guest Jeff Coffin sitting in. At the end of their show they announced that they were heading over to the Mitch Rutman Group gig up the street. Somewhere around 1:00am what seemed like the entire audience of the Bijou Theatre ended up inside Knoxville's Downtown Brewery! Along with, of course, The Umphreys McGee Band and Jeff. A few minutes later the place was on fire and the rest is rock and roll history! Thanks again guys, that was amazing. If anyone was there and has photos from that night, please send them along to us. We'd love to post them here on our website. Send them to MRG@mitchrutmangroup.com

Mitch has been away for a while! Fancy Tour Bus, Expensive Wine, Working behind the scenes on John Mayer's Winter Touring Crew. (wow, that must suck!) Anyway, the tour ends soon and Mitch will be home on March 1st. Just in time for the Mitch Rutman Group gig at Knoxville's Downtown Grill and Brewery the very next day, Friday, March 2nd. Showtime begins immediately following The Umphreys McGee Band show across the street at Knoxville's Bijou Theater. This is a late night show, no cover, and no formal announcement, but there will be a few special guests...um...T.B.A.

We hope to see you there.

On 1 September 2006, an audience of hundreds gathered in Knoxville, Tennessee, for the first annual Knoxville Jazz for Justice benefit concert. The night featured local and international musicians of renown bands. In purchasing this compilation, you are supporting the Uganda Conflict Action Network and the Northern Uganda Girls Education Network. UgandaCAN is a U.S. student activist organization working tirelessly to end the suffering of the people of Northern Uganda and inform others on what they can do to help. NUGEN is a collaboration of Ugandan teachers, caregivers, and leaders who provide education for underprivileged and war-traumatized girls in Northern Uganda. The CD artist line-up includes The Mitch Rutman Group, Victor Wooten, Yonrico Scott Band, Hector Qirko, Jeff Coffin, Donald Brown, Carlos Fernandez, FutureMan, Rusty Hollaway, Felix Pastorius, and many more. To purchase the CD go here http://cdbaby.com/cd/kjfjvac

Hey everyone, we're back! After a really busy year we decided to take a break in September. A year ago this time, we released our first CD, 'Mitch Rutman Group - featuring Jeff Coffin'. Shortly after that we got freakin' busy!!! Radio Airplay, Online sales, gigs, gigs, gigs, t-shirts, traveling, interviews, etc..etc.. all very awesome stuff!!! In September we played a show with special guests Jeff Coffin and also Futureman, both from Bela Fleck's Flecktones, and then decided to take a break for a while after that. During that time Ben Maney recorded a solo project, Jon continued to play with sultry songstress Christa DeCicco, Vince and Chad played some serious Jazz with The Chuckle Grizzly Quartet, and Mitch played a bunch of solo guitar shows, including one where he opened for Bill Frisell. Well now the break's over and The Mitch Rutman Group is back at it with some new material and some new energy. Friday night's show at Preservation Pub (jan 5th)was a blast and we thank all of you who came out and danced your faces off. We will be playing again on January 19th at the new and improved 4620 Jazz Club in Knoxville, TN. Mitch leaves town right after that show, unfortunately, but will be back on March 1st. On March 2nd the amazing Umphreys McGee Band plays Knoxville, and The Mitch Rutman Group will be playing an 'After Umphreys Party' at The Downtown Grill and Brewery. MRG is also currently booking a few shows around Knoxville throughout March, but check back here often for announcements of a Northeast tour beginning in April. After that, who knows... But keep checking back and keep spreading the word! Okay, we hope to see you soon, and by all means, keep signing the guestbook on our website. Let us know who you are. See ya' soon. - MRG

Through the wonders of the internet we've come across a sweet little video clip of MRG and Jeff Coffin at Bonnaroo 2006. Check out Joshua's MySpace on our Links page to see it.

Once in a while, as a musician, you get to have a perfect moment,..... Opening for John Scofield, Opening for Larry Carlton back '92, Sitting in with Dave Matthews Band, Playing with Jeff Coffin and Futureman, .....these are just a few. Getting to add Mitch's solo guitar show when he opens for Bill Frisell on Oct 11th might just be at the top of the list!

Thanks to everyone who came out for the KJFJ benefit for The children of war-torn Northern Uganda. Some of the area's finest musicians played, the place was packed, and everyone had a great time. And nobody forgot that there's a world out there bigger than our own. We should have some video clips and photos soon featuring our set with special guests Futureman and Jeff Coffin from the Flecktones.

Bonnaroo was such an amazing time. Thank you to everyone who came by our show, and for all the wonderful compliments that keep pouring in. Extra special thanks to Flecktone, Jeff Coffin for sitting in with the band and setting things on fire!!! Photos and Reviews keep popping up and in the weeks to come we'll set up a separate Mitch Rutman Group / Bonnaroo 2006 page. check back every now and then. And if you've got some photos, videos, reviews, or even just stories that you'd like to share, feel free to send them on to MRG@MitchRutmanGroup.com. peace. we'll see you at the next one.

"From first cut to last, the Mitch Rutman Group’s self-titled EP brims with a barrage of clever hooks". ...by the disc’s last track—“Little Mouse,” a final prodigious hookfest for the road—the listener begs uncle. Rutman has chops to blow and an inexhaustible melodic imagination. Combining jazz, funk, rock, reggae, and Latin influences, the result is an infectious ride. It’s also reminiscent of those mind-blowing John Scofield 1980s sides on Gramavision (Blue Matter, Loud Jazz, et al.), another early-career, Berklee College of Music grad staking out a large swath of guitar music space, stormin’, taking no prisoners". - Jonathon Frey writes for The Knoxville Voice, a new publication out of Knoxville, TN

We want to thank Umphrey's Mcgee Band for F#***%*!!!$%'n Rocking!!! Our show last week, opening for them was a blast. It was a beautiful night in Knoxville, playing on the Market Square in front of 10,000 people and it was such a treat to see everyone dancing and having a great time. We got to hang out with a bunch of the U.M. guys and found out that not only were they really cool and really friendly, but also they're all amazingly talented. Their show was blistering and at the end of the night MRG and UM all snuck off to The New Knox Brewing Company with about 100 other folks, and hung out 'til 3am. It was a great night. Thanks y'all !!!!!

The Mitch Rutman Group now has t-shirts for sale at all of our shows. Help spread the word and get yourself a t-shirt. (not to mention you'll look really cool) !!! Want a shirt but you're not at a show? Write to us at MRG@MitchRutmanGroup.com and we'll arrange to send you one.

The Mitch Rutman Group has been invited to play two of the Second Stage spots on this summer's Dave Matthews Band tour. On August 15th and 16th, in Atlanta and Nashville, catch The Mitch Rutman Group on your way in to see Dave Matthews Band. For all DMB dates go to www.DMBand.com.