First, a James McMurtry quote from Leesburg Today:
“When we first knew them, they were a couple of years older than us. They were like the cool kids we looked up to,” McMurtry said of Kitselman and Jewell. “They were sort of the heroes…Allen has always been a great songwriter and an incredible guitar player.”

One of the challenges we have as a band is sync’ing four busy calendars. Clark and Gary are the worst offenders, often out selling art all over the country or evangelizing software security all over the world, respectively. But we sure love us a good gig! So on occasion we distribute ourselves as band and go wide. This weekend there are three such gigs for you to catch.

CLARK AND KARA HANSBARGER WITH ROB REMINGTON, Saturday 4.18.15, 10am, Leesburg

Saturday morning April 18th bright and early, this Almost Bastards of Twang band will be playing some music at the Leesburg Flower and Garden Show from 10:00-11:30am. The stage is set up on the courthouse square. Bring your checkbook, because you WILL end up buying plants, even if you don’t want to.

KARA ALLEN CLARK, Saturday 4.18.15, 8pm, Purcellville

Raised in a cabin in Gap Mills, West Virginia, Kara Allen Clark took to music as a toddler, diaper-clogging on the wood porch as her daddy (the legendary one fingered claw hammer banjoist Clyde Clark) picked the mountain tunes she still sings. Though she had to drop out of school at fourteen to care for her eight siblings, she eventually saved enough quarters to escape the hollows and move to Boston, where she majored in viola at Berklee School of Music. From Boston, she headed to west to Bakersfield, CA, only to find the scene long since gone. Even still she got work singing in Bunky Jackson’s Jacksonieres. Before his death, Bunky called Kara “the best damn contralto in country music.” Nashville was next, where she recorded a string of hits with producer extraordinaire Stank Otris. Joined by two members of The Bitter Liberals (who she has promised to pay in cash money) she will perform songs from her newest CD: Country Roads Don’t Have No Holes.

OK, just kidding, this band is really Kara and Clark Hansbarger along with Allen Kitselman. They will be opening for Troy and Paula Haag at the Franklin Park Arts Center in Purcellville, VA. This is a CD release concert for Troy and Paula. Call for tickets $15 All Seats 540-338-7973.

ANGOSTURA BITTERS OPEN FOR JAMES MCMURTRY, Sunday 4.19.15, 5:30pm, Waterford

Allen and Mikey, who sometimes call themselves the Angostura Bitters will be opening for James McMurtry at the Old Schoolhouse in Waterford on April 19th. The show starts at 5:30pm.

Leesburg Today (quoted above) covered the show this week. James is incredibly great and his new CD is fantastic. Simply put—don’t miss this show.

There are just a few tickets left. Get ’em NOW here.

Anyway, the Bitter Liberals love it when we all play together, but sometimes we just have to go wide!