GEORGE – Bluegrass fans are in for a special treat this Saturday, feb. 11, when Custer's Grass Band performs at the George Community Hall as part of the Coffeehouse Concert Series.

“We've been waiting for this one,” said CCS coordinator Debby Kooy.

Custer’s Grass Band will perform a mix of traditional bluegrass material, including several arrangements from the group's new CD, Standard Fare. It was one of the more popular acts at last summer's George Bluegrass Festival.

“They're going to put on a great show,” Kooy said.

The show will start at 7 p.m. Admission will be $3, and a hat will be passed to benefit the musicians.

The band won't earn what it's worth at this show. According to Kooy, the members have agreed to appear in appreciation of the effort George is making to promote bluegrass.

“We're not in it for the money,” CGB leader Bob Asbury said. “We love bluegrass and want to spread its popularity.”

The show will also feature a special tribute to the music of the famous duo Flatt and Scruggs. Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs are credited with introducing the bluegrass sound to millions of Americans in the early sixties.

Flatt and Scruggs wrote popular sound tracks created for movies and television. These recordings included songs like; Foggy Mountain Breakdown (theme for the movie, Bonnie and Clyde) and The Balled of Jed Clampet (theme for the Beverly Hillbilly’s television series).

In the fall of 2009, Custer’s Grass Band, launched a tour of Northwest venues presenting a tribute to the music of this legendary duo. The tribute features popular Flatt & Scruggs classics performed in their traditional form.

Custer's Grass Band, Spokane-based, was formed in 1973. It was the first bluegrass band to organize east of the Cascade Mountains in the state of Washington.

In 1976 the band recorded the first bluegrass album ever recorded in the Pacific Northwest. The album included special guest three-time Grammy winner and world champion fiddler Mark O’Connor.

In 1978 the band was included in another Northwest recording featuring renowned bluegrass artists Byron Berline, Mark O’Connor and Sam Bush.

Over the past 39 years Custer’s Grass Band has performed at colleges, festivals and public venues throughout the west. During this period bluegrass music has evolved from virtual obscurity in the Pacific West to a widely popular music genre.

The band retains all of its original members, Bob Asbury, Spokane (guitar); Chris Prumers, Leona Valley Calif. (banjo); Les Panther, Spokane (mandolin), and Dave Hackwith, Craigmont Idaho, on the acoustic bass. A new addition is Andre Vachon, Beaumont Texas, on dobro.

CGB broke up for a brief period around 2000, and the members went their separate ways. A recent resurgence of bluegrass encouraged them to get back together.

 CGB's show should remind bluegrass fans of the glory days of the mid-70’s when CGB was known as eastern Washington’s first  bluegrass band.

Today those musty old Custer’s Grass Band records trade hands for twenty bucks a pop on Ebay.