Castle Ridge performs instrumental and vocal music from the bluegrass, old-time country and swing genres. Castle Ridge was formed in 2006 and has performed steadily since that time at venues ranging from bluegrass festivals to small wine bars, farmers' markets and private events. Our shows have taken us to Illinois, Missouri and Minnesota in addition to our native Iowa.
Our eponymously titled CD (released in 2008) is available on CD Baby and we are starting to prepare for a follow up project.
This husband and wife duo consists of Joy Ward, fiddle & vocals, and Mark “Dub” Clark, guitar & vocals. Both are lifelong musicians. Originally from Nebraska, Joy comes by way of Albuquerque, NM, where she worked and recorded with several popular groups including Tapestry and Coyote Crossing, a prize-winning bluegrass band. Joy is a 2019 inductee into the Midwest All Music Association Hall of Fame Iowa. Mark is a native Iowan who in the early ’60s worked as a folksinger in Chicago before co-founding the Greater Chicago Bluegrass Band in 1972, recording and maintaining a busy performance schedule for several years.
