Kim Fox w/Dale Ann Bradley, Steve Gulley & More

Date/Time:Fri., January 1, 9:00pm
Price: $10

Dale Ann Bradley w/Kim Fox & Steve Gulley at Station Inn
Three-for-One

Jon Weisberger

(Nashville Scene)

Here’s a dream lineup of bluegrass singers (and songwriters too) to start the year off right. Steve Gulley, who’s brought Opry audiences to their feet with his renditions of George Jones classics, and IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year Dale Ann Bradley share an old-school background working at Kentucky’s enduring Renfro Valley Barn Dance in the ’90s, while Kim Fox (whose “Nothing to Lose” is threatening to become a country standard, thanks to recordings by Trisha Yearwood and Reba McEntire) sports her own history of delicious family-band harmonies and more recent work with Bradley. Gulley’s also a fine and prolific songwriter, with his own IBMA trophy to show for it, and Bradley’s been getting some long-overdue respect in that department herself. They’ll be backed by an outstanding set of bandmates in Deanie Richardson (fiddle) and Mike Sumner (banjo)—both in Bradley’s outfit—and mando monster Alan Bibey, who partners with Gulley in Grasstowne. Yowza!

Happy New Year

The Purple Fiddle

Story by Susan Sullivan Email Bio Other Stories by Susan Sullivan

THOMAS -- This week's Restaurant Road Trip takes us to a venue whose atmosphere is far more popular than the food. One of the meccas of live bluegrass music lies deep in Tucker County at the Purple Fiddle.
Deep in the heart of outdoor life in West Virginia lies an eclectic venue of sorts that serves healthy food, complex coffee, and a hearty serving of down home hospitality from an honest beginning.
"What brought us to Thomas was this space, this building, this old 90-year-old general store that had a for-sale sign in the window," said co-owner John Bright. "We couldn't pass it up."
On September 11, 2001, Bright was evacuated from the state capital, where he worked.
He called his long distance girlfriend immediately, and they decided it was time to get away from the city.
“When we got out of the car and were looking in the windows, we were talking about the possibilities and we were like, cafe, coffee shop, live music with an Appalachian twist, and we both agreed on that, that's what our vision was,” recalled Bright. “I said, ‘And also, really good beers,’ and my wife at the time was like, ‘I'm not going to raise my kids in a bar!’ I said, “Well, maybe if we just serve fancy beers, maybe it won't be a drinker's establishment. Maybe it'll be more like a restaurant and a café.’”
Bright has maintained an old-fashioned feel in the restaurant with unique antiques from decades past that extend into the hostel upstairs.
“We try to make it so that people can stay on the property if they have a few beers and don't want to drive,” he elaborated. “So we keep them here so they're not doing anything they shouldn't be.”
The Purple Fiddle offers fresh, made to order food, made with a variety of ingredients.
But the real draw for patrons is the live music - every night. Read on.

BRI included on National Geographic map

Wednesday, December 30, 2009
By JOEL TURNER - Staff Writer

Nearly 20 sites along Virginia's Crooked Road and Wilderness Road, including the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum at Ferrum College, are part of the new National Geographic Society's Appalachian Driving Tours Map.
The highlighted sites range from bluegrass music venues to state parks.
The map is a partnership of the National Geographic Society and the Appalachian Regional Commission.
The map features 28 driving trails in the nation's Appalachian Region from New York to Georgia.
It includes color photos, including one of Ralph Stanley, a bluegrass music legend for more than 50 years.
The Crooked Road Heritage Music Trail begins inﾠRocky Mount and ends at Clintwood in Dickenson County, the site of the Ralph Stanley Museum and Traditional Mountain Music Center.
The Virginia General Assembly designated the route of the music trail, which begins at the intersection of Route 220 and Route 40 in Rocky Mount. It goes west on Route 40 to the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum at Ferrum College, and then follows Route 40 to Shooting Creek Road to Route 221.
The trail winds through nine Southwest Virginia counties, ten towns and three cities.
More.

Traditional Ties, 01/03/10, Playlist

This week's Traditional Ties is the Last of our holiday specials. Hour one will be selections from the top five Bluegrass releases as submitted to WYEP's Year in Review. The second hour will be our annual presentation of "The Breaking Up Christmas Story."

Air Time
Artist Name
Song Title
Album Name
Label
Duration
10:00 PM
Kenny Baker
Jerusalem Ridge (Theme)
Plays Bill Monroe
County
2:00
10:02 PM
Dailey & Vincent
Head Hung Down
Brothers From Different Mothers
Rounder
2:57
10:05 PM
Audie Blaylock
Whispering Waters
Audie Blaylock and Redline
Rural Rythm
2:50
10:08 PM
Tommy Webb
Teardrop Inn
Heartland
Rural Rhythm
3:30
10:11 PM
Traditional Ties Special
Year in Review
tties
tties
1;00
10:12 PM
Dailey & Vincent
Years Ago
Brothers From Different Mothers
Rounder
2;45
10:15 PM
Audie Blaylock
Send Me Your Address from Heaven
Audie Blaylock and Redline
Rural Rythm
2:20
10:18 PM
Tommy Webb
Heartland
Heartland
Rural Rhythm
2;53
10:22 PM
Dailey & Vincent
Girl In the Valley
Brohers from Different Mothers
Rounder
2:45
10:25 PM
Audie Blaylock
Roll On Blues
Audie Blaylock and Red Line
Rural Rhythm
2:20
10:26 PM
Tommy Webb
If It Weren't For Bluegrass Music
Heartland
Rural Rythm
2:55
10:32 PM
Paul Williams
What a Journey
What a Journey
Rebel
2:36
10:35 PM
Nothin' Fancy
Let Your Light Shine Down
Lord Bless This House
Pinecastle
2:31
10:37 PM
Paul Williams
There's a Miracle Everywhere You Go
What a Journey
Rebel
3:45
10:42 PM
Nothin' Fancy
Soul of Man Never Dies
Lord Bless This House
Pinecastle
2:42
10:45 PM
Paul Williams
I'll Be Young Again
What a Journey
Rebel
3;38
10:49 PM
Nothin' Fancy
Peace In the Valley
Lord Bless This House
Pinecastle
3:43
10:52 PM
Paul Williams
Hid Away with God
What a Journey
Rebel
2;19
11:00 PM
True Bluegrass
With Care from Someone (Theme)
True Bluegrass 1979
True Bluegrass
2::00
11:02 PM
Various
The Breaking Up Christmas Story
Blue Ridge Mountain Holiday
County
57:32

JOHN TROUT, WYEP FM, PITTSBURGH, PA. tties91@hotmail.com

'TRADITIONAL TIES'- NEW RELEASE BLUEGRASS WITH FEATURES. 91.3 WYEP, http://www.wyep.org/ 10:00 PM Eastern Time (U.S.) Sundays. Streaming Audio 1608 JEFFERSON ST, LATROBE PA, 15650 -2940

Link to Traditional Ties web pages: http://wyep.org/traditionalties

December 29, 2009
New Year's Bluegrass Festival
By Bill DeYoung

More by Bill DeYoung


There's probably not too many indoor bluegrass festivals in the United States. Part of the charm of the old-style fests is sitting in your lawn chair, seeing and hearing the various acts come and go on the stage, and sampling whatever wafts by the on the breeze - your neighbor's barbeque, the odd conversation, pickin' around the campfire. Holding a bluegrass festival inside a big concrete building, it could be argued, defeats the purpose. Indoors, you kind of have to pay attention.
Don't tell that to Adams and Anderson, LLC, the company that's putting on this week's New Year's Bluegrass Festival inside the Jekyll Island Convention Center. These folks have been doing it this way for 34 years now, so they must be doing something right.

More.

National banjo champion Charles Wood keeps it real in Seneca - and all over

The first thing Charles Wood will tell you is that Old Crow Medicine Show, the Avett Brothers, the newer bluegrass bands springing up in recent years. … They’re all good, but they’re not bluegrass.
Bluegrass is Flatt and Scruggs, Bill Monroe and Ralph Stanley. Their music is pure, clean and devoid of amps and synthesizers. Theirs is the music, he sighs, that made him fall in love with the banjo as a 13-year-old in a family full of classical pianists.
When he was teenager, the banjo was his love. Now, as an adult, he finds the instrument has become an extension of himself.
“The only time I’m ever really happy is when I’m playing,” Wood says, more matter of fact than dramatic. “I think as a musician it’s something you have to do; it’s not something you have a choice with.”
The 44-year-old Wood fell in love with the instrument the moment he heard a Flatt and Scruggs album at age 13. He couldn’t have known then that three decades later he would share the stage with Earl Scruggs at an arts festival in New York, or that the banjo would put him in touch with comedian Steve Martin (an avid banjo player), or that it would lead him to a spot on “Late Night with David Letterman” where he would play with Martin and Scruggs.
Full story.

Concerts bring Cumberland Caverns publicity, cash flow

A tie-in with bluegrass music has breathed new life into one of Tennessee's oldest private tourist attractions, helping pull Cumberland Caverns — about 90 miles southeast of Nashville — through a recession that has taken its toll on many less-fortunate roadside attractions.

In July 2008, the caverns near McMinnville became the venue for the Bluegrass Underground, a continuing series of live Saturday afternoon concerts by established and up-and-coming artists in a giant natural concert hall 333 feet under the Earth's surface.

The brainchild of Nashville marketing executive Todd Mayo, the Bluegrass Underground not only attracts a capacity crowd of 300-plus visitors to its monthly concerts, but also provides the programming for a weekly hourlong broadcast on WSM radio leading into the regular Saturday night Grand Ole Opry performance.

Read on.

Museum has a sound past

Visitors to Owensboro can hear the melodic sounds of bluegrass music drifting down the Ohio River from one the city's key tourist attractions, the International Bluegrass Music Museum, just a two-hour drive from Louisville.
Founded in 1991 and located in the city's RiverPark Complex, the museum houses such artifacts as a Pete Seeger banjo and exhibits of historic instruments; the Bluegrass Hall of Fame recognizes industry notables; and a special section is dedicated to Bill Monroe, the legendary father of bluegrass music.
The International Bluegrass Music Museum is at 1117 Daviess St., Owensboro, Ky., and is open Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. (central time) and Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
More.

Alert: New York-based Steam Powered Hour to Host "Battle of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Bands," January 10

New York, NY (PRWEB) December 23, 2009 -- Matt Diffee, New Yorker magazine cartoonist and host of the Steam Powered Hour has announced that Bluegrassy bands will battle it out for cash and prizes, during a special Steam Powered Hour event, January 10.


Judges will be Norm Parenteau of Slipshod Management in Nashville, who represents The Felice Brothers and Old Crow Medicine Show, Dawn Holliday of The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, Rita Houston, music director of WFUV, and Dave Godowsky, Director of A&R at Rounder Records. The winning band gets a slot in next year’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival and other prizes.


http://www.steampoweredhour.com/



Bands interested in entering must meet the following requirements:
"First off, you must be at least two people to be considered a band. One man bands are wonderful, but this isn’t the place. Maybe we’ll do that another time. To be in the realm of “bluegrassy,” you must have either a banjo or a fiddle (no violins), and the only electrified instruments allowed are bass, if you must. But all you electric bassists will have to use the amp we provide. And it will be sucky. Kidding. If you have percussion, that’s fine, but you have to be able to carry it on and off with you with no set up time. Be warned, if you get too “world musicy” we might make fun of you. Along those same lines, no vests or hammer pants. You really shouldn’t have any horns or keyboards. Things should be mostly string-based. If you have questionable instrumentation, just get in touch with us and we’ll use our human abilities to reason and make the call."

The battle will take place January 10 from 8 - 11 pm at the Nuyorican Poet's Cafe, 236 East 3rd Street, New York, NY. Tickets are available online at http://www.nuyorican.org/
The Steam Powered Hour is a monthly variety show in New York’s East Village featuring the best in acoustic music and comedy. Past performers have included Gillian Welch, Tony Trischka, Michael Daves,, Pork Chop Willie, The Steep Canyon Rangers, Demetri Martin, Steve Martin, Jessi Klein, Patrick Borelli, James Braly, Jeff Sumerel, Adam Wade, Val Kappa, DJ Hazard, Stuckey & Murray and many, many more.

Traditional Ties, 12/27/09, Playlist‏

Contact info for new adds:Billy Boone Smith - http://billyboonesmith.com/ - http://muddysunshine.com/

Chris Warner - http://www.pxrec.com/

Air Time
Artist Name
Song Title
Album Name
Label
Duration

10:00 PM
Kenny Baker
Jerusalem Ridge (Theme)
Plays Bill Monroe
County
2:00
10:02 PM
Chris Warner
Goin' to the Dance
Goin' to the Dance
Patuxent
3:17
10:07 PM
David Parmley
Christmas In the Mountains
Christmas Gatherin'
Pinecastle
3:14
10:10 PM
Dede Wyland
Long White Cadillac
Keep the Light On
Patuxent
2:09
10:11 PM
Johnny Williams
Country Living's Changing Every Day
Last Day of Galax
Mountain Roads
3:17
10:17 PM
Darren Beachley & LOP
Love You Don't Know Cannot Hurt You
Singlr Advance
Patuxent
4:08
10:20 PM
Kenny & Amanda Smith
Changing
Live and Learn
Rebel
3:31
10:24 PM
Audie Blaylock
Lonely River
Audie Blaylock and Redline
Rural Rythm
2:28
10:27 PM
Chris Warner
Lickity Split
Goin' to the Dance
Patuxent
2:33
10:31 PM
Billy Boone Smith
A Step Away
Five Flat Rocks
Muddy Sunshine
3:05
10:36 PM
Billy Boone Smith
Drink from the Well
Five Flat Rocks
Muddy Sunshine
4:09
10:40 PM
Billy Boone Smith
Justified
Five Flat Rocks
Muddy Sunshine
2:49
10:43 PM
Billy Boone Smith
Give the Devil an Inch
Five Flat Rocks
Muddy Snushine
2:32
10:46 PM
Chis Warner
Turn your Heart to Jesus
Going to the Dance
Patuxent
2:38
10:49 PM
Bass Mountain Boys
A Cradle in Bethlehem
Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas
Pinecastle
3;29
10:52 PM
Sawmill Road
Heaven's Key
Fire on the Kettle
SMR
2:59
10:55 PM
Wheeler
All He Wants to Do
Bluegrass Gospel
Mountain Roads
3:19
11:00 PM
True Bluegrass
With Care from Someone (Theme)
True Bluegrass 1979
True Bluegrass
2:00
11:02 PM
Chris Warner
Heartbreak
Goin' to the Dance
Patuxent
3:49
11:05 PM
Chris Warner
Bonaparte's Retreat
Goin' to the Dance
Patuxent
3:34
11:10 PM
Chris Warner
Taxes, Troubles and Heartaches
Goin' to the Dance
Patuxent
2:28
11:14 PM
Chris Warner
Brennie's Dream
Goin' to the Dance
Patuxent
2:57
11:18 PM
Frances Mooney
Here We Go A-Going
I Didn't See It Coming
Blue Circle
2:34
11:20 PM
Grascals
Keep On Walkin'
Keeo On Walkin'
Rounder
3:22
11:23 PM
Steep Canyon Rangers
Have Mercy
Deep in the shade
Rebel
3:12
11:27 PM
Pathway
What Must I Do
Somewhere Tonight
Mountain Roads
3:20
11:32 PM
Constant Change
Christmas Time Back Home
Christmas in Carolina
Blue Circle
3:06
11:35 PM
Constant Change
Roses and Carnations
Hills of Home
Papa Leo
2:24
11:37 PM
Third Tyme Out
Hard Rock Mountain Prison
Russell Moore & Third Tyme Out
Rural Rythm
2:27
11:39 PM
Kristen Scott Benson
Don't Tread on Me
Second Season
Pinecastle
2:25
11:44 PM
Grasstowne
Hard Workin' Man
The Other Side of Towne
Pinecastle
2:57
11:47 PM
Gibson Brothers
What Can I Do
Ring the Bell
Compass
3:55
11:51 PM
Del McCoury
I Remember You
Family Circle
McMcoury Music
2:27
11:53 PM
Junior Sisk
You Let the Dog Off the Chain
Blue side of the Blue Ridge
Rebel
2:48
11:57 PM
Groove Grass Boyz
Auld Lang Syne
Christmas On the Mountains
Universal South
2:52

Barber dies, but shop's music will go on

By Sharon McBrayer The News Herald
Published: December 21, 2009

Drexel - The barbershop here has been featured in "Our State" magazine, on National Public Radio and even in the London Times newspaper. Musicians from all over the region and other states come to pick and maybe get their photos added to the "wall of shame."The barbershop in Drexel has become a treasure house for musicians and bluegrass music lovers who are fortunate to hear about it.But the man responsible for making the barbershop so loved has died. Lawrence Anthony, 86, who started cutting hair in Drexel in 1949 and who opened the barbershop on Main Street in 1964, passed away on Wednesday.His son, Carroll Anthony, is determined to keep the barbershop and its traditions going.
More,

Benefit concert set for Forresters at Carter Fold

HILTONS, Va. — A benefit concert for the Rita Forrester family will take place at the Carter Family Fold Jan. 3 at 3 p.m. The concert will be held to raise funds for the Forrester family who lost their home and all their worldly possessions in a tragic house fire Dec. 6.
The concert will feature many top performers of bluegrass, old-time, Celtic and Americana music. Scheduled to perform are the Lost and Found, Melvin Goins, Don Rigsby, the Darrell Webb Band, the VW Boys, Raymond McLain, Whitetop Mountain Band, No Speed Limit, the Jeanette Williams Band, Wayne Henderson and Friends, Tennessee Skyline, Sigean, the Hillbilly Gypsies, Cana Ramblers, Vinny Ringrose and Ethan Ferguson.
The concert will be in an “Opry style” format with bands performing two songs each. All bands are donating their time and talents to this cause. Food will be available. Sound support will be donated by Sound Check Music of Bristol, Va.
More...

Newfoundland Bluegrass Pioneer Dies

A bluegrass pioneer and legend in the province has passed away. Rex Yetman was born in Jamestown, Newfoundland and was best known as the mandolinist from the York County Boys, Canada's First Bluegrass Group. For nearly 60 years, he played and sang bluegrass music. Yetman first heard bluegrass music as a child from the Grand Ole Opry on his family's radio, but it wasn't until he moved to Ontario that he started to play. In 1953 Yetman met a fiddler named John McManaman. The two would sneak backstage and get musicians to teach them how to play. Along with guitarist Mike Cameron, fiddler Brian Barron and bassist Fred "Dusty" Legere, they became known as The York County Boys. They appeared on shows like The Tommy Hunter Show, Carl Smith's Country Music Hall, and were once opening acts for Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. In 2006, Yetman won an East Coast Music Award for Bluegrass Recording of the year as part of the band Crooked Stovepipe. Yetman passed away on Friday, he was 76. His funeral will take place Monday at St. James Anglican Church in Jamestown.

Bill Monroe's mandolin continues to make history

By Keith Lawrence
Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer
(MCT)

OWENSBORO, Ky. — A 7-inch mandolin headstock veneer defaced by Bill Monroe nearly half a century ago sold at auction Dec. 3 for $37,500.
That's $5,357.15 an inch.
Christie's auction house in New York City had estimated that the piece would sell for between $5,000 and $7,000.
She wasn't the buyer, but Gabrielle Gray, executive director of the International Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensboro, Ky., was the last bidder to drop out before the piece of bluegrass history was sold.
"People at Christie's were shocked at the price," she said Thursday. "But it's folklore. It's one of a kind. It came from the most famous mandolin in the world. It's at the heart and soul of bluegrass music. It could have sold for $100,000."
Gray did come away from the auction with a 14 ½-inch statue that was presented posthumously to Monroe when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.
More.

Music center director named

By The Daily Independent, Ashland, Ky.

Dec. 18--MOREHEAD -- Raymond W. McLain, director of the Bluegrass, Old Time and Country Music Program at East Tennessee State University, has been named the director of Morehead State University's Kentucky Center for Traditional Music.
He will assume his new duties Jan. 4.
"We are delighted to have Raymond McLain join the MSU family. He provided significant leadership at East Tennessee State University in the development of its nationally recognized program. Raymond is a topnotch professional musician, teacher and person," said President Wayne D. Andrews. "He will attract many students because of the breadth and depth of his knowledge and experience. Furthermore, given time and resources, Raymond will continue to develop KCTM into a premier center to preserve the heritage of this region's traditional music."
McLain started his professional music career in 1969, when his family began its weekly television series in Hazard.
A highly respected multi-instrumentalist and performer, he has performed in all 50 states and 63 different countries. He has performed at Carnegie Hall and the Grand Ole Opry.

More

Sam Bush makes bluegrass dreams come true

Sam Bush has these dreams. They’re not the dreams from his youth, like when he would imagine himself playing on stage with the Father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe. That dream and many others have come true.
Hundreds of mandolin players tread the paths Bush cleared with his New Grass Revival band mates in the 1970s and 80s, and Bush’s new album, Circles Around Me, stands as his most self-actualized and best-received solo work. Still boyish at 57, Bush has forged a place for himself as one of acoustic music’s respected elders. He won a lifetime achievement award at this year’s Americana Music Honors & Awards. And his dreams are different now.
“I seem to dream a lot these days about trying to get to the show,” he said. “And I guess that just means that I still really want to get to the show. The older I get, the more I love to play. This gift of playing music can leave you at any time.”
Bush has twice survived cancer, and the gift of playing has not left him, save for a time in the mid-1990s when he broke his right elbow, and another time in the mid-’90s when he broke his left elbow. Clumsiness has proven more problematic than disease. He has ceased touring through the end of the year while recovering from a non-clumsiness-related foot surgery, but that hasn’t kept him from playing his mandolin. He released Circles Around Me, his third solo album in five years, in October.“I was inspired by (fiddle great) Vassar Clements when it came to practicing,” Bush said. More...

Blue Highway celebrates 15 award-winning years together

Bill Kramer • Columnist • December 17, 2009

Friday night, one of the finest bands in contemporary bluegrass will be playing a special 15th anniversary concert at Roanoke's Jefferson Center. Blue Highway has the full package: strong lead and harmony vocals, excellent instrumental command by all the players and original songwriting by everybody in the band. Most bluegrass groups have one or two of these attributes, but few have all three.
The band has just released "Some Day: The Fifteenth Anniversary Collection," a compendium of some of its best work and a new collaboration with Darrell Scott.
Blue Highway is Tim Stafford (guitar, vocals); Wayne Taylor (bass, vocals); Shawn Lane (mandolin, guitar, fiddle, vocals); Rob Ickes (dobro, slide guitar, vocals); and Jason Burleson (banjo, guitar, vocals).
Stafford said he couldn't imagine the group's recognition and success during its humble beginnings 15 years ago.
"It's amazing. I had no idea it would last this long, and acclaim and success were the furthest things from my mind," he said. "It really started as a weekend-type band since Wayne and I both had jobs at the time, and Shawn was starting a metals technology degree in South Carolina. The idea was we'd play a few shows on the weekends, record some and have fun and see where it went from there. Then things just snowballed."

More.

SPBGMA Nominees Announced

36th Anniversary SPBGMA BLUEGRASS MUSIC AWARDS- & 27th NATIONAL CONVENTION -FEBRUARY 4-5-6-7, 2010
Sheraton Music City Hotel - Nashville, Tennessee.

NOMINEES 2010

1. BLUEGRASS PROMOTER OF THE YEAR
1. Adams & Anderson, LLC
2. Darrel Adkins
3. Sterling Belcher
4. John Hutchinson
5. Joe Mullins
6. Bertie Sullivan

2. BLUEGRASS RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR
1. WBBC-FM – Blackstone, VA
2. WBRF-FM – Galax, VA
3. WBZI-AM – Xenia, OH
4. WDVX-FM – Knoxville, TN
5. WPAQ-AM – Mount Airy, NC
6. WQDR-FM – Raleigh, NC

3. BLUEGRASS DJ OF THE YEAR
1. Jay Allen (WBRF-FM)
2. Tim Frye (WPAQ-AM)
3. Brenda Lawson (WBBC-FM)
4. Joe Mullins (WBZI-AM))
5. Larry Nixon (WQDR-FM
)6. Freddy Smith (WDVX-FM)

4. BLUEGRASS SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
1. Becky Buller & Justin Carbone
2. Grady Bullins
3. Tom T. Hall & Dixie Hall
4. Aubrey Holt
5. Jennifer Strickland
6. Chris Stuart

5. BLUEGRASS ALBUM OF THE YEAR
1. "BLUE SIDE OF THE BLUE RIDGE" – by Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice / Rebel Records
2. "DESTINATION LIFE" – by Rhonda Vincent / Rounder Records
3. "RUSSELL MOORE & IIIrd TYME OUT" – by Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out / Rural Rhythm Records
4. "MY OWN SET OF RULES" – by Lou Reid & Carolina / Rural Rhythm Records
5. "OPEN FOR BUSINESS'" – by Big Country Bluegrass / Mountain Roads Records
6. "THE OTHER SIDE OF TOWNE" – by Grasstowne / Pinecastle Records

6. BASSFIDDLE PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
1. Mike Bub
2. Mickey Harris
3. Tim Massey
4. Frances Mooney
5. Tony Shorter
6. Darrin Vincent

7. DOBRO PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
1. Mike Auldridge
2. Jerry Douglas
3. Tim Graves
4. Rob Ickes
5. Randy Kohrs
6. Phil Leadbetter

8. GUITAR PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
1. Gary Farris
2. Steve Gulley
3. Kenny Smith
4. Tim Stafford
5. Josh Williams
6. Johnny Williams

9. MANDOLIN PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
1. Mike Andes
2. Alan Bibey
3. Jesse Brock
4. Doyle Lawson
5. Jeff Parker
6. Danny Roberts

10. BANJO PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
1. Kristen Scott Benson
2. J.D. Crowe
3. Ben Greene
4. Lynwood Lunsford
5. Aaron McDaris
6. Darrell Wilkerson

11. FIDDLE PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
1. Hunter Berry
2. Becky Buller
3. Michael Cleveland
4. Josh Goforth
5. Jeff Michael
6. Chris Sexton

12. FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR (Contemporary)
1. Dale Ann Bradley
2. Cia Cherryholmes
3. Carrie Hassler
4. Alison Krauss
5. Christy Reid
6. Rhonda Vincent

13. FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR (Traditional)
1. Lorraine Jordan
2. Claire Lynch
3. Frances Mooney
4. Alecia Nugent
5. Valerie Smith
6. Jeanette Williams

14. MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR (Contemporary)
1. Mike Andes
2. Jamie Dailey
3. Steve Gulley
4. Russell Moore
5. Larry Stephenson
6. Bradley Walker

15. MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR (Traditional)
1. James King
2. Jeff Michael
3. Dan Paisley
4. Lou Reid
5. Junior Sisk
6. Dan Tyminski

16. GOSPEL GROUP OF THE YEAR (Contemporary)
1. Dailey & Vincen
t2. The Isaacs
3. The Marksmen
4. NewFound Road
5. Revonda Roberts & Harvest Wind
6. Barry Scott & Second Wind

17. GOSPEL GROUP OF THE YEAR (Traditional)
1. Carolina Sonshine
2. The Churchmen
3. Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road
4. Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
5. Lou Reid & Carolina
6. Paul Williams & The Victory Trio

18. VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
1. Dailey & Vincent
2. The Grascals
3. Grasstowne
4. Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out
5. Nothin' Fancy
6. Rhonda Vincent & The Rage

19. INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
1. Big Country Bluegrass
2. The Bluegrass Brothers
3. The Grascals
4. Grasstowne
5. Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice
6. Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder

20. BLUEGRASS BAND OF THE YEAR (Overall)
1. Big Country Bluegrass
2. Dailey & Vincent
3. The Grascals
4. Grasstowne
5. Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out
6. Rhonda Vincent & The Rage

21. SONG OF THE YEAR
1. "AMANDA LYNN" – by Lou Reid & Carolina / Rural Rhythm Records
2. "BIG, BIG HEARTACHES" – by Grasstowne / Pinecastle Records
3. "HARD ROCK MOUNTAIN PRISON" – by Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out / Rural Rhythm Records
4. "HIGH ALLEGHENIES" – by Big Country Bluegrass / Mountain Roads Records
5. "LEAVING BAKER COUNTY" – by Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice / Rebel Records
6. "TRAIN SONGS" – by Ralph Stanley II / Lonesome Day Records

22. ENTERTAINING GROUP OF THE YEAR
1. Big Country Bluegrass
2. Dailey & Vincent
3. The Grascals
4. Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out
5. Nothin' Fancy6. Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice

23. ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
1. Jamie Dailey
2. Lorraine Jordan
3. Doyle Lawson
4. Russell Moore
5. Junior Sisk
6. Rhonda Vincent

Traditional Ties, 12/20/09, Playlist

Christmas Special

Air Time
Artist Name
Song Title
Album Name
Label
Duration

10:00 PM
Scott Vestal et al
Frosty the Snowman
Christmas Gathering
Pinecastle
3:24
10:04 PM
Charlie Daniels w/ The Grascals
Christmas time's A Coming
Joy to the World
E 1
2:31
10:07 PM
Lynn Morris
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
O Christmas Tree
Rounder
2:48
10:09 PM
Beaver Creek
Letters to Santa
Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas
Pinecastle
4:10
10:16 PM
Charlie Daniels
A Carolina Christmas Carole
Joy to the World
E 1
16:24
10:33 PM
Larry Stephenson
Away in a Manger
Christmas Gathering
Pinecastle
3:08
10:36 PM
Alecia Nugent
Beautiful Star of Bethlehem
O Christmas Tree
Rounder
4:49
10:41 PM
Special Consensus
Go Tell It on the Mountain
Christmas Gathering
Pinecastle
2:30
10:43 PM
Stony Point Quartet
The First Noel
Christmas time Back Home
Cracker Barrel
3:19
10:47 PM
Tony Trischka
Precious Child
Glory Shone Around
Rounder
3:33
10:51 PM
Wildfire
New Kid in Town
Christmas Gathering
Pincastle
4:18
10:55 PM
Robin & Linda Williams
Rise Up Shepherds and Follow
The First Christmas Gift
Red House
3:16
10:58 PM
Butch Baldassari
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Evergreen
Cactus
1:58
11:00 PM
Darrin Vincent et al
What Child Is This
Cgristmas Grass
Audiym - Koch
250
11:03 PM
Reno & Smiley
The True Meaning of Christmas
The True Meaning of Christmas
King
3;43
11:07 PM
Charlie Waller
White Christmas
Christmas Gathering
Pinecastle
3:08
11:10 PM
Laurie Lewis - Tom Rozum
The Gift
Winter's Grace
Signature
4:01
11:15 PM
Pqtty Loveless
Santa Train
Bluegrass White Snow
Sony Nashville
2:58
11:18 PM
Tommy Edwards
The Christmas Letter
Christmas in the Mountains
Rebel
4:53
11:23 PM
Frances Mooney
Here We Go A-Going
I Didn't See It Coming
Blue Circle
2:34
11:26 PM
Tony Williamson Trio
Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
Winter Wonderland
Copper Creek
3:54
11:29 PM
Foxfire
12 days of Bluegrass Christmas
Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas
Pinecastle
4:47
11:34 PM
Rhonda Vincent
12 Days of Christmas
Beautiful Star
Rounder
4:16
11:38 PM
The Grass Cats
Favorite Christmas Memories
Christmas In Carolina
Blue Circle
3:48
11:42 PM
Doyle Lawson
Merry Christmas from Our House to Yours
Merry Christmas from Our House to Yours
SSK
2:55
11:46 PM
Tony Trischka
O come All Ye Faithfull
O christmas Tree
Rounder
2:29
11:49 PM
The Isaaca
Christmas Means Jesus to Me
I Feel the Christmas Spirit
Horizon
4:08
11:49 PM
Seldom Scene
Silent Night
Sugar Plums
Sugar Hill
3:02
11:56 PM
Dan Crary
O Holy Night
Holiday Guitar
Sugar Hill
3:25

The Expedition Show Adds New Member

Blake Williams, Wayne Southards and Kimberly Williams are proud to announce the addition of Alex Hibbitts to The Expedition Show. Alex will join the band on mandolin, mandola and baritone vocals.

At the ripe “old” age of 23, Alex is an accredited musician on several instruments, a creative songwriter, and an outstanding harmony vocalist. Alex originally hales from the small coal town of Grundy, Virginia, but now resides in Johnson City, Tennessee. He began his musical adventure at a very young age of 4 with a guitar lesson from his dad. His appreciation and dedication to bluegrass music soon began when he got his first mandolin at age 10. After playing with local and regional bands throughout his teenage years, Alex got his first professional music job and has performed with noted bluegrass artists such as Randy Kohrs, Alecia Nugent, Wildfire, New River Line, and The Midnight Ramblers. Alex is a recent graduate of East Tennessee State University (ETSU) with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting. He also obtained a minor in Bluegrass while enrolled in the Bluegrass/Old-time & Country Music Program at ETSU. Alex has recorded 2 solo projects and his latest, “The Chronicles of Depression”,was produced, engineered, mixed, and mastered at A^2 Studio which he owns. Both projects feature many of today’s popular bluegrass artists including Jimmy Van Cleve, Josh Swift, Josh Miller, Hunter Berry, Darrell Webb, Clay Hess, Daniel Salyer, Brandon Green and more. Alex endorses J'BOVIER MANDOLAS, STACY MANDOLINS, and SILVER ANGEL MANDOLINS.

"We couldn't be more pleased to have Alex join our band", stated Blake Williams. "He brings a very fresh approach to our music while still holding on to the tradition of bluegrass. We just can't wait to hit the stage with our new configuration!"

The Expedition Show first began in January 2002 under the name Williams & Clark Expedition. With the traditional, high-lonesome vocals of the International Acoustic Music Association's 2009 “Male Vocalist of the Year”, Wayne Southards, and the contemporary, songbird-style of Kimberly Williams, this band touts two of the finest lead vocalists in professional music today. Grammy-winning banjo player, Blake Williams is a master comedian and can work an audience into the palm of his hand with his wit and delivery. Add the driving energy of young mandolinist Alex Hibbitts to the mix and The Expedition Show promises to be one of the most entertaining bands in bluegrass music.

Del McCoury recovering from surgery

According to Chris Harris of McCoury Music, York native bluegrass performer Del McCoury was experiencing stomach pain an discomfort last week.

On Dec. 10, he was admitted to Sumner Regional Hospital in Hendersonville, Tenn. and was diagnosed with an inflamed gall bladder. He underwent surgery Dec. 12 and was released the next day.

Harris also sent an e-mail statement from the band: "The McCoury family would like to thank all of those who expressed concern and prayed for the family during this time. Del is anticipating a quick recovery and is looking forward to enjoying the holidays with his family and resuming personal appearances and other work in January."

For more Del McCoury news, visit http://www.mccourymusic.com/ or http://www.delmccouryband.com/.
Follow The Del McCoury Band on twitter at http://twitter.com/delmccouryband.

Taking to the Blue Highway

By Tad Dickens

When bluegrass guitarist and singer Tim Stafford left Alison Krauss and Union Station 17 years ago, he had no inkling he would sniff that kind of success again.
The band had just started to heat up, having won the International Bluegrass Music Association's entertainer of the year award in 1991. Even greater success was coming.
But Stafford had other priorities. He had a newborn son in 1992, after having been on the road for 340 days the previous year. He knew he needed to spend real, quality time with the boy, Daniel. So he began looking for players who didn't want to spend so much time on the road, who wouldn't want to count on one band for their living.
Within two years, he had formed his group, Blue Highway, with Jason Burleson (banjo, guitar, mandolin), Rob Ickes (Dobro), Shawn Lane (mandolin, fiddle, vocals) and Wayne Taylor (bass, vocals

More

REBEL RECORDS ARTISTS WRAP-UP A VERY BUSY 2009

As we approach the New Year, REBEL RECORDS and its artists have much to celebrate and much to look forward to in 2010 which is, in fact, REBEL'S 50th ANNIVERSARY as the leading label devoted exclusively to Bluegrass Music!
Rebel is extremely proud of the GRAMMY® nomination that BARRY SCOTT & SECOND WIND have earned for their debut album In God's Time. The nomination was in the category of Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album. Barry & Second Wind are currently working on a new secular project for release this Spring.
JUNIOR SISK & RAMBLERS CHOICE have just completed work on their second Rebel recording, also scheduled for release this Spring. The group's first album Blue Side of the Blue Ridge continues to be one of the most played records on Bluegrass radio, and the group is looking forward to a very busy schedule in 2010.
The STEEP CANYON RANGERS are currently in Germany headlining the inaugural Bluegrass Jamboree tour, a travelling road show that finds them performing 16 shows in 16 different German cities over a two-and-a-half week period. They are coming off a very successful tour with comedian/banjo player STEVE MARTIN that played major market venues all across the USA, Canada and London, England. One of the highlights was a New York City show at Carnegie Hall with fellow Rebel recording artist RALPH STANLEY also on the bill.
In other Rangers news, the band's newest release Deep In The Shade debuted as the #1 album in the magazine BLUEGRASS MUSIC PROFILES' radio play chart for December. Two tracks from the CD - "Have Mercy" (#17) and "There Ain't No Easy Street" (#30) - made their debut in BMP's Top 30 Singles Chart as well.
February 2010 will see the release of fine new Gospel albums by both DON RIGSBY (The Voice of God) and PAUL WILLIAMS (Just a Little Closer Home). For Rigsby and his band MIDNIGHT CALL, the album will be his second for Rebel but his first solo Gospel project in over 10 years. It includes a guest vocal appearance by noted-blues artist Rory Block. Williams' record will be his 10th for Rebel and a very strong follow-up to his most successful recording to date What A Journey, which included the much-requested "I Went Down A Beggar But Came Up A Millionaire."

Country Music Hall of Fame To Update Main Exhibits in 2010

Posted by Eddie Miller on 12/14/2009

The Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville is set to update its main exhibit in May 2010 with a display dedicated to contemporary artists like Brad Paisley, Taylor Swift and Keith Urban.

An additional case that will be devoted to Americana and contemporary bluegrass music will be added, and it will feature artifacts from Alison Krauss, Jim Lauderdale, Del McCoury and Buddy Miller.

Read more.

Christmas Bluegrass

Chris Curtis BellaOnline's Folk Music Editor



Christmas music is a joyful sound at this time of year. I love listening to Christmas music during the holiday season. Although many artists perform the classic songs, I never get tired of hearing them because each artist spins the tune in their own unique styling making each rendition new again. If you love Bluegrass and closely related root music, here is a list of some of the best Christmas music available by Bluegrass artists. Folks, if you are going to add to your Christmas music collection, you can't go wrong with any one of these selections. Enjoy!
1. Christmas on the Mountain: A Bluegrass Christmas – Various Artists, Nominated for 2004 Grammy for "Best Bluegrass Album.", this project features ten holidays tunes from top artists including Tim O'Brien, Mac Weisman, Del McCoury, Doc Watson, Cyndi Wheeler, and the Osborn Brothers. It is an eclectic but wonderful selection of tunes for the holidays.
2. Bluegrass Christmas Collection: Christmas Time's a Comin –Various Artists, Traditional Christmas collection from esteemed bluegrass artists such as Bill Monroe, Stanley Brothers, Reno & Smiley, Johnston Mountain Boys, Jimmy Martin and many more. You will find traditional songs like Rudolph, Jingle Bells, and White Christmas.
3. A Skaggs Family Christmas – Skaggs and White Family plus members of Kentucky Thunder, This project offers a good selection of Christmas standards performed by two musically venerated families from the country and bluegrass genres. While arguable not pure bluegrass, the project offers a selection of both traditional Christmas hymns, and original seasonal music in the Skaggs family tradition. You won't find another Christmas project with the quality of vocal harmonies that can only come from the melding of these two musically oriented families.
More.

Md. bluegrass teacher trades neck, $800 for music

By: TIFFANY ARNOLD Associated Press, 12/13/09 12:08 AM EST

HAGERSTOWN, MD. — Doubts about Ernie Bradley's musical passion died when he told the story about how he traded $800 and his neck for better bluegrass.
By neck, he was talking about the fretboard of his gold-plated banjo. Bradley, a local bluegrass teacher, swapped parts with famous bluegrass man Walter Hensley.
"He wanted the neck off my banjo so he could put his name in here, so he could inlay it," Bradley said, caressing the neck of his current banjo. "So I traded my neck and $800 for this neck."
Bradley, 55, of Hagerstown, has many stories to share thanks to his passion for the bluegrass. But the latest chapter in the Ernie Bradley story begins at Hagerstown Community College, where Bradley has been teaching others the art of bluegrass jamming.
Bradley's been teaching at HCC since April. Classes have been held at the main campus off Robinwood Drive east of Hagerstown since the summer. Classes are currently being held at the community center at Fort Ritchie. And in November, HCC hosted a one-day bluegrass workshop at its main campus.
"The need for beginner bluegrass classes in this area was there," said one of his students, Cynthia Hull.

Read more.

"Foggy Mountain Breakdown" Turns 60

Posted By: Mike Breen

By pure coincidence, the Cincinnati USA Music Heritage Foundation is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the recording of legendary Bluegrass track "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs in Cincinnati's Herzog recording studio on the same evening as Earl's grandson — former BR549 member and successful Indie/AltCountry singer/songwriter Chris Scruggs —
is playing just across the river at Newport’s Southgate House. Scruggs was invited to Friday's celebratory reception at the site of the recording — on the second floor of the CityBeat building at 811 Race. St., in the downtown space once occupied by the historic Herzog recording studio — but is unable to attend. (He has been extended an open invitation to visit the site of his grandpa's historic session at any time.)

Full story.

At Carter Fold, show goes on despite tragedy

By Doug Janz
Press Tempo Writer djanz@johnsoncitypress.com

HILTONS, Va. — Since it was founded in the 1970s, the Carter Family Fold has been a regular venue for live bluegrass and gospel music every Saturday night.
It’s inexpensive, family-friendly and steeped in tradition. The music is always high-quality and the audience is all but guaranteed to hear some top-notch fiddle music.
But the Fold was stuck by tragedy Dec. 6 when a fire destroyed the nearby home of Carter Fold operators Rita and Bob Forrester, taking the life of Bob Forrester, 61.
Rita is the granddaughter of the legendary A.P. Carter and the daughter of Janette Carter, who founded the Carter Family Fold. It is the site where the original Carter Family lived and raised their families.
Rita and her son Tyler escaped the fire. Her other son, Justin, lives nearby. In addition to losing her husband of more 31 years, Rita lost all her possessions, including automobiles, in the fire.
But she announced this week that the Saturday, Dec. 12, show featuring Trey Hensley & Drivin’ Force would go on as scheduled. Friends have stepped up to handle the logistics of the show and enable the Forresters to grieve and regroup.
A fund has been set up to help the Forresters. Donations can be made to: The Rita Janette Forrester Fund, c/o BB&T Bank, 110 Gateway Plaza, Gate City, Va. 24251

Full report.

Calliope School of Folk Music Registration Open.

Winter session starts January 27, registration open now.

Learn at your own pace in a relaxed, non-competitive setting. We offer quality instruction at a fraction of the cost of private lessons and our classes are made to fit your busy schedule.

Explore our course offerings Register for classes Calliope School FAQs

We offer classes in: Guitar, Harmonica, Fiddle, Banjo, Mandolin, Accordion, Bagpipe, Bluegrass Harmony, Beginning Voice Bluegrass Ensemble, Blues Ensemble, Folk Dance, Ukulele, Beginning Jam Session, Songwriting, Appalachian Dulcimer, Hammered Dulcimer, Percussion, Improvisation, and more!

Members of Lewis family will reunite to keep tradition alive

Three members of the Lewis Family bluegrass group of Lincolnton, Ga., will perform today for the first time as The Lewis Tradition.

They will make their debut at 8:45 p.m. for the Larkin Family's Christmas in the Smokies show at the Smoky Mountain Convention Center at the Ramada Inn in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.

See www.larkinmusic.com/ChristmasShow.html.

Lewis Tradition performers are Lewis Family lead vocalist Janis Lewis Phillips; her banjo-and guitar-playing son, Lewis Phillips; and her bass-playing nephew, Travis Lewis.

The Lewis Tradition evolved from the retirement of the original Lewis Family this year after more than 50 years of performances.

Read more.

Traditional Ties, 12/13/09, Playlist

Contact info for new adds:
Manhattan Valley Ramblers - http://www.myspace.com/manhattanvalleyramblers

Allegheny Blue - http://alleghenyblue.com/

Air Time
Artist Name
Song Title
Album Name
Label
Duration

10:00 PM
Kenny Baker
Jerusalem Ridge (Theme)
Plays Bill Monroe
County
2:00
10:02 PM
The Manhattan Valley Ramblers
Childish Love
Ballada and Burnburners
Crusty Scone
2:26
10:06 PM
Allegheny Blue
Born in Dixie
Greenbrier River
MBG
2:53
10:09 PM
Larry Sparks
Blue Christmas
Christmas In the Hilla
Rebel
2:52
10:11 PM
Big Country Bluegrass
High Alleghenies
Open for Business
Mountain Roads
2:59
10:15 PM
South Ocean String Band
Our Special Guest
Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas
Pinecastle
4:56
10:20 PM
Dale Ann Bradley
I Won't Back Down
Don;t Turn Your Back
Compass
2:05
10:22 PM
Joe Mullens
Boston Jail
Rambler's Call
Joe Mullens
3:25
10:26 PM
Remington Ryde
Dizzy
The Ryde
Green Sky
2:51
10:30 PM
Bob Dick
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Tidings of Comfort and Joy
Appleland
4:05
10:33 PM
Paul Williams
Beautiful Star of Bethlehem
The Real Christmas Story
Victory
4:02
10:37 PM
Del McCoury - Mac Wiseman
Silent Night
Christmas On the Mountain
Universal South
2:54
10:41 PM
Nashville Mandolin Ensemble
The First Noel - O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Gifts
Columbia
4:42
10:47 PM
Alllegheny Blue
Are You Ready
Greenbrier River
MBG
2:20
10:49 PM
Claire Lynch
Face to Face
Whatcha Gonna Do
Rounder
3:55
10:53 PM
James King
I'll steal Away and Pray
Gardens In the Sky
Rounder
3:01
10:56 PM
Doyle Lawson
I Know I Know
Help Is On the Way
Horizon
2:37
11:00 PM
True Bluegrass
With Care from Someone (Theme)
True Bluegrass 1979
True Bluegrass
2:00
11:02 PM
The Manhattan Valley Ramblers
Railroading On the Great Divide
Ballads and Burnburners
Crusty Scone
3:02
11:06 PM
The Manhattan Valley Ramblers
Wayside Tavern
Ballads and barnburners
Crusty Scone
3:55
11:09 PM
The Manhattan Valley Ramblers
The Fields Have Turned Brown
Ballads and Barnbuners
Crusty Scone
3:48
11:13 PM
The Manhattan Valley Ramblers
Florida Blues
Ballads and Barnburners
Crusty Scone
2:38
11:16 PM
Alllegheny Blue
Special Place
Greenbrier River
MBG
4:02
11:20 PM
The Country Gentlemen
Christmas Time Back Home
Christmas in the Mountains
Rebel
3;10
11:23 PM
Sam Bush
Diamond Joe
Circles Round Me
Sugar Hill
3:39
11:27 PM
Lou Reid
Left Handed Dreamer
My Own Set of Rules
Rural Rhythm
2:29
11:32 PM
Alllegheny Blue
Nine Pound Hammer
Greenbrier River
MBG
3:55
11:34 PM
Lost and Found
Christmas In Virginia
Christmas in the Mountains
Rebel
2:35
11:36 PM
Pam Gadd
Applejack
Benefit of Doubt
Home Sweet Highway
3:15
11:39 PM
Frank Wakefield
This Is for Bill
Ownself Blues
Patuxent
4:04
11:45 PM
Wildwood Valley Boys
When It's Snownin' in the Mountains
Christmas In the Mountains
Rebel
2:31
11:47 PM
Richard D. Henry
A Long Way from Home
A Long Way from Home
Richard D. Henry
2:16
11:49 PM
Danny Paisley
The Room Over Mine
the Room Over Mine
Rounder
3:25
11:53 PM
Lonesome River band
Like a Train Needs a Track
No Turning Back
Rural Rhythm
2;52
11:56 PM
Buddy Merriam
Extra Special
Back Roads Mandolin
Lily Pad
3;49JOHN TROUT, WYEP FM, PITTSBURGH, PA. tties91@hotmail.com 'TRADITIONAL TIES'- NEW RELEASE BLUEGRASS WITH FEATURES. 91.3 WYEP, http://www.wyep.org/ 10:00 PM Eastern Time (U.S.) Sundays. Streaming Audio 1608 JEFFERSON ST, LATROBE PA, 15650 -2940 Link to Traditional Ties web pages: http://wyep.org/traditionalties

Telliride 2110

COLORADO'S SEMINAL MUSIC FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES INITIAL LINE UP FOR 2010

Planet Bluegrass today announces the preliminary lineup for the 37th annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival; including Sam Bush, Yonder Mountain String Band, Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain & Edgar Meyer, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, and many others. The venerable roots music festival is held the weekend closest to the summer solstice, June 17-20, in the rugged San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado. Tickets and camping go on sale at 9 a.m. MST, on Wednesday, December 9 here, or over the phone at 800-624-2422.
Camping passes for the festival's longest-running campground, Town Park, sold out in November using an online lottery with entries from 47 different US states and many foreign countries. A limited number of holiday-priced 4-day passes ($30 discount) will be available beginning December 9. These discount passes typically sell-out within several weeks
.
37th Telluride Bluegrass Festival Initial Lineup
June 17-20, 2010
Town Park, Telluride, CO

Sam Bush Band- Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain, Edgar Meyer- Yonder Mountain String Band- Telluride House Band featuring Sam, Béla, Jerry, Edgar, Bryan & Stuart- Del McCoury Band- Hot Rize- Leftover Salmon- Tim O'Brien- Jerry Douglas- Josh Ritter- Punch Brothers featuring Chris Thile- Peter Rowan- Carolina Chocolate Drops- John Cowan Band- Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros- Imelda May- Cadillac Sky- Mumford and Sons- The Drepung Monks- Sarah Jarosz- The Hillbenders
And many more...
http://www.bluegrass.com/

Critic's pick: Jerry Douglas, 'Jerry Christmas'

By Walter Tunis Contributing Music Writer

There's a dilapidated country barn pictured on the front cover of Jerry Christmas, with a field of barren trees gracing the back. Both are covered in snow.
The brown and white tints to the photographs add to the scenery's unblemished Old World cast. But seeing Jerry Douglas's name inscribed in the upper corner of his new holiday album insures that this winter setting is going to give way to come very cool yule indeed.
If you've lived around Lexington for any length of time, then you were hip to the wildly progressive yet traditionally conscious string music Douglas fashioned for the dobro long before luminaries like Elvis Costello, Paul Simon, John Fogerty and, of course, Alison Krauss recruited him for recordings and national tours. So knowing his country and bluegrass heritage, as well as his ability to design daring new soundscapes for the wiry, wily dobro, heightens expectations for what Douglas can do with holiday music.
Needless to say, Jerry Christmas doesn't disappoint. On the opening The First Noel, Douglas creates a hearty, fireside feel with multiple dobros and very discreet colorings of lap steel guitar. O Holy Night operates with similarly hushed reverence, although the magic this time is the string harmony Douglas creates with violinist Luke Bulla and the bowed bass support of Todd Parks.
Douglas could cut an entire album at this mood and tempo and it would still be a winner. But ever since he played Lexington haunts over 30 years ago with J.D. Crowe, Douglas has been a crafty player, an instrumentalist as stylistically cunning as he is virtuosic. As such, Jerry Christmas enjoys smacking us in the face with a snowball or two.

Complete article.

Berklee launches American Roots Music Program

December 07, 2009

Fiddler Mark O'Connor (right) takes the stage at Berklee College of Music on Thursday night to kick off a new American Roots Music Program intended to help students connect contemporary styles in jazz and rock - Berklee's bread and butter - to their musical heritage. Blues, gospel, folk, country, bluegrass, Cajun, Western swing, polka, Tex-Mex and other genres will become a larger part of the school's educational mission. Roots music will be an academic concentration. Berklee Professor Matt Glaser - a fiddler who will share the stage with O'Connor Thursday night - has stepped down as chair of the school's string department to head up the new program. His plans include everything from new curriculum to symposia and concerts. The advisory board for the program includes famous names Ricky Skaggs, Bela Fleck, Leo Kottke, Charlie Haden, David Grisman, Geoff Muldaur and Micheal Doucet.
Glaser spoke to HubArts about it all on Friday. A lightly edited transcript:
HubArts: Why do we need a new program for this at Berklee?
Glaser: We don't need a new program, but what's happening is the college is trying to address a huge influx of kids coming in from all these folk-based worlds: bluegrass and old-time music acoustic blues, western swing. They're growing up playing all these kinds of music by ear, and they have their particular set of skills and also particular deficits, and we're trying to address that. It also makes sense to connect these kinds of music across the college and give them a sort of home. ... This concert with Mark O'Connor on Thursday is an attempt to kick it off and demonstrate some of the styles of music that are involved.

Complete story.

HOLIDAY PICKIN’S AT DEERING BANJO

By Miriam Raftery

December 7, 2009 (Spring Valley) – “The banjo is America’s own instrument,” said Carolina Bridges, director of public relations at Deering Banjo. True, and Deering is America’s banjo company—the only U.S. maker that handcrafts its instruments using all American-made parts, Bridges said during a tour of Deering’s Spring Valley factory at the company’s holiday open house on Saturday. “It’s like a good cake—we make it all from scratch.”
Deering’s attention to quality has attracted top names in the music world—not only in bluegrass, jazz and country music, but also star performers in rock and roll. But it all started right here in East County 34 years ago, when Greg and Gail Deering began making banjos in their garage, stringing instruments on their porch and selling them to local music stores.

Greg and Gail DeeringThe company produces instruments ranging from a $499 “Good Times” model up to the $62,000 “Banjosauraus” model which features a head shaped like a Tyrannosaurus Rex and an entire dinosaur scene intricately inlaid into the neck. (This masterpiece is owned by George Grove of the Kingston Trio.)
Other famous musicians and bands endorsing or using Deering Banjos include Keith Urban, Aerosmith, Garth Brooks, Doc Watson, Bela Fleck, the Oak Ridge Boys, the Elton John Band, Dixie Chicks, Don McLean, Roy Clark, Los Lobos, Wayne Newton, Barenaked Ladies, Jens Kruger, Tom Chapin, Alabama, Jamie O’Neil, and dozens more.
“Keith Urban plays our Boston six-string. He’s mainstream. He has multiples, and he’s really popularizing banjo,” Bridges noted. “Bela Fleck, he’s won many Grammy Awards for his jazz and gospel. Garth Brooks has our Electric Crossfire…There is no music that can’t be played on a banjo.” The company makes a four-string ideally suited for Irish music and Dixieland jazz, a five-string for folk music and bluegrass, as well as six- and twelve-string versions that are easiest for guitar players to master.
“One thing we’ve discovered is most guitar players really love banjo,” Greg Deering told us. While purists consider the sound of a five-string banjo “magical”, Deering dismissed the idea that a five-string is only suited for bluegrass. “The truth is most anything can be played on a five-string, and it’s easy for a guitar player to play.”
Deering and an associate, David Bandrowski, demonstrated several banjo playing techniques ranging from clawhammer to up-picking. (View a video of Bandrowski showing clawhammer technique.)

“Up picking got a bad reputation,” Deering disclosed with a grin, finishing up a medley of Soldier’s Joy and Angeline Baby. “People would go to a dance and it was too fast, so they would throw them out.”
The company started a two-finger method to teach everyone to play. I tried my hand and within minutes was strumming a three-chord version of “You Are My Sunshine.”
“Most people who think they can’t play, don’t listen to music,” Deering said.
Greg had been playing in a band around town when he and Gail first began making banjos back in 1974. “I was into crafts and woodshop and making stuff,” Gail recalls.They opened Deering Banjos in Lemon Grove and moved to Spring Valley (behind the Fresh and Easy in Casa de Oro) about nine years ago.
Our tour began in the wood room, filled with parts that will be crafted into necks and fingerboards. Nearly all the work is done by hand, except for a mechanized, computerized milling machine that shapes the neck blank.
“Now it has a peg head,” Bridges said. “We cut out inlays, glue inlays in place and put frets in place. If the fingerboard is not even before the frets go in, you get a buzzing.”
Deering uses ebony fingerboards with almond oil to preserve them and keep the wood grain moist.

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Economy Forces 42 Year Old Lucy Opry to Close

By Mark Jordan
Posted December 7, 2009 at 5:45 p.m. , updated December 7, 2009 at 11 p.m.

One of the Mid-South's longest-running music series is taking an indefinite hiatus after more than four decades, a victim, its organizers say, of the struggling economy.
Over the weekend, Beth and Will Mays, proprietors of the 42-year-old Lucy Opry, sent letters to their volunteers and supporters explaining that the popular bluegrass concert series will suspend operations beginning immediately.
"After careful consideration, Will and I have decided to take a break from promoting the Lucy Opry after 10 years of having regular shows at the Bartlett Performing Arts and Conference Center," says the letter, which cites declining attendance over the past two seasons as well as family illness as reasons for the hiatus.

The Lucy Opry moved to the Bartlett Performing Arts and Conference Center in 2000.
Though the Mayses do not plan to book new shows for the foreseeable future, the annual Pickin' Picnic Bluegrass Festival scheduled for May 7 and 8, 2010, with award-winning headliners IIIrd Tyme Out, will go on as planned.

Nor have they ruled out promoting occasional bluegrass concerts under the Lucy Opry banner, though nothing on the order of the monthly shows they've produced in the past.
"We do want to let you know that while we are taking a break from the regular schedule, it doesn't mean that we might not showcase a band that is passing through town if it is something that could be pulled off with minimum energy, effort, and expense," they wrote.

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Fire Claims Husband of Carter Fold Director.

HILTONS, Va. – Rita Forrester woke up in the middle of the night and found her living room engulfed in flames.

She did not know what time it was nor did she know what caused the fire, only that she and her husband, Bob, had had some problems with the gas logs in their fireplace.

Forrester, the director of the Carter Family Fold, lost nearly everything: clothes, furniture, her cat … and her husband.

Bob Forrester, 61, did not make it out alive, and Forrester did not have the strength, she said, to watch his body carried out by rescue officials.

Three volunteer fire departments stationed in and around Scott County, Va., responded to the fatal house fire early Sunday at the Forrester home, just off A.P.
Carter Highway, said Dale Saunders, of the Hiltons, Va., Volunteer Fire Department.

The body was sent to Roanoke for an autopsy, Saunders said. “No foul play is suspected at this time. But the home was a total loss.”
Now, Forrester said, “There’s one brick wall left standing.”

Built in 1997, the Forresters’ home stood next door to the home of the late Janette Carter, Rita Forrester’s mother and the founder of the Carter Fold. Both houses are within sight of the Carter Fold, a music venue where Saturday night shows have been staged since 1976.

Still, no show had been held at the Carter Fold on Saturday night, due to a call for wintry weather.

The Forresters had met while Rita was a college student in the 1970s at East Tennessee State University. The pair married on June 4, 1978, and had their first baby, Justin, in 1981, and second son, Tyler, a few years later.

Rita Forrester, for years, has overseen daily operations at the Carter Fold, especially since the Carter Fold was named in 2004 an integral part of The Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail. Shows at the venue honor The Carter Family, a pioneering musical act known for songs like “Wildwood Flower” and “Keep On the Sunny Side.”

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Bluegrass museum gets assist from musicians

OWENSBORO, Ky. — Musicians are pitching in to raise money for Owensboro's International Bluegrass Music Museum to help spread the following for bluegrass music far beyond this country's borders.
Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike, a Tennessee-based band, will kick off a series of benefit concerts for the museum on Dec. 10, the Messenger-Inquirer of Owensboro reported.
Gabrielle Gray, the museum's executive director, said Smith is the first of several artists who have announced plans to come to the western Kentucky city to assist the museum.
"The International Bluegrass Music Museum is preserving an important part of America's musical history in a very welcoming, interactive, fun, yet classy way," Smith said in a statement.
The Grascals, the International Bluegrass Music Association's 2006 and 2007 entertainers of the year, are also planning a concert here to raise money, Gray said. Dates have not yet been finalized.
Jimmy Mattingly, a Leitchfield native who has played fiddle with the Grascals, Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks, among others, is also talking about an Owensboro show for the museum, Gray said.
The Dec. 10 concert will be webcast live over Radio Bluegrass International, the museum's online radio station, Gray said.
Gray said the fundraisers are ways to help the museum expand its boundaries.
She's already working on creating an international Bluegrass Museum Ambassadors Program.
Every bluegrass association in the world is being asked to select an ambassador.

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The Infamous Stringdusters

WHO: The Infamous Stringdusters

WHAT: A six man group from Nashville, Tennessee....Andy Hall, Jesse Cobb, Travis Book, Andy Falco and Jeremy Garrett. Having literally just come off an ever long and winding road of shows and touring, we were able to catch a few words from the band on music, life, and future plans...

STAND OUT: It's their brand of music. And that is to say, they don't like brands...just the sound of a good tune. As they work to complete their latest album, set for release in 2010, you can expect to find a rich and textured range of melody and lyricism that is as eternally classic as it is game changing...

RAPT: You've talked before about how time spent on the road touring together has brought a unity among you that perhaps wasn't there before -- What were some of the early goals of the band when you got going in '07 and how has that changed in the last couple of years?

Jesse: When we started out, we were definitely working exclusively within the bluegrass festival circuit, taking any offers that came our way. That came from just needing to get enough steam rolling to make a living for six people. One of our earlier goals was to break out of the typical bluegrass pattern of playing mostly festivals...we wanted to build a touring schedule based on hard ticket club gigs. Being able to tour when we want, as much as we want is and has been the goal for us as a band. Balancing touring with enough time to spend with family, pursue solo projects, and have a home life is the end game.

RAPT: We know that your experience with music comes from lots of places…classical and rock and various other genres -- What did you want this upcoming third album to reflect musically? Do you feel like your sound is ever-shifting or how would you describe it?

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Blue Highway - a new CD and a special 15th Anniversary performance!

Some Day: The Fifteenth Anniversary Collection
The official release date for Blue Highway's new CD is January 19, but Blue Highway is making this very special collection available now, exclusively at http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102868128452&s=2977&e=00124ZOgPw0k_UVL7PWyuh6GywVlankNGb2TKs3OGWOn_qelABqtBNcnk7PF2WwRwFfirUSktB-kuvLp9zVJ5Z7ZYE6KHcB467M58qlasRkHp30vaxJBaiyBzwNbxM08LoayFQygVaJHX09hph3mkWTuQ==.
This special Anniversary Collection features three stellar new recordings and ten classics from the band's Rounder albums.

Highlights:A new recording of Some Day, Blue Highway's most requested song;

A guest appearance by Darrell Scott, providing lead vocals on the debut recording of a powerful song by Darrell and Tim Stafford (Bleeding for a Little Peace of Mind);

A new original by Shawn Lane, as cold and lonesome as can be, and destined to become a bluegrass classic (Cold and Lowdown Lonesome Blues);

Ten classic recordings from Blue Highway's Rounder recordings, including the 2008 IBMA Song of the Year, "Through the Window of a Train," the Grammy-nominated "Marbletown", and the Dove- and IBMA-award winning "Wondrous Love".


Special 15th Anniversary Concert: Dec. 18, Roanoke, VA
On December 31, 1994, Blue Highway took to the stage for the first time. Fifteen years later, it's definitely time to celebrate! Join in the fun at the special 15th Anniversary concert at The Jefferson Center in Roanoke. Tickets are $20/adv., $25/door, with special VIP tickets available that include a champagne reception with the band, an autographed CD, and preferred seating.

Concert info Ticket info Full Blue Highway Schedule