INTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASS MUSIC MUSEUM’S INTERNET RADIO TO AIR “BLUEGRASS MUSIC TREASURES”
The International Bluegrass Music Museum (IBMM) has been broadcasting bluegrass
music on their Internet Radio station, Radio Bluegrass International (RBI),
which airs 24/7 on the museum’s website http://bluegrassmuseum.org. They are announcing the
addition of a new show called “Nick’s Tape Treasures,” which will present recordings of live
concerts and festivals, mostly from the 1960s and 1970s. The two-hour show will
air Saturdays at 11:00 A.M. and 11:00 P.M. Eastern on RBI starting on April 2,
2011.
The show was developed by veteran bluegrass music broadcaster, Nick Barr, from
Albany NY. He currently hosts a show, “WAMC Bluegrass Time,” over WAMC
Northeast Public Radio, a 22-station public radio network headquartered in
Albany NY. He has hosted WAMC Bluegrass Time for over 10 years, and he has over
25 years of experience in presenting bluegrass music on both public and
commercial radio.
Nick made the tapes while attending the concerts and festivals from the mid-‘60s
to around 1980. In 2008 he donated the original reel-to-reel tapes to IBMM,
along with a digital copy of hundreds of CDs. The process required a transfer
of the original tapes to CD, and then further work to arrange the tapes into
sequential order and then into a timed format to air on RBI.
“These recordings represent a major historical record of bluegrass music during
the period that it went from an obscure regional music to one known worldwide,”
Nick said. “I was pleased to be able to provide these tapes to the IBMM for
their use. It took many hours on my part to get this project onto RBI, but it
is well worth it, knowing that people all over the world will be able to listen
to them.”
The show will start with a series of house concerts held in the basement of a
home in Montvale, NJ from 1969 to 1973. Another series will spotlight concerts
which Nick produced in the Albany NY area from 1974 to 1976. A number of
bluegrass festivals from that era will be broadcast on future shows. Many of
the top names in bluegrass at the time are included on these tapes, but there
are also lesser-known groups featured, showing the diversity of the music.
“I am grateful to Nick, a Lifetime Gold Member and strong supporter of the
Museum, for making these tapes available to us” said Gabrielle Gray, IBMM
Executive Director. “RBI is the perfect outlet for these recordings. They are
totally unique and have tremendous historical value.”
“Bill Monroe, the father of bluegrass music, was born on September 13, 1911, and
the world is celebrating his centennial this year. As the exact date nears, I
will be featuring music by Bill exclusively,” Nick said. “Of course any
bluegrass music from that era came directly or indirectly from Bill Monroe, so
it is fitting that we make this music available now.”
More info: http://www.bluegrassmuseum.org,- http://www.nickbarr.net
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