Author Archives: Azlyrics

We had a bluegrass festival! 

Since March of this year, and the invasion of COVID-19, bluegrass events and festivals have been all but silenced. Some are having private events and small gatherings, but the places many of us call home for the summer have been shut down due to the virus. That is until CamFest this past weekend.

Vic Adams and his family have been involved in the Kentucky bluegrass scene for many years. Adams is a partner in one of Kentucky’s biggest festivals, Rudyfest. Last year, after the death of his nephew, Colt, Vic decided to put a festival together at Mandolin Farms in Flemingsburg, KY as a memorial, and a way to donate a scholarship to the school that Colt attended. The festival is named after him – The Colt Adams Memorial bluegrass festival. The family again relived some terrible news this year when Vic’s dad, George, was diagnosed with liver cancer and only given a short time to remain with us.

Mandolin Farms is set in the rolling hills of northern Kentucky. I’ve traveled the bluegrass roads since 1988, and I can tell you, this is one of the most beautiful venues I’ve seen. Wednesday’s bands were Weary Jammers, Noah Smith, and Coal Cave Hollow Boys. Thursday had Caleb Daugherty, Carolina Blue, Hammertowne, Sideline, and the Dave Adkins band. Fridays line up brought Sour Mash String Band, Midnight River, Junior Sisk, Volume 5, Turning Ground, and Lonesome River Band. Saturday saw Caney Creek, Deeper Shade of Blue, Don Rigsby and the Fly By Knights, Hammertowne, the Tim Shelton Syndicate, and IIIrd Tyme Out.

As you can imagine the festival was packed to the gills. Everyone was starving for music, and to see the friends they have missed all summer. Masks were offered to all who wanted one, and social distancing was encouraged. Emcees Rita Small and Bo McCarty did a great job. Keith Pokus Keeran provided stellar sound for the weekend. Fiddle player Hunter Berry was there for the weekend, and made guest appearances with several bands, as was up and comer Heather Alley. Be on the lookout for Heather! Video from the festival was all over social media from the one and only Allen “Styx” Hicks. #whywouldntya!

Friday evening brought emotions that are rarely ever seen at a festival. As I mentioned before, Vic’s dad was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year. George Adams told his son he wanted to have one more bluegrass festival. Vic got the festival cleared with all the appropriate government offices. Vic stands about 7 foot tall, and made it clear he was having a festival for his dad, no one argued. The festival was being broadcast on 87.7 FM, and in a camper Friday evening, on the grounds of Mandolin Farms, George Adams went to be with the Lord, listening to the music he loved so well, and surrounded by the people he loved even more. A procession of golf carts led George’s body to the end of the road as they took him off of the hill. I don’t think George would have wanted it any other way.

Folks from as far away as Minnesota attended. Special friends, Evan Dickerson and Stormy Cushing and their families were also in attendance. One of the highlights for me was the presence of my Stanley cohort Roscoe Morgan Jr. Roscoe can sing a song as lonesome as any. We got him up on both Caney Creek sets, and he also made an appearance with Hammertowne to do some Dave Evans, and his original song that Hammertowne recently recorded, Aunt Birdies Wingback Chevrolet.

Funeral services for George were held yesterday August 11th at Mandolin Farms. Pictures for the weekend have been provided by Missy Smith, Paula Hinton, and Styx Hicks.

Keep this festival on your calendar for next year! 

Fans of the history of American folk and country music, the very sounds that led to the development of bluegrass, have another project to look forward to this month.

Bear Family Records is preparing to release We Shall All Be Reunited – Revisiting The Bristol Sessions, 1927-1928, on August 21. The album contains 26 recordings from the late ’20s Bristol sessions, all meticulously remastered by celebrated engineers Marcus Heumann and Christian Zwarg earlier this year. Included are tracks for Ernest V Stoneman & His Dixie Mountaineers, The Carter Family, Bull Mountain Moonshiners, Jimmie Rodgers, Smyth County Ramblers, Shortbuckle Roark & Family and several others.

Another important aspect of this project is the inclusion of extensive liner notes from producer Ted Olson, professor of Appalachian Studies at ETSU. 

The 44-page booklet takes on some of the ‘myths’ which Olson feels were perpetuated by last year’s Ken Burns documentary series, Country Music.

As described by Bear Family…

To contextualize the 1927 Bristol sessions the liner notes for We Shall All Be Reunited explore ‘the rest of the story”—the related cultural occurrences all-too-often ignored or marginalized during mainstream public discussions about the Bristol sessions. In his liner notes, Ted Olson tells the real story of the Bristol sessions – a story that proves to be much more interesting than that told in the popular ‘Big Bang’/’Birthplace’ myth.

Several audio samples are available on the Bear Family web site.

With their next album from Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road, Bill Monroe’s ol’ Mandolin, set for release later this month, Pinecastle Records has produced a new music video for a second single from the record.

It’s for They Call It Bluegrass, written by popular North Carolina radio host Larry Nixon, a song very much in keeping with the paleo-traditionalist movement championed by Lorraine and her band. Guitarist and vocalist Allen Dyer leads the group through a presentation of what they love about bluegrass music, starting with Earl Scruggs and his five string banjo.

A very catchy number, it lays claim to North Carolina’s role in the development of the music we all love, with a couple of classic Scruggs tunes worked in.

The video captures the band performing it live on stage at Lorraine’s Coffee House & Music in Garner, NC.

Bill Monroe’s ol’ Mandolin is set for release August 21 on Pinecastle. Pre-orders are available now online.

Radio programmers can download the album’s two singles now at AirPlay Direct.

Bluegrass Stories, the podcast featuring interviews with bluegrass personalities with Katy Daley and Howard Parker, has reached its sixth series of conversations. The first episode of Series 6 released last week, a discussion with Jen Larson, the Archives Manager at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, who is also a bluegrass singer and teacher.

This week sees three new episodes, celebrating the impending 82nd birthday of Ben Eldridge, bluegrass banjo icon and founding member of Seldom Scene. And these might be thought of as the ‘forgotten interview,’ as Katy only recently found their lengthy dialogue packed away in a box. In truth, it was her husband who turned it up while digging through and hoping to throw away some items cluttering up their attic.

Katy recalls having recorded it back in 2012, while she was still working for Bluegrass Country while it was part of WAMU in Washington, DC, and Ben was still performing with the Scene.

“We recorded it at Ben’s house one afternoon, and I took the SD card, placed it in an envelope, and put it in my desk. Not long afterward the station moved buildings, and it got put in a box which I eventually took home when I retired. Then a few weeks ago I hear Bill hollering out, ‘Do you want to save this Ben Eldridge interview in this box?’”

Needless to say, the answer was yes, so Howard broke the long discussion into three parts, all of which will be released this week. In part 1, available today, Ben talks about how he became interested in the banjo and bluegrass music, meeting and spending time with the Carter Family, who lived in his neighborhood in Richmond, VA, his days at the University of Virginia where he met John Starling and Paul Craft, and starting work with Cliff Waldron & the New Shades of Grass.

Anyone with an interest in the banjo, the history of bluegrass music, or just a good story of an interesting life, should certainly spend the time to listen to it. Katy is a gifted interviewer, and Ben is a natural storyteller.

Here’s today’s episode…

Part 2, which drops tomorrow, covers the founding of Seldom Scene, how Ben first met John Duffey, the early days of the Scene at The Red Fox, his son Chris Eldridge, now a successful guitarist working with Punch Brothers, and the recording of the Live at the Cellar Door album.

Then on Thursday, Part 3 will be available, which involves all the information of interest to the banjo geeks out there. Ben picks up his banjo and plays some of his classic breaks and intros, plus some of his original tunes, and talks about how deeply he was influenced by Earl Scruggs, and the lasting legacy of the Seldom Scene.

All three sections of the Ben Eldridge episode can be found on the Bluegrass Stories web site, at soundcloud, and via iTunes, in the Apple Podcasts app, and in Google Podcasts. All episodes are offered free of charge as a service to the bluegrass community.

As are all the archived interviews, totally 48 episodes at this point, with important figures in our music like Rhonda Vincent, Bill Emerson, Lynn Morris and Marshall Wilborn, Greg Cahill, Missy Raines, Doyle Lawson, and many others.

Coming up in Series 6 of Bluegrass Stories are episodes with Stan Werbin of Elderly Instruments (8/18), Kathy Kallick (8/25), and Mark Freeman of Rebel Records (9/1).

Thanks to Howard and Katy for Bluegrass Stories!

The very first Overlook Farms Fiddlers Convention was held last week in Stoneville, NC. It was held specifically in order to give the pickers in that region a place to go and jam following the cancellation of the 2020 Old Fiddlers Convention in Galax. Many pickers and bluegrass lovers plan many months in advance to be in Galax that week, taking time off from work, and looking forward not only to being surrounded by music, but also seeing friends, camping out, and having a big old time.

Overlook organizer Clay Jones has declared the hastily-arranged event to be a success, with a turnout in the 450-500 range. His goal had never been to set attendance records, but simply to provide a site where folks could congregate and safely socialize and enjoy the music they love. And given Jones’ outsized personality, not to mention his rogue flatpicking skills, by the end of the week folks in attendance had started referring to the Overlook Farms convention as Claylax.

Here are the contest results. Galax regulars should recognize several of the names.

Bluegrass Band

Old time Band

Guitar

Bluegrass Banjo

Mandolin

Bluegrass Fiddle

Old Time Banjo

Bass

Youth division

Folk Song

Well done Clay, et al!

Kevin Slick is an artist, writer, and bluegrass musician in Boulder, CO who also serves as the current President of the Colorado Bluegrass Society. In the furtherance of those duties he has often contributed news and photos here at Bluegrass Today from the Denver/Boulder bluegrass scene. He also performs with several bands in his part of the country, and records and releases his own original music as well, often of the contemporary protest variety.

In fact he has a new single due to hit this Thursday (August 13) called Jesus The Refugee. It follows the very early life of the Savior, as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, as his parents escape into Egypt with the infant to escape the wrath of King Herod who seeks his annihilation. From there Kevin ties this flight from Bethlehem at the angel’s command to the plight of today’s migrant peoples, a somewhat controversial analogy among orthodox Christian believers, but fairly common in more progressive circles.

See how it strikes you in this music video he has created.

Jesus The Refugee will be available on August 13 wherever you stream or download music online. Radio programmers can get the track now via AirPlay Direct.

You can learn more about Slick, his music and his art, by visiting his web site.

Nick Chandler & Delivered had planned to host a live album release party last week even before the COVID-19 virus spread from Asia and Europe to the United States early this year. But once restrictions made clear that they wouldn’t be able to go through with that plan, they put their heads together with their record label and came up with a workaround.

It helped that their label was 615 Hideaway Records in Nashville, who specialize in broadcasting live music performances online. So Nick easily worked it out to host a virtual album release party for Inside The Lines this past Saturday via Facebook Live. Label head Sammy Passamano ran the board and switched the show live, which was enjoyed by a group of loyal fans online.

Nick shared some photos from Saturday, and you can still watch the show on the Bluegrass Music TV Facebook page. The virtual tip jar is still available as well for anyone who would like to send along a little something from Nick and the guys.

MerleFest, the annual mega-fest of acoustic and roots music held each spring on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, NC, has announced a one-time date change for their 2021 event.

The 2020 festival had been postponed until next year as soon as COVID-19 restrictions were announced this March. Today MerleFest organizers have announced that they will push back the 2021 festival from its typical late April date to a 2021-only occurrence in September.

September 16-19, 2021 will mark the return of the venerable event, which will see its 32nd running next year. Look for it to be back in April for 2022.

Festival Director, Ted Hagaman, said that changing the date was a tough call, but they feel confident it was the right one.

“After months of deliberation and extensive research with leading medical experts we feel it is in the best interest of our fans, artists, staff, college, and community to reschedule the 2021 festival to the fall. We have a reputation for providing a quality, safe, and organized festival and feel this move is necessary to again deliver that type of event. We’d like to express appreciation to many for their ‘can do’ spirit in rearranging schedules and plans to accommodate this move. I’d especially like to thank the organizers of Carolina in the Fall for agreeing to forego their festival next year in order to support our festival. It truly is a team effort in our community.”

Lineup and other specific details for MerleFest 2021 can be expected soon.

The festival was established in 1988 to honor the memory of Merle Watson, son of the great Doc Watson, with proceeds going to the Wilkes Community College Foundation, where they fund scholarships, capital projects, and other educational needs of the community in this part of northwestern North Carolina.

LakeSide has never wavered from their determination and devotion to their faith. Their astute blend of country music, acoustic instrumentation, bluegrass, and grassicana is wholly immersed in the Gospel tradition. That said, their sound is immersive, engaging and accessible, and though the spiritual sentiment is evidenced throughout, it doesn’t negate the possibility of secular appeal as well.

With a combination of original material, outside contributions and a handful of traditional tunes, the songs on the band’s latest album Moving On contribute to a sound that can be easily embraced through high harmonies, soothing melodies, and articulate execution. It’s a tack they’ve taken since they first began performing together in church in the mid ‘90s, when they went under the name The Gospel Bluegrass Boys, prior to later re-christening themselves as LakeSide in 2007.

Moving On makes their deft ability evident at the outset with the one-two punch of the upbeat and exuberant title track, which is then followed by the similarly effusive One More Time. Other tracks — the contemplative ballad What A Day That Will Be and Thom Jutz’s sobering Somedays I feel Like David in particular —  temper the energy but not the enthusiasm, ensuring that the commitment to their cause remains consistent throughout. Likewise, their effusive take on the time-honored classic, I Saw the Light, stays true to the tone and temperament of Hank Williams’ original, with mandolin and banjo reaffirming the bluegrass template Williams hinted at early on. So too, LakeSide’s cover of the ageless Gospel standard, Where the Spirit Never Dies, echoes the unbridled devotion the song has illuminated throughout the ages.

The band — Greg Blankenship (mandolin, vocals), Lucas Blankenship (cajon, vocals), Jackie Cummings (bass, vocals), John Robert Freels (banjo, vocals), and Walt Williamson (guitar, vocals) — maintain their earnest intent so well in fact, that even a deeply spiritual song such as The Blood could find an atheist or agnostic singing along in, strictly in deference to its compelling conviction. So too, the ballad A Sinner’s Prayer, which follows two numbers later, is so soothing and satisfying that those aforementioned skeptics might be encouraged to convert. Well, maybe. The ringing refrain and precise picking shared in the album’s closing track, Power in His Name, might just prove potent enough to actually seal the deal.

Of course, whether or not Lakeside has any potential or possibility to crossover to a non-Christian audience is merely a matter of conjecture. Yet given the divine delivery found here, moving on and attracting additional devotees is indeed a real possibility.

Brotherly Love is a new album from Gaither Music featuring a quartet of prominent artists whose music has regularly crossed country, bluegrass, and Gospel boundaries. Recorded by four good friends – Jimmy Fortune, Bradley Walker, Mike Rogers, and Ben Isaacs – the CD hits on September 4, with a live performance special premiering on Heartland TV September 2.

Fortune spent his youth as a member of the iconic Statler Brothers before launching his solo career in the country world, where his music retains a bluegrass edge on live shows. We know Rogers from his time as a member of Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, and Isaacs as a member of his family’s superstar bluegrass/Gospel outfit, The Isaacs. Walker would be a bluegrass and country star if his disability allowed him to tour comfortably, but anyone who has heard him sing in either genre knows that he is the real deal.

The songs chosen for the record reflect their crossover appeal to bluegrass, country, and Gospel fans, presented in an acoustic setting with assistance from top Nashville super pickers. A number of videos have been released by Gaither to tease the upcoming TV program that offer a nice taste of the music. Jimmy, Bradley, and Mike take turns with the lead vocals, with four part harmony on most of the choruses.

Here are a few of them to show the exceptionally high quality of not only the singing, but the video and audio production as well.

First up, Vince Gill’s hit song written to honor his brother who died too young, Go Rest High On That Mountain.

And the Ralph Stanley classic, Man Of Constant Sorrow…

Plus the Gospel standard, Where No One Stands Alone, originally recorded by the Statesmen Quartet, but made famous by Elvis Presley.

Pre-orders for Brotherly Love are available now online, and be sure to keep an eye out for the live TV special. After its premiere on Heartland TV, it is expected to also be broadcast by PBS, GaitherTV, RFD-TV, and several other networks dedicated to Gospel or country music.

The folks with the DC Bluegrass Union have opened up entries in their 4th annual tune writing competition, named in honor of one of the greatest bluegrass instrumentalists in the history of Washington, DC.

Submissions can be made now for the 2020 Mike Auldridge Instrumental Contest online. There are a number of highly prestigious songwriting competitions in the bluegrass world, and DCBU sponsors one of them as well, but very few which recognize the important art of tune writing, so important in bluegrass music. Right from the start, Bill Monroe was adding new instrumentals to the developing genre, as were Flatt & Scruggs, The Stanley Brothers, and Jim & Jesse right behind him.

So hats off to DCBU for recognizing the vital role of composing new tunes, and supporting it through the Mike Auldridge Contest, and its prize money.

First place winners each year receive a $500 award, with $250 going for second and $100 for third. Submissions consist of an audio recording of your tune, either solo or with supporting musicians. Though Auldridge was known as a master of the reso-guitar, the competition is open to any instruments played in the bluegrass, old time, or other related roots music style.

Entries will be accepted through midnight on October 4, 2020. There is no limit on the number of submissions one entrant may send, with an entry fee of $30 for each.

Submitted tunes will be judged by a 3 judge panel of industry professionals, not on playing ability or recording quality, but on the melody, chord structure, originality, and memorability of your tune.

The complete contest rules can be found on the DCBU web site, where there is also both a downloadable and an immediately submittable online entry form.

More great new music…

Lindley Creek, aka the Greer family of southwestern Missouri, is celebrating the release of their debut album on Pinecastle Records today. Freedom, Love, and the Open Road showcases the group’s modern bluegrass sound, assisted by the expert production of Jim VanCleve. With two lead singers and all the benefits of family harmony, this is a band on the rise.

As a taste of their sound, the Greers prepared this composite video with samples of the record’s three singles, interspersed with comments from the family. Katie plays mandolin, Jase is on fiddle, Kathie on guitar, and dad, John Rob, plays bass.

And here’s Katie on the previous single, Voice of the Mockingbird.

Freedom, Love, and the Open Road is available now wherever you stream or download music online. Radio programmers can get the tracks via AirPlay Direct.

We’re delighted to help with a premiere of the music video from Daniel Crabtree for his current single, Sally Sunday.

It’s a story song, based on true life, about an abandoned orphan girl who was delivered to a convent as a newborn, and raised into a young woman by the nuns who lived there. Crabtree had told us a few weeks ago that a good friend of his had suggested this story of his grandmother’s life as a song topic. Daniel quickly agreed, took some notes, and it turned into this very agreeable number.

Now, with the assistance of some very talented bluegrass ladies, the music video is available. It was shot by Valerie Smith of Bell Buckle Media, directed and edited by  Evan Winsor, and featuring dancing fiddler Hillary Klug as the young adult Sally.

Have a look/listen…

Performing on the track with Daniel were Scott Vestal on banjo, Cody Kilby on guitar, Evan Winsor on bass, Harry Clark on mandolin, Gaven Largent on reso-guitar, and Patrick McAvinue on fiddle. Singing harmony are album producer Donna Ulisse, Rick Stanley, and Aaron McCune.

Sally Sunday is available now wherever you stream or download music online, and to radio programmers at AirPlay Direct.

On this day …. 

On August 7, 1987 Emma Smith recorded tracks for her Back To The Basics LP (OHS 90206) at John Morris’s Old Homestead studio, Brighton, Michigan. It was her fourth album for the label. 

An excellent songwriter steeped in the classic mountain style of eastern Kentucky, Smith is credited with penning eight and arranging three, while Morris contributed one of the 12 songs on the album. 

As can be ascertained from listening to Back To The Basics her songs convey a simple love of family, folklore, God and country …… 

Track listing – 

Daddy Was A Farmer / Back To The Basics / Where Was I When Mama Needed Me / Just Over The Stars / Lily Of The Valley / Grandma’s Patchwork Quilt / The American Way / Be It Ever So Humble (instr.) / Memories Keep Walking / Mama Sings Again For Me / Dear God Have I Been Bad / Angel Mother.

The personnel involved were … 

Emma Smith (lead and harmony vocals, guitar); Dana Cupp Jr. (dobro, banjo, lead guitar, mandolin); Charlie Flannery (bass vocals, fiddle); Mel Mattish (bass); Mike Lilly (tenor and baritone vocals, banjo); Wendy Miller (tenor and baritone vocals, mandolin)

Emma (Lee Maggard) Smith was born in Hindman, Kentucky, on February 25, 1945, and grew up listening to the old ballads that her family members sang and listening to the likes of Bill Monroe and Hank Williams on the radio. She began playing guitar as a youth, performing Gospel material, primarily, singing in a manner that echoed the styles of Molly O’Day and a young Loretta Lynn; married in her late teens. 

She made early appearances on a local radio station, WKCB in Hindman, and on TV in nearby Hazard.

Smith made her recording debut in 1972 with an all-Gospel set Angel Mother; named after a song that Smith wrote following her mother’s death. It became a local hit and she became a popular performer in area clubs and on television shows, such as UHF-TV’s Saturday Night Jamboree. 

In 1981 she moved to Portsmouth, Ohio, and the following year she recorded her first album for Old Homestead Records – Hazard (OHS-90157) – and followed that with a Gospel recording, Ship From King’s Harbor Shore.  

Her 1984 release, We Are One, features Larry Sparks, contributing harmony vocals, and includes Don’t Neglect the Rose, which became one of Sparks’ biggest hits. This was originally released as an 8-track collection on Sparks’ Lesco label. Another LP, Don’t Let Me Cross Over, from the same year has Smith sharing credit with Dave Evans. 

Smith continued her association with Old Homestead and following Back To The Basics released six more albums (from 1989 through to 2003) one of which, The Mighty Captain, she did with Teddi Caldwell, a singer / songwriter from Flatwoods, Kentucky. Smith’s last release was That Little White Church. 

From 1984 onwards she played on the festival circuit frequently – appearing with musicians that included Evans; Kenny Baker and Josh Graves; and Caldwell – along with some Gospel shows.

Smith has been honored by SPBGMA with personal awards as Songwriter of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year (in the traditional category) as well as for fronting the Gospel Band of the Year. 

I understand that she lives in Florida currently. Sadly, she is suffering from dementia. 

This year’s bleak bluegrass festival season left both musicians and festival lovers disappointed. While bluegrass fans held out hope that late summer and fall festivals might not have to cancel, one by one festival promoters all reached the same conclusion, large social gatherings were just too risky. Podunk Bluegrass Festival held annually at the Goshen Fairgrounds in Goshen, CT, met the same fate as the others. In early June, Podunk’s promoters made the call and postponed their festival to 2021. However, one thing that they did not cancel was their annual songwriting contest.

As she has done in years past, contest facilitator, Myrna Riquier, sent out competition invitations to song writing organizations across the country, and in the IBMA newsletter. Given the unusual circumstances forced upon them by COVID, and to encourage writers to participate, Riquier says that they waived the normal twenty-five-dollar entrance fee. Much like in other years, the competition drew submissions from over the United States, including all of New England, New York, Texas, Idaho, Ne Mexico, Utah, and Tennessee, among others. 

Each song is judged by four adjudicators who rank each song according to a list of specific criteria including, uniqueness of melody, melody likeability, uniqueness of story line, and lyric quality. Ultimately, if after listening to the tune the judges wake up the next morning humming the melody line, there is a good chance that that song will be a winner. A perfect song would get 90 points, but Riquier says that so far, no song has ever attained that high a score. This year, first, second, and third place song writing winners all come from the West.

First-place went to Boyd Timothy of Highland, Utah with his song, Pines of Caroline. Having grown up in Utah with little exposure to bluegrass music, it was not till he was an adult that he began to explore bluegrass’s birthplace and long cultural history in the East. Pines of Carolines many references to traditional bluegrass images, hint at his own longing to immerse himself in a world of traditional bluegrass. 

As the winner, Boyd may just be able to fulfill that longing. In addition to being awarded two hundred dollars and a festival t-shirt, Boyd also received a premium ticket to Podunk’s 2021 festival. He plans on attending. It is then that he will hear his winning song performed on Podunk’s main stage, and he can pick all night with other bluegrass lovers.

In second place the judges chose Bluebonnet Blue, a ballad written by Jerry Johnston of Ft. Worth, Texas. Third place went to Paul Kelly of Santa Fe, NM and co-writer Buddy Guido of Mohawk, NY for their song Word of Mouth.

The next Podunk songwriting contest gets underway November 1, 2020 with an April 30, 2021 entry deadline. Rules for the competition are at the Podunk website.

Like all of us who attend this much loved festival, the Podunk Board of Directors and their dedicated staff of volunteers are all looking forward to what they hope will once again be a busy festival season on both coasts next year, and everywhere in between.

Harold Michell, bluegrass and old-time music DJ, and MC at Galax Old Fiddlers Convention for many years, passed away on August 5, 2020. Born near Fries, Virginia, and raised in nearby Stevens Creek, he was 82 years old. 

The radio first provided comfort to Harold Michell when as a six-year-old, he was bedridden with rheumatic fever. He listened to such greats as Hank Williams, Hank Snow, Kitty Wells, Bill Monroe, and the various comedians and announcers, such as Grant Turner, on the Grand Ole Opry. It was the harmonies of Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys that caught his ear, and instantly he fell in love with bluegrass music. 

At the same time, he became determined to work in the radio business.  

Mitchell cited Randy Blake on his Suppertime Frolic radio shows on Radio WJJD in Chicago, Illinois, as the first DJ that he ever heard. 

He began his emcee career at Fries High School in 1956, when he introduced Charlie Monroe and his Kentucky Partners. Then when he completed his service with Army in 1964, he attended the Carolina School of Broadcasting. He soon became a DJ at Radio WHHV in Hillsville, Virginia, spinning the records by Bill Monroe; Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs; and the other very early bluegrass artists.

Mitchell emceed the Galax Old Fiddlers’ Convention starting in 1973 and travelled as presenter for Bill Monroe and Lester Flatt, both of whom befriended him, and served as host for other festivals, including a Ralph Stanley Homecoming Festival. 

He also hosted the successful Carroll-Grayson Hoedown show, broadcasting from the Fairview Ruritan Club in Galax every Saturday for 10 years, and introduced the idea of the Fries Fiddlers Convention in 1965.

In his lifetime commitment to bluegrass music, exceeding 30 years, Mitchell worked as a DJ for several bluegrass and country music radio stations, including WBOB FM – now WBRF FM – in Galax.

Long-time friend Mitch Freeman, bass player with bluegrass band Interstate Exchange and bluegrass Gospel band Pathway, once said of Mitchell, “He makes people feel like they’re a part of the show. On the radio, his voice and personality are so distinct that listeners can enjoy for hours. That’s what separates him from others.”

To add a poignant note; he passed during the week in which this year’s Galax convention was due to have taken place, had it not been for the COVID shutdown. 

Harold was buried today at Felts Cemetery in Galax at the conclusion of a private family service.

R.I.P., Harold Michell 

While any number of new bands have helped push the parameters of traditional bluegrass, few have done so with more diligence than Twisted Pine. Their roots were planted in traditional ground at the outset of their collective careers, as evidenced by their eponymous full length debut. Yet by the time they released their second effort, a covers EP titled Dreams, the Boston-based combo was well on tits way to altering their trajectory. Their new album, appropriately dubbed Right Now, offers a remarkable confluence of styles and influences, including not only bluegrass, but also jazz, Celtic music, prog and a jam band motif. There’s a decided element of verve and variety that finds the quartet — currently consisting of Kathleen Parks (singer, songwriter, fiddle, and guitar), Chris Sartori (bass, percussion, and whistles), Dan Bui (mandolin), and newest member Anh Phung (flute, vocals, harmony, and whistles) — daring to push the parameters and bend some boundaries all at the same time.

“The influences started out in bluegrass,” Parks explains. “Our first full-length album mostly consisted of original songs and it had that bluegrass element in there. But then when we made our EP, that encompassed a wide range of covers, from Bill Monroe to the Beatles to Joni Mitchell. Because of that EP, we were able to really explore a lot of different genres. We also had the influence of our schooling. Chris, our bass player, studied jazz bass and that’s where he got his musical foundation. Dan, our mandolin player, is really rooted in traditional bluegrass, but was also rooted in the jam scene. For me, my fiddle playing started with Celtic music, but at Berkeley, I studied American roots, bluegrass, and blues.”

“I grew up playing rock and roll and then I got into jazz, and I took a long musical journey that allowed me to discover other musical genres,” Phung notes. “However, I was really attracted to bluegrass in particular. So here you have a bluegrass band that was interested in other music, and then on top of that, you add a flute player who’s also interested in bluegrass and it becomes a perfect mix. I was emulating mandolin and fiddle chops on my flute, and in a way, it creates this new sound that you don’t hear very often.” 

“Bluegrass was our common ground,” Parks adds. “We shared a lot of fun fiddle tunes that we heard at bluegrass festivals, and we did a lot of band competitions early on, like at FreshGrass in particular. We were doing very well when we began as a bluegrass band, and that was the common thread. Then eventually I started to bring in my songs and I asked the other members of the band if they might be interested in covering them. I really wanted to get their feedback. Eventually everyone started bringing in material, so now we all write pretty equally. Everybody brings their input in a very creative way. That’s how it all started developing over time.”

Nevertheless, there’s always the danger that when a band starts coloring outside the lines, fans of of a more traditional template will turn their backs and consider it heretical in a way. Parks acknowledges that they did have to deal with that criticism at one time, although now their audiences appear more accepting of their efforts.

“We were encountering that attitude early on,” she admits. “But that’s when we were playing more bluegrass music to begin with. We still play that music because we love it, and we still cover a lot of traditional songs on stage. We’re sharing some songs that people haven’t heard before. The judgement is a little bit less than it was because you can’t really pinpoint the music anymore. It’s a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I think people tend to be more curious than upset.”

When Phung joined the band just over a year ago, she had already played with various bands that were leaning towards a variety of different styles as well as their own aptitude towards experimentation. “I’ve played in a lot of different genres — jazz bands, hip-hop, pop, and such — and I find that as things go on, it can be hard to pinpoint genres,” she suggests. “I probably never would have been exposed to bluegrass at all because I’m a Canadian west coast girl and I wasn’t really exposed to those sounds early on. I found bluegrass through listening to Nickel Creek, and that band served as an example of a bluegrass band that was really more progressive. So I really started in a place that was more progressive, and that was my point of access. From there, I began exploring more tradition and getting into Bill Monroe and Flatt and Scruggs and people like that. In a way, the more progressive the music gets, the more reach it has. If people are really interested in it, they can trace it back to where the music comes from. That’s a really interesting thing. That might include young people who have never been exposed to it at all. Personally, I love bluegrass so much. Even though the flute is my main instrument, I picked up the mandolin many years ago, and I just love that instrument as well. But I think it’s important to stretch the genre, even though I know there will probably be a lot of traditionalists who have a problem with that. I see it more as a positive than a negative.”

Ultimately, their efforts have paid off, and like so many other young bands, they’ve gleaned a populist following, one that eagerly anticipates every offering.

“It’s really nice, because we have people reaching out to us,” Parks insists “We also get such nice comments whenever we post something on our site. It’s like, ‘Oh great, now we have something new to dance to.’”

Of course, when a band is so proficient in concert and able to excel with spontaneity, it might make it difficult to translate that live energy into a studio setting. Given, Twisted Pines’ seemingly spontaneous delivery, that challenge could become even more acute. Phang acknowledges that dilemma, but says that there are ways they’ve overcome it.

“When you get into a studio there are all these expectations you put on yourself because you know it’s going to be this polished thing, and you don’t want to mess up the takes and put that pressure on yourself,” she concedes. “But at the same time, there’s this special way that everyone interacts, so it doesn’t really matter. We have our one little community that does exist, and I think that it comes across on this album. There will be times where we’ll go off and have these little jam moments. I definitely forget about being in the studio when that happens.” 

Here’s a sneak peek at the new Mountain Home Music single from Chris Jones & The Night Drivers, set for official release tomorrow, August 7.

Leave It At The Gate is one written by Jones and his former bass player, Jon Weisberger, about a life very different from his own.

“This is a song that sings the praises of the kind of job you can put behind you at the end of the day. I’ve had a variety of jobs, from cow milker and delivery driver to baker and disc jockey, and while being a self-employed band leader and recording artist is very rewarding, and I’d never trade it, there are times when the kind of job that has an end point every day — one you can ‘leave at the gate’ — has a lot to be said for it.

This one spotlights Grace van’t Hof’s driving banjo work and her and Mark Stoffel’s harmony vocals.”

Here’s the track…

Leave It At The Gate will be available tomorrow (8/7) wherever you stream and download music online. Radio programmers can get the track now via AirPlay Direct.

The Briarhoppers, sometimes known as the WBT Briarhoppers, have been announced as among the 2020 inductees into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. This legendary bluegrass and string music group has been performing in some configuration continually since 1934. That’s 86 years for folks that don’t want to do the arithmetic.

Initially formed to perform live on WBT radio in Charlotte, NC by station manager Charles Crutchfield, The Briarhoppers came to the airwaves just as the station was upgraded to 50,000 watt status, and during a time when broadcasters were not permitted to play records over their radio signal. Back then a radio contract was the best thing to happen to performers, as it also allowed them to book live concerts at venues within a station’s broadcast reach several times each week.

The Charlotte Museum of History describes their early days, along with the most famous musician to grace the stage with them, this way.

The band soon hit on a formula for string band music mixed with folksy humor. Products such as Peruna tonic, Radio Girl perfume, Kolar-Bak hair dye, and Zymol Trokeys cough drops were among the products the band sold in those early days. The band’s original lineup included Don White, Big Bill Davis, Johnnie McAllister, Clarence Etters, Thorpe Westerfield, and Jane Bartlett. The group even had junior members in Homer Drye (later renamed Homer Briarhopper) and Billie Burton.

In the early 1940s, the Briarhoppers continued expanding with new members. During their busiest times, the Briarhoppers had two different versions playing throughout the state, one dubbed Unit One and the other Unit Two. New stars such as Cecil Campbell, Claude Casey, and Fred Kirby emerged through the ranks, becoming stars on their own. Earl Scruggs found his way to the Briarhoppers through other bands near his native Shelby, NC, and played with the band a few times before finding fame with Bill Monroe’s band.

The Briarhoppers were regulars on WBT until 1951 when the string band sound was no longer suiting the tastes of radio listeners. But utilizing a steady stream of new members over the years, some version of the band has been active in and around Charlotte ever since.

A detailed history of the group was published in 2007, WTB Briarhoppers – Eight Decades of a Bluegrass Band Made for Radio, which is widely available online.

The induction ceremony had originally been planned for October, but has been postponed until next year due to COVID shutdowns.

Also to be inducted in this class are Donald Lawrence, Charles Whitfield, Jermaine Dupri, Michael Mauldin, and The Squirrel Nut Zippers.

Congratulations WBT Briarhoppers!

Darin & Brooke Aldridge, America’s bluegrass singing sweethearts, will be appearing tonight on Circle Sessions at Home, a new show on the Circle Network which visits artists at home to see what they are up too while touring is prohibited.

Their segments finds the two cooking at home, spending time fishing and relaxing one the golf course, along with parts of a Zoom interview with radio host Michelle Lee for Bluegrass Music TV.

Brooke invites everyone to join them at home this evening when the show airs at 9:30 p.m. (EDT).

“Darin and I love Circle TV and are thrilled that we now get to see the hour-long Grand Ole Opry that they began televising since the pandemic. It was while watching Circle TV one night that we caught an episode of The Circle Sessions: At Home, and thought we would love to be on that. So I called our manager, Brian Smith, and within 48 hours we were offered an opportunity.

We had been collecting b-roll film for another use, and when they told us that would fit perfectly in this piece we sent it off, and added a bit more, and here we are. We are grateful to Circle TV and the Grand Ole Opry for all of the love and opportunities they have shared with us. We hope everyone can tune in!”

Other guests on tonight’s (8/5) program include Sierra Hull, John Carter Cash, and Mac McAnally.

The Circle Network is available on many cable and satellite systems, and over the air in several cities. More details can be found online.

Should you miss the show this evening, it will re-air again on Saturday at 9:00 p.m. (EDT).

Thanks to our friends at Mountain Fever Records, we have a pre-release track premiere today of their upcoming single from Colebrook Road.

Carolina Side finds the band in a contemplative mood, with old time banjo and bowed bass helping to flesh out this story that guitarist/vocalist Jesse Eisenbise tells us comes from a memory earlier in his life.

“I had the idea for The Carolina Side about 15 years ago. I spent a year living in North Georgia and it was there I met my wife, and together we learned how to whitewater kayak on the Chattooga River. It’s such a beautiful stretch of water and it forms part of the border between South Carolina and Georgia. When people would talk about certain areas on the river or even rapids, they would always refer to ‘the Georgia side or the Carolina side’ instead of the left or right side of the river. That stuck with me and I always love songs that have the same chorus but different meanings as the song progresses. Even though we lived on the Georgia side of the river we always accessed it from the Carolina side, and the song came from those great memories of time on that river.”

Have a listen…

In addition to Jesse, Colebrook Road is Mark Last on banjo, Jeff Campbell on bass, Joe McAnulty on fiddle, and Wade Yankey on mandolin. They call Harrisburg, PA home.

Carolina Side is available now to radio programmers via AirPlay Direct. It will be offered wherever you stream and download music online on August 11.

Do you read online customer reviews before going to restaurants or staying at hotels (back when we did that sort of thing)? As you may have discovered, it’s best to judge based on several reviews, looking at the average impressions compared to the averages of your other choices. If you allow yourself to be turned off by a single horrible review by a disgruntled customer, you would probably never eat out or stay in a hotel again for the rest of your life. On the other hand, think of the money you’d save.

The unfortunate fact is that some people write negative reviews as a kind of twisted hobby. Many of these people are chronic complainers or just unhappy people, or both. The review represents a kind of aggressive release. It’s the more humane version of going home and kicking the dog. Some people also get a perverse thrill out of trashing a place (not literally, though sometimes that, too) that other people seem to like. They gain a feeling of superiority from it: “You peasants may have enjoyed the Hyatt Regency but that’s because you don’t have my refined tastes.” 

Sometimes people’s complaints just stem from the fact that the world at large is failing to accommodate their needs, needs that are sometimes highly specialized: “My husband always needs to sit facing at least two windows, and they were unable to find a seat for him. They were also insensitive about my allergy to all red food.”

You can test this yourself if you ever stay at a hotel you really like, then look up the online reviews of the place. Inevitably, blended in with positive posts, will be something like this: “VERY disappointing! The decor was dated, looking like it was last updated in 2010!!! Greater variety for the coffee maker would have been nice—I prefer cinnamon spice-flavored decaf. The mint that was left on my pillow was STALE! The shower was a little small, and  I couldn’t tell the shampoo from the conditioner without putting my glasses on, and I found the bath soap a little harsh. I WOULD NEVER stay at this hotel AGAIN.”

This got me to thinking, what if some of our finest and most revered bluegrass music recordings were reviewed by negative online reviewers. Here’s how I imagine that would play out:

Review of Foggy Mountain Banjo by Flatt & Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys:

I think we all recognize that Earl Scruggs is a good banjo player, but an ENTIRE album of banjo tunes?! Really???? I happen to like vocals, and I particularly enjoy Lester Flatt’s singing, but that talent is completely wasted on this monotonous release. Also, the title Fireball Mail is too close to Josh Graves’ Fireball which leads to confusion. The same can be said for Sally Ann and Sally Goodwin, both of which are on this record. Surely there are other names out there. Jimmy Martin just renamed tunes when he felt like it. Lester and Earl or their producer should have taken this approach. VERY DISAPPOINTING!!

Will the Circle Be Unbroken by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and guests:

I know this is meant to impress us with it’s “star-studded” lineup of guests, but a lot of these artists were past their prime when this was recorded. Hello!! Brother Oswald and Roy Acuff?! The sheer number of artists here makes the whole project seem incoherent and disjointed. It makes me wonder if the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band just couldn’t sustain the whole album themselves and had to fill it with a lot of big names. The studio chatter is also just a time-killer. Who wants to hear a bunch of people talking in the studio. Most of the time we don’t even know WHO is talking, let alone what they’re talking about. At one point I swear I heard someone saying, “Meanwhile back at the ranch.” I tuned out after that. Also, I’m sure Randy Scruggs is a fine guitar player, but Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now has NO PLACE on a traditional country music album. DO NOT BUY THIS ALBUM!!!

The New South by J.D. Crowe & The New South (Rounder 0044):

I’ve been a J.D. Crowe fan for years, and I was eagerly anticipating this album. What a letdown it turned out to be! Couldn’t they have found a more original way to start this album than with a Dillards cover (Old Home Place)? This is followed by Flatt & Scruggs’ Some Old Day. Later on the disc, Sally Good’n! C’mon guys! Where is the cutting edge material like Sin City and You Can Have Her the band is known for??! Also, a word about lead singing: Tony Rice is a good singer and all, but in Ricky Skaggs they have a great vocalist as well and yet he is featured on exactly one song, the gospel standard Cryin’ Holy. And speaking of that, I could be wrong but I would swear I heard drums and piano on that song (a crime!!). A friend of mine who, like me, really knows about bluegrass said I was just hearing things. No drums or any other instruments are mentioned in the credits, so I’ll just give them the benefit of the doubt. Finally on Rock Salt and Nails, a song that seems to encourage shooting women out of bitterness (!) J.D. isn’t even playing BANJO! He’s playing guitar, of all things. What’s next? Earl Scruggs playing guitar?!! Oh, and did I see an obscene gesture in the cover photo? My friend also said no, but I’m not convinced. These guys are going to have to do a lot better than this to win back my support!! Boo!

As have nearly all bluegrass instructional offerings this year, the Ashokan Bluegrass Camp, normally held in Olivebridge, NY, is moving to a virtual workshop for their 2020 edition.

They will retain the same lineup of top level teachers, but simply move everything online. Alan Bibey is booked to teach mandolin, Chris Eldridge for guitar, Bill Evans for banjo, Kimber Ludiker for fiddle, and Zak McLamb for bass. Additional instructors include Stephen Mougin and Joe Newberry for singing and songwriting, and camp coordinator Tony Watt teaching jamming. Sessions will run August 12-16.

Particularly interesting this year is that the folks at Ashokan Music & Dance Camps are offering a pay-what-you-can, sliding scale registration fee. They request that everyone pay $100, but will accept what you can offer. Any registrations over $100 will be taken as a tax-deductible donation.

Ashokan has had the ability to experiment with virtual workshops already this year, and feel like they can come very close to replicating the in-person experience.

All classes will be available via Zoom or livestream for those registered, and all classes/materials will be archived online for a year so students can watch all of the camp sessions over time. There will even be a lunchtime hangout online for students to discuss what they have learned, just like at regular camp.

Full details can be found online, where you can also register to participate later this month.

Organic Records has released a music video from bluegrass stylists Zoe & Cloyd, a socially-distanced take on their new single, Where Do You Stand.

The song, written by Natalya Zoe Weinstein and John Cloyd Miller, takes a middle-of-the-road stance towards the violence and division prevalent in America today. It implicates partisans left and right for insisting that everyone line up behind one side or the other, with no options in between.

Miller says that they hope to unite rather than divide with this song.

“Often, it’s the farthest ends of the political spectrum that make the news, and it seems like inflammatory rhetoric is the only thing that gets heard these days. I’d like for us to remember that we’re all connected and are more alike than we are different, no matter who tries to convince us otherwise. For us to move forward, we have to find common ground on which to build a path toward a sustainable future.”

As husband and wife, they had no issue shooting a video together with quarantine restrictions in place, and they found a playground near their home in western North Carolina which served as an ideal setting. Bandmates Bennett Sullivan and Kevin Kehrberg are not seen.

See what you think.

Where Do You Stand is available wherever you stream or download music online, and to radio programmers at AirPlay Direct.