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Monthly Archives: September 2020

2020 IBMA Industry Awards presentation

Posted on September 30, 2020 by Azlyrics

Singers and pickers are the most visible stars in bluegrass, but as with any venture, much of the work and preparation is done by those behind the scenes – the promoters, songwriters, broadcasters, CD and poster designers, and journalists.

But today was their day to shine, as IBMA announced the winners of the 2020 Industry Awards and the Distinguished Achievement Awards.

The winners of the Distinguished Achievement Awards are Wayne Rice, picker and host of the long-running Bluegrass Special radio show on KSON in San Diego; fiddler Darol Anger of the David Grisman Quintet; festival promoters Norman and Judy Adams; Darrel and Phyllis Adkins, who founded Musicians Against Childhood Cancer in memory of their daughter, Mandy; and Jack Tottle, an inventive mandolin player best known for pioneering the bluegrass studies program at East Tennessee State University.

Winners of the Industry Awards:

  • Graphic Designer of the Year: Michael Armisted, for the second straight year
  • Broadcaster of the Year: Michael Kear, whose show airs in Australia and in the United States
  • Liner Notes: Katy Daley, for the re-release of the Seldom Scene’s Live From the Cellar Door on Rebel Records
  • Engineer of the Year: Stephen Mougin, of Dark Shadows Recording
  • Event of the Year: Augusta Heritage Center’s Bluegrass Week, in Elkins, WV
  • Songwriter of the Year: Milan Miller.
  • Writer (journalist) of the Year: Derek Halsey.

As an aside, I’m really feeling the pandemic blues today, and mourning the fact that World of Bluegrass is virtual this year. In safer, healthier times, I would have presented the writer trophy to Derek in person, by virtue of winning the award last year. Nobody works harder, and I’m glad to see him recognized after being a finalist so many times (10) that some friends took to calling him the Susan Lucci of bluegrass. Lucci, an actress, finally won an Emmy the 19th time she was nominated.

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World of Bluegrass seminar – Demystifying the Bluegrass Charts

Posted on September 30, 2020 by Azlyrics

One of the great mysteries of bluegrass – how so many different bluegrass charts come up with such divergent results – is a little less puzzling today, thanks to one of the best panels I’ve heard in 11 years of attending IBMA World of Bluegrass conferences.

With writer and DJ Daniel Mullins moderating, four creators and managers of major charts pulled back the curtain a bit on their processes. Thanks to five of them, the next time someone asks me a question about the charts – probably the most-asked query I get after, “will you review my record?” – I’ll have an answer.

The panelists represented three major bluegrass charts: Lee Michael Demsey, who compiles the Bluegrass Unlimited chart; Terry Herd, Bluegrass Today founder and creator of the site’s Bluegrass, Grassicana and Gospel charts; and Jim Asker, in charge of Billboard’s bluegrass chart. Adding a Gospel perspective was Rick Francis, of Singing News.

Here, in a nutshell, is how each chart works:

Bluegrass Unlimited: Demsey, a highly regarded DJ in the Washington, DC, area, has been compiling the monthly chart for 30 years. Each reporting DJ, mostly those who are on the air at least two hours a week and who play a lot of new music, submits a Top 10 list each month, with no more than two songs per artist. Demsey assigns points to each song mentioned, with 10 points for first place, 9 for second, and so on. The criteria that each DJ uses is rather loose, and subjective. Lists can be based on spins, but DJs can also use their own judgment, listener requests, or other yardsticks.

Bluegrass Today: This weekly chart is driven by spins, or airplay, as reported by DJs on terrestrial or satellite radio, so there’s less subjectivity than in other charts, Herd said. Some DJs have more of a say than others. For example, if a DJ for one station plays the song one time, that’s one spin. But if a DJ whose show is syndicated to, say, 50 stations, plays a song once, that one spin counts as 50. Then there’s SiriusXM’s Bluegrass Junction. It would be unfair to consider the channel as being a separate station in every town, Herd said, but it would be seriously underrepresented to count each spin just once. So the chart applies a multiplier to the actual spin count.

Billboard: The bluegrass album chart that Asker manages is based strictly on sales, but not, to the consternation of some artists and labels, not all sales. The sales numbers come from Nielsen, the tracking service that Billboard used to partner with and now owns. Because many bluegrass recordings are sold directly by artists at festivals and shows, or on their websites, and because many artists aren’t using Nielsen tracking codes, some music falls through the cracks. But some good news might be coming soon. Asker said Billboard is expected to switch the bluegrass chart to a consumption-based model in the near future, counting terrestrial radio plays and, in some manner, streams.

Singing News: The publication keeps charts for Southern Gospel and Bluegrass Gospel, generally giving the artists and labels the right to pick their category. Francis said DJs from 11 stations report their top 5 songs each month. He uses a 5-4-3-2-1 point system to compile separate Top 10 charts for SoGo and Bluegrass Gosepel.

The most common question each chart manager gets is what artists can do to help their songs chart, and they all have similar answers: Network. Talk to the DJs, make sure they have your new music, be friendly.

“First, you’ve gotta have a great song,” Herd said, and it has be available to DJs, through email, AirPlay Direct or other means. “If they don’t have it, they can’t play it. If they can’t play it, they can’t report it. And if they can’t report it, it can’t chart.”

If you’re registered for the IBMA business conference, check out an on-demand replay of the session. It’s well worth 55 minutes of your time.

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California Report: Old-Time fiddler and guitarist Karen Celia Heil

Posted on September 30, 2020 by Azlyrics

This is an update of a previous interview for the California Bluegrass Association Bluegrass Breakdown where I had the opportunity to chat with Karen Celia Heil, the versatile, passionate (and very busy) San Francisco-based American old-time fiddler and guitarist.

Hello Karen, thanks for your time. Can you tell us briefly how you came to this music?

I played folk guitar as a ten-year-old down in Southern California, then got into some country rock. I heard Doc and Merle at McCabe’s in Santa Monica, got into some flat picking and found some Folkways records in the local bins. After migrating to Sonoma County, I hooked up with other acoustic players, ended up at jams, in bands, found a fiddle… went to the Fiddle Tunes Festivals in PortTownsend, and on it goes.

Your website says you play fiddle and guitar, but I’m guessing you play other instruments.

I spent some years playing the big bass in a Cajun band. I can fake it with clawhammer banjo but don’t have the deep skills that the banjo players I’m blessed to play with do. I would love to dig into banjo someday. When I began to concentrate seriously on old-time fiddle, I decided not to spread myself too thin.

What fiddlers do you most identify with?

I identify with an extended group of dear friends all over the country and beyond with generally intersecting fiddle tastes. We like to keep up with what each of us is working on. We push each other in positive ways, and make a point of playing together at gatherings. They’re a mix of colleagues and mentors, young and old. Some are in gigging bands, and others stick closer to home and don’t play out.

What guitarists do you like?

I’m going to concentrate on women, just because that’s who is coming to mind at the moment. For tasteful and driving old time backup, Alice Gerrard, Beverly, Susie Goehring, Allegra Yellin. Most good fiddlers are also, secretly or not, fantastic guitarists that know just what to do, like Rafe for example. If you are aspiring to be a great backup guitar player, take the time to learn some fiddle, which will inform your guitar playing. Beyond backup, OMG Meredith Axelrod and Craig, of course. I recently heard Ali Kafka, who kills it. Del Ray ain’t no slouch.

Tell us about the bands you’re active in.

There’s The Bucking Mules with my amazing band mates Joseph Decosimo, Luke Richardson, and Joe DeJarnette. This band is known for some top level, kick ass music, and I can’t say enough about the musicianship of these guys. I hold it down on guitar and vocals with this band. We have an album or 3 that you can find on Bandcamp, either under the band name, or under Joseph Decosimo.

I have a rotating cast with my Bay Area band moniker KC & the MooNshine Band, depending on the musical job at hand. I have a project with Maxine Gerber, and Thomas Angel called Plaid Strangers. I mainly play fiddle in these bands, but also do some guitar work. Plaid Strangers was going to play at Grass Valley’s FDF as well, and are currently working on a project for the Berkeley Old Time Music Convention, to be held online September 24 through 27.

Your calendar WAS amazingly busy. Were there any shows this summer you were particularly looking forward to?

The Bucking Mules had some fun plans this year which were scuttled, such as the CBA’s Father’s Day Fest, showcases in the Los Angeles area, and a possible overseas trip. I’m not sure when we will be able to get together, as my bandmates live in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Luckily I went back there last fall. We played a few local dates, and had a band retreat.

For 5-6 years, KC & the MooNshine Band ran a great monthly square dance in the Mission District in San Francisco, hosted by Alley Cat Books. I miss that and all our other local dances a lot. And miss playing the numerous casual events around the area. Also missing my bi-monthly Bernal Heights gig at a local restaurant, played as a duo with many different musical pals.

I’ve noticed that you are taking the music to the local parks. Is that a regular thing now or more catch-as-catch-can?

Once a week, when we can fit it in at Precita Park, with pals that live within a block or two. Like, today maybe when the cable guy gets through here at my house, if it’s soon.

You play a lot of dances that to me feels like I’m stepping into a time warp. Has that environment changed much over the years?

We are talking square dances here, rather than contra, right? The square dance scene is dependent on a vibrant old-time player scene, and folks who are willing to run regular dances, keep them fun and exciting by hosting great bands and great, fun callers, and get the up-and-comers in to hone their skills. On hold are our dances in North Oakland, in the Mission in San Francisco, and at Ashkenaz in Berkeley. It’s been fun to introduce square dancing to people who take to our exciting, refreshed iteration. Hope we can start up again someday.

What’s the difference between square and contra dance?

Contra is described as more Northern, more New England, requiring thirty-two bar tunes, that are perky, but played at a slower tempo. Contra bands tend to be more orderly, and danced with couples in a line. Squares refers to the general configuration – eight dancers put into four couples arranged in a square – which ended up being more popular in the South. The music for Squares is old-time, faster to raging fast, and it boasts some very creative, fun moves.

How do you describe your music to newbies of old-time, bluegrass or other roots music?

Generally, old-time music is fiddle/banjo music that pre-dates bluegrass, with Scotch-Irish immigrant origins, mixed with African American, Native American, and other ethnic influences. It incubated in the Southern Appalachian US, and with migration spread to the newly industrial states and beyond. It is predominately home made music for dancing, with branches that include some crazy crooked solo stuff, and trad songs, brother duets. It generally has a lot of rhythmic drive and odd twists and turns of the fiddle bow. It’s curiously stimulating and satisfying! You should try it!

Do you sing in any of your bands?

I do. Old-time performances need songs and vocals to break up the endless tunes! I love singing harmony, and we have that going on in the Bucking Mules, with three of us taking turns on lead vocal. Plaid Strangers has a song or two up their sleeves. 

How are vocals in this style different than say, pop, or traditional bluegrass?

It’s just a different aesthetic, less showy I suppose especially if you are talking modern bluegrass. Songs and vocals can be more stark, and not obviously ‘arranged.’ Then I love the fiddle tunes that have lyrics, which will be sung intermittently, so you have an instrumental laced with bursts of vocals. Love that. Much of traditional lyrics are however problematically laced with sexism, violence, and racism, so there’s issues that need to be addressed, are being addressed. One can replace lyrics, or drop those songs altogether. It’s not an issue isolated to old trad songs, I must say.

Which fiddle tune lyrics do you like singing?

There are some fun verses I love to sing to the iconic Buffalo Gals, and Cider. I love the non-vegetarian Ground Hog lyrics.

How are vocal harmonies treated in old-time?

Other than with the Carters, there are definitely fewer three-part harmonies. I take that back, there are shape note and Church based choruses.

Do you have interesting stories about your instruments?

Due to a series of odd circumstances, my little Gibson L-1 guitar was played by Stevie Ray Vaughn on French TV in the ’90s. I couldn’t have made that up, and I didn’t witness it. The video clip finally showed up on YouTube a couple of years ago. The fiddles I have are made by a Tennesseean named Gene Horner who is well into his 80s. He is an ‘unschooled’ maker who uses local woods, and lives on land his grandfather settled. I have taken a few field trips there, gotten to know Gene. His fiddles have a distinct sound and personality.

I’ve heard people refer to some old-time fiddling as scratchy.

Many of the field recordings that we source from were recorded when the players were quite old. Their playing can have a beauty and presence that quite possibly is an acquired taste. Nowadays, scratchy can be – and I guess is – a rhythmic style. There are many branches of the tree. 

Is there anything special about old-time guitar, especially in contrast to bluegrass rhythm guitar?

Lots! For starters, it’s hopefully quite driving and, at least in my opinion, gives an equal power to the boom and the chuck, so to speak. We might not need a bass most of the time, if the guitarist can handle it well.

Your fiddling is so authentic to that bygone era. How are you able to so thoroughly replicate that sound and feel?

Thanks for the compliment! I pay lots of attention to the source recordings. It’ s quite easy to research that online these days. Ultimately, I can’t help but be a modern player. One can’t erase all the modern influences.

Old-time has a much bigger presence at CBA events than in the past. Tell us about your involvement with CBA camps and festivals and the Pride parade.

I co-ran the Golden Old Time Camp for a couple of years with Mark Hogan, when it was held in Booneville. I’ve worked the CBA Father’s Day pre-festival camp now for years, both on staff and as an assistant. I’ve had a few talks with Carl Pagter, and we agree that it would be a loss on many levels if the CBA abandoned its roots in old-time. I was pulled into more CBA participation by the Pride Parade CBA Float project of a few years ago. As one who is connected with the old-time scene both East and West, I want to be involved and accessible, which is why I joined the CBA Board. So now I’m giving a strong voice to the CBA’s old-time inclusion.

There’s sometimes tension between bluegrass and old-time players. Do you feel this is inevitable or is it easing some?

Hopefully, that’s all in fun! There is a lot of mutual appreciation going on as well.

Thanks Karen. Hope to see you soon.

Special thanks to copy-editor extraordinaire Jeanie Poling.

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From The Side of the Road – making virtual WOB like the real thing

Posted on September 30, 2020 by Azlyrics

In keeping with tradition – and we wouldn’t want to break with tradition now, would we – Chris has delivered his weekly column during World of Bluegrass 2020 on video. Virtually, so to speak.

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Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver Festival celebrates 40 years

Posted on September 30, 2020 by Azlyrics

Neither a global pandemic nor intermittent showers could dampen the spirit nor the music this past weekend at the Denton FarmPark in central North Carolina. Doyle Lawson’s 40th Annual Bluegrass Festival was one for the record books.

With seating spaced to maintain social distancing and a covered pavilion to keep attendees dry, the event ran safely and smoothly. Everyone present just seemed happy to be there, listening to live music, and reuniting with longtime friends. 

“I’m just happy to be back with my bluegrass family,” expressed one fan.

“We’re glad to be at a REAL bluegrass festival playing for REAL people,” Melanie Williamson of Williamson Branch announced during their first set.

Host, Doyle Lawson, stressed, “With this COVID mess, Karen (Miller) and I held out as long as we could. We made a decision and moved the festival (from May) to September. It was a wait and see thing.”

“We were blessed to have a great crowd. Bottom line: I love being back to pick and sing. I thank the good Lord that we were able to have the festival.”

Park co-owner, Karen Miller, agreed. “We are thankful to the Lord. What could have been a washed out weekend turned out really good. We had 309 campers in the park plus many camping in the rough.”

She added, “I miss Daddy being here.”

Denton FarmPark founder, Brown Loflin, passed away last September, leaving the duties to his family.

“I miss Brown and other people here do, too.” Ruby, his widow, stated.

The Loflin family worked closely with local authorities to maintain the annual music event, and keep the festival safe for attendees.

Afternoon emcee, Bob Webster, noted that the family style festival presented a family band performing on the stage each day. Trinity River Band appeared on Thursday, Mountain Highway on Friday, and Williamson Branch on Saturday.

The three day event also offered changes, substitutions, and surprises that made for a memorable weekend. There were changes from the initial line-up due to the pandemic. Fast Track filled in for Donna Ulisse on Thursday and IIIrd Tyme Out took Larry Sparks’ spot on Saturday evening. Bailey Coe (Sideline alum) and Lee Sawyer subbed for Drive Time’s bassist, Grayson Tuttle, who was in the midst of clinicals. Jeff Parker pinch hit for Mike Terry of Radio Ramblers. Terry was by the bedside of his ailing father.

Joe Mullins explained, “First time we played with Jeff was about 30 minutes before we came on stage.”

Parker hit a home run, playing all the mandolin breaks and singing the third part on the band’s trio numbers.

“I studied their material,” the mando man admitted, but with only a couple of days to prepare.

There were several firsts at the festival. Kevin Richardson debuted as Merle Monroe’s new guitar player. Lawson’s alum, Stephen Burwell, guested with original Quicksilver on Thursday evening, then joined Doyle’s new fiddler, Matt Flake, for twin fiddling during Quicksilver’s Friday and Saturday performances. Attendees were introduced to Doyle’s new ensemble with Eli Johnston returning to the band, but this time on banjo. Ben James, a guitarist from Hickory, NC, blew the crowd away with his large voice. There was some swapping of instruments when bassist, Jerry Cole, would switch to rhythm guitar and Flake would move to bass for some of the numbers.

 A nice surprise on Saturday morning was the powerhouse singing of the National Anthem by 18 year old, Caroline Owens of the Garrett Newton Band, that revved up the audience and spring-boarded the festival into a high energy afternoon and evening.

Even with laryngitis, Sideline’s Steve Dilling gave it his all. He whispered into the microphone and pointed, “This festival means a lot to me. In 1981, I sat right there on the front row.”

Scott Burgess of Deeper Shade of Blue told those assembled, “I know we’re living in trying times, but we serve a higher power and we know who’s in control.”

Lawson was obviously pleased with the 40th festival that bears his name. Evening emcee, Jeff Branch, presented Doyle with a placard filled with signatures of performers from the festival.

Doyle concluded, “Milton Harkey came to me with the idea of this festival. It has turned into just what I wanted, a family style festival. I look out and see children, their parents, and grandparents.”

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Melody Williamson and Geoffrey Keyes engaged

Posted on September 30, 2020 by Azlyrics

Today is a day that Melody Williamson won’t soon forget. This afternoon, the talented fiddler and singer with Williamson Branch accepted the 2020 Momentum Vocalist Award during IBMA’s Momentum Awards ceremony, streamed virtually online.

And this evening she has announced her engagement to Geoffrey Keyes. The North Carolina native is likewise deeply involved in the bluegrass music industry, as an audio engineer in the studio and on the road. He has provided live audio at many events, including ones for IBMA and the National Folk Festival, and has done sound for Dailey & Vincent on tour and for their television program, aired on the Circle network.

In typical fashion, Melody’s dad greeted the announcement with good natured wit. “We don’t look at it as losing a daughter, we look at it as gaining a sound man.”

Geoffrey and Melody have been dating for about two years now, having met while he was running sound at the Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver bluegrass festival in North Carolina. Their first date came about six months later, and he was stealthily introduced last year in the Williamson Branch music video for Blue Moon Over Texas, from their current Pinecastle album, Classy, Sassy, Bluegrassy. Keyes played the cowboy in the video snuggling up with Melody.

Geoffrey proposed back in mid-August, in a gazebo he had decorated for the occasion. The couple has not yet announced a date, but have a wedding site online with tons of pictures of them together, including the day she said, “yes.”

We wish the very best of luck to Melody and Geoffrey – there’s nothing cuter than a bluegrass couple!

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2020 IBMA Momentum Award winners announced

Posted on September 29, 2020 by Azlyrics

The announcement of the Momentum Awards for newer performers has been a highlight of my World of Bluegrass experience in recent years, and this year was no exception.

As the finalists are announced and the winners selected, you can’t help but come away thinking that the future of bluegrass is in good hands, not only in the US and Canada, but in Europe and elsewhere. And it’s fun to keep score when many of the nominees and winners end up on the big stage for the Awards Show in future years.

This year’s virtual ceremony was compact – less than an hour – but chock full of great music from the five band-of-the-year finalists, and it was kept moving by host Stephen Mougin, himself a past winner of the Momentum Mentor of the Year trophy.

The 2020 winners are:

  • Industry Involvement: Kris Truelsen, Radio Bristol
  • Instrumentalists of the Year (two winners): Banjo player Tabitha Agnew and mandolinist Thomas Cassell
  • Vocalist of the Year: Melody Williamson
  • Band of the Year: The Slocan Ramblers
  • Mentor of the Year: Annie Savage

You can catch some of these pickers, performers and bands this week during IBMAs virtual World of Bluegrass. And soon, hopefully, you’ll be able to catch them live at festivals and shows.

Congratulations to the winners, and to all of the nominees.

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Jeff Parker and Colin Ray to disband

Posted on September 29, 2020 by Azlyrics

It was only this past December that we announced that bluegrass veteran Jeff Parker had brought his young guitarist and vocalist, Colin Ray, in as a partner in the band they were promoting. The group had appeared as a showcase act on the 2019 Bluegrass Ramble at last year’s World of Bluegrass in Raleigh, where they ignited a great deal of interest.

Colin has a lovely singing voice, and Jeff’s has been a staple of top groups like Lonesome River Band and Dailey & Vincent, and the pair of them sang beautifully together. Ray actually sings even higher than Parker!

But the emergence of the novel coronavirus this winter, and the show cancellations that followed the widespread lockdowns, have claimed them as a victim.

Speaking with Jeff this morning, we learned that they have decided to call it quits. Parker told us, “Due to COVID and everything that’s happening, we have decided to disband Jeff Parker and Colin Ray.”

“At the start I figured to give it three years, but COVID has changed our plans. Like everyone else, we have lost 2020, and with all that is going on with promoters, and I don’t think we can get our price back up for 2021 to where it needs to be to keep going.

At my age, I just don’t have two more years to build this up to where it can support us. It’s unfortunate that we hit at a bad time with this new act, but there you go.”

The recently completed album by the Parker/Ray partnership, My Home Town, will be released as planned. Bluegrass radio can expect to hear more about that soon.

“I’m going to make myself available as a sideman if anyone needs me, and do others things like teach my lessons,” said Jeff.

“We part as friends, and I’m saddened about it, but we’ve got to move on.”

We will speak with Colin later this week about his future plans. Look for that on Thursday.

Farewell Jeff Parker and Colin Ray. We barely knew ye.

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Bonnie Lou Moore remembered

Posted on September 29, 2020 by Azlyrics

‘Bonnie Lou’ Margaret Moore, of the east Tennessee region country/bluegrass/Gospel duo, Bonnie Lou & Buster, passed away on September 21, 2020, aged 93. 

Born Margaret Louise Bell on June 4, 1927, she was a native of Etowah, North Carolina. As a child guitar player and singer ‘Bonnie Lou’ and her younger brother Lloyd were guests on Asheville’s Radio WWNC Farm Hour program. 

Later she met Herbert ‘Buster’ Moore and in August 1945 they married after his discharge from the Army, and he resumed playing with Carl Story’s Rambling Mountaineers as he had prior to WWII. Then Moore relocated to WROL, Knoxville, Tennessee, where he led the Dixie Partners and worked with Ray Atkins and the Morris Brothers. They appeared twice a week at a government recreational hall in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, also. 

Bonnie Lou became a member of the show when her husband asked her to fill in for a sick band member, and she became so popular that she was kept on, and did most of the advertising on the show. At this point she was given the name ‘Bonnie Lou’ since it rolled off the tongue better when paired with ‘Buster’. 

During the early years Buster Moore and His Dixie Partners worked in east Tennessee, in Greenville, South Carolina (with Don Reno); on WRAL, Raleigh, North Carolina – the group then included Buster (mandolin and banjo), Bonnie Lou (guitar), Lloyd Bell (electric bass guitar), Carl Butler (guitar) and Art Wootten (fiddle); in May 1947 they were at WPTF in Raleigh; for several months they then did well working in eastern North Carolina; and they played Saturday shows on The Old Dominion Barn Dance on WRVA in Richmond. 

The following year the group returned to Knoxville, working at WNOX, where they appeared regularly on The Mid-Day Merry-Go-Round as well as the Saturday night show, The Tennessee Barn Dance. The group then consisted of Buster, Bonnie Lou, Lloyd Bell and Willie G. Brewster (fiddle). 

Bonnie Lou & Buster continued to work on radio for several years, spending some time in Memphis, working a mid-day program with Lighting Chance (bass) and Paul Buskirk (mandolin); after a brief hiatus from the entertainment business, Bonnie Lou, Buster and the Tennessee Sweethearts as they became known, went to work at WSVA Harrisonburg, Virginia; and, linking up with his former boss Carl Story, Buster and Bonnie Lou moved to WCYB, Bristol. 

In 1953 Bonnie Lou & Buster become one of the first live television acts for Johnson City, Tennessee’s WJHL. Their three-day-a-week early evening music show, that included Lloyd Bell, Homer Harris (the Seven Foot Cowboy) and some fine banjo work from Chuck Henderson, the Carolina Indian, lasted until 1963. 

In the early 1960s, they began performing on the Jim Walter Jubilee show, sponsored by Jim Walter Homes. This enabled them to eliminate much of their traveling, since most of the shows were recorded at WATE-TV in Knoxville. They remained on the show for 21 years until it went off the air in 1982.

Bonnie Lou and Buster Moore appeared in the major Hollywood romantic drama film, Walk In The Spring Rain (1970), that starred Ingrid Berman and Anthony Quinn. The location scenes were filmed in and around Gatlinburg in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 

Two years later the couple moved to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and opened their own nightly live show, The Smoky Mountain Hayride, at the Coliseum Theater, playing throughout the tourist season.

Apart from themselves, the show featured steel guitarist Little Roy Wiggins, Don McHan, and many other traditional acts with whom Bonnie Lou & Buster had worked during their many years in the music.

They retired in 1994 and Buster Moore passed away on January 13, 1996. Since then Bonnie Lou sang only in her church choir.

Beginning in 1949 Bonnie Lou & Buster (and The Mountain Music Makers)/The Dixie Partners recorded throughout most of their career, with four sides for Mercury, and four cuts for ACME. 

These were followed by several albums – Hymn Time (Waterfall LP 1, released in 1963); Bonnie and Buster Sing Country, Bluegrass and Gospel (Angel 577177, 1977); Bonnie Lou and Buster Sing Gospel/Country and Bluegrass Style (Angel  33582/Mastercor MLP 2882, 1982); Smoky Mountain Hayride Show (Green, 1983); Homecoming Gospel (Bonnie Lou and Buster 1078, 1986); a sequence of four Gospel music releases for the Crystal label; and two other singles, one on Riviera and another on Smokey Mtn. Records. 

Bonnie Lou and her brother are noted as Pioneers of Bluegrass by the IBMM. 

In February 2012 ‘Bonnie Lou’ Moore reflected on the role that she played in music and TV history. 

R.I.P. ‘Bonnie Lou’ Moore. 

A graveside service will be held on Friday, September 25, 2020, at 11:00am at White Pine Cemetery in White Pine, TN.

Here are the tracks from the Bonnie Lou & Buster – Sing Country, Bluegrass & Gospel LP ….  

Footnote: 

Bonnie Lou should not be confused with the singer of the same name who was a King recording artist and a regular on The Midwestern Hayride.

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William E. ‘Bill’ McEuen passes

Posted on September 29, 2020 by Azlyrics

William E McEuen, known widely as Bill, has passed at 79 years of age. He died on Thursday, September 24, with the news shared by his brother, prolific multi-instrumentalist and award winning artist, John McEuen.

Bill had been involved in John’s career since the beginning, starting out as his first music teacher showing the younger brother how to play guitar. He served as manager for Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in the early days, getting them their first record label contract, and steering them in many positive directions as the band’s popularity grew.

On the first two Dirt Band albums, Bill wrote songs and contributed photos, until on their third, Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy, which included their first hit, Mr. Bojangles, in 1970, the older McEuen served as producer and engineer. And he was deeply involved in the band’s iconic Will The Circle Be Unbroken album, which released as a three-LP set in 1972. Bill was producer and engineer, contributed photography, played guitar, and handled the art direction for this milestone release. John McEuen has also credited much of the initial concept for the album to his brother.

Bill continued to produce the group’s subsequent records, before embarking on a new direction in comedy and film, working closely with Steve Martin, who had been a family friend since John and he became friends in high school. McEuen produced and engineered Martin’s first four comedy albums, which include the breakout A Wild and Crazy Guy in 1978. He followed Steve to the film studio producing The Jerk in 1979 through the company he and Martin founded, Aspen Film Society. That success was duplicated with other hits like Pee Wee’s Big Adventure and The Man With Two Brains.

But success in Hollywood didn’t dull Bill’s enthusiasm for music. He continued to produce for John, including his two highly-regarded String Wizards albums and The Essential Earl Scruggs in 2004.

His are contributions that anyone involved with the world of creative arts would be proud to call their own. John and Bill McEuen remained close until the end.

John shared these words at the end of a Facebook post noting the loss of his brother.

“William E. was mentor to many who continue today in showbusiness doing great things.

He leaves behind his wife and business partner Alice (Alice did the calligraphy on ‘Circle’); brother John, and a bunch of singing, laughing, and dancing people with happy feet who loved what he brought them. He KNEW what they would like!

‘Bill’, aka William E. McEuen, has left the building.”

R.I.P., Bill McEuen.

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Sarah Jarosz kicks off Virtual World of Bluegrass

Posted on September 29, 2020 by Azlyrics

Usually, the start of the week at IBMA’s World of Bluegrass means it’s time to pick through the finger food – don’t miss the to-die-for banana pudding – belly up to the bar, then settle in for a keynote address that celebrates bluegrass music’s big tent.

This year, of course, with many of us virtually held prisoner in our own houses by a nasty but invisible virus, the biggest week in bluegrass is a virtual production. So the finger food was whatever I could scrape together from my fridge. And the speech was at an earlier-than-usual hour, so having a glass of wine seemed inappropriate.

But virtual or live, some things remain the same. And so, as always, World of Bluegrass started with a celebration of bluegrass music’s big tent.

This year, the remarks came from Sarah Jarosz, a three-time Grammy winner who attended her first IBMA conference in Louisville in 2003, when she was part of Kids on Bluegrass when she was 12 years old.

Best known as part of the I’m With Her trio, Jarosz would be considered “not bluegrass” by many traditionalists, and she admits that she doesn’t think the songs she writes are bluegrass. “But that doesn’t mean it isn’t part of me,” Jarosz said. At another point, she noted, “You can still be true to bluegrass while widening your musical scope,” establishing her credentials for spelling out why bluegrass has – and needs – a big tent.

While many see bluegrass as a small club, she sees a community, “living, breathing, constantly evolving.” And where others see a genre, she sees a tradition in which high-quality musicianship is vital to both traditionalists and new grassers. “Bluegrass will continue to survive for generations,” she said, so long as the focus remains on inclusivity and that musical virtuosity.

“I would encourage everybody to keep their eyes and ears open…honoring the tradition as it was, as it is, and as it might be in the future.”

Wise words from a wise woman, even without the banana pudding.

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Doc Watson and Gaither Carlton

Posted on September 28, 2020 by Azlyrics

Credit the esteemed Smithsonian Folkways record label for presenting, for the very first time, a series of historic recordings culled from performances by Doc Watson with his father-in-law Gaither Carlton in New York City’s Greenwich Village. It was one of the first places the pair appeared outside their native North Carolina, and in 1962, the year these shows were taped, traditional Appalachian music was practically unheard of outside its native environs. Indeed, it’s likely that most people who were in the audience for these two concerts had never experienced these sounds before, and in fact, may have viewed it merely as an archival remnant of a time and place far removed from contemporary culture. For them, it may have simply been a quaint and curious sound, one that reinforced stereotypes associated with hicks and hillbillies, barefoot and in britches, and all strangely alien to their own era.

Of course, Doc would late go on to become a musical icon, revered by those who not only had a fondness for bluegrass, but who also had an appreciation for essential American music. Discovered nearly by accident by folk archivist and historian Ralph Rinzler, Watson was encouraged to introduce his music to a larger segment of the American populace, and it was for that reason that he accepted an invitation to headline in the Big Apple and bring the sounds of his native South to the larger realms of that American metropolis. 

Even by modern standards, these recordings sound remarkably vital, and though essential folk songs such as Handsome Molly, Corrina, Billy in the Low Ground, and Bonaparte’s Retreat are hewed from age-old tradition, they ring with both authenticity and accessibility. Watson’s vocals on He’s Coming to Us Dead, My Home’s Across the Blue Ridge Mountains, The Blue Ridge Mountain Blues, and Groundhog convey an easy assurance, sincerity, and affability that allow for a concise connection on both sides of the cultural divide. Part of the reason not only has to do with the playing, all tightly intertwined, but also the unpretentious manner in which it’s presented. This is a sound that portrays solace and sentiment in equal measure, all grounded in ideals intrinsic to the heritage passed down from one generation to another, beginning with the first settlers that alighted on these shores. Even the instrumentals — Willie Moore, Brown’s Dream, Billy in the Low Ground, et. al. — share that sympathetic stance. 

As with any Smithsonian Folkways package, the photos and liner notes that accompany the release enrich the effort by providing invaluable insights. Consider this an essential offering for anyone whose love of bluegrass and American music in general embraces its early origins.

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Stolen Instrument Alert – Collings D1A and Fender banjo

Posted on September 28, 2020 by Azlyrics

We can perhaps all agree that someone who steals instruments from a working musician is among the lowest of the low. Like all lawbreakers, they deserve the full punishment the statutes allow, but within the community of players, we reserve a special place in the lowest level of hell for such as these.

We have learned that Jordan Foster of Knoxville, TN had his band vehicle broken into in Richmond, KY on Saturday night in the parking lot of the Quality Inn, next door to the Champions Bar where they were playing over the weekend. Taken were his Collins D1A Varnish model guitar, his Fender banjo, and a custom rosewood Tele. Also stolen were a fiddle and bow, and a total of $15,000 worth of band equipment.

Jordan has posted photos on his Facebook page, not only of the instruments, but also of the suspected thief taken from hotel security cameras. As always, speed is of the essence in returning stolen items of any kind, as thieves typically look to sell their booty as quickly as possible.

Please have a look at Jordan’s photos, especially if you live in central Kentucky, and report back to him online. A reward of $2000 is in the offing.

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Here we go… 2020 Virtual World of Bluegrass starts today

Posted on September 28, 2020 by Azlyrics

Ready or not… here we go! The International Bluegrass Music Association staff and volunteers have been working double overtime this past few weeks, putting together the finishing touches on their first online, all virtual World of Bluegrass celebration.

As we have mentioned before, the annual convention, along with the IBMA Bluegrass Awards, and the big weekend music festival, IBMA Bluegrass Live!, have been held of late in Raleigh, NC, but as the Governor of the state had not cleared the return of large gatherings, the organization was forced to either cancel, or go virtual. And we see what they chose.

So the IBMA had to figure out and learn to implement a new software interface, called Swapcard, created especially for online integration of virtual conferencing. This Swapcard interface will be the home base for all World of Bluegrass week events.

You may have seen our earlier reporting that many aspects of the conference will be available free to all online, but there is this important caveat. Even though access is available at no charge, you will still need to register through Swapcard for the free Music Pass. This will gain you admission to all of the Bluegrass Ramble showcase performances during the week, plus the three awards presentations.

In order to view and attend the virtual seminar sessions, invited speakers, keynote address, artist-to-artists meetings, constituency meetings and the like, you will need to be fully registered for the conference. IBMA is offering a steeply discounted price for this registration, only $99 for IBMA members, and $149 for non-members.

Registration for either the free Music Pass or full WOB registration can be quickly completed online.

Things kick off this morning (September 28) at 11:20 a.m. (EDT) with the welcoming Keynote Address from Sarah Jarosz. This will be followed by a number of informative sessions, including the ever popular Gig Fair where artists can connect directly with event producers and show bookers for major bluegrass festivals and concerts series.

Then at 8:00 p.m., Bluegrass Ramble showcases begin, with the opportunity to check out fast rising new bands as well as established acts performing in pre-recorded, live sets from various stages and locations around the world. Don’t forget that you need the free Music Pass registration to catch these sets.

It is our understanding that some aspects of the conference will be available for viewing after the fact as well. As soon as we receive clarification from the IBMA about this question, we will update this article with details.

We will offer some coverage of the elements of the World of Bluegrass not open to all, as well as the Momentum Awards, the Industry Awards, and the IBMA Bluegrass Awards here at Bluegrass Today. Like all regular attendees, we will miss the camaraderie, the craziness, the late night jamming, and the live music everywhere at the physical conference in Raleigh, and look forward to seeing everyone in person again next year.

Bluegrass Today will be involved in a couple of seminar presentations this week. On Tuesday (September 29) I will serve on a panel with Bill Evans, Kimberly Williams, and Jeri Goldstein called What A Way To Make A Living: Turning Transitions Into A Career Strategy. We will discuss the many ways one can be involved in the music industry other than as a performer, and how we can all use the various experience we collect working in the business to create a career for ourselves. It begins at noon.

Then on Wednesday (9/30), Terry Herd will be take part in a panel discussion on Bluegrass Charts: Behind The Scenes, along with Daniel Mullins, Lee Demsey, and Rick Francis. This one also begins at noon, and will cover the importance of the charts we see in our industry, how they work, and how you can use chart position to your advantage.

Happy World of Bluegrass everyone – and don’t forget to donate what you can to support the IBMA through this difficult time!

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Video Premiere: Hello Sunshine video from Merle Monroe

Posted on September 26, 2020 by Azlyrics

Well this work week is closing out on a gloomy, rainy note for us in southwestern Virginia, though much of the US is blessed with clear skies. What a perfect time to see this new video hit from Merle Monroe for their feel good single, Hello Sunshine, just starting its second week at #1 in our Bluegrass Today Weekly Airplay chart.

The song was written by MM’s Tim Raybon, specifically to brighten people’s lives during the darkest times of our national freakout over COVID-19. It’s an unabashedly smiley number, and to make the video, the guys requested that their fans send in photos of them smiling, and the things that make them smile.

And it all comes together in this enjoyable look at all those images, many provided by band members themselves, accompanied by this latest single. Along with Raybon on guitar and Daniel Grindstaff on banjo, Merle Monroe includes Derek Deakins on fiddle, Kevin Richardson on guitar, and Eli Johnston on bass. Super hot Nashville guitar-slinger Trey Hensley joined them in the studio for this lighthearted romp.

Hello Sunshine is available now wherever you stream or download music online should you need some warm rays in your life just now.

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Carolina Blue to Main Attraction Management – Jim Roe retires

Posted on September 26, 2020 by Azlyrics

Carolina Blue, the fast rising traditional bluegrass group from western North Carolina, has announced that they have joined up with Main Attraction Management for booking representation. The east Tennessee-based agency is operated  by Laura Mainer, and already represents other top bluegrass acts Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers, Donna Ulisse, and Danny Paisley & The Southern Grass.

This move for Carolina Blue was prompted by the retirement of their agent of the past two years, Jim Roe of Roe Entertainment.

Jim says that he is pleased to see the band end up with such a strong rep.

“After nearly 40 years in the music business, with 15 of those as a bluegrass booking agent, I have decided to retire from full-time booking. I have thoroughly enjoyed my years in bluegrass and I am very pleased to see Carolina Blue sign with Main Attraction Management. Laura is a top level agent and I believe this to be a very good fit for everyone involved.”

Bobby Powell, guitarist, vocalist, and co-founder of Carolina Blue, says that the band is happy with how things have turned out.

“We are thrilled to be added to the Main Attraction Management roster. We’ve been friends with Laura Mainer for several years and it seems like a natural place for us to be with the retirement of Jim Roe. He has an impeccable reputation in our industry and has done so much for our band. We will miss him being a part of the Carolina Blue team, but he leaves us in very capable hands with Laura. Her work ethic and Christian values are well known, and we are thankful to be working with her going forward.”

In addition to Powell, the band consists of co-founder Timmy Jones on mandolin and vocals, Reese Combs on bass, James McDowell on banjo, and Aynsley Porchak on fiddle.

They are excited to be involved in next week’s World of Bluegrass virtual convention. They are nominated as New Artist of the Year, an award to be announced Thursday evening during the IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards Show, and will perform on Friday afternoon to open the IBMA Bluegrass Live! festival, introduced by Raleigh Mayor Mary Ann Baldwin and PNC Regional President, Jim Hansen.

Mainer says that she is excited to take on a new client with so much happening in their lives right now.

“I’m very grateful and blessed to be part of Carolina Blue’s career. They are a solid act with immense talent and are a great fit for our roster at Main Attraction Management. It’s an honor to oversee their touring calendar and help them grow in this industry. Carolina Blue has enjoyed much success due to the hard work of Jim Roe, and I have big shoes to fill.”

You can learn more about Carolina Blue online.

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October Fall from Alex Leach Band

Posted on September 25, 2020 by Azlyrics

Mountain Home Music has another single release today from their upcoming debut project for The Alex Leach Band.

Bluegrass fans have known Alex from his several years playing banjo and singing tenor with Ralph Stanley II, and from his own solo recordings. Others recognize his voice from his long service as an on-air host at WDVX in Knoxville, where he has been a popular radio personality since he was in his teens.

But now folks are recognizing Leach for the powerful sound he is generating with his own band. This first album finds him in an interesting position; known for some time as a staunch proponent of traditional mountain music, Alex teamed up in the studio with Americana icon Jim Lauderdale producing. The result shows just how wide this talented young artist’s range actually is.

This latest single, October Fall, is a song that Leach says he had been carrying with him for some time.

“I was hanging in Georgia with a fellow musician and good friend of mine, Evan Rose, about 11 or 12 years ago when he sang a song for me that he was working on. I could tell it had a deep meaning with him, but wasn’t sure of the whole story behind it. I carried the words and melody with me for many years before I brought it back out and added another verse to it. The writing of this song spans over a decade, and I hope it will hit home to listeners who may have dealt with losing a close friend in their adolescence.”

For Rose, it was a true story from his life, telling of the traumatic loss of someone dear to him in his youth, and the memories being all that remains.

“I was remembering the times I had with a good friend. She and I always hung out during the October festival in Guyton, Georgia. When we were both in our teens, her life was cut tragically short. This song reflects some of our special adventures together.”

Here’s a taste in this video preview.

October Fall is available now wherever you stream or download music online, and to radio programmers via AirPlay Direct.

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Bill Monroe in the Time of COVID – 2020 Monroe Mandolin Camp online

Posted on September 25, 2020 by Azlyrics

This report on the first ever virtual Monroe Mandolin Camp is a contribution from Theresa Seiders, a voice-over artist and audio editor in Columbus, Ohio. Oh… and a serious student and lover of the mandolin.

It’s a chilly pre-fall morning in central Ohio and the inaugural Monroe Mandolin Camp (M)Online Virtual Extravaganza is already in the past. Each year it beggars belief that the months of planning, scheduling, fundraising, managing details, overcoming last minute snafus and nerve-wracking anticipation culminating in a glorious 4-5 days of bluegrass Nirvana have melted away so quickly, leaving behind new licks and techniques to master, more tunes and songs to aspire to learn, more instructional material than most of us will be able to wade through in a lifetime, warm memories of old and new friends, and the afterglow smiles of happy campers. And that’s in a normal year when more than 100 players and instructors can descend on some hapless conference center, college, campground or retreat, drop their bags, open their cases and take over every square inch of space from pre-dawn to long after dark blazing through their own renditions of Wheel Hoss, Rawhide, and Watson’s Blues.

Typically the last cars and campers pull onto the highway, a few caring souls help pack up the left over cookies and candy and coffee and music stands and  merchandise and hey, who left this sweater here, and Camp Executive Director Heidi Herzog starts thinking about how to make it bigger and better two years from now (she’s already well into planning next year’s camp, thank you very much) and maybe a little about how she’s looking forward to her own shower and some sleep. 

But what about 2020? How on earth could an experience like MonManCamp manage in a year when people couldn’t “gather?” Reading the prevailing winds in the spring and early summer, it became clear that in-person gatherings would be highly unlikely by September, either due to local health and safety mandates, or for personal comfort levels. And yet this Camp, now in its 7th year under Heidi and Mike Compton’s leadership, is a Mecca for Bill Monroe enthusiasts of all ages and backgrounds. Many participants have attended since its first years in Kentucky, and each year the enrollment grows as instruction in all bluegrass instruments, voice, band dynamics, and even song writing are added. Folks drive and fly from all over the continental US, and many come from overseas (Uzbekistan is the farthest, I understand), to reconnect with their friends and the music at this magical gathering. Beyond the music, that personal connection is the driving force behind MMC, and so COVID be damned, Heidi was determined to re-imagine the 2020 Camp experience for this new digital era. 

Git ‘R Done

“It was an easy decision for me to make,” says Heidi. “The people of all ages who attend in-person MMCamps are our community. They are the past, present and future of this music as consumers and pickers, and enthusiasts of traditional bluegrass music. Knowing that I could facilitate a powerful and inspiring get together for learning and connection – it was an easy decision to attempt to pull it off.”

The decision to move ahead may have been easy, but the process itself presented challenges. In attempting to navigate unpredictable Tennessee state gathering mandates, international travel restrictions, and potential virus surges, making the leap from in-person to on-line wasn’t determined until around July 4 – just 2 ½ months before Camp week. The move on-line required the cooperation of instructors recording their own lessons, learning an entirely new  computer language for online course development, and redesigning the entire MMC website to support it. And with the final platform in flux until mid-August, marketing and advertising were hampered with uncertainty. A gathering that usually takes 1 ½ to 2 years to put on was now scheduled – via a novel skill set – in just a fraction of the time. 

While the instructional portion of the site was important, even more vital was the ability to connect via audio and video. Heidi quickly familiarized herself with Zoom (with which many of us have developed a love/hate relationship in the past several months) to schedule a variety of live roundtable and instructional meetings, as well as Coffee Chats and Happy Hours for campers to visit and catch up. 

After a punishing web design and revision schedule (led by Heidi, who had no previous experience in creating an on-line learning platform), starting around July 28, the first day of the (M)Online Virtual Extravaganza finally dawned at 12:01 a.m. September 19. And the people came! Amid registration and enrollment hiccups, students young and old, from 27 US states and 4 countries, logged in and welcomed world-renowned Monroe style musicians into their homes, absorbed first hand bluegrass history from Raymond Huffmaster, downloaded PDF practice resources, rewatched videos again and again, and finally at 10:00 a.m. grabbed their favorite morning (or evening, as the case may be) beverage and Zoomed in to see the smiling faces of old friends as they caught up on how everyone has been weathering the storm. They shared the music they’ve been working on, and the new instruments they’ve bought. Cats, dogs, and birds were introduced (intentionally or not). And surprisingly, even with some audio lags and video freezes, it was not terribly unlike being together in person and was extremely soul satisfying – and nobody had to wear a mask!

Throughout the 4 days of camp, there were many opportunities to get together both to visit and to learn. Intrepid instructors (mandolin) Alan Bibey, Casey Cambell, Mike Compton, John Keith, Mark Royal, Adam Tanner, (banjo) Alan O’Bryant, (fiddle) Laura Orshaw, (guitar) Robert Montgomery, (bass) Cary Black, (fiddle and banjo) Aynsley Porchak and James McDowell, (vocal) Mississippi Chris Sharp and Piper Sharp Myers, some of whom had never recorded their own teaching sessions, jumped in with both feet to create pre-recorded and live content. Raymond Huffmaster shared three story telling sessions about his personal journey with Bill and his Blue Grass Boys. Aussie luthier Paul Duff joined us live from 12 hours in the future to share his current workbench, and answer camper questions about mandolin anatomy and “chasing the tone.” Twelve live (via Zoom) broadcast instructor-led roundtables and classes explored the bridge between Monroe and modern bluegrass, comparison/contrasts of Monroe’s mandolin and Kenny Baker’s fiddle breaks, lessons in listening for nuances among banjo, fiddle and mandolin players, band dynamics, down strokes, Blue Grass Boys’ differing fiddle techniques, and those luthiering insights. 

Extra coffee and Happy Hour “chats” were scheduled by popular request, and although most Zoom sessions were meant to last an hour, they frequently went over double, or even triple, the time as folks just wanted to talk and laugh and play and share and see each others’ smiling faces. Even a “live” jam was attempted, although most participants agree it was a casualty of the available technology. But it did give everyone the chance to practice breaks with their audio muted. Special props to Laura Orshaw for tackling that new experience! (Seriously, there’s a million dollars to be made by the person who figures out how to make jamming possible online.) 

From far away we gathered together, in “comfy clothes,” and comfy chairs (with comfy beverages and comfy critters); the noodlers (you know who you are) muted their mics and picked to their hearts’ content while others sought and received in-depth explanations and demonstrations. When asked, many campers agreed that the content and community were extremely satisfying, even when the tech couldn’t keep up. In an astoundingly short time, Heidi and her team created a website platform that was easy to use (and which will be available for months). Zoom wasn’t too cumbersome. The teaching was top notch. Bill Monroe’s legacy was honored and played forward, and the priority of safely staying home may have made it different, but it did not destroy the camp experience. It was not knee to knee – but it was pretty darn good. 

The Circle is Unbroken

In future years, I think that everyone who participated in MMC 2020 will look back on this as a unique bonding experience: the determination not to let the virus stop us, to overcome the challenges, and find new ways of playing and sharing this good old music. Congratulations to Heidi Herzog, Mike Compton, and all the instructors, web designers, behind the scenes helpers, and Campers for the shared commitment of using, in Heidi’s words, “the transformative power of music to foster relationships while building community, worldwide,” not because of, but in spite of, COVID-19. 

Posted in Lyrics | Tags: Bill Monroe, COVID | Leave a comment |

Ask Sonny Anything… the future of bluegrass?

Posted on September 25, 2020 by Azlyrics

Ask Sonny Anything is a recurring feature where our readers pose questions to the great Sonny Osborne, one half of the iconic Osborne Brothers who redefined bluegrass music in the 1960s, and noted banjo maven and collector of fine prewar instruments. Everyone is encouraged to pose queries of your own each week in the comments, about his history in the music, his wealth of banjo knowledge, or regarding any life advice you might be needing.

But first a personal note from Sonny…

I had a letter from one of my best friends on this planet, Bill Emerson. He told me that he reads “Ask Sonny Anything” every week, which impressed me and caused my hat not to fit me and Judy to slap the XXXX out of me 3 times and she said “How do you like that, you big-headed )#(*$*@)?” So anyway, it impressed me that Bill Emerson would read my little jack leg column. I guess I don’t realize that Bluegrass Today is a pretty big deal. Folks, I am one of the more fortunate people on this earth, and the position I’m in to do this is like a lifesaver…..I love it.

Bill confirmed a suspicion I’ve had for 50 years. Bill are a good feller.

S.

—–

Sonny:

I can remember the era when country music sort of changed from a rural based music to one that was trying to cross over to a more urban sound. Someone decided that symphony orchestras should replace fiddles and pedal steel guitars. My take on it is the same thing happened to bluegrass music. I heard that the Stanley Brothers quit carrying a fiddle player because their record label thought it was too “hillbilly,” but I wasn’t there so I don’t know if it’s true. I have also heard that people in powerful positions, such as Chet Atkins with RCA, had a lot to do with the change in direction of country music. Could you comment on this from your perspective, and does it still exist today in the industry?

It seems as if some organizations and record labels are trying to suppress the rural roots of the music.

Thanks,
Mike E

Hey Mike…welcome and thank you for your time. I couldn’t agree with you more. I fear that bluegrass music is about to go the same route that country has taken, and if they’re not careful they’ll wind up in the same junk yard that I moved my interest in country/pop/rock/filthy dressed/needs a shower/country singers… that is if we can still call them country.

You know, why don’t we start a new thing and call it “Hillbilly Music” just for the sake of being different and more identifiable…huh? So, wait… that leaves us with the final remnants of what we now know and loved as Bluegrass Music. OH, What shall we call it? Lets see…how about BLUEGRASS. Reckon anyone would know what we’re talking about?

I wonder if anyone other than me remembers what the progression was in the beginning. At least as I remember. The ’40s it was Hillbilly Music… then they started calling banjos and fiddles “Shit Kickin’” music…that would be in the mid to late ’40s. Then about 1950 I overheard Frank Wakefield tell Little David Harvey to “Come over and let’s play some GRASS.” I’m sure he heard it somewhere, but that was the first time I had heard that word used as a reference to our music.

From there the word bluegrass caught on like wildfire. It separated us from country/hillbilly and then just country. I don’t believe the story about the Stanley Brothers being told by a record company to drop the fiddle. If anyone would have been told to drop anything it would have been Lester and Earl or Bill. They were hot sellers in the late ’40s and into the mid ’50s.

S

—–

Sonny, do you possibly remember playing a little town in South Georgia called Blackshear in 1967? It was in the Fall in the old school auditorium. There were only about 15 people in attendance, including my friend and myself. The only thing I had ever seen of the Osborne Brothers at that time was an album cover. When I walked in I spied Sonny sitting in a wooden school desk taking up the money. I wonder how you got out of that desk. Few in attendance but the best performance I ever saw from the Osborne Brothers, and will never be forgotten.

Lanier L

Lanier… Thank you for participating in our fiasco. I believe that’s the first Lanier we have had. Pretty good name. Welcome.

I do, in fact remember the name Blackshear but I don’t find it listed in 1967. That date was booked for us by The Louvin Brothers X manager. I purposefully do not remember his name… much the same as he did not see to it that we were advertised as going to be there, not that it would have mattered. We had a few and at least 2… you and a friend….. who enjoyed our performance. Thank you for publicly admitting it!!!!

Incidentally, that little school desk was not designed to fit 6’2″, 240 lb grown men. (67? maybe 200) Matter of fact, I didn’t get out of that little desk until 1971. It stuck with me till it rotted away. {;-)>

s

—–

Sonny, what do you want to do in your next life?

Sam A.

Well Sam, I just read today that Billy Strings is THE FUTURE of bluegrass music. So, not to put Mr. Apostol… or Strings… down at all, but after hearing a sample of the Future, I won’t be listening to much bluegrass if I’m permitted a “next life.” Mr. Strings is a great guitar player, granted… but I heard Clarence White, Tony Rice, Josh Williams, and several more at their best. Vocally, I heard Mr. String do that. I’m reminded that I heard Ronnie Bowman, Bobby Osborne, Lester Flatt and scores of others who were responsible for building bluegrass music where it was before the Chinese Breakdown, or Mr. Billy.

s

—–

Sonny, what’s the closest you ever came to walking off stage and clobbering a rude, unruly audience member?

Billy T.

Billy, jump right on in here. Thank you for coming. Sit right over there by the fire and tell me what’s on your mind.

HAVE I EVER WANTED TO, YES! Have I ever done the deed? No.

Once in Kentucky. The stage was at one end of a large concrete slab which served as a dance floor. Most people respect the fact that we were never to be booked to play for a dance. It happened though, many times more than I care to remember. On this particular night a man was intent on showing his *ss to everyone and he really irritated me. I asked him to meet me at the edge of the stage when we were done. I gave my banjo to Dale Sledd and asked him to take care of it. While I was looking for him a guy came up behind me and said, “We’ll take care of this.”

My friend Dale Vanderpool was there that night so I went to the bus a had a pleasant visit with Dale.

S

If you have something you would like to ask Sonny, be sure to post it in the comments below, or send it to us directly.

Posted in Lyrics | Tags: Ask Sonny Anything, Osborne Brothers, RCA, Stanley Brothers | Leave a comment |

Bluegrass returns to Denton FarmPark for Doyle Lawson Festival

Posted on September 25, 2020 by Azlyrics

Even in the midst of a pandemic, the show must go on and that is what is happening this weekend at the 40th Annual Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver Festival held at Denton FarmPark in central North Carolina.

The event has faced several challenges. Its promoter, Brown Loflin, passed away last September. The festival, normally held on Mother’s Day weekend in May, was postponed until the last weekend in September due to the Coronavirus outbreak and the mandated stay-at-home orders. Loflin’s daughter, Karen Miller, and other family members plus the host performer, Doyle Lawson, have labored to still make the musical event a success.

Musicians are eager to perform and fans are hungry for live shows. A large, socially distanced crowd assembled in and around the concert hall.

“How’s your 2020 been?” asked Christopher Malpass of the Malpass Brothers from Goldsboro, NC. “It’s good to be back at the best festival there is!”

Keeping it lighthearted, brother Taylor Malpass stated, “I had a friend who had the Bud Lite virus.”

Christopher responded, “I think you mean Coronavirus.”

“I knew it was some kind of beer,” Taylor returned.

The duo then launched into their version of Merle Haggard’s Are the Good Times Really Over?

Their special lyrics included, “It was back before Elvis and the Coronavirus came along…”

Striving to keep things positive, Fast Track bassist, Ron Spears, joked about the wearing of masks, “You can go in Walmart now and there are no ugly people.”

Spears then invited music fans, “We have a new CD. We’ll elbow bump at the record table.”

The park is taking measures to maintain a safe and enjoyable environment for everyone.

“We are providing hand sanitizer at the gates, marking off 6 feet distance around the vendors, and marking off portions of the benches under the music hall to get the 6 feet distance as much as possible, and recommending wearing masks,” Miller explained.

Afternoon emcee, Bob Webster, explained to attendees. “As you leave for the evening, take your chairs and blankets with you as we will be spraying the auditorium with disinfectant to keep everyone safe.”

The event kicked off today with performances by Remington Ryde, Trinity River Band, Fast Track, the Malpass Brothers, and the highlight of the evening, a reunion concert by the original Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver. Sitting in with Lawson, Terry Baucom, Lou Reid, and Jimmy Haley will be former Quicksilver fiddler, Stephen Burwell.

Friday’s line-up includes the Lonesome River Band, Merle Monroe, Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers, and others. The current band of Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver will be performing both Friday and Saturday. Both days begin at noon and run until 11:00 p.m.

Saturday’s show kicks off with North Carolina-based band, Drive Time, followed with performances by Williamson Branch, Deeper Shade of Blue, Sideline, and IIIrd Tyme Out.

Miller concluded, “The RV’s have rolled in for the first day of the festival! Our visitors are so excited about the festival! We at Denton FarmPark are honored that we have hosted Doyle’s festival for 40 years! We have enjoyed working with Doyle and are proud of the relationship we have built over the years.”

The event is a family style festival and no alcoholic beverages are allowed. Denton FarmPark is located at 1072 Cranford Road, Denton, NC. 

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Track Premiere: Let Us Breathe Again from Theo & Brenna

Posted on September 25, 2020 by Azlyrics

Theo & Brenna have a new single which officially releases tomorrow, and we are pleased to give everyone a sneak preview at Bluegrass Today.

And before you remark that they make a handsome couple, Theo and Brenna McMillan are a brother and sister duet team from Kentucky who made the move to Nashville to pursue their musical dreams. The two share both singing and songwriting duties, and front a band of very talented pickers there in town, but for the new single, it’s just the two of them assisted by Gaven Largent on reso-guitar and Evan Winsor on bass.

Brenna takes the lead on Let Us Breathe Again, a song they wrote together when the music stopped in Nashville – and everywhere else – when local and state authorities closed things down in reaction to the virus.

She told us that she wrote the first draft, and finished it with her brother’s help, and sees the song as a sort of shutdown diary.

“We spent the first month or so of the shutdown in our house looking out at the world, kind of in disbelief and confusion for awhile. We got to watch a robin build a nest, have eggs, and feed her babies right on Theo’s windowsill. That was a lovely distraction and encouragement for us. There was so much fear at the beginning of the virus, and so many people had to adjust their lives and finances to survive. So it’s a song of the times for the most part, just observations on what I saw happening around me.

I refer to personal situations of my friends in the song as well, but the overview is people scrambling to try to school their children or switching jobs, scraping by, not being able to see relatives, stores closing right and left. It was mayhem, as we all know!

The last verse is a hopeful mindset towards some sort of return to normalcy… and to me, that’s going to all of my favorite bars in Nashville and listen to my friends play and watch folks dancing. I was thinking about the Local, on West End, where strangers have the chance to come hang out at a real honky tonk and dance with whoever they want, to Chris Scruggs or Timbo’s music on Sunday nights. And that is just something unheard of now, everyone is afraid of strangers. So it was a grasp at people being okay with each other again after all of this.”

It’s a lovely and thoughtful song, and we second her desire to see things get back to normal soon.

On one level, Theo & Brenna are seeing some return to normalcy, as they have a number of shows this weekend in and around Nashville. You can catch them on Friday night (9/25) at The Station Inn, on Saturday at The Local, and on Sunday for a fish fry at Grace Baptist Church in Springfield.

Let Us Breathe Again will be available tomorrow wherever you stream or download music online. Radio programmers can get the track now at AirPlay Direct.

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Big World of Bluegrass news – PNC to match all 2020 IBMA donations

Posted on September 24, 2020 by Azlyrics

The staff and volunteers at the International Bluegrass Music Association are burning the midnight oil, and then some, to get ready for next week’s World of Bluegrass convention, their first presented 100% online. The governor of North Carolina has not yet released COVID-19 restrictions that prevent the assembly of large groups in the state, so the usual WOB location in Raleigh was not available this month. Thus the decision to host a virtual convention.

With activities set to start next Monday (September 28), one of the biggest concerns for the organization has been how they will pay for the extra technical assistance required to pull this off, absent the registration fees that typically are associated with attendance. Given the need to proceed digitally, a wise decision was made to make the bulk of the content free to the public, and requesting a greatly reduced registration cost for the aspects of the convention not distributed at no charge.

Of course the plan has been to request donations during both the live and pre-recorded segments, with hopes that viewers, both members and non, would dig deep to assist IBMA in this time of need. And surely many will do just that.

But today, PNC Bank, the presenting sponsor for next weekend’s performance spectacular, IBMA Bluegrass Live!, has announced that they will match all donations received up to $50,000.

IBMA Executive Director, Paul Schiminger, thankfully acknowledges the backing of PNC, and asks everyone who loves the music to consider a donation.

“This has been a devastating year for every bluegrass professional and for the IBMA organization itself. PNC’s appreciation for the cultural significance of bluegrass music and its generous financial support are vital for our community to regain its collective footing and prepare to thrive again in the future. We ask fans of bluegrass music, as well as those who treasure the arts, to search their hearts and give so we can make the most of PNC’s crucial matching program.”

This generous offer from PNC will match donations made directly to the IBMA, and those received by the IBMA Trust Fund, which collects and distributes money for the benefit of professionals in the industry in need of financial assistance. In a normal year, a share of all earnings from IBMA Bluegrass Live! is given over  to the Trust Fund, one of its largest sources of annual income.

Jim Hansen, PNC Regional President for the Eastern Carolinas, shares how much World of Bluegrass has meant to the local community in Raleigh, and why they are happy to help.

“The talented artists who have performed during IBMA Bluegrass Live! powered by PNC over the years have brought so much joy and inspiration to the Raleigh community. In addition to continuing our support for this event in 2020, we want to give to the bluegrass professionals who may be struggling during this time.”

Donations can be made to IBMA at any time online, though special links will be provided during next week’s World of Bluegrass events. Donations are tax deductible as the association is a 501(c)(3) organization.

A full schedule for next week can be found online, opening with a Keynote Address from Sarah Jarosz at 11:00 a.m. on Monday.

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Video Premiere: The Farm from Backline

Posted on September 24, 2020 by Azlyrics

Mountain Fever Records has a new single this week from Backline, with a music video debuting today for The Farm.

We’ve been high on this young South Carolina Band since they first emerged in 2016, for their unique sound grounded in traditional bluegrass, but brought up to today with the distinctive voice and songwriting of guitarist Katelyn Ingardia.

She is supported by a strong team of bandmates – Travis Tucker on reso-guitar, Zach Carter on banjo, Milom Williams on mandolin, and Chris Williamson on bass. Together they represent the ongoing development of our music, without leaving the format and the sound first put forward 75 years ago.

Katelyn shares just how this song of determination and fortitude came to be written.

“We were finishing up a practice at my parents’ house, and Zach started playing the main melody riff of what became The Farm over and over again. We all were listening. I then started throwing words out there, and right then we came up with the first verse. As I headed home that night, I started to mull over what this story could be. What would we want it to say? I thought about an elderly man I worked with at the peach stand as a teenager, Mr. Jimmy. He would tell me stories of his family farm and growing up there. He told me about many great memories as a boy, but I remember one day he said, ‘Baby,’ (my nickname). ‘I remember the day so clearly when the men in suits came and told my daddy we needed to quit farming and work in the city. They made it more expensive for us to farm and make a living than it was to go on to town and work in the mills. That was the day I wasn’t a farm boy anymore.’

A story of legacy,  heritage and lots of grit, of a boy who was raised in the fields, in the shadows of the crops and his Mama. The story of a boy who turns into a man bearing the weight of continuing his families’ work and farm, of one who is told to leave the land that he so dearly loves. It’s a story of his past that holds a promise for his future generations, a story he refuses to write The End of, unless it’s with bloodshed. We hope you enjoy this piece of work that I know we had a blast writing, arranging, and recording.”

For such a strong story, the band knew they needed a music video that carried the message faithfully, so they collected a store of old photos and found actors to represent The Farm.

The Farm is available now wherever you stream or download music online. Radio programmers can find the track at AirPlay Direct.

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Bluegrass Beyond Borders: Norway’s Malin Petersen shares the benefits of bluegrass

Posted on September 24, 2020 by Azlyrics

Malin Petersen is what some folks might refer to as bi-continental. Raised in Norway by parents that considered themselves steadfast music lovers — her dad being a country musician and her mother a lover of jazz — she began her own musical career at the helm of a group called Lucky Lips, a combo that was so popular in her native Norway that it went on to record three well-received albums, and won a spot competing in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013, and eventually at AmericanaFest five years later.

Lucky Lips was initially formed while its founding members were still in still school. Then, when they begin thinking about how to take their music to a wider audience, bluegrass became their main means of expression. “We’re talking a modern kind of bluegrass, with punchy three-part harmonies, and even a full drum kit for parts of its existence,” Petersen recalls. “At the time, they had different people playing with them, depending who was free for each show, but they ended up falling in love with the genre and wanting to write their own material and to put an actual band together. After one of the founders quit, they asked me if I wanted to join, telling me they were in the process of starting to write their own material for the first time.”

The timing was ideal as far as Petersen was concerned. “I was 19 at the time and had been writing for a while, but hadn’t done much of my original stuff with a band. So it was such a great way to start merging my songwriting with actually being able to perform the songs I wrote while becoming more familiar with the band setting. When I joined, the rest of the band members had just fallen into place — Pål Emil Storm Berg on drums, Erlend Skullestad Hølland on upright bass, Even Reinsfelt Krohg played banjo, and Stian Sveen played guitar. Heidi Nyheim and Signe Marie Sørensen were the two founders who were still in the band when I joined. In 2011 Heidi and Signe left the band, and as the rest of us were considering how to move forward as a group we went to play the European World of Bluegrass event in Holland where we were named the number one European Bluegrass Band in 2011. We dropped a plan to change our name and we kept moving forward as a five-piece. We’re still going strong today, even though we’ve become a bit more amplified these past few years.”

Those efforts have served the band well. They’ve toured throughout Norway, through parts of Europe, and even managed to play some prestigious venues in the US including the Station Inn in Nashville, the site of their AmericanaFest showcase. “We’ve really played all kinds of venues, from the really tiny ones with beer-stained floors, to medium ones, up to really big stages as well. But overall, the stages we usually play are the typical venues that have a following of music enthusiasts who really like going to live shows and checking out new music as well as personal favorites. We have played some pretty big festivals in Norway, but it has taken some time to get into the really big pop/rock-oriented ones. It’s been getting a lot better the last couple of years though, and our collaboration with Norwegian guitarist Amund Maarud has also opened some doors for us.”

In addition to Lucky Lips, Petersen has also had a successful solo career. She made her initial bow courtesy of an album entitled References Pt. 1, and the effort was so successful it earned her country’s Spellemann Award, which is the equivalent of a Norwegian Grammy. She followed that with Alonesome in 2019, a mini set that reaped her any number of critical kudos and an Ameripolitan Awards nomination as well. It also lured her to Nashville where she recorded het upcoming album Wildhorse, due out in October. 

Yet, while Petersen has expanded her template, her initial influences made her a bluegrass devotee early on, and the seminal sounds she listened to growing up still hold sway. Its primary appeal informed her early on, and, she says, became part of her listening library even in her early teens.

“When I was 14 or 15, my dad gave me a bag of CDs he thought I should hear,” Petersen recalls. “And in there was everything from Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris and other great country and Americana artists, to Alison Krauss and Union Station, The Chicks, and Dolly Parton’s bluegrass album The Grass Is Blue. I was amazed by the harmonies and how the melody and the rhythm seemed to be so intertwined, especially on the bluegrass-related albums. And I was definitely very drawn to the vocal style and the phrasing. When I got the call from Lucky Lips — whom I had heard live only weeks earlier — and they said they were looking for someone to join their bluegrass-inspired band, it was easy to say yes. Working with them would introduce me to bluegrass in a bigger sense, and I was soon working my way through Bill Monroe, The Stanley Brothers, Flatt & Scruggs, The Seldom Scene, The Lonesome River Band, The Infamous Stringdusters, and Hazel and Alice, amongst many more. Brennen Leigh has also been a huge influence on me since I was 17, and she taught me a lot through her own music and the music she would listen to and talk about. These days I’m listening to Rhiannon Giddens’ different projects, and I’m having a love affair again with I’m With Her’s album from 2018.”

Petersen says there is an audience for bluegrass in her native Norway and though it’s modest, it’s still enthusiastic. “A cool thing about the bluegrass audience here —  just like in the rest of the world — is that they meet up, they’re engaged, they support their favorite bands, and share the same enthusiasm for the music as the bands do. I also think the actual bluegrass audience is bigger than those who would define themselves as being into bluegrass. I think there are many fans of bands like Mandolin Orange here who could definitely find more bands with bluegrass related music that they could like, only they might not know about them because they are not presented to them on a lot of the bigger music platforms. I seem to meet people all the time who get really excited when meeting someone else who also likes bluegrass because they don’t know anyone else who does. But we are not many enough — yet — to be considered a significantly big audience. We do have some pretty huge country festivals here though, where bluegrass also gets a platform.”

It’s significant, then, that Petersen finds a special connection between bluegrass and the folk music found in her country. Much of it has to do with the use of the fiddle as primary instrumentation.

“We have long and deep traditions with the fiddle,” she notes. “I’ve heard stories told of old fiddle tunes from Norway that have traveled the sea, been passed on, and can be found played in the US today. I wish I had details, and I bet the versions have changed over time, but one of the things I love about American music is that it carries so much history and tradition from all over the world. We can find pieces of our own history across the Atlantic.”

She says that there are various other ties as well. “Storytelling is also a very important part of the Norwegian folk tradition,” Petersen reflects. “Factual stories of tragic events, love stories and feuds… just like the music that traveled to the US from places like England, and would eventually become the framework of old-time music… and which would become forever welded together with the music that traveled from central and western Africa and create the groundwork of the music that we love so much.”

Petersen cites a number of other groups from Norway that have taken a similar stance. “We have bands like the fantastic Strengeplukk and Ila Auto, who sing in Norwegian, and great groups like Buster Sledge, Earlybird Stringband, and Winding Road. We also have artists like Jonas Fjeld who has recorded albums with both Chatham County Line and Judy Collins. Jeff Wasserman is an American living in Norway who has released old-time music. And there are bands like Darling West who have expanded their sound on their newer album, but who definitely have a bluegrass/old-time feel to several of their albums and songs. The scene isn’t that big, so it’s difficult to get the bigger gigs in this genre, but I love that we still have new bands popping up, and other bands use elements of bluegrass in their sound while helping to spread the word about its existence. Hopefully, it will just keep going.”

Indeed, Petersen finds plenty of reasons to relate to bluegrass, all of which she believes contribute to its ongoing international popularity. 

“I think the reason it came into being explains a lot of why it’s become so popular,” she muses. “It tells our story. It makes us feel like we are related to the past, and thus make us feel like people in the future will feel a relation to us. That makes it feel like it still matters. And no matter where you are from, I think you can relate to many of the stories being told about situations and events and feelings that, in some form or shape, are repeated all over the world. It’s also such a social form of music, just like our folk music is here in Norway. It can be passed down through the generations. You can sit and play together in small and large groups, and people are encouraged to play solos, even when they’re not great at playing because everyone else knows that it’s such an important part of developing skill and timing.”

In that regard, Petersen believes that are important lessons to be learned as well.

“As I explored the history of bluegrass more and more while growing up, I learned things that I think are under-communicated in the wider bluegrass community, such as the banjo being of African origin,” she surmises. “There are things we need to do to make sure we do not repeat themselves as we move forward in time – such as recognizing that mid-century bluegrass festivals and venues were often segregated, which made it difficult, not only for black bluegrass fans to attend or black bands to play, but also for black and white musicians to play in bands together. It resulted in the white musicians being able to prevail and go out on tours all over the US, while black fans and musicians never got those same opportunities. As a result, people today might think bluegrass is a white genre, which is a shame since it is so intertwined with music that originated in Africa, and with black American musicians and the collaboration that existed between black and white musicians. We need bluegrass to be the thing that created it – a space where the love of music overshadows any other movement in society trying to keep people apart. When I look at my early influences it’s almost only white men, and they are amazing, but they are also the ones who were the easiest to sell and those who were the freest to leave their homes to go touring. The bluegrass of today needs to be for everyone, and it needs to be aware of its history.”

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Colin Ray and Kathleen Burnett engaged

Posted on September 24, 2020 by Azlyrics

We are delighted to announce the engagement of a new bluegrass power couple, Kathleen Burnett and Colin Ray.

Kathleen has performed with her family for several years as The Burnett Sisters, and Colin partners with established bluegrass entertainer Jeff Parker as Jeff Parker & Colin Ray.

The two lovebirds met in college, studying bluegrass at East Tennessee State University. “We met at school… he held the door for me when I was entering Sam Wilson Hall,” says Kathleen. “I don’t really remember it, but that was when he says we first met.”

During their years at ETSU, Colin and Kathleen had classes together, and became friends long before they were a couple. “My sisters and I had regular get togethers, and we invited Colin all the time,” Kathleen tells us. “I had been dating someone else, but I always thought a lot of Colin, and thought that any woman would love to have a man like him… extremely kind, very chivalrous.”

Colin said that since they sang together often, with him playing banjo with the Burnett Sisters many times, lots of people thought that they were already a couple. “It just sort of happened,” he said. “A lot of people thought we were together, but we really weren’t.”

But they are now. A wedding is planned for the summer of 2021, but in talking with them this morning, it quickly became clear that the details had not yet been set. Some advice for Colin… your input really doesn’t matter.

Ray and Burnett currently live in Johnson City, TN and plan to remain there after they are married. “We both just stayed there after school,” said Colin. “It’s very easy for travel, two hours to everywhere.” “We’re thinking of moving back to North Carolin at some point,” said Kathleen. “We’re both from there.”

For now they intend to continue on with their current professional music plans, but Colin suggested that they may pick up some shows as a duet.

Here’s the two of them singing the country classic, My Kind of Woman, My Kind of Man.

Congratulations to Kathleen and Colin!

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Margaret ‘Bonnie Lou’ Moore passes

Posted on September 24, 2020 by Azlyrics

Margaret Louise Bell Moore, better known to television audiences in the 1960s as Bonnie Lou Moore, died on September 21. She was 93 years of age.

Together with her husband, Hubert, they performed as Bonnie Lou & Buster Moore, finding a long-running regular spot on the Jim Walters Jubilee television program starting in 1963. This show was aired extensively across the southern US until the early ’80s, and the pair’s country, Gospel, and bluegrass sound was popular with audiences throughout the region. They recorded and released a number of LPs and toured from home bases in Knoxville and Pigeon Forge, TN.

Margaret loved to tell about how she was accidentally thrust into singing on radio. Buster had a gig on the Cas Walker Farm and Home Hour on WROL in Knoxville, and when one of the band members got sick, he arranged for her to fill in. At that point the die was cast, and the two became a recognized act through radio and television shows in cities like Greenville, Raleigh, Memphis, Harrisburg, and Bristol.

In 1972 the Moores launched their own show, the Smoky Mountain Hayride, in Pigeon Forge, just as the region was coming into its own as a visitor destination. During the tourist season, the show aired nightly from the city’s Coliseum, and continued to run for more than 20 years. On each television program they would talk up Pigeon Forge, with some local historians suggesting that the strength of their show may have played a part in convincing Dolly Parton to invest there heavily in the 1980s.

Margaret is warmly remembered by people in Morristown, TN where she had lived since Buster passed in 1996. She was very active in her church, the First Baptist Church of Morristown.

This Friday (September 25) the family will hold a graveside service to honor her at White Pine Cemetery.

R.I.P., Margaret ‘Bonnie Lou’ Moore.

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Ray Cardwell – Passing it On

Posted on September 24, 2020 by Azlyrics

The Ray Cardwell profile is a contribution by Dale McCurry with Bambi Grinder, founders of NoteWorthy Music in Springfield, MO.

“I’m doing a little happy dance around the house right now,” says Ray Cardwell. He has texted me at 7:30 in the a.m. — a little early for dancing at mi casa — to let me know that his latest single, Born to Do, has debuted at #1 on Bluegrass Today’s Grassicana chart. This is particularly good news because the drop of his all-important third album, Just a Little Rain, is scheduled to take place very soon — September 25. Rain was produced by bluegrass mainstay and Grascals mandolinist Danny Roberts, and boasts a number of well-established Nashville players and writers.

Street Cred

Ray has done these dances before. The drop is not a Hail-Mary, “Let’s fulfill the contract” release; it’s a much anticipated album following his highly successful debut and sophomore releases.

His debut CD, Tennessee Moon, was produced by guitarist Pat Flynn (a former member of New Grass Revival, 2020 inductee into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame). The album was received with high praise while charting 10 songs on bluegrass, Americana, and folk charts.

“Tennessee Moon will remain one of 2017’s best of bluegrass,” wrote Mike Smith, reviewing the album for the Wires and the Wood magazine. Mike is host and founder of KSMU’s Seldom Heard Music — at 38 years, the longest-running bluegrass radio show in Missouri.

Time To Drive was the first single from Ray’s sophomore album, Stand On My Own, released in May 2019. The song debuted at #1 on Bluegrass Today’s Grassicana chart and remained in the top-15 for 37 consecutive weeks. Also from Stand, Alright debuted at #1 and Hurricane Rain at #2 before making its way to #1.

“There’s no arguing about the strength of his voice, a powerful force of nature that can tackle anything he wants to try.” ~ HK, Bluegrass Unlimited reviewing Stand On My Own.

“Just a Little Rain was produced by my longtime friend and writing pal Danny Roberts,” Ray says. “I am proud of this project, not only musically but creatively, and in its clear response to circumstances never before experienced. The human spirit endures as we love each other and grow to adapt in new ways to be artists and 21st-century troubadours.

“I’m so excited to get this project out to everyone! I had a great time recording it and co-writing with my friends.”

A Family Tradition

Ray didn’t exactly choose bluegrass; it was more like bluegrass chose him. He grew up in a family bluegrass band. His father, Marvin Cardwell, was a talented multi-instrumentalist who fronted one of the first live music shows in Branson, Missouri, in the ’60s.

In the ’70s, The Cardwell Family bluegrass band — Ray and Marvin, with mother, Wanda and sisters Nancy and Susan — played on the Branson Strip. They became a regular attraction at Silver Dollar City in 1976. Sister Nancy has spent the past several years as Administrator at the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Foundation.

“Many of the bluegrass players I know grew up in a family band,” says Ray. “As a teacher and musician, I see it in other genres as well. You know, you see families, and they all played jazz or they all played classical. But it is certainly prevalent in bluegrass. You know, kids are traditionally going to be somewhat like their parents. Additionally, with mountain-and-hill-music folks we didn’t have a lot of distractions. We didn’t have multi-channels and the internet. We had to keep ourselves entertained, and we played music. We found out we could sing and that we could sing harmonies.

“As a singer and songwriter it influenced me,” he continues, discussing the family music dynamic. “Dad would say, ‘If you aren’t going to sing it like you mean it, don’t sing it.’ Maybe the best advice I ever got about this business. The family gig broadened my range of instruments. I played banjo because it was the instrument we needed; it wasn’t really by choice. I wish I could have been better. When I listen to those records, I’m not sure I would have kept me in the band,” he says, laughing.

“But it was just a cool way to grow up.”

Mama Played Bass

“If you think about it, yeah, my family has produced some good bass players,” Ray says. His mother played bass in the family band, Nancy is a well-established Nashville bass player, and Ray made it to the second round in this year’s nomination process for IBMA Bass Player of the Year.

“Mom was a good timekeeper, and that’s what bass is all about, you know. You’ve got to be the metronome,” Ray says, love-of-subject resonating in his voice. “I always say that in bluegrass, the band is a drum machine. The bass is the kick drum, the mandolin the snare, and the banjo is a lot like the hi-hat. So the bassline is the no frills foundation that the song is built on … And it’s all about the song.”

“I’ve always been a bottom dweller,” says Ray with a laugh, when asked about his favorite instrument. “I started out on guitar and banjo and I played saxophone in school, but I’ve gravitated to the bass. When I write a song, it’s almost always written on the bassline. So yes, definitely bass is my favorite.”

Ray then proceeds to talk himself out of his answer. “But my voice [all four-and-a-half octaves of it] has always been the one constant through all the bands and styles. Whether it was me at keyboards or sax, guitar or bass, it has always been, ‘and sings.’ So I guess, I have to retract my answer and say my voice is my favorite instrument.”

Rebel with a Cause

It was not a straight line from the family band to hit bluegrass records. “When I left the family band in the ’80s — which was not easy to do — I was a huge rebel,” says Ray. “I was into new wave and punk, rock and reggae.” He was working out of Springfield, Missouri, and throughout the Midwest as a musician and front man, keyboardist and sax player. He relocated for a time to Hollywood, California, with the Springfield-based Resonance. “I turned 20 living a block off of Hollywood Boulevard,” he adds.

While in LA, Ray also played saxophone for celebrated songwriter Jack Lee (The Nerves, and writer for Blondie, Pat Benatar, and Paul Young). “I met Jack playing saxophone outside Frederick’s of Hollywood — busking. He liked what I was doing and hired me. He tried to get me to stay, but the band wanted to go home [to the Ozarks], so I did, as well.”

In 1992, Ray joined some bluegrass players from Columbia, Missouri, and started his return to bluegrass with the regional band, Slick Nickel. He moved to Nashville in 1994 as a member of the critically acclaimed, nationally touring bluegrass gospel band, New Tradition. Ray recorded two albums and played 230 shows a year with them for three years.

In mid-’96 Ray left Nashville and moved back to Missouri to raise a family and return to college to finish a degree in music education. While attending Lincoln University, he performed with National Honor Choirs in New York City at both Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall.

During his teaching days, Ray also played with an indie band called Squigglefish — a popular rock/blues/reggae power trio in Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks region.

Passing it On

Ray gets animated talking about teaching, about passing on a love. “What I enjoyed was getting kids excited about music,” he says. “I love music history. I love to talk about where it all came from, how it evolved, its importance to society.”

“When I toured with New Tradition, it was nice to see my buddies from the stage and to play with them — sometimes in spontaneous situations. But what made it fun for me, was the old timers who would come out of the woodwork, out of the hills — singers and fiddle players, guys who would never play on a stage, but they would follow the band and they would play, and they would keep up and they wanted to pass it on. They always impressed me.

“When I got a chance to teach, that’s what I wanted to do. I mean I love being on stage; I love to shine. I’m very animated, and I love to sing with passion. And to write music. I do. But passing that on is something very important to me. That’s how I tried to approach teaching, and it remains important to me, today.”

As a high school band and choral director, Ray led students to several national competitions, receiving high markings. He took them on trips abroad and to bowl games where they would sweep competitions. “I don’t know a band director who doesn’t love his trophies,” Ray says with a smile in his voice, “but getting the kids excited … passing it on: That’s the aspect of it that I like.”

Nashville Calling

Ray’s return to bluegrass came when Pat Flynn (New Grass Revival), heard a demo of his originals and gave Ray a call. After meeting with Pat, Ray decided that it was time to return to his roots.

“I loved the kids and I won’t deny crying when I told them I was going to leave teaching, but Pat Flynn was going to get me a shot at my dreams. I was gone.”

“Here’s my analogy — New Grass Revival: They’re my Beatles. I mean they sang so well and wrote such great songs. And suddenly it’s like I get to sing with my Beatles — John Cowan, Curtis Burch and Pat, all of New Grass. To hang out and be friends with musicians who influenced me so deeply. Pat is responsible for me coming out of retirement musically. He helped me get my record deal. Who gets that kind of opportunity at 52?

“The Dillards, The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, and New Grass Revival. Those are my influences. My top influences. Without a doubt.”

“I love teaching, but I promptly left,” he laughs.

Rustling the Grass

“Bill Monroe’s style of music was revolutionary,” Ray says when asked about appropriate boundaries of bluegrass. “None of the stringband music of the time had that drive, that forward clip, that forward motion. Bill brought that change. And people resist change and that’s human nature. That’s fine.”

“I am a living melting pot of influences,” he continues, “and I think to deny influences is a crime. Especially now with the instant availability of music and all of its sounds and styles. So you’re going to have Nickel Creek, and out of that Chris Thile who has been immersed in all of these available sounds — jazz and blues and classical — and who has a mandolin in his formidable hands.”

“I really like Motown. I like the blues. I like funk and reggae. It’s going to come out in my music. A fan told me one of my songs sounded like Bob Marley with The Police singing it—naming two of my influences—and I’m thinking: ‘Well, I guess he heard it.’”

“I love the music traditions. I mean, playing with Jesse McReynolds on the Opry at the Ryman was just beyond belief, you know …” a pregnant pause offering space and homage. “But I have my own voice to sing. I’m passionate about what I am doing, and I like to have fun with it.”

“When it comes down to it, I’m just a dreamer from the Ozarks.”

Writer bios:

Following years as a reporter and editor of a handful of weekly newspapers, Dale McCurry was co-founder and publisher, writer and managing editor of High Notes Magazine on the Western Slope of Colorado and The Wires and the Wood in his native Ozarks. Today, he wears all of those hats for NoteWorthy Music as well.

Co-founder/owner of NoteWorthy Music, Bambi Grinder has spent many years as a shaper of words — writing novels and short fiction (which she prefers in first-person present tense). Bambi is delighted to make this foray into the digital landscape with NoteWorthy Music as publisher, editor, writer, and web designer and developer.

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Video Premiere – John Henry Holiday from Flashback

Posted on September 23, 2020 by Azlyrics

Pinecastle Records has a new music video today from Flashback, for one of the songs on their current release, Blues Around My Cabin. We are delighted to premiere it here for our Bluegrass Today readers.

It’s the album’s opening track, a song written by guitarist and vocalist Richard Bennet with a old west theme called John Henry Holiday. Most folks these days know the subject by his nickname, Doc Holiday, earned by nature of having studied and worked as a dentist before moving to the southwest in the latter part of the 19th century.

His life is best remembered for having stood alongside Wyatt Earp during the notorious shootout at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, AZ in 1881.

Bennet tells us that the old west holds a special charm for him.

“This is one of my favorite songs I have written. I have always been interested in the life and times of Doc Holiday.”

In the video, we see the band performing the song in the Bonfire Studio as it lays out the short career of John Henry Holiday. Richard is supported by bandmates Don Rigsby on mandolin, Stuart Wyrick on banjo, and Curt Chapman on bass.

Blues Around My Cabin is widely available wherever you stream or download music online, and on CD directly from the band.

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From The Side of the Road – song titles for a suburban environment

Posted on September 23, 2020 by Azlyrics

In the radio work I do I get to hear a lot of current bluegrass releases, and I have to say that bluegrass songwriters may be in a bit of a subject rut. Our genre now seems dominated by songs about coal mining and the moonshine trade. Songs like that made the occasional appearance in earlier days of the music, but they were by no means the norm. Ironically it comes at a time when very few bluegrass singers and songwriters have ever been in a coal mine or had much experience with moonshine production (consumption of the finished product is another matter which we’ll go into some other time). The fact is that due to changes in our society and the gradual urbanization of areas of the country where bluegrass music is most popular, many younger professional bluegrass artists have grown up with a much more suburban experience than the older generations did. It’s a world of SUVs, outlet malls, Sriracha sauce, and even dobros. Isn’t it time the music reflected those changes? 

Nostalgia has always been a part of the music, but it was nostalgia often grounded in real life experience. The late Randall Hylton was a songwriter who had a flair for incorporating modern concepts into bluegrass songwriting (he wrote Lee Berry Rye, the only bluegrass song I know about road construction). He advised me once to “write what you know about.” He said, “I don’t know about you, but I’ve never ridden a train. I’d rather write about planes.” I had to tell him that in fact I’d ridden a lot of trains, but his point was still well-taken. He also told me my taxes were a mess, but that’s not relevant to the subject (Randall was also a CPA).

In memory of Randall Hylton, I thought I would give songwriters a few ideas for songs that reflect the 21st century suburban experience. As a few examples, and as a way to bridge the gap, we can still write nostalgic songs about our parents and grandparents but be perhaps more realistic about their lifestyle and the kinds of jobs they do or did:

Papaw Was a Walmart Greeter

Daddy’s Microbrewery

Mama’s at the Call Center

Grandma Ordered Takeout

Here are some more that are more obviously inspired by some of our bluegrass classics:

The Waves in the Pool

Me and Target (Got Our Own Thing Going)

Changing Passwords

Mall on the Hill

Gold Watch and Chain From Zales

Text From My Darling

Megachurch in the Wildwood

Food Court of Love

My Native Subdivision

Panera in my Heart

Cold Cold Air Conditioning

Two Dollar PayPal Purchase

One Loaf of Sourdough

I’m Using My iPhone for a Roadmap

I’m Breaking in a Brand New Operating System

Darling Netflix Across the Sea (that might need work)

Even our instrumentals, like Big Mon or Big Sciota could stand some updating:

Big Salad

Chicken Breast Reel

Golf Cart Wheel Hoss

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Track Premiere: Ready to Go from Jordan Tice

Posted on September 23, 2020 by Azlyrics

Guitarist Jordan Tice also has a new album releasing this week, Motivational Speakeasy, which comes as something of a departure from his earlier efforts. Growing up in a Maryland bluegrass family, his earliest training was as a grasser, and his first album came out when he was 17. But study in college opened him up to new musical vistas, and subsequent projects showed him entering more progressive acoustic territory.

He now performs with experimental string quartet Hawktail, with Paul Kowert, Brittany Hass, and Dominick Leslie. Their milieu is modern instrumental acoustic music, with strong bluegrass and old time influences.

For his fifth solo record, Jordan has moved from the ensemble environment to a singer/songwriter/guitarist mode, featuring just he and his trusty six string. It finds him playing delta blues and folky finger style as well as employing the flatpick. All eleven tracks are his original songs.

Tice introduces today’s premiere, which almost didn’t make it to the final product.

“Ready to Go… Just a peppy bluegrassy kinda number with some musings on life and human nature thrown in for good measure. This song started with the turn around, ‘tell me you’re alright.. Ready to go,’ which I had stuck in my head for a good while before I crafted the rest of the song around it. This was almost cut from the record, but figured an uptempo tune would provide a nice pick-me-up later on in the record.”

Motivational Speakeasy will be widely available on Friday, September 25 wherever you stream or download music online. Pre-order links can be found on Jordan’s web site.

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