Monthly Archives: March 2021

Mountain Home Music has a number of new releases this week, starting with a lovely country-infused bluegrass single from Carley Arrowood.

Carley’s debut album with the label is expected later this year, and already several songs have found favor with bluegrass radio audiences who appreciate her down-home vocal delivery, not to mention the fiery fiddle she lays down on demand.

This latest track, My Kind of Night Life, is a contribution from her producer and bassist, Jon Weisberger, along with country music songwriter Jenn Schott. It’s a perfect song for the emerging spring weather with its promise of a lazy summer to come. In the lyrics we hear of the pleasures to be found at home with family, as opposed to the bright lights of the big city, enjoying precious moments with the ones you love.

Carley says that this one recalls her not-so-distant youth, while at the same time inspiring reflection on her own impending nuptials with Trailblazers guitarist, Daniel Thrailkill.

“My Kind of Night Life paints such a beautiful picture of simplicity. It captures the very essence of nostalgia and, for me, reminds me of my childhood with every line. I grew up on a dirt road in western North Carolina, and my summer evenings were spent barefoot in the backyard, playing endless pretend and catching lightning bugs with my sister and brother with nowhere in particular we had to be.”

“During the pandemic, and especially now that I’m planning my wedding. I’ve come to cherish the nights when my whole family is home together, and I look forward, Lord willing, to the days when I can raise a family in the same way: running barefoot in the yard, catching lightning bugs, and just simply loving the life that God gives us.”

Arrowood is supported here by Thrailkill on guitar, Kristin Scott Benson on banjo, Wayne Benson on mandolin, and Weisberger on bass. Carley’s sister, Autumn, and her fiancé, Daniel, sing harmony vocals.

My Kind of Night Life will be available on April 2 wherever you stream or download music online. Radio programmers can grab the track now at AirPlay Direct.

Nothing says that bluegrass is getting back to normal like the annual band shuffles that take place at the beginning of the festival season. And with the warmer weather, that is exactly where we are.

Wildfire has announced that Scott Napier will be joining the band on mandolin, taking the spot previously occupied by Chris Davis before he took a job with The Grascals. Scott is an experienced veteran in the bluegrass biz, having worked stints with such legends as Larry Sparks, Lost and Found, and Marty Raybon. These days he works on the faculty of the Kentucky School of Bluegrass and Traditional Music at Hazard Community and Technical College in Hyden, KY as an Associate Professor.

Scott’s memorable time with Lost and Found followed the tragic death of founding member Dempsey Young in 2006. He stepped in and accurately represented Dempsey’s unique and original mandolin style, both on stage and on their 2009 album, Love, Lost and Found.

He joins Wildfire founders Robert Hale on guitar and Curt Chapman on bass, along with Johnny Lewis on banjo and Matt DeSpain on reso-guitar. Wildfire started as a partnership between Hale, Chapman, and Phil Leadbetter and Darrell Webb, and has evolved over time to its current formation.

Like everyone else in our industry, they are hoping to hit the road again this year and see you at your favorite festivals. Check their web site for show dates as the year progresses.

Dark Shadow Recording has another new single today, the first from their upcoming second album with Rick Faris. This is Rick’s initial output since his recent departure from Special Consensus, where he had held forth since 2009, first on mandolin and eventually on guitar. Faris left the band specifically to focus on establishing a solo career on his own, and this sophomore effort is a fine step.

For the debut single, they has selected Deep River, one Rick wrote with Brink Brinkman. He is supported in the studio by Laura Orshaw on fiddle, Russ Carson on banjo, Harry Clark on mandolin, and Zak McLamb on bass. Rick plays guitar and sings lead, with harmony vocals from Shawn Lane.

For Faris, getting back in the studio was like much needed therapy.

“This has been long overdue for my pickers soul! The groove was instant and they are all great friends of mine, as well as top class musicians. I’m honored they wanted to be on the project and cannot thank them enough for their beautiful talents and everything they brought to the recording session!”

He and Brink put together this bluesy grasser about a lonesome soul looking for the mighty river to take him far from where his heart is broken.

Dark Shadow label head and album producer Stephen Mougin is especially excited about this next Faris project.

“Rick is a tremendously talented picker, singer, songwriter, and performer and it has been a joy to watch him grow since I first met him in 2002. For this album, he got out of his comfort zone and started co-writing with some of bluegrass’s finest, coming up with a really strong collection of songs. The fiery band of pickers kept inspiring each other and elevating the recording, allowing for some powerful music. I’m thrilled for folks to hear this new single and get a glimpse of Rick climbing The Next Mountain.”

Have a listen to the single.

Deep River from Rick Faris is available now wherever you stream or download music online. Radio programmers can get the track via AirPlay Direct.

The Pride Band of the Bluegrass, Old Time & Country Music Studies program at East Tennessee State University has released a single, When The Water Goes Down. It’s a new song written by program alumni Tim Stafford and Becky Buller, who also participated in the recording.

All students enrolled in the bluegrass program at ETSU must be part of a band, and each semester generally finds several dozens such groups of varying levels of skill and experience. The Pride Band is chosen from among the most accomplished students, usually 4th years, and is coached by program director Dan Boner. It is a great honor to be included, and many former Pride Band members have gone on to careers in bluegrass music.

When The Water Goes Down surrounds a true story of the town of Butler, TN, which was evacuated and moved to higher ground in 1948 when the Tennessee Valley Authority flooded the region to create Watauga Lake. The fictional events in the song tell of a preacher long suspected of killing his wife, but the facts don’t emerge until the lake is drawn down 35 years later to overhaul the dam. Tim and Becky used the fact that these exact repairs were made at Watauga Lake in 1983, giving a ring of reality to their composition.

Boner, who produced the single and sings harmony on the track, recalls how When The Water Goes Down first came to his attention.

“Becky sent me this song about 16 years ago when I was looking for material for a new record, and it captured my attention right away. First, the local history about Watagua Lake and Old Butler is still part of the community narrative. Second, who wouldn’t enjoy a fictional (presumably) murder mystery about a preacher-gone-to-the-dark-side?

The Bluegrass Pride Band and I are so excited to bring this song to life, and to share this with Becky and Tim, who are part of ETSU’s great history.”

Performing on the single are Pride Band members Adam Miller on lead vocal and mandolin, Katelynn Lowe on bass, Jacob Metz on reso-guitar, and Justin Alexander on banjo. They are joined by Tim Stafford on guitar and Becky Buller on fiddle, who also sings a harmony part.

ETSU has created a music video of the recording session at Echo Mountain Recording, housed in a former church building in Asheville, NC. Dan said they chose this site because of their need to space out due to COVID restrictions at the time. It took place on Halloween 2020and was shot and edited by Will & Deni Films.

When The Water Goes Down by the ETSU Pride Band is available now as a single wherever you stream or download music online. Radio programmers can find the track at AirPlay Direct.

King Records, the iconic Cincinnati label that produced several celebrated and legendary musicians from the 1940s into the early 1970s (including first-generation bluegrass acts Jimmy Martin and Bobby Osborne; Reno & Smiley; The Stanley Brothers [and Ralph Stanley after 1966]; Moore & Napier; the Green Valley Quartet (the Easter Brothers) and the lesser-known Bill Duncan), will receive support from PromoWest based at the Ovation Music Pavilion just over the river in Newport, Kentucky, for the revitalization of the former King studio in the Evanston district of the city.

According to a press release, PromoWest Productions’ CEO Scott Stienecker announced that the company will be donating $20,000 to the project.

In 2015 the King Records’ old, dilapidated studio/office on Brewster Avenue was named an historic landmark by the city, thus preventing its threatened demolition and, in April 2018, after fighting for more than a decade to save the property, the Cincinnati City Council approved a land swap with the then owner, Dynamic Industries. 

Led by Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley and a united City Council, repair of the buildings has started with a new roof. Shortly before the pandemic began, King Records Legacy Committee was established to oversee the future of the King Records buildings for a new music-making and cultural center, museum, and more. A new non-profit organization, King Records Legacy, was formed in October 2019. 

Long-term aims include the provision of a museum, a studio, and community space. The Committee believes that there needs to be a “people’s history,” one that honors and respects all the musicians and other workers who helped create what King Records became.

It is hoped that the building will serve residents of Evanston (the district in which it is located), especially students, by offering music education, as well as being a source of community pride.

King Records was founded by Cincinnati record store owner Syd Nathan in 1943, and the label continued to issue new bluegrass music recordings until 1973. It was one of the first, and largest, independent record labels in the USA. 

Unlike other labels that tended to concentrate on one genre, King Records covered a variety of styles of vernacular American music, including Country (JE Mainer, The Delmore Brothers, Cowboy Copas, and Grandpa Jones, are just four examples); blues (an early signing was Lonnie Johnson); rhythm ’n’ blues music (such as doo-wop artists Roy Brown and Wynonie Harris); and western swing, as well as bluegrass music. 

Locally-born bassist Bootsy Collins and drummer Philip Paul, from Harlem, were King session musicians and both are ambassadors for the regeneration project. Another member of the King Records Legacy Committee is singer Otis Williams, also from Cincinnati. Collins went on to make a name for himself playing funk music.

Nathan’s greatest claim to fame was his association with the young Gospel singer, James Brown, who transformed soul music in the 1960s. 

Racially integrated – before it was required by law – King Records was one of the few recording companies to make a record from start to finish, all under one roof.

Queen, Federal, and De Luxe are all subsidiary labels within the King Records’ empire. 

In 2006 Nathan was posthumously inducted into the IBMA Hall of Fame. 

A Bluegrass Discography

These excellent 4-CD boxsets are still available, as are several smaller collections …. 

Various Artists 

• Best of King and Starday Bluegrass (Gusto-2188)

Stanley Brothers 

• The Early King Years-1958-1961 (King-7000)
• The King Years 1961-1965 (Gusto-2180)

Reno & Smiley 

• Don Reno & Red Smiley And The Tennessee Cut-Ups 1959-1963 (Gusto-2209)

Don Reno, Red Smiley & Bill Harrell

• 1963-1972 Complete Starday King Recordings (Gusto-2176)

The Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum in Owensboro, KY was recently the host of the 2021 Kentucky State Fiddle Championship. The Museum will be the home of this fiddling tradition going forward.

Held on March 20, the Championship featured almost 90 contestants in 9 categories, and drew entrants from 14 states to compete for $10,000 in prize money. Trophies were awarded for fiddle, flatpick guitar, mandolin, bluegrass banjo, and dancing. A large crowd was in attendance to see the contest go down, and when it all was over, the following winners were announced.

• Overall Kentucky State Fiddle Champion – Joel Whittinghill
• Jr Jr Fiddle Champion (ages 12 and under) – Noah Goebel
• Jr Fiddle Champion (ages 13 to 17) – Nathan Pedneault
• Adult Fiddle Champion (18 to 49) – Joel Whittinghill
• Sr Fiddle Champion (50 and over) – Mark Ralph
• Mandolin Champion – Joel Whittinghill
• Flatpick Guitar Champion – Ivy Phillips
• Bluegrass Banjo Champion – Rance Fouts
• Dancing – Junior (ages 17 and under) – Emily Brown
• Dancing – Senior (ages 18 and over) – Ivy Phillips

The Hall of Fame created this video of highlights from the Championships.

As you can see, social distancing was the order of the day, and while contestants were not required to wear masks on stage, they were necessary throughout the museum and in the audience.

Keep an eye on the Hall of Fame web site for more events coming up there in Owensboro, including live concerts, bluegrass jamming classes, and their annual festival, ROMP.

Bluegrass singers are well represented in this season’s American Idol competition. One of those contestants is Savannah Church, formerly of the twin sister duo, The Church Sisters.

Born and raised in Danville, VA, Savannah started singing around age five. 

“My mom sang around the house all the time. It was beautiful. I asked her, ‘How do you do that?’ I started listening to country greats.”

At age nine, Savannah enrolled in her first talent competition, called WAKG Rising Stars, sponsored by a local radio station. Unfortunately, she didn’t make the cut.

A year later, her fraternal twin sister, Sarah, decided to get involved.

“Sarah said, ‘Why don’t we try something?’ We started singing a song from the Disney Channel. Sarah has a natural ability and can hear harmony parts. We sang for mom in the car and she was flabbergasted.”

Savannah auditioned for the same talent show, but this time with Sarah by her side. They not only got to compete, they won for their age division.

“Things just took off after that. Our stepdad played guitar, and we started singing at fairs, festivals, and churches.”

Over the years, the sisters played the Nashville icons like the Ryman Auditorium and the Station Inn. They recorded for Carl Jackson’s Grammy-winning Orthophonic Joy project, and sang backup for Eric Church and Hank Williams, Jr. on the CMAs. They were featured on the TV shows, Larry’s Country Diner and Country’s Family Reunion. Promoting Virginia tourism, they traveled to London and played the Underground Club with the Virginia Luthiers.

As the girls matured and married (a week apart), they decided on different paths. Sarah wanted to take a break from music. Savannah sought it as a career. That decision did not include a nationally televised singing contest.

“American Idol was definitely not on my radar, but in 2020 COVID hit,” the young vocalist stated. “Shows shut down. Producer Julian Raymond called and got me set up with a producer of the show. After a couple of Zoom meetings where I sang 3-4 times for different producers, I was selected to go for audition with the celebrity judges.”

On October 13, Savannah flew to San Diego. She brought Sarah with her, and was grateful for her support.

“No matter what you go through in life, as a twin you’re born with a best friend.”

Due to the pandemic, strict guidelines were in place for the American Idol auditions. Once the twins arrived at the hotel, they were tested for COVID and ordered to remain in their room for the first full for day.

“Everything was in the hotel. They had us on lockdown trying to keep everyone safe. There was a lot of sitting and waiting. We had to be in the lobby everyday at 6:00 a.m. in our audition clothes. We waited three or four days.”

Wearing masks and socially distanced, Savannah did interviews and visited the social media room while she waited her turn to perform for Lionel Ritchie, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan. 

Finally, the south Virginia native’s turn came. She talked briefly with Ryan Secrest, and stepped into the judges’ arena.

“I wasn’t nervous going in, but my heart was beating so fast when I came out. Before I sang, I talked about my background.”

With the show’s Phredley Brown accompanying her, Savannah performed two songs: I’ll Always Remember Us This Way from the movie, A Star Is Born, and Ghost in This House, Alison Krauss’ version. 

The judges were intrigued. They asked who came with her, invited Sarah into the room, and encouraged her to sing. Savannah’s twin performed the same tune, I’ll Always Remember Us This Way.

“Lionel said she was super talented and tried to get her to audition. Sarah said no, that she was here to support her sister.”

With a golden ticket in hand, Savannah talked again with Secrest as she exited, did more interviews capturing her reactions after being selected, and was filmed as she walked away. The whole audition experience lasted a week from start to finish. She headed to Hollywood the second week in December.

“It was a quick trip. I was only there three days and no one could come with me. I had a really good time, but it was very nerve-racking.”

The first level of the Hollywood competition was the genre challenge. Savannah selected country as did many other contestants. 

“I was in line six or seven. They lined you up, and you walked out on stage and sang one at a time. I had to fight through nerves.”

The judges asked each competitor why they think they are the next American Idol.

“I said, ‘I believe if you work hard enough to get something, it will come to you.’ I also added a Reba quote, ‘You don’t have to be the best, you’ve just got to want it the most.”

Then the young vocalist sang Miranda Lambert’s, The House That Built Me.

Once her line was called out, Savannah was cut for the competition.

“There wasn’t a lot of feedback. I was a little bit shocked, but I had no expectations so I wouldn’t be disappointed. I was happy with what I did. I was honored to just be included.

After you’re cut, you are sent on your way. Presley Barker and I went to the airport on the same bus.”

Savannah flew back home to Bluefield, WV, and re-joined her husband of five years, Zach Alvis, lead vocalist and mandolinist with Chosen Road. The couple have just announced that they are expecting their first child in September.

Savannah isn’t giving up on music as a career. “I’m getting back to my Gospel roots.”

Currently, she is in the studio recording a bluegrass Gospel album. 

“Tyler Roberson, Chosen Road’s banjoist, is helping me work on it. Zach is producing it. In the Garden is one of the songs. It’s one that I’ve never recorded and I’m anxious for people to hear my version.”

Look for much more music from Savannah Church. “American Idol is not the end of me,” she confidently stated.

Attention mandolin fans!

Billy Blue Records has released an interesting one-off single featuring two of the preeminent bluegrass mandolinists of the past 35 years, Doyle Lawson and Alan Bibey. Both have been innovators in our music for decades, and while Lawson has Bibey beat by 20 years or so, they each field a touring bluegrass group under their own names.

The two have recorded a twin (and triple!) mandolin version of Happy Go Lucky, one that Doyle wrote and included on his 1976 solo album. It was the younger mando icon who came up with the idea or cutting it together, and when he reached out to Doyle he was all for it. Since both artists record for Billy Blue, they got together at Eastwood Studio in Cana, VA earlier this month and came up with a stellar version.

Bibey says that it was a day to remember.

“It was a true honor to get to record a tune with one of my all-time mandolin heroes. I’ve always loved the song, Happy Go Lucky since I first heard it on Doyle’s Tennessee Dream album. I know it was a great day in the studio I’ll never forget. Thanks for everything, Doyle, but most of all for the friendship. By the way, Doyle crushed it!!”

Assembled for the recording were Doyle and Alan, with Ron Stewart on banjo, Jeff Huffman on guitar, Stuart Duncan on fiddle, and Zak McLamb on bass.

The tune opens with twin mandolins in harmony, then Alan takes one following a banjo break. Doyle plays one after that, and then a fiddle break, and then Doyle plays the melody with Alan putting on two harmonies on mandolin. The ending goes to four parts with the fiddle joining in.

He says it worked him hard…

“That was a wicked baritone and tenor part to do on the end with him. It took a minute or two… I got him though.”

Have a listen in this static video from Billy Blue.

Al tells us that they had so much fun that they cut another tune that day as well, a new one Lawson wrote. No word yet from Billy Blue as to whether either Doyle or Alan might include them on a future CD release. 

Doyle spoke quite highly of his mandolin partner on this project.

“For the record, I’ve got a few years on this kid, and I’ve known him since he was a kid. His playing has always impressed me. He has a great selection of notes, and he plays clean. I was, quite honestly, a little surprised when he gave me a call and asked me to play a song with him. We liked it so good we did two!”

Happy Go Lucky is available as a single from a number of prominent download and streaming sites online. Radio programmers can get the track via AirPlay Direct.

Thanks to Mr. Bibey for also sharing a few studio images from their day together.

A singer and songwriter from Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, Caleb Bailey offers a striking solo debut with Poplar & Pine, an album that explores a range of emotions and experiences with an exceedingly impressive drive and dynamic. Bailey, a one time member of the bluegrass band Allegheny Blue, makes a marked impression, but one also has to give credit to the impressive ensemble that offers him such striking support from the first song to the last.

Indeed, with opening track, Grim Reaper, Bailey and company immediately assert their emphatic stance. Both driving and deliberate, it sets the tone for all that follows from that point on. The title track, and Red County Clay, detail the daring exploits of outlaws fully committed to pursuing a life of crime and carousing. So too, the rambling narrative, Hard Cider, provides an intoxicating entry all its own. Likewise, the busy picking and plucking shared in When the Power Fell On You finds drive and devotion stirred up emphatically with equal measure.

That energy is impressive, but Bailey is best defined by the depth of emotion he invests in each of these entries. The heart-wrenching ballad, How Do You Say Goodbye, emphasizes the difficulties of saying a final farewell to those you love, whether it’s a child striking out on her own or an elderly grandparent facing an incurable illness. Likewise, Eagles Are Made to Fly is a ballad about the joys of experiencing the true measure of freedom in a universe that’s too often constrained by conformity. Still, the most poignant song of the set figures to be United Flight 93, a song that details, from a first-hand perspective, what it was like to witness the final descent of the plane that was famously diverted away from the Capitol by its courageous passengers and then crashed in a field in Pennsylvania on 9/11. With guest vocalist Wayne Taylor adding to its emotional read, it rekindles the shock and sadness that’s no less difficult to reconcile even some 20 years on.

Ultimately, it’s that ability to seize emotion from such a personal perspective that defines Bailey’s abilities and makes Poplar & Vine such a genuinely impressive offering. He’s not only got a gift for detail, but an evocative and expressive way of conveying the sincerest sentiments as well.  Consider this effort both stoic and celebratory, and indeed, quite an initial accomplishment.

Sound Biscuit Productions has a new single today from Jesse Brock, a second from his upcoming Streamliner album. Known as a skilled mandolinist, this will be his second solo effort, and his first with Dave Maggard and Sound Biscuit.

From the time he was quite young, Brock kas worked as a professional bluegrass artist, including memorable stints with The Lynn Morris Band, The Gibson Brothers, Michael Cleveland, and Audie Blaylock and Redline. He currently performs as a member of Fast Track.

For this release, Jesse has chosen a song that he says goes back quite a few years, one called Kiss On A Cold Cold Stone. It tells of someone who takes a flower to visit his his departed spouse’s grave site, and places a kiss on her tomb stone.

Jesse says that he is pleased to have recorded a song from a good friend.

“A hidden gem from decades ago, brought to me by my talented friend, Louisa Branscomb. Her collaboration with long-time friend, Geri Byrd, has rendered a treasure to round out this project nicely. Thank you for your offering of love and devotion to your craft that is to be shared with the world.”

Greg Blake sings lead and plays guitar, with Jesse on mandolin, Russ Carson on banjo, Josh Swift on reso-guitar, and Barry Reed on bass. Jesse and Felicia Mikels sing harmony.

Jesse and Sound Biscuit have created a music video for the single, shot and edited by DF Production Services in Knoxville, TN, which nicely captures the somber theme of the song.

Kiss On A Cold Cold Stone is available now from many of the popular download and streaming sites online. Radio programmers can get the track at AirPlay Direct.

The shock passing on Christmas Day last year (2020) of stellar guitarist and ace vocalist Tony Rice created an outpouring of affection for him, personally, and increased interest his music. 

One example of this is the great demand for one of Rice’s early recordings, Rebel’s California Autumn (SLP-1549 (1975 and 2021)). Mark Freeman, President of Rebel Records, elaborates …

“This only just came together in the last few months. We were down to a few hundred or so copies of the original CD in the warehouse when word came of Tony’s passing on Christmas and, as you can imagine, they quickly flew off the shelf in a matter of weeks. Since the art files we used to reprint the original inserts and trays were no longer good (it was first pressed back in the early ’90s) and the graphics were in dire need of a fresh look, we decided to completely overhaul the artwork. The CD now comes newly packaged in a four-panel digipak and features an eight-page booklet with notes by Tim Stafford, along with some cool never-before-seen photos of Tony. The album has been completely remastered from the original analog tapes as well!”

As well as providing some general background, Tim Stafford, Rice co-biographer with Caroline Wright, shares some personal recollections about listening to the album when he moved to the East Tennessee State University campus in January 1979, and the enduringly powerful impact of these recordings done over four years earlier.  

Rice (lead and rhythm guitar) adds his vocals to two solo songs and is backed on harmony vocals by John Starling and Ricky Skaggs on two others. 

Starling, who also plays rhythm guitar on two tracks, produced the 12-track collection and engaged the services of Seldom Scene cohorts Tom Gray (bass), Ben Eldridge (banjo) and Mike Auldridge (reso-guitar), along with Larry Rice (mandolin) to provide the core instrumental support. Also, he brought in Ricky Skaggs (fiddle, viola and mandolin) and Jerry Douglas (reso-guitar) to both make their recording debuts with Tony Rice. The New South leader J.D. Crowe adds banjo to one track.

Continuing with the credits, the legendary George Massenburg was responsible for the mixing, and as engineer he was assisted by Bill and Fran Tate. This new release was re-mastered by David Glasser, Airshow Mastering, and artwork newly designed by David Lynch, Lynch Graphics. 

The photographs that Freeman speaks of are from the BOM Services/Red Clay Records/Moon Shiner magazine archives.

The material includes two Rice originals, one from brother Larry, an eclectic mix of other songs and tunes (with composers including Cy Coben; Jimmie Skinner; Hank Williams; Jack Pettis, Billy Meyers and Elmer Schoebel; Hoagy Carmichael; and Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon) and three traditional songs. 

Track listing ….. 

California Autumn / Bullet Man / Mr. Poverty / Billy In The Low Ground / Red Haired Boy / Good Woman’s Love / You Don’t Know My Mind / Alone And Forsaken / Bugle Call Rag / Georgia On My Mind / Scarborough Fair / Beaumont Rag. 

It’s great to know that California Autumn is still proving to be so popular and will remain in circulation in this enhanced format. The remastered CD is available for sale online.

It’s a little early in the year to be making album of the year lists, but I can just about guarantee that once awards season rolls around, Industrial Strength Bluegrass will be a top contender. The Joe Mullins-produced effort from Smithsonian Folkways chronicles the booming bluegrass scene in southwestern Ohio in the early days of the genre. While doing so, it also creates one of the biggest all-star collaborations in recent years, drawing from bluegrass, country, and Gospel artists to truly hit it out of the park.

Many readers will have heard the album’s first single and opening track, Readin’, Rightin’, Route 23, which Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers premiered during last year’s IBMA Awards, and was released to radio earlier this year. Written and originally recorded by country artist Dwight Yoakam, it serves as a theme song of sorts for the album, relating the tale of the thousands of folks who made their way up the “hillbilly highway,” US Highway 23, from rural Appalachia to the industrial areas of southern Ohio. It’s a catchy, solid number (and a perfect fit for Mullins’s vocals), guided by Joe’s banjo and resophonic guitar from guest Jerry Douglas.

The rest of the album is a mixture of classic bluegrass hits and standards, and some more obscure numbers from smaller, regionally-based groups. One that will have everyone singing along is Dan Tyminski’s cut of 20/20 Vision, the album’s tribute to Jimmy Martin and the Osbore Brothers, who spent much of their early careers in and around Dayton, Ohio. Tyminski doesn’t necessarily add anything new to the song, but does he need to? It’s always great to hear Tyminski sing straightforward, traditional grass, and Glen Duncan’s fiddles are spot on. Another fine traditional track is The Stanley Brothers’ Stone Walls and Steel Bars, featuring the excellent trio of Ronnie Bowman, Don Rigsby, and Kenny Smith. Bowman was a great choice to sing lead here; there’s plenty of lonesome in every note. 

There are few artists I like and respect more than Larry Sparks, and the album offers a nice homage to him through a medley of some of his classic hits – Dark Hollow, A Face in the Crowd, and These Old Blues. Personally, I might have included Blue Virginia Blues or John Deere Tractor, but it’s really almost impossible to narrow down the best or most representative Larry Sparks songs. Josh Williams takes the lead on a bouncy Dark Hollow, Bradley Walker tackles A Face in the Crowd (capturing some of Sparks’s inflections), and Russell Moore tears into These Old Blues with vigor. The band on this track is hot, with particular note given to Mullins’s banjo, David Harvey’s mandolin, and guitar from Kenny Smith and Williams. 

The album includes several Gospel tracks, of which the best might be Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver’s version of When He Blessed My Soul. Lawson leads a quartet including Jerry Cole (tenor), Eli Johnston (baritone), and Matt Flake (a wonderful bass). Lawson’s arrangement is bright and joyful, honoring the Brown’s Ferry Four’s contributions to Gospel music. Family Reunion, recorded as a duet between Caleb Daugherty and Rhonda Vincent, is another fine number. Daugherty and Vincent offer a heartfelt, country-leaning reading of the song, and Brent Burke’s resophonic guitar is top-notch.

Mo Pitney and Merle Monroe tackle Harley Allen’s Suzanne. Though the original from Allen and Mike Lilly is hard to beat, Pitney’s earnest lead accompanied by Tim Raybon’s high harmony will likely be a repeat listen for most fans. Vince Gill reminds us all of his bluegrass cred with a swingy Baby Blue Eyes, doing Lester Flatt proud. Some listeners may wonder why Flatt and Scruggs are included on an album honoring southwestern Ohio, but some of their earliest recordings after leaving Bill Monroe were made in Cincinnati – including Baby Blue Eyes, the first song they recorded there.

Mullins’s care in arranging this album becomes evident with the final song – Bobby Osborne performing the Boys from Indiana’s We’ll Head Back to Harlan. With this cut, the album seems to come full circle, as the homesick hillbilly from Readin’, Rightin’, Route 23 finally decides to head back to Kentucky. There are very few of the artists honored on this album that are still performing – or even still living – so Bobby Osborne was a fitting choice to lead this song. He lived the life spoken of in the opening and closing songs himself, and fills the song with heart and conviction.

I could probably talk about this album, the artists it pays tribute to, and the artists who perform on it, for days. This right here is the kind of music I grew up listening to, and what I still prefer personally today. But I’ll stop, and let you buy the album and enjoy the rest on your own – with the help of the meticulously detailed and researched liner notes, mostly penned by Daniel Mullins. Kudos to all those involved for truly capturing the spirit of bluegrass music on this album.

For more information on this album, visit Smithsonian Folkways online. The album is available from a variety of online music retailers.

Gary Brewer & The Kentucky Ramblers have released a music video for the third single from their 2020 album, 40th Anniversary Celebration. This project features Gary and the boys teamed up with many of the consequential artists he has known and recorded with over the years.

Previous releases from this record have included songs cut with The Travelin’ McCourys and Doug Phelps of The Kentucky Headhunters, and the new video finds Brewer and his sons with renowned country artist, Ashton Shepherd. Her first two albums delivered a pair of top 20 country hits, Takin’ Off This Pain and Look It Up.

Now she has collaborated with Gary, Mason, and Wayne Brewer on one Gary wrote called Love In The Mountains. They shot the video back during the bleak winter months giving the production something of a desolate look, even though the track tells of the sweetness of a romance kindled in the hills. Gary and Ashton trade verses and share vocals on the chorus as they take a stroll through the chill mountain scenery.

Love In The Mountains and the full 40th Anniversary Celebration project are available wherever you stream or download music online. CDs and downloads can be purchased directly from the Brewers online as well. Radio programmers can get the tracks from AirPlay Direct.

Mountain Fever Records doesn’t waste any time. Just two weeks after announcing the signing of Seth Mulder & Midnight Run to the label, here they are with a new single from the band, perfectly in keeping with Mulder’s neo-traditional vibe.

Since forming to play at the Ole Smoky distilleries in east Tennessee, Seth and the boys have refined a clever throwback sound that captures the energy of 1950s bluegrass and combines it with clever songwriting and a lighthearted stage presentation. Mulder is on mandolin, with Ben Watlington on guitar, Colton Power on banjo, and Max Etling on bass. Nathan Aldridge of IIIrd Tyme Out sits in on fiddle for the new album.

This first single is one Seth wrote called One More Night, a rousing lost love lament in the key of E, that he says is a true song.

“As is the case with many bluegrass songs about losing the one you love to another, this one is based on a true story. A good friend of mine was going through a tough time as he had recently ended a serious relationship. As time went on, I helped him work through his hardship until one day, something in my head just clicked. So, as any good friend would do, I took the opportunity to turn his bad luck into my good fortune, and that my friends is how One More Night came to be. I hope you enjoy it.”

Have a listen…

One More Night from Seth Mulder & Midnight Run is officially available tomorrow, March 26, from Mountain Fever Records. Look for it wherever you stream or download music online. Radio programmers will find it at AirPlay Direct.

While Belgium might seem an unlikely point of origin for an eclectic bluegrass band, The Louvat Brothers prove that nationality has no bearing when a genuine love of music is concerned. Indeed, over the past 25 years, Steve Louvat and his trio have won critical kudos by providing a unique blend of bluegrass, folk, jazz, classical, and world music influences, as demonstrated by their appearances throughout Europe, the US, and Canada. Further proof of their prowess was realized when they won the prestigious Liz Meyer Award at the European World of Bluegrass Convention in the Netherlands in 2012. Likewise, the praise that accrued from such legends as Byron Berline and Bill Keith, both of whom hailed the trio for their acumen and ability, also confirms their credibility. 

“They are fantastic musicians,” Berline once wrote. “When I first met Steve and Jefferson, I was impressed with their enthusiasm and eagerness… Give a listen to these guys; you will not be disappointed!”

Keith hailed them as “Belgium ‘s best-kept bluegrass secret,” and noted Steve’s “complex and compelling banjo playing, as well as his writing skills,” before concluding that, “These guys are really good!”

“My younger brother Jefferson and I started playing because our father was attracted by American music,” Steve Louvat explains. “I was four or five when he would borrow records from the local media library. He first learned about the blues, along with country and bluegrass music. As a result, we grew up with the sound of the Marshal Tucker Band, the early New Grass Revival, Tony Trischka, and Doc Watson, along with Jacky Galou (a French singer, composer and writer who made some wonderful bluegrass album in French for children), and the finger-picking guitar player Marcel Dadi, to name but a few.”

Those influences played a significant part in the brothers’ own musical development, and Steve recalls a point in particular where it all started to gel. “I will never forget this crucial moment,” he says in retrospect. “I was 13 when I saw a friend playing some guitar at school, and it really made a spark in my mind. I thought, ‘I want to do that!’ So when I came back home at the end of the week, I asked my parents if I could learn the guitar. They thought it was a good idea, but my mother suggested, ‘Guitar is cool, but very common … how about the 5-string banjo? The sound is fantastic and it’s not so often that we can hear it.’ Since I was familiar with its sound and the music it made, I naturally considered it and then agreed to try it. I received my first banjo — a left handed Aida — for Christmas 1987. I was so excited. I still smile when I remember the song that seemed so appropriate — Santa Never Brings Me a Banjo by David Miles. I love that tune.”

Accordingly, Louvat also holds fond memories of his initial banjo lesson. “It was in February 1988 with the banjo player Guy Donis in Liège, Belgium,” he reflects. “I was completely blown away by the sound that was occurring live and in front of me, as well as the feeling of the picks on the strings. I knew then that I would be spending a lot of time practicing. A little bit later, I experienced the same feeling while meeting the Belgian finger-picking guitar player, Jacques Stotzem. When I received my first guitar at 15, I took some lessons with him. Since the guitar allows me to express myself and to write tunes in a complementary way to the banjo, I also pursued a solo separate career with it, and I’ve continued to keep both instruments with me along my musical journey.”

At that point, it was clear he had found a definitive path forward. “Jefferson and I started to give local concerts soon after that,” he recalls. “We always had our instruments with us. I remember I had my 17th birthday just a few days before we played at a big country festival with André Vandomber on guitar and Wally Lawers on bass, in front of thousands of people. We spent all the money we earned buying a top bluegrass vinyl album collection recorded by our bluegrass heroes.”

At that point, things began to accelerate. Louvat picks up the narrative.

“It started with a duo,” he explains “Jefferson started playing the mandolin a little bit after I took up the banjo, and so we grew up as brothers as well as musicians, playing and learning bluegrass together from the beginning. We tried forming several bands — the very first one was with our parents — but it wasn’t easy because very few people played that style of music, or were as involved in it as we were. So Jefferson picked up the guitar and we started to give concerts and to tour as a duo named Steve & Jefferson Louvat, and that turned into The Louvat Brothers after playing in the States at the Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival in 1997 and 1999, and at the IBMA in Louisville in 2000 with Mark Schatz. That unforgettable experience taught us how much fun and how important it was to play with a bass player.”

In the meantime, certain of their idols instilled their own impact on the brothers’ progression, Bill Keith in particular. 

“I feel very lucky about that,” Louvat insists. “I remember being a teenager  practicing and trying to figure out what my heroes were playing on their recordings. I was dreaming about someday meeting them as well. When I was 16, I met Bill at a workshop in Bruxelles that my friend and fellow banjo player, Thierry Schoysman, organized. That day changed my life. I was blown away by the power and the creativity of Bill’s playing. When I was 18, Bill became my mentor. Then in July 1993, I turned 19 and I found myself touring several states in the US with Bill. I did so again in 1996 and 2004, and these wonderful travels allowed me to meet and play with most of my heroes — Bill, of course, and also, Béla Fleck, Scott Vestal, Sammy Shelor, Tony Trischka, Dave Dick, and Jens Kruger, plus all the musicians I met when Jefferson and I played at the IBMA in Louisville, along with all the musicians we met at the Byron Berline’s Oklahoma International festival in Guthrie — where we played five times — and those we met at the festivals were I played alone or with the trio. It was a true pleasure each and every time to meet and to play with fantastic musicians and great  human beings. It taught me so much about how to reach an authentic sound.”

By 2008, after a few false starts with some bassists that turned out to be only temporary, the trio began to gel. In October 2010, Byron Berline invited the Louvats back to his Oklahoma music festival, and Steve and Jefferson decided to take what they saw as “a big turn.” That’s when the decision was made to perform their own original music.

“Since it was not only traditional bluegrass any more, but rather some personal compositions that drew from various influences, we thought it was time to focus on some specific arrangements with one permanent bass player — a musician named Michel Vrydag — and have him come with us,” Louvat says. “He said yes right away, so we decided to take up the challenge together. We worked hard on the arrangements of the pieces we had already written, and we also started to write new tunes with him as part of a trio. This musical approach was completely different; Michel brought his wonderful, and different, musical background and knowledge, his virtuoso technique and his humor. At that point, we started to develop a new sound all together, and he became the third Louvat Brother.”

Nevertheless, in 2015, their efforts took another big turn. Jefferson decided to work full-time in a duo he had started with fiddle player Ariane Cohen-Adad, so Steve turned to a Canadian friend named Jeff Cardey to take his place. “Jeff was living in Bruxelles for some years, and he is a wonderful mandolin and guitar player,” Louvat says. “He also sings and his musicality was very compatible with our project. As life is a perpetual evolution and these changes are part of the trio’s story, we kept the name Louvat Bros., and we welcomed Jeff Cardey as our new musical brother.”

The band’s output has been prodigious and prolific ever since. They’ve recorded three albums as the Louvat Bros. an eponymous debut, their sophomore set, Contrastes, and a third titled Between the Heart and Reason, all in addition to their appearances on various compilations and an assortment of individual projects.

“Each of us loves to write music, and we enjoy creating the arrangements together,” Louvat says. “We practice the new tunes while sharing spontaneous ideas, but we also carefully analyze each part to create a full score. Each of us reads music and we study the harmony that finds bass, guitar, banjo, and mandolin coming together as if they were part of a big keyboard playing all the notes together, with each note having its perfect place in the mix. The main inspiration and energy come from the wonderful moments we share while being on tour, traveling throughout Europe, the United States, Canada, and India. It also comes from the cultural richness and the generosity of all the people we meet on the road. That’s one of the aspects I love the most being a musician.”

Louvat also shares his passion for making music by passing on what he’s learned to others. “I feel very blessed and thankful to have met so many amazing musicians who taught me what I know, as well as those who are still teaching me today,” he says. “So I love to share that, probably because I see myself in the people who find they are unable to sleep unless they know how it all works. I do workshops at festivals, as well as banjo and finger-picking guitar lessons on Skype, and I’ve also been organizing a workshop once a year for ten years here in Libin, the village where I live in the southern part of Belgium. It’s tailor-made for various skill levels to fit everyone’s expectations. It takes place in a lovely little old hotel and it always leads to a wonderful time of sharing music.”

That said, he admits that it took some indoctrination to get the people back home acclimated to the trio’s sound. While there were certain connections to the country’s traditional music, bluegrass in particular wasn’t necessarily known.

“As far as I remember, the people here in Belgium always enjoyed the exotic sound of the banjo and the mandolin… and the happy music they are connected to,” Louvat suggests. “However, to be honest, since it is not part of the musical culture here, the first reaction was usually to associate it with cowboys, hats and guns. Being teenagers and completely in love with our instruments, and later discovering the recordings of the people we considered masters — Sam Bush, Tony Rice, Bill Keith, Béla Fleck and many others — we knew about the music’s amazing potential. So it was frustrating sometimes, but very soon we realized that if we wanted people to be aware about the finesse of this music and these uncommon instruments, it was our responsibility to bring the subtlety to them, not the other way around. Very soon we started to incorporate various styles of tunes into our repertoire, and we’ve been doing that at every concert and sharing that idea with everybody we meet. I always feel like I’m a musical ambassador of some sort, but after doing this for 30 years now, I can tell you not only that it’s worked, but it’s also led us to play in many kinds of places, from bars and music clubs and schools, to radio and a wide array of major festivals worldwide.”

Naturally then, Louvat has his own idea as to why bluegrass seems to catch on so quickly. 

“This music has a fantastic and positive energy,” he insists. “Even if the lyrics are sad, you can start a fast tune with a banjo lick and people will quickly start to smile and dance spontaneously. I think the instruments involved, such as the banjo, the mandolin, dobro, fiddle — combined with the way they are played — creates something really mysterious and magical that makes you want to understand what’s happening, and sometimes you just want to tame it. It also has a familiar sound with its groove and vocal harmonies. So even if you don’t know what it’s called, you recognize it after just a few bars. It’s a music full of sensibility and subtlety, and since it’s constantly evolving, you can fully express yourself with a unique touch and color.”

He pauses for a moment and then adds, “It’s a music that’s close to the people and also close to the heart. You can just feel it.”

Sam Balson is an independent bluegrass and folk artist living in Vancouver, writing and singing his music both as a solo artist and with friends accompanying him.

A new single has just been released, Raking Leaves on Broadway, a thoughtful song which he says came from realizing how few of the folks who attempt to earn a living in music ever really succeed.

“I wrote this song a little while back at fiddle player Mitch Howanyks house. I just wanted to attempt to capture the difficulty of the music industry, and the difficulty of pursuing the arts in this modern age. Using the metaphor of the big stage and an old timey broadway stage, I attempt to take the listener on a little journey down the path of an artist and walk a mile in his/her shoes.

I’m very happy with how producer, Jeff Zipp,  put his flavor into this one and kept it in the roots and bluegrass genre. I’ve always loved picking bluegrass, and it was important that we didn’t stray too far from that point.”

Supported on the track by Mitchell Howanyk on fiddle and Rhi Brunker on drums, Balson plays mandolin, banjo, and guitar, and provides the vocals.

Raking Leaves on Broadway is available now wherever you stream or download music online.

CGP Sounds has announced a four-track EP from Tommy Emmanuel in May, featuring him recorded live in the studio with Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley. Titled Accomplice Series Vol. 1, it finds these three virtuosic pickers trading licks and having fun in their natural artistic environment.

Emmanuel has long been known for his free form guitar style, displaying a mastery of both the finger and flat picking genres. He first hit the music scene from his native Australia as a disciple of the great Chet Atkins, who later conferred on him the title, Certified Guitar Player, one of only five to be so named. Recent years have seen Tommy more involved in the bluegrass world, recording one of his original tunes with Michael Cleveland, Tall Fiddler, and appearing on Kristy Cox’s latest album. He has also been appearing live and virtually with Jerry Douglas.

A music video has been released for the album’s first single, a classic instrumental called Flatt Did It, recorded by Doc Watson and Chet Atkins in 1980. The melody is clearly based on the now standard guitar lick Lester Flatt played, generally known today as The Lester Flatt G-Run.

Tommy says the video was shot as the three of them were tracking this tune, and that the whole time in the studio had a loose, impromptu feel.

“The sessions were very spontaneous, and in fact, I suggested Flatt Did It and Copper Kettle as pieces on the day we recorded them. That’s how it came about. It was very spontaneous.”

Check out the video, where the contrasting guitar styles of Tommy and Trey play off of Rob’s silky reso work. It really looks like they were having a blast.

Ickes agreed, saying that fun was indeed the order of the day.

“I love to hear Tommy and Trey play together. There’s a great respect between the two of them. They are both so brilliant. It’s great to hear them feeding off each other. And this song is just the perfect vehicle for a Dobro, so I’m enjoying the whole thing!”

Other tunes on the EP include Razz-Ma-Tazz Polka and It’s Never Too Late.

Accomplice Series Vol. 1 will be available on May 7, with pre-saves and pre-orders enabled now online.

The DC Bluegrass Union has announced a change to its annual Orrin Star Scholarship for young music students pursuing bluegrass and old time music in the mid-Atlantic region of the US.

When the scholarship was first announced in 2019, following Orrin’s death at the relatively young age of 62 in 2017, the funds were meant to assist students attending workshops at Common Ground on the Hill in Maryland. Today, DCBU has shared information that the $500 scholarship is available to a student 21 or younger who is studying instrumental or vocal music in the bluegrass/old time realm who is or will participate in any live or online instructional options.

The award is limited to students in Washington, DC, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.

DCBU has made a habit of remembering important musical artists who called the area their home, with their yearly Hazel Dickens Song Contest and Mike Auldridge Instrumental Composition Contest. Given that Star was such a noted instructor in bluegrass, as well as a gifted performer, they chose to honor his memory this way. Orrin taught thousands of students over his career, both locally in the capitol region and at camps and workshops all over the US. He had also released a number of books and instructional videos on bluegrass guitar.

The scholarship is meant for a young student who has been studying and showing promise, and the application requires input either from a teacher who has worked with them closely, or an experienced player who is aware of their abilities. Also required is a one-page essay from the applicant explaining their experience to date, and what they expect to achieve with the $500 grant.

The successful candidate will have $500 paid directly to the instructor, camp, workshop, or online service detailed in the application.

An official application form can be downloaded from the DCBU web site. Submissions will be accepted through June 30, 2021.

Mountain Home Music has a single this week for their new bluegrass “it girl,” Jaelee Roberts, whose music career is exploding before she reaches her 20th birthday. Still in college in Tenessee, Jaelee is already seeing her solo projects achieve critical and consumer success, and was recently named as the new guitarist and vocalist with IBMA superstars, Sister Sadie.

They have chosen a new bluegrass Gospel number, Still Waters, sung in waltz time, and written by Kelsi Harrigill who also provides harmony vocals along with her husband, Paul. Taken from one of the most popular of the Psalms, #23, it tells of how the Lord provides all that is good for those who follow his commandments.

Roberts says that she knew she wanted to include a song like this on her album, and knew right where to go to get one.

“When I started gathering songs to record I knew I wanted to include Gospel songs, of course. Immediately I reached out to Kelsi Robertson Harrigill to see if she had written anything she could send me. Kelsi is an amazing songwriter and especially of Gospel songs — In The Heat of the Fire, In The Morning, Draw Me Near, Happy ‘Til He Comes, Just Any Moment recorded by Flatt Lonesome, and There Is You by The Grascals — so I was very excited when she said she had something for me! As soon as I listened to the demo of Still Waters I knew I had to record it; the lyrics, the melody, the tempo — it all spoke to me right away. I’ve grown up singing in church and Gospel music is very special to me, and the words to this are especially comforting: ‘He takes my hand and leads me beside Still Waters.’”

If you miss the music of Flatt Lonesome, this track is very reminiscent of that sound, while providing a wondrous vehicle for Jaelee to display her vocal brilliance.

Still Waters will be available on Friday, March 26 wherever you stream or download music online. Radio programmers can find it now at AirPlay Direct.

When COVID relief has been debated in the past year, there has been some concern in congress that the government might be creating an incentive not to work by paying people too much while they’re idle. For now we’ll just leave aside the thick irony of politicians complaining about other people being paid too much to bother with honest work, but as I thought about this a little longer, I began to take it personally. Isn’t every dollar spent by people on the music they love going to support full time musicians going another year without having to get a real job? Is this not a worthy cause? I realize that many bluegrass musicians have some form of day job, too, so in that case, money spent on their music goes to ensure that they remain stressed out while trying to juggle two careers. This is also a worthy cause, since I can say from experience that those jugglers wouldn’t know any other way to live. 

I will say as a side note, though, that if you can see your way to invest even more money in these particular multi-tasking musicians’ careers, they might eventually quit their day jobs, thereby opening up positions for other deserving workers in traditional musician day job areas like coffee baristahood (not a word), pizza delivery, and personal injury law, which helps in turn to create jobs and stimulate the economy.

The pandemic has taken this all a step further, though, and fundraisers are now happening to support bluegrass music events that aren’t taking place. I don’t just mean livestream versions of events. I mean non-events. I was recently notified about another fundraiser being held for a festival that won’t be happening this year. This former festival will be holding its non-event August 12-15 (it’s expanded to four days this year); make plans now not to be there—tickets and non-campsites are going fast.

Can this approach be taken by bluegrass artists and musicians? In the past year we’ve used the livestream concert as a medium for providing some entertainment, raising some badly needed cash, and showing off our favorite pajamas. Maybe this was the wrong approach. Maybe we simply needed to be holding fundraisers with promises not to perform at various locations where we had previously been scheduled. 

In future years, when live music is once again part of our lives (hallelujah!), we can still raise funds to support our absence at festivals and concerts we would like to have played but weren’t invited to. This will be in essence a promise not to perform, with payment for services not rendered, and it will certainly take the sting out of rejection. 

This would also not preclude actually playing events where we’ve been booked while raising funds for events we aren’t playing on the same dates. This would be a form of double-booking, though, and perhaps it would be wise not to have these twin bookings within a 100 mile radius of each other. Otherwise we’d be in the position of explaining to the promoters that we’re happy to play their show but that we’re also not playing a similar event just 75 miles away.

Just think, next year could be your best year ever, with a calendar that’s simultaneously empty and full. I’m feeling optimistic about the future.

Next week: crowdfunding and album release events for non-recordings.

Veteran bluegrass performer James Reams is preparing to release a soundtrack album from Like A Flowing River, a film about his life and career that came out last year. It will include music from the movie, as well as previously unreleased material from he and his band, The Barnstormers, and with iconic artists like Walter Hensley and Tom Paley.

A first single is available this week, with a lyric video, for the song River Rising, one James has written. He is supported by his current Barnstormers, Michael Rolland, Evan Ward, Dan Meyer and Billy Parker.

Looking back on 30 years in bluegrass, Reams expressed his gratitude for the embrace from the bluegrass world since he stepped in back in the early ’90s.

“I am truly honored and humbled for a lifetime of being welcomed into the bluegrass, old time, and country community. I want to celebrate and share this amazing milestone with fond reflection and embrace the new chapter with people who made it all happen.”

Here’s River Rising.

Look for more news on the soundtrack album soon.

Members of Amazon Prime can view Like a Flowing River: A Bluegrass Passage at no additional charge online. James and the Barnstormers will do a two-day residency at Gilley’s in Las Vegas this weekend, March 26-27.

Pinecastle Records has a new single this week from Bobby & Teddi Cyrus, ahead of the release of their debut album with the label in April.

This time it’s a grassy Gospel song which Bobby wrote with Ronnie Bowman, called Let’s Talk About Jesus. Teddi takes the lead on this one, powered by a talented studio band consisting of Kenny Smith on guitar, Don Rigsby on mandolin, Mark Fain on bass, and Justin Moses on banjo and fiddle.

Both Bobby and Teddi grew up playing and singing music in their native Kentucky, but only met and married later in life. Bluegrass and country music was part of both families in their youth, and Teddi and Bobby separately pursued a career in the business before they met and began performing together at the Cyrus Family Theater in Pigeon Forge, TN.

And yes, regarding the last name… Bobby is the younger cousin of country icon Billy Ray, and second cousin to pop superstar Miley.

Cyrus says that he and his famous cousin didn’t really have a musical relationship until they were adults.

“Billy is 9 years older than me. As a kid I saw him at reunions and I always knew him, but we never really connected. At the time I was catching tadpoles and he was breezing in and out and doing whatever he was doing. Later on when I started performing, we connected. In the early ’90s, I was playing nightclubs and anywhere I could play, and he was shooting to the top. I was proud and tickled to death for him.”

“Both of our fathers died within about eight months of each other back in 2005. That really brought us closer, in a way. Billy and I had performed together a few times in the past, but when he heard some of the songs I had written and was singing, he was really supportive.”

Here’s the new single.

Let’s Talk About Jesus is available now wherever you stream or download music online. Radio programmers can get the track at AirPlay Direct.

The self-titled album from this husband-and-wife duet partnership is due from Pinecastle on April 9.

We have written a couple of times about Sara Hershkowitz, a noted opera performer who has recently been returning to the bluegrass roots she grew up on. In order to avoid confusion appealing to such widely divergent audiences, she now goes as Sara Shiloh Rae for her acoustic string music, accompanied by a band known as Bluebird Junction.

Sara’s re-entry into the bluegrass world has been by way of Max Hoetzel, a veteran of the west coast music scene, who plays guitar and banjo with her on these grassy recordings. Bluebird Junction is Max, and a number of rotating pro pickers including Dominick Leslie on mandolin, Alex Hargreaves on fiddle, and Myles Sloniker on bass.

To date, their recordings have all been completed virtually, in the manner with which many musicians have become familiar this past year, made into music videos that have won them plaudits from both the longhair and the crewcut crowds.

This latest, an arrangement of Bill Monroe and Peter Rowan’s classic number, Walls of Time, finds Sara and Max in the California brush land, with video contributions from Bluebird Junction superimposed on screen.

Sara likes to make plain that she is not trying to blend her operatic training with acoustic music, or mix influences from one into the other. In fact she gets mildly defensive when someone suggests that she is, and Ms. Shiloh Rae is one of the most non-confrontational people you’ll ever meet.

She shared her thoughts about this question in a recent post at Noteworthy Music, where she issued a manifesto of sorts.

“I would love to clarify something. I am not a crossover artist. You will never see me make a crossover album. I do not combine opera with bluegrass. I do not combine opera with folk. I was singing and listening to this stuff way before I knew what opera was.”

At this point, Sara Shiloh Rae is not offering any of her bluegrass music for sale, simply making it available at no charge on YouTube and Facebook. But she and Max may yet combine these socially-distanced recordings into an album.

Keep an eye out for Sara Hershkowitz, or her nom de grass, Sara Shiloh Rae.