Monthly Archives: October 2021

Another bluegrass baby! Always welcome news, especially when a community has suffered loss.

Josh Richards, guitarist and vocalist for Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, and his wife, Amy, are celebrating the birth of their third child. Dorothy Gene Richards was born on September 30, weighing in at 6lbs 15oz, and stretching out to 19 1/2 inches long.

Richards says that she came in to this world “sometime before the IBMA awards show” that day, and that “Amy is doing great and Loretta Jo and Lucas love our new addition!”

It sounds like Josh is well on his way to a Richards family band.

Congratulations to Amy and Josh, and a great big Bluegrass Today welcome to Dorothy Gene!

I’ve discussed in past columns the fact that, while bluegrass bands still get booked at weddings, there are at most three appropriate bluegrass songs to play at a wedding. Even some of the instrumentals are questionable, at least if you announce the titles: Pretty Little Widow, Farewell Blues, and Don’t Make Me Go Through With This (an obscure Kentucky fiddle tune from the 1920s).

With Halloween approaching, it occurs to me that we also have a shortage of appropriate scary/ghosty material. Sure we have the murder ballads, and if you think that’s good enough, then fine, but I have to register a protest there: Over the past decade or so, grisly murder and violence, as exemplified by horror and slasher films, have become associated with Halloween, which I think is somewhat lazy (not counting the considerable effort exerted by the serial killers) and has been detrimental to the essential innocence of Halloween.

Remember when Halloween was just about carving pumpkins and gorging on candy, and stuck mostly with the wholesome themes of ghosts, hauntings, witchcraft, and demon possession? Those were the days. Just throw in some urban legends about candy poisoning incidents and you sum up the Halloweens of our fresh-faced childhood.

Just as a side note: the fear of tainted candy (other than just handing out last year’s leftover candy to unsuspecting children) has always been vastly overblown. A recent study by the Bureau of Pointless Statistics (BPS) states that the chances of a child being a victim of Halloween candy poisoning are equal to the chances of said child perishing by a grizzly bear attack while canoeing unsupervised (the bear is canoeing).

What do we have to offer in the bluegrass repertoire for truly appropriate Halloween material? We really can’t get much further than Bringing Mary Home, Long Black Veil, Caleb Meyer, Eli Renfro, and maybe Ghost in This House. That’s a pretty short set or Halloween-themed radio show. We really need to write some more, and I do have to give praise to Billy and Marija Droze here for already jumping on this bandwagon, even before it was a wagon.

Here are a few ideas to get some creative juices flowing in the bluegrass songwriting community. Most of these are sequels to, or inspired by existing songs:

Not a 14th Time! (Bringing Mary Home Again)

Little Haunted Home on the Hill

This could contain the chorus, 

Oh death has taken you from me 
And yet I don’t feel all alone
I don’t think it’s just the rain upon my windowpane 
In our little haunted home on the hill

Albert the Australian is Back (in which one of the Matterhorn hikers returns to haunt a small Swiss village)

The Wife of Eli Renfro

Also in the revenge category:

Rose Conley Has Returned! (From the Willow Garden)

With apologies to the late Bill Bryson:

The Ghoul at the Crossroads Bar

Dark and Spooky Hollow

A Voice From Inside

(“I hear a voice calling, it must be upstairs . . .”)

And, my personal favorite: 

Hot Candy Corn, Cold Candy Corn

Happy Halloween. Please eat candy corn responsibly and don’t let your kids canoe with grizzly bears.

Valerie Smith is known in the bluegrass world as both a premier vocalist and songwriter. On her newest release, Renaissance, Smith has given us a collection of songs that focus on varying life themes, such as love, regret, and acceptance.

While several of the tracks were recorded with Valerie’s touring band, Liberty Pike, Smith utilized an incredible array of talent on this project, such as Andy Leftwich, Stephen Burwell, Bob Minner, Cody Kilby, Rob Ickes, Donna Ulisse, and Jerry Salley, among many others. Having different configurations of musicians and vocalists on each song was one of the elements that made Renaissance an enjoyable listening experience. Because each participant has their own style and approach, there’s not an ounce of monotony to be found here.

Although Valerie Smith is recognized for her exceptional songwriting, she only wrote two of this album’s fourteen songs. I’m Fine Bein’ Me is centered around coming to a place of self-worth in one’s individual life path. A Dollar Looked Mighty Good, co-written with Ashley Lewis, is a powerful composition which tells the true story of Smith’s great grandmother, Maggie Brooks, who escaped a violent marriage and ultimately became a successful businesswoman in Plattsburgh, MO. This song in particular does a marvelous job of conveying the sense of pride and accomplishment that a person can experience.

Like the abundant cast of musicians on Renaissance, the majority of the tracks were written by a host of different songwriters. On That Train by Jude Johnstone is a song that captures the feeling of regret in an astute manner. Dancin’ With the Stars, co-written by David Lauver, Bobby Johnston, and Jerry Salley, is a composition that displays the sense of contentment, love and, carefreeness wonderfully. The Great I Am, written by Pastor Mike Lane, is a cheery Gospel song which pairs Valerie Smith with the McCrary sisters, adding even greater variety to this diverse project. With each of these aforementioned songs, Smith interprets them in her own captivating manner.

Renaissance is a recording which explores emotions that more than likely we have all experienced, such as joy, sorrow, and hope. Emotionally speaking, you won’t be able to stay in one place too long as you’re listening.

Bluegrass radio personality Steve Martin summed it up best in the opening paragraph of the liner notes, “Renaissance is humanity in songs.” Though this project largely relates to Valerie Smith’s life journey, it can definitely hit home for any listener regardless of their personal background or life circumstances.

Mason Via, newest member of the Old Crowe Medicine Show and 2021 American Idol contestant, has a new single out today on Mountain Fever Records.

The song, Colorado, written by Via and Thomas Cassel (mandolinist with Circus No. 9), is a high energy tune about leaving the Blue Ridge Mountains and heading to the Rockies.

Colorado features Via on guitar, Cassel on mandolin, Alex Genova (Fireside Collective) on banjo, Sam Weiss on fiddle, and Ben Somerville on bass. The instrumental portion of the song was recorded at Bee Hive Recording Studio in Johnson City, TN. 

Joining lead vocalist, Via, with harmony vocals is Nick Goad (Sideline) and Jacob Harbour (formerly of Rich In Tradition). The vocal tracks were laid down at Eastwood Studio in Cana, VA.

It is the second single (Big City was the first) from his forthcoming Mountain Fever album, Poverty Line, due to be released in 2022.

The North Carolina native, who now makes his home in Nashville, shared, “It’s my favorite song on the album. I’ve been to Colorado a couple of times. I just returned from playing Red Rocks Amphitheater. It was surreal!”

Doors continue to open for the emerging artist. Via will be performing with OCMS at the Ryman auditorium, the mother church of country music, on December 30-31.

Here’s a listen to Colorado…

The single is available now from popular download and streaming sites online. Radio programmers can find the track at AirPlay Direct.

Many thanks to Brooks Burris for sharing this gallery of images from last weekend’s Old Settlers Music Festival in Tilmon, TX.

The festival has been held in October since 1987 with a combination of bluegrass, old time, alternative, and Americana music. They also host music competitions for young artists during the festival.

Melton & Miller Music has a new single for Shannon Wright, who though she may be new to the bluegrass market, is an experienced singer and songwriter of nearly twenty years’ tenure.

Living now in Nashville, Shannon is a Georgia native who released a couple of records of original country music written with her husband, Adam Wright. The pair met cute, when Adam filled in on a show with her band back home in Georgia. Adam is also a cousin of country superstar Alan Jackson, who has recorded a number of their songs on his projects. Shannon’s songs have also been cut by Balsam Range and Special Consensus.

Her new bluegrass single is also a Wright and Wright composition, Sincerely Blue, a lonesome, mid-tempo grasser of lost love and heartbreak which she sings with a distinctly mountain sound. Wright is supported here by Milan Miller on guitar, Seth Taylor on mandolin and banjo, Tim Crouch on fiddle, and Buddy Melton on bass. Miller adds the harmony vocals on the track.

It’s a fine introduction to the world of bluegrass.

Have a listen in this lyric video.

Sincerely Blue is available now from popular download and streaming sites online. The single is available to radio programmers via AirPlay Direct.

Bluegrass and old-time fiddle player Arvil Freeman passed away peacefully during the early hours of Thursday morning, October 21, 2021, at 89 years of age. He is known for his distinctively personal style, with a smooth and melodic long bow style, which apparently attracted job offers from Bill Monroe, Ralph Stanley, Mac Wiseman, and Grandpa Jones during his professional life.

A native of Madison County in western North Carolina, Freeman was born on April 14, 1932, and lived in Buncombe County most of his life. He inherited some Cherokee Indian blood from his maternal grandmother.

Freeman’s grandfather and father, both named Zeb, were fiddle players. Otherwise, his early influences came from his two of his siblings, particularly older brother Gordon, who graduated from guitar to fiddle. The close-knit family lived on his grandparents’ farm on Pawpaw Creek in Madison County, and were mostly self-sufficient. 

His grandfather used to play records by the Skillet Lickers, the Delmore Brothers, and The Carter Family, among others. 

Freeman picked up the fiddle as a seven-year-old and he became aware of two well-respected fiddlers from the region, Tommy Hunter and Byard Ray, with the latter including an old-time version of Sourwood Mountain, and a minor key rendition of Polly Put The Kettle On, in his repertoire.

While his earliest influences played old-time fiddle, Freeman played somewhere “in between” that style and bluegrass, and he respected the traditions’ shared repertoire. “Those tunes have always been around,” he once said.

Freeman’s introduction to professional music came in 1946, when Bascom Lamar Lunsford recruited him for a tour of colleges in Texas and Oklahoma with the Bailey Mountain Cloggers and the Hunter Brothers Band. 

After leaving school he moved to Michigan, where his brothers were working. There they met Carl and J.P. Sauceman, and on moving back east Arvil and Carmon Freeman joined the Sauceman Brothers and the Green Valley Boys, based in Bristol, Tennessee. They performed twice a day on Radio WCYB’s Farm and Fun Time Show as well as going out to do four or five live shows a week. 

 After a year with the Sauceman Brothers, Freeman toured with Reno & Smiley for six months, before doing two years Army service in Korea. On returning to his homeland he became more serious about his fiddle playing, collecting records by the well-established professionals of the day, notably Tommy Magness, Benny Martin, Chubby Wise, and Kenny Baker. 

For a while Freeman had day jobs, then he resumed playing professionally doing weekend shows at the Folkway Center in Hendersonville, North Carolina, and then in Arlene Kesterson’s New Day Country Band, staying with them until the late 1970s. 

Arvil Freeman – Dance Around Molly (circa 1978) 

Thereafter he joined Marc Pruett in setting up his band, and from October 1979 until 1988 Freeman played several nights a week in the Marc Pruett Band at Bill Stanley’s Barbecue and Bluegrass in downtown Asheville. Although they performed for a week at the World’s Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee, and made an appearance at a bluegrass festival in Las Vegas, they rarely strayed away from their home turf. 

The band recorded a handful of albums with a few releases on the Skyline label, which was organized by Marc Pruett and the band’s bass player, former Blue Grass Boy Randy Davis. 

Subsequently, Freeman formed The 40 West Band, a group that featured Pruett, Buddy Davis (bass), the talented singer-songwriter/guitarist Marty Lewis – who contributed some original songs to their repertoire – and Don Lewis (mandolin).

He won countless fiddling competitions, including the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival (in 1974, 1993, 1994, and 1995); Union Grove; and Georgia’s Official State Fiddlers’ Convention. 

Freeman was one of five fiddlers (with Benton Flippen, Audrey Hash Ham, Red Wilson, and Josh Goforth) chosen to represent the variety of traditional fiddle styles in North Carolina on UNC-TV’s Folkways series. 

He has appeared on more than 40 different albums, including some with Raymond Fairchild and three with the Crowe Brothers. 

For the past 40 years Freeman devoted much of his time to teaching rather than performing, instructing his students by ear, the old-time way. Pupils have praised his calm and patient teaching style and demeanor. Many of them, including Josh Goforth, Emma and Bryan McDowell, and Danielle Bishop, used the knowledge and skills they gained from him to become professional musicians and well-known contest winners themselves.

He was proudest of his work as a teacher, which filmmaker Rodrigo Dorfman captured beautifully in this short film.

As well as continuing to give fiddle lessons, Freeman performed regularly as a member of the Stoney Creek Boys, the house band for Asheville’s Shindig on the Green.

The North Carolina Arts Council honored Arvil Freeman with the prestigious North Carolina Heritage Award in May 2018.

R.I.P., Arvil Freeman

His funeral service was held on Sunday, October 24, in the Chapel of West Funeral Home in Weaverville, NC. Hi body was interred in the Nina Freeman Roberts Cemetery, in Marshall. 

In lieu of flowers, the family request that donations be given to Folk Heritage for the preservation of “Arvil’s Heritage” at the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival.

A Discography 

Arvil Freeman

• Saturday Night Fiddlin’ (Wes Sound Shop IRC 893, released 1978) 

With Carl and J.P. Sauceman

• Live Again! WCYB Bristol Farm and Fun Time (Rebel REB 854, 1988). This is a various artists collection. 

The Asheville Bluegrass Band 

• The Asheville Blue Grass (No label RSR 514, 1977)

The Marc Pruett Band / Marc Pruett 

• The Marc Pruett Band (Wes Sound Shop IRC 1083, 1980) 
• Moonlight Madness (Marandee Records MR001, 1981)
• Streamline Cannonball (Skyline Records SR006, 1981) 
• Dance Music Square & Clog (Skyline Records SR007, 1981), with The Midnight Plowboys
• Center Stage Live (Marandee Records MR002, 1982) 

The 40 West Band

• Live At Stanley’s (unknown) 

The Crowe Brothers

• I Know It Wasn’t You (The Telephone Song) (Atteiram API-L-1654, 1989)
• Sing Always True (Skyline SR-004, 1981). See Regenesis (Copper Creek CCCD-0167, 1999) also. 
• Sing The Gospel Way (Skyline Records SR 011, 1984) Re- eleased (Copper Creek CCCD-0157, 1997)

Raymond Fairchild

• Plays Requests (Skyline Records SR 012, 1985) 
• See Raymond Fairchild-King of The Smoky Mountain Banjo Players Plays the Classics (Copper Creek CCCD-0194, July 2, 2002) also.
• Raymond Fairchild-World Champion Banjo Plays John’s Dream (Skyline SR-016, 1987)
• Raymond Fairchild-Smoky Mountain Christmas: A Bluegrass Holiday (Rural Rhythm RHY-290, September 9, 2003)

Raymond Fairchild & Bruce Moody

• Two Old Friends (Whoa Mule Productions, Inc. No #, 2003) 

Buddy Davis

• Rhythm of the Rails (UnaMae Music UM001, 1995)

Wayne Erbsen

• Old-Time Gospel Instrumentals (Native Ground Books & Music No # 2001)

Buncombe Turnpike

• Pickers Paradise (Buncombe Turnpike Music BT 0290, 2006) 

Another bluegrass wedding is on the horizon with more members from the same bands! Sweet Potato Pie mandolinist, Tori Jones, and Drive Time banjoist, Tyler Jackson, have officially announced their engagement. This comes just a month after Drive Time/Sweet Potato Pie fiddler, Katie Springer wed Drive Time mandolinist, Austin Koerner.

Jackson, who survived a brain aneurysm just about a year ago, shared, “Tori and I officially met on a group trip to SPBGMA in January of 2020. Katie Springer and Maddie Baucom (of Sweet Potato Pie) introduced us, but we really didn’t talk much until October of last year, right before I went into the hospital with the ruptured aneurysm. While I was still there we started talking just about every day, and the support she showed me throughout that time had a large part to play in my recovery, more than she realizes. I’ve told her this before, but she has been the answer to countless prayers and I’m so very thankful the Lord has led me to her.”

Jones added, “As Tyler mentioned, we officially met on a trip to SPBGMA in 2020 with our bandmates, Katie Springer and Maddie Baucom Carnes. However, we didn’t start talking until right before the aneurysm in October 2020. As he was in the hospital, we began talking more and realized how much we had in common. He played bluegrass AND was a big nerd…so I knew I’d found a keeper.”

“We started dating in early January 2021, and on September 17 while we were at MerleFest, he asked me to marry him. It’s been so cool to see how the Lord has shaped our lives this past year. Tyler and I balance each other out in so many ways…I am beyond blessed to get to marry my best friend.”

Jackson concluded, “We haven’t set a date officially, but we are looking at October of 2022.”

There’s ample reason why Chris Jones and his erstwhile ensemble, The Night Drivers, have been hailed as one of the best bluegrass bands making a presence today. Yet, at the same time, that description doesn’t entail the totality of all they have to offer. While bluegrass may be the foundation for their songs, the fact is, they’re a band that has an extended reach, one that goes to the very core of full expression and assured intentions, all manifest in ways that ensure a complete connection.

Coming on the heels of three highly acclaimed albums — Run Away Tonight (2015), Made To Move (2017), and The Choosing Road (2019) — the band’s latest, Make Each Second Last, is their most expressive effort yet, not only in terms of the memorable melodies, but also with respect to themes that resonate and revolve around essential questions which are easy to embrace. Some songs deal with life on the open road (the decidedly determined We Needed This Ride, an upbeat Whither You Roam, and a spry Riding the Chief), while others celebrate the joys of home and hearth (via the steadfast strains of Leave It At the Gate and the tender trappings of Silver City).

That said, their musings run even deeper, especially on songs that offer compassion and consolation for anyone who feels adrift during these tumultuous times. The reflective They’re Lost Too speaks to those that are often forgotten when it comes to considering a collective consciousness. On the other hand, Everybody’s Got a Line and We Need To Hear From You offer well-considered thoughts on the need for all of us to speak up and state their case, even in the face of opposition and dissension, for better or for worse.

Of course, there’s no negating the musical prowess that underscores each of these entries, whether its the effusive instrumental Groundhog’s Retreat or the articulate arrangements that enliven every other song in this set. The newest members of the band — bassist and vocalist Marshall Wilborn and multi-instrumentalist Grace van’t Hof — have found a fine fit, one that’s enabled the group to reach an even higher peak of perfection than they’ve managed to achieve before.

Considering the stature they’ve already attained, that ought to be considered a remarkable feat in itself.

Last night a red carpet event was held at the historic Gem Theater in Kannapolis, NC, to induct the newest members into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. Two of those inductees were Tony Rice for 2021 and the Briarhoppers for 2020. Inductees from both years were being honored since no ceremony was held in 2020 due to the global pandemic.

Though Rice was inducted posthumously since his death on December 25, 2020, three generations of his family were present to walk the red carpet. Rice’s wife, Pam, their daughter, India, and grandson, Talbott, represented their beloved patriarch. His widow, Pam Hodges Rice, accepted her husband’s award following a video presentation on the guitar wizard’s life. 

“God bless you all. Thank you so much,” was Pam Rice’s brief, but emotional and heartfelt words.

The program read, “Tony Rice did for the acoustic guitar what Jimi Hendrix did for the electric guitar-make it express itself in ways that it hadn’t been known beforehand to be capable of.” A page long bio (with an accompanying picture of a smiling Tony Rice with guitar) appeared in the booklet given to attendees.

The video depicted Rice’s career with scenes from his early performances at Camp Springs Bluegrass Festival with the Bluegrass Alliance and JD Crowe & the New South to his time with the David Grisman Quintet and the Bluegrass Album Band, plus his stints with Jerry Garcia and Grisman; Peter Rowan, Bryn and Billy Bright; and Rice, Rice, Hillman & Peterson (Tony, Larry, Chris, and Herb).

In addition to his unique flat-picking style, Rice had a distinctive baritone voice and was known for his lead singing. In the early ’90s, he was diagnosed with Muscle Tension Dysphonia which constricted the muscles around his voice box and ended his singing career. He continued as an instrumentalist until he developed “tennis elbow” in 2014. Rice then made the decision to stop performing.

The other bluegrass artists to be inducted during the Thursday night ceremony were the legendary Briarhoppers. Formed in 1934 to perform on Charlotte’s WBT radio, they are the longest continuously performing band in the United States. Throughout the years, key members of the band have included Arval Hogan (Kristin Scott Benson’s grandfather), Arthur Smith, Fred Kirby, and for a short time, Earl Scruggs (already a North Carolina HOF member) substituted on banjo.

Since their first radio show, the band always asks the crowd “Do you know what ‘hit it’?” and the audience responds, “Hit’s Briarhopper time!”

Following the presentation of their award, the current Briarhoppers (Don Murray/rhythm guitar, Allen Shadd/lead guitar, Zach Lemhouse/fiddle, Erik Svenson/banjo, and Tom Warlick/bass) took to the stage for a performance.

Warlick enthusiastically welcomed all. “Howdy neighbors! We’re here to play some music!” Then he asked the iconic question and the audience responded on cue.

Featuring their traditional string music and folksy humor, the quintet launched into Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie, their theme song since 1934. 

Warlick spun yards such as, “We were one of the most popular shows on the radio because we came on after the Lone Ranger.” He also teased, “Here’s an instrumental you may not have heard because our CDs aren’t selling much.”

The bassist, who has also penned a book on the Briarhoppers, commanded the stage even though he is currently undergoing dialysis while awaiting a second kidney transplant.

Tony Rice and the Briarhoppers join other notable Tarheel bluegrass musicians such as Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson and Merle Watson, and the Steep Canyon Rangers.

The North Carolina Music Hall of Fame is located at 600 Dale Earnhardt Blvd, Kannapolis, NC.

The Black Swamp Arts Council and the Archbold Music Commission presented an evening of history and music at the Founders Hall in Sauder Village in Archbold, Ohio on Thursday evening, following on the release of the recent book and album, Industrial Strength Bluegrass.

Doug Gilliland organized the show that brought in Daniel Mullins presenting the history of bluegrass music in southwest Ohio, and Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers providing the music.

Daniel brought the history to life with stories passed down from generation to generation. His presentation was based on the Industrial Strength Bluegrass book written by Fred Bartenstein and Curtis Ellison. Daniel’s family is a significant part of the musical legacy built in Ohio. His grandfather, Paul “Moon” Mullins, was both a prominent DJ and musician for many years. His father, Joe, continues that legacy with the Radio Ramblers bluegrass band and a number of radio stations. Daniel has become an integral part of both the radio stations and the Industrial Strength Bluegrass Festival – formerly The Southern Ohio Indoor Music Festival. The festival is November 11, 12, and 13 at the Roberts Centre in Wilmington, Ohio.

The book is accompanied by the album Industrial Strength Bluegrass that Joe Mullins produced for Smithsonian Folkways. It is the musical legacy of the area, as performed by several top contemporary bluegrass artists.

The Radio Ramblers put on a show for a packed house. The band has become one of Ohio’s treasures. They sing songs about the state and show great respect for the people.

They have gone from a regional band that helped promote the radio stations to an internationally known force in bluegrass music, winning their share awards along the way.

When that big red bus pulls into your local festival, you will know you are in for a treat!

Support your local music venues.

New music from Del McCoury always makes it a red letter day for bluegrass lovers, and today is no exception.

A brand new single from an upcoming album by The Del McCoury Band is now available, one Del wrote called Running Wild. It features McCoury’s distinctive lead singing as well as his stratospheric tenor on a fast paced, hard driving bluegrass number.

The story goes that Del started writing this one some years ago, recorded an unfinished demo, and completely forgot about it until his son, Ronnie, dug up the tape and pressed his dad to complete the lyrics. Now they have a certain hit song and a great introduction to the next album, Almost Proud, set for a February release by McCoury Music.

Supported by some of the best in the business, Del sings this one with Ronnie on mandolin, Rob McCoury on banjo, Jason Carter on fiddle, and Alan Bartram on bass.

Buckle in for this one.

Running Wild from The Del McCoury Band is available now as a single from popular download and streaming sites. Pre-orders and pre-saves for Almost Proud are also enabled online, ahead of its February 18 release.

Del and the boys are touring now through the end of the year. You can find all the show dates on the band web site.

Like many of their peers, Colebrook Road cull from tradition while also paying heed to the contemporary sounds of modern bluegrass, as proffered by the likes of Steep Canyon Rangers, Punch Brothers, and all the other outfits that have become festival favorites of late. They’ve shored up popularity with bluegrass devotees while also opening up the possibilities for bringing new enthusiasts into the fold. The band — lead vocalist, and main songwriter Jesse Eisenbise, banjo and dobro player Mark Rast, mandolin player Wade Yankey, fiddler Joe McAnulty, and bassist Jeff Campbell — combine their individual strengths in tandem, making them one of the most distinctive ensembles in the entirety of today’s grassicana/newgrass genre. 

As its title implies, Hindsight is 2020 marks a belated return. Initial sessions took place in February and March 2020, but the completed project was delayed due to the pandemic. Notably, all the songs are original compositions, which, in itself, helps distinguish Colebrook Road from those contemporaries who tend to lean mostly on material from outside sources. And yet, every entry sounds like a standard, even at the outset. The call and response chorus of the celebratory-sounding road song, Back To Where We’ve Been, is clearly drawn from a personal perspective. So too, Mountainside and The Carolina Side share the joy of the journey with picturesque soundscapes that detail the places that weigh in with a familiarity factor. The entire album exudes a similar sense of optimism and satisfaction found in sharing stories and making music that’s obviously inspired.

Of course, words alone aren’t necessarily needed. The upbeat and effusive title track details their delight by shoring up the same sentiment. So too, the a cappella offering, All Of Our Days, comes across as a powerful prayer for peace and prosperity.

Remarkably then, with only three albums to their credit, Colebrook Road have already risen to the top ranks of today’s most erstwhile ensembles. Hindsight is easily achieved, but it takes the kind of taste and talent shown here to assure some measure of foresight as well.

We’ve taken several occasions to note how many of our favorite performers in bluegrass music also work in careers outside of music, playing at shows and festivals on the weekends. Generally they do so based on their passion for the music rather than an expectation of reaching fame and fortune. You might not ever know that the guy changing your tire in Georgia is the region’s top banjo picker, or that the guy teaching your children in eastern Kentucky is a fabulous bluegrass singer. Such things just don’t come up in casual conversation, but those situations occur quite regularly in bluegrass country.

Many others who dedicate themselves to bluegrass work “day jobs” close to the music, perhaps teaching private lessons at a music school or guitar shop, or using today’s digital communication tools to teach online. Others still work in associated jobs quite near to the music. Jonathan Dillon, mandolinist for Junior Sisk, is also an in-demand bus driver who chauffeurs other artists around the country when the band is off. And for years before he was working full time for Ricky Skaggs, Jim Mills worked during the week for Sugar Hill Records.

We see the same thing are at Bluegrass Today. Our CEO, Terry Herd, is also an accomplished blugrass songwriter and broadcaster, and Ashley Lewis, our Sales Manager, is an artist, singer, and songwriter. In fact, we became familiar with Ashley through her music, and only later asked her to join the team.

Several of our correspondents also play in regional groups, and I mostly just write the stories. Oh well…

Lewis has a new single out today which we are proud to highlight, her version of the Fleetwood Mac mega-hit Rhiannon, written and originally sung by Steve Nicks when it was released in 1975. Ashley’s take is a stripped down acoustic arrangement, featuring only her mandolin and voice, recorded alongside the banks of the Piney River in Tenessee during quarantine. If you listen closely, you can hear rushing water and crickets!

Here is the music video she created to accompany the single.

Rhiannon by Ashley Lewis is available now for download purchase directly from the artist online.

It’s that time of year again, when we divide into two groups of people: folks who start decorating their homes for Christmas at the first hint of fall weather, and those who hate them for it. 

Sure, it’s too early to really think about Christmas, but if you are an artist with holiday music to share, or an event producer hosting a Christmas-themed festival, you can’t wait until mid-December to start spreading the word. It’s the same for  anyone wanting to learn to play some Christmas music by the time the holidays roll around. Schools or churches planning a Christmas recital are hard at work already.

In that spirit, Mel Bay has released a new banjo book by Lluis Gomez titled Christmas in the British Isles, as part of their Banjo Picking Tunes series. It includes 20 timeless hymns and carols taken from Ireland, Scotland, and England, many reaching back several hundred years into the rich tradition of folk music from the region. The selections are perfect for those who prefer older songs during the holiday season, as opposed to the popular Christmas numbers of the 20th century.

All are arranged for intermediate to advanced players, though many of the songs will be accessible to new pickers as well, especially as they are not meant to be played very fast. These are versions that accentuate the melody of the songs, as opposed to employing either 3 finger or clawhammer approaches, so any student of the five string should find them easily accessible. The style is closest to classical banjo, with a number of these pieces reaching back to the Baroque era.

The songs are presented in metered tablature, with rhythmic notation, and very little indication for left or right hand fingering. Fingering should be obvious to anyone with some experience on the instrument.

Songs presented in the 32 page, large format book include:

• A Boy Is Born in Bethlehem 
• Away in a Manger (Cradle Song)
• Baloo, Lammy
• Blessed Be That Maid Marie
• Carol of the Birds
• Coventry Carol
• Ding Dong, Merrily on High
• Down in Yon Forest
• God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
• I Saw Three Ships
• In the Bleak Midwinter
• My Dancing Day
• On Christmas Night (Sussex Carol)
• Once in Royal David’s City
• Remember
• The Bagpiper’s Carol
• The Devonshire Carol/The Moon Shines Bright (Medley)
• The Nativity (Rorate)
• Wexford Carol
• What Child Is This?

Christmas in the British Isles comes with a link to online audio recordings of all the songs which you can download with a unique code.

The book is offered in a print edition for $14.95, or an ebook version for $9.99.

Ages Past is a terrific name for a bluegrass band, referencing the long line of traditional music that evolved into this sound we love. But for this group from western North Carolina, the name has an even greater significance, as the band is in its second iteration.

Randy Gallion, guitarist, singer, and songwriter, led Ages Past in the 1990s, playing original bluegrass at festivals throughout the Carolinas. Now prominent artists like Jason Burleson and Tony Williamson had worked with Randy back then. But following a twenty year hiatus, he is back with a reformed Ages Past, and a new cast of young pickers and singers playing alongside him. New music is bring recorded now, and a debut single is set for wide release next month.

Along with Randy on guitar, the band is Chad Day on banjo, Jamie Carter on bass, Savannah Reed on mandolin, and Scott Ferguson on fiddle.

Their first single is an original called Two by Two, about a lovesick man trying to drown his sorrows ordering drinks two at a time. It was written by Randy’s close friend, J.C. “Peewee” Davis, and features Josiah Nelson on fiddle as Ferguson has just recently joined the group.

Here’s a pre-release listen…

Two by Two from Ages Past will be available from popular download and streaming services on November 8. Radio programmers can get the track now via AirPlay Direct.

When a band takes a name like The Tennessee Studs, it’s incumbent upon them to stir their sound with authenticity. Fortunately, this Dutch quintet manages to do just that. The band — which consists of a Canadian, three Dutchmen and a Swede — consists of Henrik Holm on double bass and bowed saw, Jeff Cardey on mandolin, Jeroen Schmohl on dobro, Joram Peeters with fiddles and whistles, and Roland van Beveren playing telecaster and pedal steel guitars. They’ve been making music together since 1999. 

“All Studs sing their songs straight from the heart,” van Beveren insists, noting that the members all claim varied musical influences, ranging from folk and bluegrass to pop, rock, and jazz. “We like to call our music Amsterdam Americana. Our sound is somewhere between The Old Crow Medicine Show and Daniel Lanois.” Or, as their website states, it’s all about “folky, funky and freaky Americana.”

Nevertheless, the band does take their influences seriously. They’re varied to be sure. When asked, van Beveren lists The Band, Old Crow Medicine Show, Andrew Bird, Sturgill Simpson, Lowell George, Daniel Lanois, the Felice Brothers, and Dirk Powell among those artist that have left an indelible imprint on their sound. 

So too, while their handle might seem to confine them to some specific environs, the fact is that the Tennessee Studs have played varied stages both at home and in the US.

“We’ve performed in jailhouses, churches, garages, honkytonks, concert halls, rock venues, dive bars, and hipster coffee joints,” van Beveren says. “We’ve toured many times with our friends Whiskey Puppy from Portland, Oregon, including the West Coast of the US, from San Francisco to Seattle. Just a few months before lockdown, we toured Alaska from Anchorage to Homer to McCarthy.”

He also notes that they’ve performed at several major festivals, including a number of appearances at the European World Of Bluegrass in the Netherlands. He adds that they’ve performed alongside Tim Knol, a well known Dutch singer-songwriter.

“Music lovers love our music,” van Beveren replies when asked how local audiences have responded to their performances. 

He doesn’t hesitate to add the reasons why he believes bluegrass goes over so well, even in the environs where it’s not particularly common. “It’s music straight from the heart, in a language and tonality we all understand,” he muses. 

In the truest sense, the Tennessee Studs make that their mantra. They’ve been known to play cover material that rings with universal appeal, among them, songs by Guy Clark, Bill Monroe, Fred Eaglesmith, and even the Rolling Stones. Their new album — and fifth to date — is aptly titled Turn Up the Heat, and is scheduled for release on January 9, 2022. It will be launched during a special celebration at  the world infamous Paradiso club in Amsterdam. It consists entirely of original material, all of it written by van Beveren, the band’s chief songwriter. 

Any music that goes by the description of “folky, funky and freaky” ought to be well worth checking out.

To learn more about the Tennessee Studs, visit them online.

Irene Kelley has a new single this month, created by her established hit-making team that has placed song after song on our Bluegrass Today Weekly Airplay chart.

This time it’s a good old fashioned train song, Carolina Special, written by Kelley with Ronnie Bowman and our own Terry Herd.

She says that it’s based on a genuine historical rail line, and imagines how the left-behind locomotives must pine for the days when they shone brightly as they traveled along the railroad.

“Train songs are always a favorite in bluegrass and for me to record. Terry Herd has a good track record for writing them and had this idea. The Carolina Special was an actual line that operated 1911 to 1968. It was the last passenger train to use the route of one of the oldest railroads in the USA, the Charleston and Hamburg Railroad, which began operation in December 1830 as the South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company. Surely she misses the track, surely she’s haunted.

Terry, Ronnie, and I wrote this song one afternoon during the pandemic. I knew right away that I had to include on the next record.”

Irene is supported on the track by Cody Kilby on guitar, Adam Steffey on mandolin, Matt Menefee on banjo, Aubrey Haynie on fiddle, and Mike Bub on bass. Harmony vocals are provided by Ronnie Bowman and Justyna Kelley.

Here’s a taste…

Carolina Special will be available October 29 from popular download and streaming sites. Radio programmers can get the track now via AirPlay Direct.

I want to describe a scene at a typical bluegrass concert or festival that will probably be familiar to both artist and fan, and it may cause each to shudder just a little:

A fan walks up to a performer while he or she is working the merchandise table, looks the musician straight in the eye, and says these dreaded words: “I’ll bet you don’t remember me.”

If we’re honest, we’ll have to admit that a good 80% of artists, after not feeling even a hint of recognition, will simply lie: “Sure I do! How have you been?” It seems like the polite thing to do, and they hope that the next statement by this stranger will offer some guidance as to what to say next in order to keep this phony conversation from going over a cliff.

Some who are either from a background where bluntness is encouraged (i.e., from the greater New York or San Francisco Bay areas), or who are just having a bad day, will respond less charitably: “You’re right, I don’t. Remind me.” Some, having a really bad day, or who are having this conversation for the third time that day may say something like this: “You’re right; I don’t remember you, and I won’t remember you the next time I see you,” (that’s a quote from somebody, but right now I can’t remember who).

Surely there’s a better way that might permit us to avoid lying or rudeness (as fashionable as both of those things may be these days). I think that better way might start with avoiding this conversation entirely.

The immediate problem with this approach as a conversation starter is that it sets up a challenge to the artist which is always going to be uncomfortable. It’s also inherently negative, reflecting badly on both the artist and fan: the artist is cast as someone who is likely not to remember fans who have possibly fed them a meal, babysat their children, or lent them $10,000. The fan, meanwhile, is set up as someone who isn’t worth remembering (“you probably don’t remember me”). It’s hard for anyone to feel satisfied in this situation.

I’m personally very happy and relieved when someone comes up to me and says, “You may not remember me; I’m Chester Campbell. We met 9 years ago at the Blythe Bluegrass Festival in California.” This immediately removes all tension. He has given his name, plus a reminder of where we had met. This helps me to remember if I’m going to, and if I don’t, at least I can say, “Nice to see you again Chester,” without lying or being dismissive.

Even if a musician has a great memory for faces and experiences that happened over three days ago, the numbers are not working in his or her favor in this situation. A fan, even in our small-market music, is going to encounter far fewer professional bluegrass performers than those performers are going to encounter fans. 

Musicians are also easily disoriented. I could probably just let that statement stand alone, but I’ll elaborate: musicians may play in as many as seven different locations and venues in seven different days, meeting various fans in each place. Sometimes it’s difficult just placing someone in the right context in that sometimes hectic moment.

A fan’s appearance may have also changed a lot, especially if it’s been years and/or decades since the last meeting. The artist has probably changed a lot, too (probably for the worse), but thanks to the name on the marquee, the fan goes into this conversation already knowing who that artist is. 

For this reason, leveling the playing field is at least a polite gesture. There’s also really nothing to be gained by issuing the challenge.

For those performers who do  have to answer this challenge, though, rather than opt for either the dishonest or brutally blunt reply, it might be good to try this middle ground: “I’m afraid you may have to remind me.” This is where you really have to hope the fan’s reply isn’t, “I’m Natasha, the mother of three of your children.”

If you’re going to go the fake-your-way-through-the-conversation route, I would discourage getting cocky and adding unnecessary bogus details: “Of course I remember you! It’s been ages! Do you still have that old car? How’s Susan?” You’re banking on the fact that you didn’t just meet this person a week ago, that he owns a car, and that he knows someone named Susan. Maybe the odds are in your favor, but it’s still a risky strategy.

Finally, for the fan starting this conversation, I don’t think it’s necessary to give a reminder of who you are and how the artist knows you if:

Finally, turn your name tag the right side around at the IBMA World of Bluegrass, just to be safe.

A big part of the reason why Sister Sadie was named Vocal Group of the Year for 2021 is the singing of their mandolinist, Tina Adair. Today Englehardt Music Group has a new single from Tina’s current self-titled album, one written by Ronnie Bowman and Ryan Fleener called Still Got A Long Way To Go.

Back in the mid-1990s, Tina was widely described as a future star in bluegrass music after her family band, The Adairs, won the Pizza Hut Bluegrass Showdown in ’96. That led to a record contract for 17 year old Tina, and a successful solo album was released a few months later. But after touring for a few years, she gave up the road life to finish her education, a promise she had made herself some time ago. After completing a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Business from Belmont University in Nashville, Adair took a job with the college, and is now Director of the Advising Center in the Curb College at Belmont.

Tina recorded another solo project in 2012, Born Bad, the same year she helped form Sister Sadie with four other talented bluegrass ladies, and the rest is history.

The new single is a moving ballad about overcoming loss which finds Tina supported by Cody Kilby and Pat McGrath on guitars, Scott Vestal on banjo, Casey Campbell on mandolin, Dennis Crouch on bass, Tim Crouch on fiddle, and Rob Ickes on reso-guitar. Ronnie and Garnett Bowman sing the harmonies.

Have a listen…

Still Got A Long Way To Go, and the full Tina Adair album from EMG, are available from popular download and streaming sites online. Audio CDs can be ordered directly from the label.

Lousiville, KY native Gary Brewer, along with his Kentucky Ramblers, associated family businesses, and their 40 years of creating original bluegrass music, was honored last Friday by Mayor Greg Fischer.

The Mayor spoke at a press conference on October 15 held to congratulate Gary for his 40 years of playing and singing bluegrass music from the Bluegrass State, marked by his recent album, 40th Anniversary Collection, which has been his most successful endeavor to date. The anniversary project featured Gary, his sons Wayne and Mason who perform with him as The Kentucky Ramblers, as well as a bevy of bluegrass stars who have known Brewer through the decades. Included are duets with Dale Ann Bradley, Russell Moore, Sam Bush, Ralph Stanley II, and collaborations with The Travelin’ McCourys and The Kentucky Headhunters. Regular banjo player Cody Pearman is also part of this recording.

Mayor Fischer spoke about the many things Gary has accomplished in music, and read an official proclamation from the city applauding his commitment to making his own music, and for his dedication to the local community. Wayne Brewer also spoke, as did Gary following the delivery of the proclamation.

Video of the press conference is below.

The Mayor had been aware of Brewer and his Brewgrass Entertainment company over the years, but his attention was captured by a performance Gary and The Kentucky Ramblers gave back in September at the city’s Waterfront Park. Headlining a show before about 20,000 people, they captivated the crowd of mostly non-grassers with a traditional bluegrass performance that won them multiple encores.

Here are some clips from that set…

Congratulations to Gary Brewer and the entire Brewer family for this honor.

But they aren’t done yet! Expect more new music from the Brewers in the near future.