The Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America (SPBGMA) held their 29th National Convention and the 38th Anniversary Bluegrass Music Awards February 2-5, 2012. The four-day event was held at the Sheraton Music City Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. The awards were posted by SPBGMA yesterday evening. The awards are the big item of the convention and we have the winners listed below. Jamie Dailey, pictured, took home the 2012 Entertainer of the Year honors.
Nashville, TN -- International Bluegrass Music Association's (IBMA) Entertainers of the Year the Steep Canyon Rangers announced the April 10 release of their Rounder Records solo band debut album, Nobody Knows You. With this 5th album, the band – current Grammy nominees for ‘Best Bluegrass Album' for 2011's Rare Bird Alert collaboration with Steve Martin – takes a giant step forward as songwriters and performers who continue to redefine both traditional and progressive approaches to the genre.
Sao Paulo, Brazil -- Bluegrass remains hot in Brazil and the Sao Paulo, Brazil Bluegrass Music Association and the band Motorgrass will be hosting a series of workshops to get it even better. The acoustic string instruments of bluegrass music and the styles in which they're played will be part of the agenda.
Founded by songsmiths Brandi Hart and Buddy Woodward, the band is named for Kentucky Highway 41 – The Dixie Bee-Line. The Dixie Bee-Liner's brand of traditional-meets-contemporary music has earned them a reputation for breaking new ground. Saturday, February 25th, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. the Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, Virginia, will present a bluegrass concert by the Dixie Bee-Liners. Admission to the concert is $7 for adults, $1 for children 6 to 11, under age 6 free.
"Folks Are Talking" is a double CD that includes 28 oral histories of folks Garret Mathews interviewed as a young feature writer on the Bluefield, W. Va., Daily Telegraph between 1974 and 1979. The mountainous circulation area includes Mercer, McDowell, Wyoming, Monroe and Raleigh counties in West Virginia and Tazewell, Buchanan, Bland, Wythe, Russell and Giles counties in Virginia. It's rural America. No community in the two-state area has more than 20,000 residents. Some places visited for this collection – Bandy, Rhodell, Jenkinjones and Beeson – have fewer than 300 inhabitants. Music evocative of the region is included on the double CD.
The DC Bluegrass Festival is growing to two days and moving to a new home in Maryland. Join us indoors and out of the winter weather for the Great 2012 DCBU Band Competition on Friday night (see below for entry details), stay to hear top national and local bluegrass performers and attend workshops all day Saturday, or just pick to your heart's content from Friday night through Sunday morning.
Heather Berry grew up in Sherando, Virginia, which is located at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in central Virginia. She got her first experience singing in front of a crowd in her grandfather's church in Waynesboro, Virginia, at age five. Listening to old Carter Family records, Heather learned early to accompany herself with guitar and autoharp. By age 12 she was singing with the Lewis Family and the Country Gentlemen. She formed her first band and recorded her first CD. Saturday, Febraury 18th, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. the Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, Virginia, will present a concert of bluegrass music by the Heather Berry and Tony Mabe Band. Admission to the concert is $7 for adults, $1 for children 6 to 11, under age 6 free.
Clintwood, VA -- The Ralph Stanley Museum & Traditional Mountain Music Center will host Dr. Ralph Stanley's 85th Birthday Dinner and Fund Raiser at Heartwood at 6:00 PM on Saturday, February 18, 2012 in Abingdon, VA. Heartwood is Southwest Virginia's Artisan Gateway, situated off Interste 81 at exit 14. Come and be with us to celebrate Dr. Stanley's birthday with Dr. Stanley himself. A first-class buffet-style dinner will be served and much more at this once-in-a-lifetime event! Tickets to the dinner are priced at $100 per plate, and guests may purchase them by calling the Museum & Center at 276-926-8550.
Banjo player Kevin Decker and his wife Amy are in need of help with a mountain of medical bills following multiple surgeries and an induced coma. Several people are throwing in to help organize this event. The SouthEastern Bluegrass Association (SEBA) is are offering a free 1-year electronic membership (E membership only) to anyone who donates $100 or more to the Deckers. The bands and sound crew are donating their time to this benefit. Johnny's RV Resort in Foley, AL is donating their concert venue for the event. You can help also.
Nashville, TN -- Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Sonny Curtis will take a seat at the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum on Saturday, February 25, as the latest subject of the quarterly programming series Poets and Prophets: Legendary Country Songwriters. The 1:30 p.m. in-depth interview and performance, held in the Museum's Ford Theater, is included with museum admission and free to museum members. The program will be streamed live at www.CountryMusicHallOfFame.org
Saturday, February 11th, 2012, at 7:30 p.m., the Carter Family fold in Hiltons, Virginia, will present a concert of bluegrass music by the Tim White and the VW Boys. Performing with Tim will be some of the finest bluegrass musicians in the region. Admission to the concert is $7 for adults, $1 for children 6 to 11, under age 6 free.
Franklin, TN -- Williamson SOCIAL Magazine, Williamson County, Tennessee's premier publication focusing on life, events and living in and around Williamson County and the Nashville area, has added a new staff member. Shari Lacy joins the magazine as the new Managing Editor. As a longtime writer and publicist, Lacy brings her vast experience to Williamson SOCIAL, handling numerous aspects of the magazine including working with all photographers and contributing to editorial as well as assignment based essays.
Event slated for Wednesday, September 12th through Saturday, September 15th, at many premiere venues in Nashville, Tennessee. To all artists looking to apply for a showcase at the Americana Music Festival; great news! Submissions are now open!
Review by Joe Ross
North Carolinan brothers Josh (guitar) and Wayne (bass) have been singing and playing bluegrass for over forty years. They called themselves The Blue Ridge Mountain Boys in the early 1970s. From 1975 until they formed their own band about 1991, they worked with legendary banjo player Raymond Fairchild. During the late-1990s and 2000s, The Crowe Brothers released some stellar albums on the Copper Creek, King and Gusto labels.
Nashville, TN (February 1, 2012) – Will the circle be unbroken? If "Country's Family Reunion" has anything to do with documenting the stories and songs of country music's legendary family, it will remain firmly and enjoyably intact. Since 1997, Gabriel Communications has been bringing artists together into one room to reunite and reminisce about their careers, perform signature songs and share stories while the cameras roll. The result has been pure magic, leading to popular TV airings and successful DVD sales leaving country fans clamoring for more.
The Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America (SPBGMA) held their 29th National Convention and the 38th Anniversary Bluegrass Music Awards February 2-5, 2012. The four-day event was held at the Sheraton Music City Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. The awards were posted by SPBGMA yesterday evening. The awards are the big item of the convention and we have the winners listed below. Jamie Dailey, pictured, took home the 2012 Entertainer of the Year honors.
Nashville, TN -- International Bluegrass Music Association's (IBMA) Entertainers of the Year the Steep Canyon Rangers announced the April 10 release of their Rounder Records solo band debut album, Nobody Knows You. With this 5th album, the band – current Grammy nominees for ‘Best Bluegrass Album' for 2011's Rare Bird Alert collaboration with Steve Martin – takes a giant step forward as songwriters and performers who continue to redefine both traditional and progressive approaches to the genre.
Sao Paulo, Brazil -- Bluegrass remains hot in Brazil and the Sao Paulo, Brazil Bluegrass Music Association and the band Motorgrass will be hosting a series of workshops to get it even better. The acoustic string instruments of bluegrass music and the styles in which they're played will be part of the agenda.
Founded by songsmiths Brandi Hart and Buddy Woodward, the band is named for Kentucky Highway 41 – The Dixie Bee-Line. The Dixie Bee-Liner's brand of traditional-meets-contemporary music has earned them a reputation for breaking new ground. Saturday, February 25th, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. the Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, Virginia, will present a bluegrass concert by the Dixie Bee-Liners. Admission to the concert is $7 for adults, $1 for children 6 to 11, under age 6 free.
"Folks Are Talking" is a double CD that includes 28 oral histories of folks Garret Mathews interviewed as a young feature writer on the Bluefield, W. Va., Daily Telegraph between 1974 and 1979. The mountainous circulation area includes Mercer, McDowell, Wyoming, Monroe and Raleigh counties in West Virginia and Tazewell, Buchanan, Bland, Wythe, Russell and Giles counties in Virginia. It's rural America. No community in the two-state area has more than 20,000 residents. Some places visited for this collection – Bandy, Rhodell, Jenkinjones and Beeson – have fewer than 300 inhabitants. Music evocative of the region is included on the double CD.
The DC Bluegrass Festival is growing to two days and moving to a new home in Maryland. Join us indoors and out of the winter weather for the Great 2012 DCBU Band Competition on Friday night (see below for entry details), stay to hear top national and local bluegrass performers and attend workshops all day Saturday, or just pick to your heart's content from Friday night through Sunday morning.
Heather Berry grew up in Sherando, Virginia, which is located at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in central Virginia. She got her first experience singing in front of a crowd in her grandfather's church in Waynesboro, Virginia, at age five. Listening to old Carter Family records, Heather learned early to accompany herself with guitar and autoharp. By age 12 she was singing with the Lewis Family and the Country Gentlemen. She formed her first band and recorded her first CD. Saturday, Febraury 18th, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. the Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, Virginia, will present a concert of bluegrass music by the Heather Berry and Tony Mabe Band. Admission to the concert is $7 for adults, $1 for children 6 to 11, under age 6 free.
Clintwood, VA -- The Ralph Stanley Museum & Traditional Mountain Music Center will host Dr. Ralph Stanley's 85th Birthday Dinner and Fund Raiser at Heartwood at 6:00 PM on Saturday, February 18, 2012 in Abingdon, VA. Heartwood is Southwest Virginia's Artisan Gateway, situated off Interste 81 at exit 14. Come and be with us to celebrate Dr. Stanley's birthday with Dr. Stanley himself. A first-class buffet-style dinner will be served and much more at this once-in-a-lifetime event! Tickets to the dinner are priced at $100 per plate, and guests may purchase them by calling the Museum & Center at 276-926-8550.
Banjo player Kevin Decker and his wife Amy are in need of help with a mountain of medical bills following multiple surgeries and an induced coma. Several people are throwing in to help organize this event. The SouthEastern Bluegrass Association (SEBA) is are offering a free 1-year electronic membership (E membership only) to anyone who donates $100 or more to the Deckers. The bands and sound crew are donating their time to this benefit. Johnny's RV Resort in Foley, AL is donating their concert venue for the event. You can help also.
Nashville, TN -- Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Sonny Curtis will take a seat at the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum on Saturday, February 25, as the latest subject of the quarterly programming series Poets and Prophets: Legendary Country Songwriters. The 1:30 p.m. in-depth interview and performance, held in the Museum's Ford Theater, is included with museum admission and free to museum members. The program will be streamed live at 
Saturday, February 11th, 2012, at 7:30 p.m., the Carter Family fold in Hiltons, Virginia, will present a concert of bluegrass music by the Tim White and the VW Boys. Performing with Tim will be some of the finest bluegrass musicians in the region. Admission to the concert is $7 for adults, $1 for children 6 to 11, under age 6 free.
Franklin, TN -- Williamson SOCIAL Magazine, Williamson County, Tennessee's premier publication focusing on life, events and living in and around Williamson County and the Nashville area, has added a new staff member. Shari Lacy joins the magazine as the new Managing Editor. As a longtime writer and publicist, Lacy brings her vast experience to Williamson SOCIAL, handling numerous aspects of the magazine including working with all photographers and contributing to editorial as well as assignment based essays.
Event slated for Wednesday, September 12th through Saturday, September 15th, at many premiere venues in Nashville, Tennessee. To all artists looking to apply for a showcase at the Americana Music Festival; great news! Submissions are now open!
Review by Joe Ross
Nashville, TN (February 1, 2012) – Will the circle be unbroken? If "Country's Family Reunion" has anything to do with documenting the stories and songs of country music's legendary family, it will remain firmly and enjoyably intact. Since 1997, Gabriel Communications has been bringing artists together into one room to reunite and reminisce about their careers, perform signature songs and share stories while the cameras roll. The result has been pure magic, leading to popular TV airings and successful DVD sales leaving country fans clamoring for more.