Earl Scruggs with Family and Friends
The Ultimate Collection/Live at the Ryman
Release Date: November 18, 2008
It is not an exaggeration to call Earl Scruggs an American musical icon. As one of the founding fathers of bluegrass Earl Scruggs invented the three finger picking banjo style that bears his name, and that is a defining characteristic of bluegrass. This live recording brings together two primal elements from the birth of bluegrass music, Earl Scruggs and the Ryman Auditorium. In The Ultimate Collection Earl Scruggs with Family & Friends reprise his best known songs, songs that form the bedrock of the bluegrass repertoire.

See them live! www.earlscruggs.com/concerts.html

Dry Branch Fire Squad
Echoes of the Mountains
Release Date: January 27, 2009
Echoes of the Mountains is the first all new studio album from the legendary Dry Branch Fire Squad since 2001’s Hand Hewn. Featuring songs that Dry Branch not only puts their stamp on and makes fully their own, like fan favorites “Echo Mountain,” “Rider on an Orphan Train” and “O Captain! My Captain!” this is the long-awaited and exciting first release by Dry Branch in its current and longest-running, best-established line-up: Ron Thomason, Brian Aldridge, Dan Russell, and Tom Boyd. This is Dry Branch in its most bluegrass-inflected incarnation – “Bluegrass music is band music,” Thomason reminds us. True, and as such, this is the Dry Branch Fire Squad as many in the know have hoped to hear them for years. Get ready for soulful and raw traditional bluegrass and old-time music, an enduring and well-loved band still giving us a heartfelt and fresh set of new favorites.

See them live! www.drybranchfiresquad.com/performance_schedule.htm

Bobby Osborne
Bluegrass & Beyond
Release Date: March 31, 2009
On Bluegrass and Beyond legendary bluegrass vocalist and mandolinist Bobby Osborne delivers a sparkling collection of songs featuring generous helpings of straight ahead bluegrass, gospel soul and traditional country. Included are bluegrass arrangements of some surprising material (The Eagles’ “Girl from Yesterday,” and Eddie Rabbitt’s “Drivin’ My Life Away”). With guest appearances by Marty Stuart and Connie Smith and Rhonda and Darrin Vincent and solid support from Bobby’s band the Rocky Top X-Press, Bluegrass and Beyond captures Osborne at the peak of his considerable powers.

See him live! www.bobbyosborne.com/tour.html

Dailey & Vincent
Brothers from Different Mothers
Release Date: March 31, 2009
Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent became the most heralded new act in bluegrass as their debut album Dailey & Vincent and busy tour schedule introduced them to wildly appreciative audiences. The group won seven awards for that album at the 2008 International Bluegrass Music Awards Show, including Album of the Year. Brothers from Different Mothers presents the band at a level of synergy that only comes from constant live performing. It exudes the enthusiasm of a venture still fresh for all its participants. Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent have been bluegrass musicians throughout their careers, and never depart from that core sensibility on Brothers from Different Mothers But, like the earliest icons, they also push the bluegrass envelope. Best of all, they've found the closest thing to brotherhood - a true musical partnership.

See them live! daileyvincent.musiccitynetworks.com/index.htm?id=16231
EPK: rounderartists.com/EPKs/daileyandvincent

NewFound Road
Same Old Place
Release Date: April 28, 2009
When it comes from NewFound Road, it comes from the soul. You’d be hard pressed to find a bluegrass band that plays and sings with more feeling and heart than this extraordinary ensemble. Same Old Place, NewFound Road’s second album for Rounder, is chock full of driving rhythms, haunting ballads and classic bluegrass, all brought into sharp focus by the effortlessly affecting, soulful vocals of Tim Shelton and the instrumental prowess of Junior Williams (banjo), Joe Booher (mandolin) and Randy Barnes (bass) with guests Justin Moses, Brandon Godman and Jim VanCleve. NewFound Road have blossomed into a band who can shake you to your emotional core. Listen to Same Old Place, and believe.

See them live! www.newfoundroad.com/concerts.htm

Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Lonely Street
Release Date: May 5, 2009
One of Bluegrass’ most honored and revered talents is back with another blue ribbon recording featuring the award winning vocal harmonies and hot picking that has placed Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver at the top of bluegrass radio charts and award shows time and time again. Doyle Lawson is the recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts’ National Heritage Fellowship, the Endowment’s highest honor granted to traditional and folk artists for career accomplishments. Doyle with his band Quicksilver picked up the International Bluegrass Music Award for best vocal group an unprecedented seven years in a row. His third album for Rounder, Lonely Street proves beyond a doubt that Doyle’s artistry is a notch above, his mastery of the genre is with out question and his legacy as one of the genre’s most inspiring musicians and band leaders is assured.

See them live! www.doylelawson.com/schedule.php

Alecia Nugent
Hillbilly Goddess
Release Date: May 12, 2009
In five short years Alecia Nugent has gone from being the toast of Hickory Grove, Louisiana to one of the most celebrated bluegrass & country singers across America’s heartland. Hillbilly Goddess delivers on the promise of 2006’s A Little Girl…A Big Four-Lane with a confident collection of sassy barnburners (“Wreckin’ the Train,” “Cryin’ All the Way to the Bank” and the title tune) and heart-rending ballads (“Don’t Tell Me,” “Dyin’ to Hold Her Again,” “Already Home”), all delivered with smooth precision, gorgeous tone and unbridled exuberance. Featuring stellar support from producer Carl Jackson, duet partner Bradley Walker, J.D. Crowe, members of Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Blue Highway, The Dan Tyminski Band and The Infamous Stringdusters, Hillbilly Goddess is a major step forward from one of the great new voices in American music: Alecia Nugent.

See her live! www.alecianugent.com/schedule.htm

Steve Martin
The Crow
Release Date: May 19, 2009
Comedian, actor, author, and banjo player Steve Martin releases his first musical recording since 1978’s number 1 hit “King Tut.” This is no novelty record though. It’s some of the best banjo music to come down the pike in a long time. The Crow features able assistance from some of Steve’s pals, including Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, Earl Scruggs, Tim O’Brien and Mary Black. Martin wrote or co-wrote all of the songs on this album, creating a new body of work that will stand alongside the classics for years to come.

Rhonda Vincent
Destination Life
Release Date: June 16, 2009
The seven time IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year returns with a stellar lineup of new, original and classic bluegrass songs. Rhonda Vincent takes the music to new heights while maintaining her deep bluegrass roots. The new album features her award winning touring band in their first studio appearance. Grab your bags and get on board for a trip through Americana - Destination Life!

See her live! www.rhondavincent.com

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