Cybergrass Bluegrass Music News: Steve Martin to Bring His Banjo to MerleFest 2010

BMNN wrote: on Oct. 29, 2009:

Wilkesboro, NC -- MerleFest 2010, presented by Lowe's, is proud to announce that multi-talented Grammy and Emmy winning actor/comedian/musician Steve Martin will perform on the Watson Stage on Saturday, May 1. "I've heard great things about MerleFest for years," said Martin. "As a musician, it's an event I'm really looking forward to playing."

Martin is currently drawing rave reviews as he tours in support of his Rounder Records release, The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo, which spent multiple weeks at the top of the Billboard Top Bluegrass Albums Chart. Touring with Martin are the Steep Canyon Rangers, who will perform with him at MerleFest. Together they have performed at the 20th Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards Show, The Late Show with David Letterman, The View, the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, Carnegie Hall, the Ryman Auditorium, and other venues in cities including Boston, Atlanta, Charlotte, Washington, Toronto, Chicago, Denver, Santa Fe and Troy, NY. The tour will wrap up on November 9 at the Royal Festival Hall in London.

Martin is a three-time Grammy® winner, the latest for his collaboration with Earl Scruggs on Foggy Mountain Breakdown (2001) and two for the comedy albums Wild and Crazy Guy (1978) and Let's Get Small (1977.) After playing on the Grammy® Award winning Foggy Mountain Breakdown with Earl Scruggs, Martin began writing a string of new banjo songs, some with lyrics and some as instrumentals. An album 45 years in the making, The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo features special vocal appearances by Mary Black, Vince Gill, Tim O'Brien, Dolly Parton and instrumental guest spots by Earl Scruggs, John McEuen, Stuart Duncan, Jerry Douglas, Pete Wernick and Tony Trischka. Martin wrote or co-wrote all of the songs on the album, which was recorded in Dublin, Hollywood, Nashville and New Jersey.

In support of the album Martin has appeared on A Prairie Home Companion, American Idol's season finale, Saturday Night Live, Good Morning America, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, CBS Early Show and Tavis Smiley.

MerleFest 2010 announced its talent line up last week, and at the time, festival director Ted Hagaman promised surprises and additions to the list. The award-winning SteelDrivers have also been confirmed and will perform on Thursday, April 29, and Friday, April 30.

MerleFest was founded in 1988 in memory of Eddy Merle Watson as a fundraiser for Wilkes Community College and a celebration of "traditional plus" music. Scheduled for April 29 – May 2, 2010, the event is held on the campus of Wilkes Community college in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. An eclectic group of over 75 artists performing on 15 stages will provide the "traditional plus" sound for which the festival is known.

The MerleFest box office will open for 2010 ticket sales on Tuesday, November 10, at 2:00 p.m. EST. Ticket purchases can be made on the web at www.merlefest.org or by calling 1-800-343-7857. An early bird ticket discount is available through March 12, 2010.

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