On November 15, DIRECTV, the leading providers of digital satellite entertainment programming with 14.6 million DIRECTV customers nationwide, launches XM Satellite Radio, America’s #1 satellite radio service with 5 million subscribers, on channels 801 through 879. This new partnership nearly doubles DIRECTV’s current audio programming lineup at no additional cost to subscribers. XM Satellite Radio will replace the current programming from Music Choice.

With more than five million subscribers today, XM continues to expand its position as the leader in the satellite radio industry. We are on track to have more than six million subscribers by the end of this year. Consumers are choosing XM because we offer the most choices, including the most commercial-free music and live sporting events, and the most advanced technology. With the winning combination of outstanding new channels and breakthrough products in advance of the holiday season, XM is poised for record growth during the fourth quarter.

said Hugh Panero, XM Satellite Radio President and CEO.

I’m not sure this will result in any increase in bluegrass programming on DIRECTV so it may be a break even situation for bluegrass fans.

We just received a notice from Dave Schenkman of Turtle Hill Banjo Company in Bryantown, MD that a recent shipment of three new Turtle Hill Woody banjos included one empty box, from which a banjo had been removed, and the box resealed and delivered by UPS. Dave suspects tampering by a UPS employee, which would be a regrettable occurrence if his suspicion is borne out by an investigation.

A photo of a similar banjo can be seen here.

The empty box was delivered on Monday September 26 and Dave asks that anyone who may know or see anything about this, please contact him by email.

Our Brazilian friend Erio Meili, President of the Sao Paulo Bluegrass Music Association sent us this photo of the postage stamp which they had created to help publicize their organization. The Brazilian postal authority, Empresa Brasileira de Correios, is under certain conditions allowing for the production of special stamps such as these, which are valid for all domestic and international postage.

Erio tells us that this stamp, in which he is shown wearing the official T shirt of the Sao Paulo Bluegrass Music Association, has a value equivalent to about $.20 (US), and that he posted the very first one to mail in his IBMA final ballot a few weeks ago.

In addition to promoting bluegrass music in Brazil and South America, they have started to compile an international banjo teachers directory on their web site, which is available in either English or Portuguese.

The Ryman Auditorium has just announced the dates for the 2006 Martha White Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman series. There are six shows total. They run June 22 through July 27, 2006 on Thursday nights at 7:30 pm. A Bluegrass Pass for all six shows is only $100. Visit the Ryman Box Office or call (615) 889-3060 to purchase your Bluegrass Pass.

Here are the dates. So far only the last three have an artist booked.

June 22 - TBA

June 29 - TBA

July 6 - TBA

July 13 - Rhonda Vincent & The Rage with Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver

July 20 - Marty Stuart

July 27 - Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder with Cherryholmes

Ronnie Bowman has been in the news a good bit of late, owing to the success of one of his songs, It”s Gettin” Better All The Time, a recent #1 hit for country artists Brooks & Dunn. That song, co-written by Ronnie and Don Cook, is also the title track for Ronnie’s new CD, his first for the Koch Records Nashville label.

The new CD is said to include mostly material written or co-written by Bowman, and features such stellar players as Dan Tyminski, Del McCoury, Wyatt Rice, Adam Steffey and Ronnie McCoury as supporting cast. Ronnie has described this new project as a bluegrass album in interviews, and the fact that the songs are primarily his - along with new material by Dan Tyminski and Craig Market - seems to bode well for folks hoping that the next Ronnie Bowman CD would be one his bluegrass fans would celebrate.

Nothing yet on either the Ronnie Bowman or Koch Nashville web sites, but expect that to change by the time the CD is shipped on October 4.

A while back I wrote about a new bluegrass friendly TV show called Commerce County Line that is being produced by Brad Davis. At that time the show was in the pilot phase and being pitched to networks. I recently spoke with Brad and he updated me on the current status of the show. The show has been signed for a full season (thirteen episodes) with the PAX-TV network. It is estimated that PAX is viewable in 79,185,730 houses in the United States.

Brad is currently seeking advertisers for his remaining ad slots. If you are interested in advertising on Commerce County Line you may email Brad for more info@braddavismusic.com.

Butch Baldassari, Nashville mandolinist and owner of Sound Art Recordings, has made a number of mandolin cell phone ring tones available for online purchase and download. These are actual recordings of mandolin music, not MIDI files, and appear to be compatible with a large number of cell phones and service networks.

What do you give the mandolinist who has everything? More details here.

New River Line is proud to announce that bassest “Mike Parker” has joined N.R.L. as a full time member. Mike’s talent is well recognized throughout the bluegrass music arena. Mike, along with his brother Jeff Parker (of the Lonesome River Band) was a founding member of the Berea based “Wilderness Trail”, touring successfully for many years. Mike is not only a fabulous bassest, but also a wonderful vocalest as well. “Having Mike on board will take this band to a new level. His timing and selection of notes are simply as good as I have played with. Mike is such a great guy to boot, and he just fits us like a glove, we are thrilled to say the least.” says Dave Carroll of New River Line.
This announcment coming on the eve of New River Line’s 2nd recording project, on which studio work is set to begin Oct. 3rd. New River Line is excited to announce that Bluegrass Music Icon “Ronnie Stewart” will head up production of the new project at Lonesome Day Studios in Booneville, Ky. “Having Ron Stewart calling the shots just puts the icing on the cake. He is simply the best in the business when it comes to producing great bluegrass music” says New River Line. This, the 2nd recording project for the band will be a “All Original” record, containing compositions from Jerry Chaney, Ron King, and Dave Carroll. The project is scheduled for completion in the Spring of 2006.

Be sure to check out NRL at IBMA this year where they will be performing at the Bronzewood Showcase. We’ll have more information on all IBMA showcases very soon.

Though the popular Sore Fingers bluegrass instructional camp in England won’t be held until April of 2006, reports are that the slots are rapidly filling up. UK and European bluegrass pickers who want to take advantage of this highly regarded resource are encouraged to look into it right away before spaces are all reserved.

This is a five day workshop featuring well known instructors from both sides of the Atlantic, with classes offered in both bluegrass and old time playing styles. Scheduled faculty include: Ron Stewart (banjo), Mike Compton (mandolin), Jack Lawrence (guitar), Riley Baugus (banjo), Rayna Gellert (fiddle) and a great many others as well.

Visit the Sore Fingers web site for more details.

Starting in the next few days, we will institute a new feature on The Bluegrass Blog - long form posts. These will be articles which notably exceed our typical posts in length and which feature substantial content that is wholly original to one of our authors, or involving the results of our independent research.

Because of the length of these features, only a brief synopsis of the content will display on the font page, along with this longform graphic and a link to display the entire article. In some cases, photos will accompany the longform piece and we may open them to comments if the content suggests it.

Like our sporadic audio podcasts, longform posts will be published as the opportunity arises, and not on any specific schedule or frequency.

The Jim Hurst Bluegrass Band is preparing for a ten day tour of Ireland in early October. Traveling with Jim for this tour are Steve Smith on mandolin, Scott Anderson on banjo, and Jim’s son Brandon Hurst on bass. Stops on this Irish tour include:

More details on the Jim Hurst Bluegrass Band Ireland tour here.

NBC12 Online is reporting that this year’s…

Capital One Celebration On Ice will be taped at the Richmond Coliseum in front of a live audience on Wednesday, December 7th.???

The show will feature a cast of professional skaters including Olympic Gold Medalists Brian Boitano, Ekaterina Gordeeva and six-time US National Champion Todd Eldrige.???

The professional skaters will perform in unison with live music provided by Virginia musician Bruce Hornsby, Country recording artists SheDaisy, Grammy nominated bluegrass singer Rhonda Vincent and Josh Gracin of recent “American Idol” fame.

The “Capital One Holiday Celebration on Ice” will be broadcast nationally on NBC, Christmas Day from 2-4pm.???

Tickets go on sale Saturday, October 8th at 10 a.m. at all Ticketmaster Outlets, phone charge at 804-262-8100 or ticketmaster.com.

The 18th Annual International Folk Alliance Conference, For The Sake Of The Song, will be held February 10-14, 2006 at the Austin Hilton Hotel in Austin, TX. Showcase opportunities are available and the deadline for application, which had originally been set for May 31, was extended to allow for more artists to be involved. That new deadline of October 3 is rapidly approaching so any acts that would like to be considered had better get moving. There is a $35 application fee for Folk Alliance members and a $50 fee for non-members.

Showcase applications forms can be downloaded from the Folk Alliance web site.

Since this latest recording from Colorado-based Hit & Run Bluegrass has been out for two months, it doesn’t really qualify as a “new release.” Still, it’s likely that some of our readers may not be familiar with this terrific, up-and-coming young band and we encourage you to find out more about them.

You can hear some audio samples from the new CD online.

Hit & Run Bluegrass was invited to perform as a showcase band at the IBMA World Of Bluegrass convention in October, and will be featured on the Wednesday brunch showcase.

Phil & Gaye Johnson, who host the syndicated radio show KingPup Radio Hour have put out an artist call for acts who may want to participate in a “last minute” show scheduled for October 23 in Tryon, NC. The date may be convenient for southeastern bands traveling to the IBMA WOB convention in Nashville the following week.

Their show is carried on more than 50 stations (broadcast and online) and always features live performances of folk, bluegrass and old time country music. The 10/23 concert will be recorded for future broadcast.

Any act interested in participating in this, or future, KingPup recordings should contact Phil Johnson at 828 863 2860, or via the KingPup Radio Hour web site.

Following up on the success of their first two instructional DVDs on bluegrass style backup for banjo, AcuTab has announced the release of Power Pickin’ Volume 3 - Playing Banjo Backup In A Bluegrass Band, featuring Bill Evans. This new DVD combines the up the neck backup demonstrated in Bill’s first AcuTab video with aspects of the first position backup taught in Power Pickin’ Vol 2, showing the various techniques both in isolation, and with a full bluegrass band.

And not just any pickup band, either. Bill performs 7 bluegrass standards with Herschel Sizemore on mandolin, Kenny Smith on guitar, Warren Amberson (Acoustic Endeavors) on bass/vocals and Nick Reeb (King Wilkie) on fiddle.

Get more details on Power Pickin’ Volume 3 - including some online video samples - on the AcuTab web site.

Mountain Heart and Skaggs Family Records have announced that work on their next CD release, Wide Open, has been completed, with an anticipated release date projected for early in 2006. The band describes this new CD as especially ambitious and involving a level of production that they hope will set a new bar for bluegrass recordings. This time out, they worked with a veteran Nashville producer, Mark Bright, whose success with country artists like Rascal Flatts, Sara Evans, Blackhawk, and Jo Dee Messina has been measured in over 10 million CDs sold.

Vince Gill is among the featured guests.

Cherryholmes recently made history by being the first group in the history of the IBMA to be simultaneously nominated for both Emerging Artist of the Year and Entertainer of the Year.???Their new album which has just been released in stores today September 27th, may launch them even higher into bluegrass stardom.

Recording the Cherryholmes was like “trying to catch lightning in a bottle”, says Grammy Award winning producer, Ben Isaacs. This 14-song CD features a mix of 9 new original songs written by the Cherryholmes, along with songs from Bill Monroe, Hazel Dickens, and the Louvin Brothers.???

Click here to listen to some samples from the CD.

We first reported on this release here.

Though this particular case does not involve Gibson’s bluegrass division (Original Acoustic Instruments), it should be of interest to anyone who follows instruments or instrument building. Especially in the five string banjo world, questions about Gibson’s ability to protect the design and appearance of the banjos they developed in the 1920s and ’30s is a matter of ongoing interest. Mandolin builders share similar concerns regarding Gibson’s F5 design.

This particular decision, handed down on September 12, 2005 by the 6th U.S. District Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, OH, involved Gibson’s attempt to cite Paul Reed Smith Guitars for trademark infringement, specifically for copying the distinctive single cutaway design of Gibson’s Les Paul solid body electric guitar. The complaint, which was decided in Gibson’s favor in July of 2004, was based on the claim that the two guitars appeared similar from a distance, enough so to create confusion in the market to the detriment to Gibson.

Paul Reed Smith Guitars sought to have the injunction overturned on appeal, and was supported in their attempt by a number of other musical instrument heavyweights like Taylor Guitars, Peavey and D”Addario. The decision of Appeals Court Judge Karen Nelson Moore rejected the notion that body shape alone was sufficient to indicate injunctive relief, and that the District Court had erred in its interpretation of which aspects of the Les Paul design were protected under Gibson’s existing trademark.

You can view the complete decision of the Appeals Court online. It may be a bit dense for folks who aren’t familiar with legal writing, but contains a detailed analysis of this case, one which may have ongoing relevance in the acoustic music world as well.

In what will be very welcome news for mandolin aficionados, virtuoso multi-instrumentalist Andy Statman is poised to release his first mandolin recording in more than ten years. East Flatbush Blues is due for release in the near future, and there is an email notification link on Andy’s web site for anyone who would like to receive a note when the CD is shipping.

Statman was a product of the folk and acoustic music flowering in the 1960s, coming of age in the active cultural environment of the Greenwich Village musical scene. He was raised in a family of professional musicians and cantors, and became fascinated in his teens with the sounds of bluegrass music - and the mandolin. A chance meeting with David Grisman turned into a opportunity for intense instruction on the instrument, and Grisman quickly recognized that he had a true prodigy on his hands.

Andy made a number of recordings with progressive New York area acoustic groups in the 1970s, including jaw dropping solos on projects for Tony Trischka and Russ Barrenburg which brought him to the attention of critics and fellow mandolinists alike. In recent years, Statman has dedicated more and more of his professional life to his other musical love, traditional klezmer music, which he performs brilliantly on the clarinet. Most of his recordings and performances have had that focus of late, and it is terrific news that he is offering his mandolin music again after so many years.

You can preview a few audio snippets from the new CD on Andy’s web site.