The Grammy Awards last night were very good for Alison Krauss & Union Station, who took three awards.

The Del McCoury Band won Best Bluegrass Album for The Company We Keep, and Tim O’Brien won Best Traditional Folk Album for Fiddler’s Green.

Congratulations to them all, and to the other bluegrass acts who were nominated: Blue Highway, Cherryholmes, The Grascals, and Rhonda Vincent & The Rage. We hope you all had a blast in LA!

UPDATE: Ricky Skaggs also picked up a Grammy last night for his participation on Songs From the Neighborhood: The Music of Mister Rogers, which won for Best Musical Album for???Children. Ricky recut Let’s Think of Something to Do While We’re Waiting, one of 12 Rogers compositions covered by popular artists for this tribute project.

“Doing the Mister Rogers???album was such a labor of love. Mister Rogers was in my home daily because of my kids. As a matter of fact, my 21-year-old daughter Molly helped me pick the song “Lets Think Of Something To Do” for this project, so it makes it all the more special.”

The Grascals will be the guest on Kyle Cantrell’s next Studio Special series installment, starting this weekend on Bluegrass Junction, Channel 14 on XM Satellite Radio.

Kyle tells us that the boys will play some songs from their current release, and preview at least one song from their next project. The performances were recorded live in his studio, and the show features a mix of interviews and live music.

It will run for the first time on Sunday, February 12 at 3:00 p.m. (EST), and will re-air several more times throughout the month. A complete list of scheduled slots follows.

As we have mentioned previously, if you are already an XM subscriber, Bluegrass Junction can be found on channel 14, or you can listen online when away from your XM receiver. Non-subscribers can register online for a free, 3 day online trial of XM Radio.

About.com is running an online poll where you can vote for the album you think should win the Grammy Award for 2006 Best Bluegrass Album. Here is the list of nominees:

• Blue Highway - Marbletown
• Cherryholmes - Cherryholmes
• The Grascals - The Grascals
• The Del McCoury Band - The Company We Keep
• Rhonda Vincent And The Rage - Ragin’ Live

Currently The Grascals are winning by a large margin. Click on over and vote for your favorite.

Pete Wernick, aka Dr. Banjo, sent us a copy of a moving tribute he wrote to commemorate the passing of Louise Scruggs. Pete was headed to Nashville for the funeral when he sent this along, and we wanted to quote briefly from his piece, and also suggest you visit Pete’s site to read the entire thing.

Like so many folks who have taken the occasion of Mrs. Scruggs’ passing to comment on her status in the music business, Pete has also taken pains to make reference to her generosity and kindness of spirit - traits often unseen to those outside the Scruggs’ circle of family and friends, and perhaps in stark contrast with the widely-held persona of a tough-as-nails businesswoman.

“My last conversation with Louise was on Jan. 6, Earl’s birthday. I have called Earl on his birthday for many years. This year, that day saw them sharing a room at a rehab facility, where he was recuperating from the fall he took in late November. The only way to call in was Louise’s cell phone. I was in Colorado putting together a performance with 12 banjo players at my Advanced Banjo Camp. I called Louise on the cell, and she answered, in a clear voice. Earl was not able to get to the phone, so the two of us talked. I put her on the speaker phone for the campers to hear. She sounded downright lively, asked about the camp, and gave her greetings to the group, and extended Earl’s. She said the one thing she regretted was that she couldn’t “jump right out of bed” and throw Earl a party, as she was used to doing. There, in the last month of her life, suffering from multiple ailments, her greatest joy remained honoring her man.”

Pete’s entire commentary is worthy of your attention if you are a fan of Earl Scruggs, or simply interested in the people who helped make this music possible.

This post is a contribution from Casey Henry. Casey is the daughter of banjo player Murphy Henry, and is an accomplished banjo player in her own right, as well as an instructor. Currently Casey and her brother Chris are fronting a band called The Two-Stringers.

The first time I met Louise Scruggs was in an elevator at IBMA in Louisville. It must have been the Thursday of the Awards Show. I had gone up to my room to grab a banjo and a guitar and was rushing toward the elevator, out of breath, one instrument in each hand. Someone held the door for me and when the doors closed behind me the first person I saw was Louise. I had never seen her in person before, but she looked right at me and said “Casey.” I answered, “Louise.” And we shook hands. And then I turned to Earl and shook hands with him. I was so excited. How she recognized me I don’t know, but I do know she kept up with everything that was going on in the bluegrass world. She always read the current publications, Banjo Newsletter, BU, and didn’t miss a thing. When Murphy once wrote in her BNL column about a picture of Earl’s right hand that someone had given her, Louise called up the photographer and wanted to know where her copy of the picture was.

Murphy and I were lucky to have had the opportunity to visit Earl and Louise’s house in Madison, before they moved down to the huge mansion. Earl answered the door, Louise brought us Coke to drink, and after we had visited for a while it was she who asked if we wanted to play Earl’s banjo.

Maybe my favorite memory is when we both happened to be at a baby shower for Don and Tina Rigsby at Tom T. and Dixie Hall’s house. I sat next to Louise as Tina was opening presents. We found common ground in the fact that neither of us really knew Tina. When Louise got up to get more punch, Don came over and was about to sit in her seat. I had to tell him, “Louise was sitting there.” So when she got back I told her I’d saved her seat for her. She appreciated that.

At Earl’s 80th birthday reception at the Country Music Hall of Fame I made a point to tell her that I liked her jacket, which was a beautiful burgundy color and a stylish cut. I think the last time I saw her was when Berklee School of Music awarded Earl an honorary doctorate last year. She didn’t look as well as she had in the past but, as always, she and Earl looked pleased to get a huge standing ovation from the crowd. She was a unique person, and a pioneering woman in the music business. Her contributions deserve to be recognized and she greatly deserves a place in the IBMA’s Hall of Honor.

The new Lonesome River Band is giving away some free music on their newly redesigned website. The site just went live this morning and features the latest band news, tour dates, biographical information for the new band members, and some free audio files. And these aren’t just audio snippets either. They are complete songs.

When LRB banjo veteran and band leader Sammy Shelor assembled the members of this most recent lineup, he recognized that the sound and feel of the group was reminiscent of the early Lonesome River Band, with the four piece, powerhouse rhythm and drive that brought the band to such acclaim in the 1990s.

Sammy decided that the best way to make this point was to take the new band right into the studio. Last month, they recorded a number of tracks that are now being given away free of charge on the website. There are two tracks available at this time with more to be added soon. The two tracks that are up right now feature the two newest members of the band Shannon Slaughter (guitar/vocals) and Berry Berrier (bass/vocals).

Go check it out and listen for yourself at LonesomeRiverBand.com.

The Van Heffer CD we told you about here and here was originally slated to be released today as an iTunes exclusive, but Wichita tells me that Apple has decided to wait and release the CD next Tuesday, on Valentine’s Day.

I guess Apple must love the CD!

A complete list of 2006 award winners is now posted on the SPBGMA web site. The awards were presented in Nashville on Sunday (2/5) during SPBGMA’s 23rd National Convention.

Unlike the awards given by the IBMA, which are selected in several rounds of ballots by industry professionals, the SPBGMA awards are chosen by a vote of Society members, and anyone in the general public who feels motivated to submit a ballot. One might speculate that the IBMA Awards represent a “critics’ choice,” peer-bestowed award, while the SPBGMA awards are more of fan or consumer-driven selection.

In either event, both are to be celebrated and cherished by the winners, and The Bluegrass Blog congratulates all the winners of the 2006 SPBGMA Bluegrass Awards.

[UPDATE]: CMT.com also has a wrap up of the SPBGMA Awards presentation, with a list of winners.

John Gerome (AP writer and national “country music correspondent”) has a piece in Monday’s edition of The Tennessean covering the funeral services for Louise Scruggs yesterday at The Ryman Auditorium. As Gerome notes in his opening sentence:

“Louise Scruggs, whose business savvy helped banjo great Earl Scruggs’ career flourish, was remembered Monday in a memorial service at the auditorium where they first met.”

Read the entire article here, which describes the service and some of the lovely tributes it engendered.

Bluegrass Books Online has updated their site with new free lessons for guitar or mandolin. The lessons are done in the same manner as their Jam Tunes books, and the tab and MP3s for the new songs can be downloaded from the site.

These online lessons are taught by Rick Williams, who promises to add new lessons on a regular basis, so you may want to check the site From time to time.

Michelle Nixon was named Female Vocalist of the Year in the Traditional category. She and the band (Michelle Nixon & Drive) garnered a total of six nominations this year.

We just heard from the folks at Skaggs Family Records that Cherryholmes was awarded the Entertaining Group of the Year trophy, and Cia Leigh Cherryholmes was given Banjo Performer of the Year - the same two awards they took at SPBGMA last year.

Another SPBGMA Awards update…

The Grascals are delighted to pass along the awards they took home:

We have not yet found a listing of the complete SPBGMA Awards, but will post the winners (or a link to a list) when we find them.

We did receive a note from Julia Yocum with Rhonda Vincent’s fan club with a listing of their awards:

This post is a contribution from Dave Roye.

I know I am a little late on the SPBGMA update … 3 hours of sleep the past few nights from editing all the photos paid it’s toll on me.

Friday was an incredible evening of entertainment at the showcase stage. After the dinner break, The Circuit Riders kicked off the showcase show with their great harmonies and big sound! I spoke with bassist, Billy Gee after the show and he said they have their latest recording project finished, just need it to be mixed and hoped to have it out soon! If it is half as good as they sounded onstage, it will be a great one!

It was the first time I had got to see Skaggs Family recording artist Melonie Cannon and Tennessee Road and I was blown away energetic show- WHAT A VOICE!

Carolina Road did a great set of Traditional bluegrass, then the highlight for me was to see the lady with the prettiest smile in bluegrass, Lynn Morris play the entire performance of their portion of the show! WHAT A SWEETHEART SHE IS!

James King rocked the house as he always does and another special moment was to see the legendary Curly Seckler come onstage and perform a song with the James King Band. It’s always great to see the 1st generation bluegrass artists still performing.

[Note: I missed the afternoon show of Melvin Goins and Windy Mountain, but there was plenty of talk about how happy he and his brother (Ray) were to be onstage performing together again on their afternoon appearance. (Sorry now that I missed that one). ] (more…)

This post is a contribution from Murphy Henry. Murphy is well know for her instructional method that uses no tab. Be sure to visit her site murphymethod.com to learn more about, and purchase, her teaching and instructional materials.

I feel very fortunate to have known Louise Scruggs, even just a little bit. She seemed to me to be an extremely complex woman whose reserved, almost dour, public demeanor masked an incredibly dry wit. And smart! Lord, she was smart. And quick, too. At a long-ago IBMA, I was sitting with Louise and Earl at a table in the restaurant at the Executive Inn in Owensboro one evening. I was somewhat petrified because I didn’t know either of them very well. A man came up and asked Earl to autograph something–was it a license plate? He said he was getting the autographs of all the great banjo players. Louise, sitting right beside me, said to me sotto voce, “You’re a banjo player. Why don’t you give him your autograph?” That was funny on many levels, and I think Louise was aware of all of them. Needless to say, I kept mum.

A few years ago, again at IBMA, I had my picture taken with Louise, which I’m looking at right now in my office. Most people want to get their picture taken with Earl, but I wanted mine with her. Right before Marye Yeomans snapped the shot, Louise said, “Wait.” I wondered why the delay. Again in a low voice she said to me, “I’ve got to hold my stomach in.” Is there a woman on the face of the earth who hasn’t had that same thought? I loved Louise for saying that. I broke into a huge laugh, which is when Marye snapped the shot. Then Louise made me promise not to tell anyone what she said. So, in writing my column for Banjo Newsletter, I didn’t. But now it seems like it’s okay. I think that’s a side of Louise not too many people know about.
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Three Ring Circle is the name of a new CD - and a new trio - featuring dobro wizard Rob Ickes of Blue Highway, mandolin/fiddle wunderkind Andy Leftwich of Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, and Nashville studio stalwart Dave Pomeroy on bass. The CD will be released on Earwave Records in March 2006, and will feature original material written within the group, as well as their reworked arrangements of some classic tunes.

Rob tells us that he is very excited about getting to record and perform with Andy and Dave, and to “stretch out” a bit on some challenging and innovative original instrumental music. They spent a year and a half writing and recording for the new project, as time could be found amidst their busy schedules with their primary performance vehicles.

Look for them in some limited engagements coming up in anticipation of the CD release. They will be at The Station Inn in Nashville on February 23 and March 23, and in Chattanooga, TN on February 17 at the Barking Legs Theater. They expect to add more dates as the CD release draw near, so keep an eye on Rob’s or Dave’s sites for more info.

Sharon McGraw, editor of Bluegrass Unlimited magazine, also shared her thoughts about Louise Scruggs and her legacy as a prominent female businesswoman.

“Louise Scruggs stands out as the most prominent leader in the music industry for women. She was absolutely the pillar of strength in most any business transaction. Louise will be remembered for her strong will as well. I begged her for years to allow us to feature her in the magazine and always received the same reply, “maybe soon.” We actually had begun work on an article just prior to her health declining.

She will be sadly missed.

Sharon McGraw, Managing Editor, Bluegrass Unlimited

Our good friend Wichita Rutherford has just released a video of him producing the band Mountain Heart. There is some great footage of them working with Wichita in the studio as he brings out the best in this band. You can check it out by visiting his website 5MinutesWithWichita.com or by searching iTunes for his name or his show’s name.

Don’t forget to check out my interview with Wichita in this week’s episode of The GrassCast.

Our friends with the Sao Paulo Bluegrass Music Association in Brazil are sponsoring a web poll about the use of drums in bluegrass music. Obviously, there is nothing remotely scientific about this sort of poll, but those who feel strongly about it one way or the other might enjoy casting their vote.

Voters can also leave an additional comment about the question on the poll entry form. We’ll report back with the results when they are made available next week.

The folks with SPBMA also pointed out that they have just added their first banjo instructor in Africa to their Banjo Teachers Around The World web directory. Any banjo instructor anywhere in the world is invited to post their photo and contact information.