posted by John on 03.27.06 @ 6:05 am Tag: Casey Driessen
If you attend many bluegrass or acoustic music shows, you’ve surely encountered young fiddle phenom, Casey Driessen. Just 27 years old, he’s toured with Chris Jones, Tim O’Brien, B???la Fleck and folk/country rebel, Steve Earle since graduating from Berklee College of Music. Casey’s fiddle was also heard on the soundtrack of the smash hit Johnny Cash bio-pic, Walk The Line.
On May 9, Casey’s first solo project, 3D, is set to be released on Sugar Hill. Not much news on either Casey’s or Sugar Hill’s site, but the material seems to include some original compositions as well as tunes that especially appeal to Driessen. Guest artists include Viktor Krauss, Jerry Douglas, Tim O”Brien, Béla Fleck, Darrell Scott and Jamey Haddad.
XM Satellite Radio’s Bluegrass Junction (Channel 14) will feature The Steep Canyon Rangers on host Kyle Cantrell’s Studio Special program today (3/26) at 3:00 p.m. The hour-long show will include a lengthy interview with the band, and a live (in studio) performances of several songs. The program was recorded in late February.
The Rangers episode will repeat several more times over the next two weeks, following the regular Studio Special schedule:
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.
Back To The Well is the title of the second recording from The Daughters Of Bluegrass, an effort spearheaded by Lorraine Jordan and Gena Britt Tew to highlight the musical gifts and skills of the many female bluegrass pickers and singers currently performing in the US. The first CD on CMH Records, Daughters Of American Bluegrass, was nominated for the Recorded Event Of The Year award from the IBMA in 2005 and featured Lorraine and Gena along with Kristin Scott-Benson, Dale Ann Bradley, Kim Fox, Missy Raines, Honi Deaton, Cindy Cashdollar, Michelle Birkby-Vance, Anita Fisher and Chrystal Franklin.
The new project also prominently features Lorraine and Gena, along with Mindy Rakestraw, Frances Mooney, Donica Christensen, Jeanette Williams, Valerie Smith, Becky Buller, Beth Lawrence, Julie Elkins, Angela Oudean, Louisa Branscomb, Michelle Nixon, Dale Ann Bradley, Heather Berry, Megan McCormick, and Vicki Simmons. From The Well was released on Blue Circle Records in mid-March, and can be ordered from the Daughters web site.
What a great week for Lou - his son, Sean and his wife Stephanie had a little girl yesterday morning, March 24th, 2006. They named the baby Jaime Lynn Pyrtle and she weighed 6 lbs, 6 1/2 ounces.
Episode #21 of The GrassCast features an interview with Chris Jones. Chris is a bluegrass guitar player, singer, songwriter, and radio DJ. This interview was recorded live at IBMA in Oct ‘05.
This GrassCast is 7 minutes in length and the file download size is 6.4 MB.
To subscribe with your own podcatching software, copy and past this url into the appropriate entry box in your software: http://www.thegrasscast.com/rss
Thanks to the folks at Mandolin Caf???, where we saw this item about the upcoming Festival Of The Mandolins to be held on April 23 in San Francisco, CA. This all-day event is sponsored by the Croatian American Cultural Center, and will feature workshops, a free-for-all mandolin orchestra, and a concert featuring a number of world renowned mandolinists. After the show, there will be dancing, jamming and an open-mic stage. Food will be available throughout the day and instruments will be on display.
Performers will include John Reischman, John Miller, Rich DelGrosso, the Aurora Mandolin Orchestra, The Hot Frittatas, Eva Scow and Avi Avital. The range of styles represented is vast, covering bluegrass, klezmer, classical, blues, Brazilian choro and Italian dance music.
posted by Brance on 03.24.06 @ 7:46 am Tag: Lou Reid
With his distinctive high tenor vocals and instrumental talents, Lou Reid is no stranger to bluegrass fans. During his career he has been a founding member of Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver and performed in Ricky Skaggs’ band. He has also performed with Bill Monroe, Keith Whitley and many more. He still performs dates with the Seldom Scene and the award-winning group Longview, but he also fronts his own band, Lou Reid and Carolina.
Their single Time has recently climbed to the #1 spot on Bluegrass Unlimited’sNational Bluegrass Survey. Simultaneously the album by the same name reached #2. The single includes Lou Reid, Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Harold Nixon, Ron Stewart and Randy Kohrs. Other guests on the album include Jerry Douglas, James Mitchell and Chris Wood.
I spoke with Lou and asked him what it was like to have a #1 hit, his first with his own band.
Having a number one song is just a great feeling! Knowing that people liked the song enough to help take it up the chart this far almost leaves me speechless. Although I’ve been in the business a long time, this is all new to me. We can’t thank the fans and DJ’s enough for their support!
Another first is also fast approaching for Lou and his band. While he has performed numerous times on the Grand Ole Opry as part of other bands, his own band will make a debut appearance on the Opry stage on Friday April 28th.
Getting to play the Grand Ole Opry with Lou Reid and Carolina is going to be another wonderful experience. Although I’ve played the Opry many times before with the Ricky Skaggs Band, this time I will be a little more nervous performing on my own with Carolina. For me, it’s a bit easier to stand behind a big Artist like Ricky Skaggs in support of his sound, but to stand on my own two feet is a much different feeling. With band members Christy, Trevor, Kevin and I, playing the Opry is a dream come true! All this excitement is a humbling experience for us.
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro School Of Music will host StringFest, a free one day event on April 7 which celebrates and explores traditional old time music from the Appalachian regions of North Carolina. The event will feature fiddle and guitar workshops in the morning, followed by a conference where academic papers and short films will be presented and discussed. The day will wrap up with a concert that evening in the school recital hall.
Morning workshops (10:00 a.m.) will be taught by Josh Goforth, Doug Rorrer, Taylor Rorrer and Bob Carlin who will be joined for the 7:30 p.m. concert by guitar legend George Shuffler. The presentations at 1:30 p.m. will be made by filmmakers Cece Conway and Iris Chapman, collector/folklorist Alan Jabbour and noted musiucian, Bob Carlin.
There is no charge to attend any of these events, but preregistration is suggested. You can reach the UNCG School Of Music by phone at 336-334-5789, or by email.
King Wilkie is a featured subject in a segment of the April issue of Southern Living magazine. Nick Patterson of Southern Living caught up with the band at an Atlanta show, and briefly described their music and the “disconnect” he perceived between the band’s youth and the music they perform. King Wilkie Mandolinist Reid Burgess deftly deflects both the notion of there being anything odd about young people playing or following bluegrass music, and the idea that they were somehow “preserving” the tradition themselves.
You can read the article on the magazine’s web site, which also features audio samples from their latest release, Tierra del Fuego.
New Day is the title of the upcoming CD from Claire Lynch - her fifth for Rounder Records - and her new band, the appropriately named Claire Lynch Band. The band includes Jim Hurst on guitar, David Harvey on mandolin, and Missy Raines on bass. Guest appearances on the CD were made by Stuart Duncan (fiddle), Charlie Cushman (banjo), Alison Brown (banjo), and Rob Ickes (dobro). It was recorded at the new Rec Room Studio by celebrated engineer (and studio owner) Ben Surratt, who also has the distinction of being married to the aforementioned Ms. Raines.
New Day is expected to be released on March 28, and advance orders can be placed on Claire’s web site. Radio and press promos are being sent out now, and copies for sale are anticipated shortly. Claire has a CD release celebration scheduled for April 15 at the Station Inn in Nashville, and you can get details about this, and all her other shows, on her web site.
No audio yet online, but you can see the track listing on the Rounder site. We’ll be sure to update when we find some audio samples.
Larry Sparks & The Lonesome Ramblers will be featured on the Grand Ole Opry radio broadcast this weekend. Larry will appear in the 8:00-8:30 and 11:00-11:30 time slots, both eastern time.
Unfortunately, the GAC cable television network is not carrying this week’s Opry show on TV, but you can catch WSM 650 AM over the air, or listen via online streaming, to hear the entire Opry broadcast, which runs from 7:30 p.m. until 1:00 a.m. (EST).
SignOnSanDiego.com is reporting that Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder will be performing with the San Diego Symphony this August as part of the Summer Pops series. Two performances are scheduled for August 4 and 5. The title of the performances is Red, White and Bluegrass With Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder.
Concerts are held at Embarcadero Marina Park South, 206 Marina Parkway, downtown. Performances begin at 7:30 p.m.; gates open at 6 p.m. Each concert is followed by nightly fireworks.
Subscriptions range from $50 to $670.
Single tickets, which go on sale April 10, are $10 to $70.
Tickets/information: (619) 235-0804 or sandiegosymphony.com
The historic Belcourt Theater in Nashville will be the site for a CD release/tribute concert for Bobby Osborne’s Try A Little Kindness project on Thursday, March 23. The show will feature Bobby Osborne and The Rocky Top X-Press, plus special guests The Grascals, Claire Lynch, Alecia Nugent, Marty Rabon, Larry Stephenson, and Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives.
XM Satellite Radio’s Bluegrass Junction (Channel 14) will air the concert on Friday (3/24) at 7:00 p.m., and then again on Saturday (3/25) at 4:00 p.m. All times are eastern standard time.
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.
The popular and acclaimed NashCamp has announced their Music Camps for 2006, with three, week-long events during the summer, and a weekend banjo retreat in the fall.
First up is two weeks of bluegrass instruction, aptly named Bluegrass Weeks. Each of the two, one-week sessions feature well-known bluegrass performers as instructors, with a mix of small group instruction and band labs as the focus. Elective workshops are also offered in less technical, but equally crucial elements of learning and performing in the bluegrass genre.
The faculty for Bluegrass Weeks includes Ron Stewart, Missy Raines, Roland White, Fletcher Bright, David Harvey, Jim Hurst, Tim Scheerhorn and Greg Cahill.
Next comes Songwriting Week (July 30-August 4), with such heralded instructors as Carl Jackson, Tim Stafford and Claire Lynch among a faculty of ten successful country and bluegrass songwriters. Students will rotate through the various instructors for instruction and critique on the various aspects of the craft. Guest speakers will include reps from music publishing companies and songwriter rights organizations.
Lastly, they offer the Fall Banjo Retreat (October 20-22), an intensive 3 day weekend event with instructors Sonny Osborne, Ron Block, Alan Munde and Bill Evans.
All NashCamp workshops are open to players at any skill level. More details (costs, complete faculty lists, registration info, lodging and directions) can be found on the NashCamp site.
CMT.com’sStudio 330 Sessions are a great way to see some live performances from bands you might not have the chance to see otherwise. While it’s mostly country music that is featured on the 330 sessions, there is some bluegrass content. Currently the featured artist is IBMAEntertainer of the Year, Cherryholmes.
The session features 4 songs along with 11 interview clips. The songs featured are:
How Long?
Coastline
Workin’ Girl Blues
Makin’ Time
Here’s the direct link to the page where you can watch all these clips. [Editor’s note: If you’re on a mac, don’t bother. CMT.com doesn’t support mac. Don’t ask me why.]
We had posted last year about an edition of CMT’s Total Access program which ran in December. It featured an up-close, off-stage encounter with Alison Krauss & Union Station during their 2005 visit to the UK. The show has been slated to be repeated this spring, and is on the CMT schedule for May 9 at 11:00 p.m., May 10 at 4:00 p.m., and May 18 at 8:00 p.m. (all times Eastern).
We caught the program when it was originally shown last year, and found it to be entertaining and engaging. One thing that has been consistently said of Alison Krauss by those who work closely with her, is that she is utterly devoid of pretension, and possesed of a self-deprecating sense of humor that wins people to her almost immediately.
Her appearance on Total Access will do nothing to diminish this reputation, and will further endear her to fans who have long admired her for “keeping it real.” Make plans to see this one, or learn how to program your TiVo before it airs.
The 11th Annual Podunk Bluegrass Music Festival in East Hartford, CT. Has announced the festival line up for this year. The festival is four days and takes place August 3-6, 2006.
For more information visit podunkbluegrass.net or call the East Hartford Parks and Recreation Office at 860-528-1458.
Cost: Camping on festival grounds $99.00 pp; which includes 4-day festival admission and camping.
4 Day Advance (Before 5/30/06) Adult: $75.00, Junior: $35.00
Single Day Early Bird Tickets (Before 7/31/06)
Adult (18 and over) Thursday $15.00, Friday $32.00, Saturday $32.00, Sunday $10.00
Junior Ticket (13 to 17) Thurs $7.50, Friday $15.00, Saturday $15.00, Sunday $3.50
Children 12 and under are free.
The Podunk event will feature a fine selection of food and craft vendors. Unique children”s activities will happen on the grounds of Martin Park. Kid”s Bluegrass Academy for 8 to 15 year olds will happen during the festival, plus workshops and 4th Annual D”Addario String Instrument Competition on Sunday.
Stephanie Ledgin has worked for many years as a photographer, journalist, radio announcer, editor and event producer in the world of bluegrass, old time and folk music. Her 2004 book, Homegrown Music: Discovering Bluegrass has been heralded as a crucial primer for folks just learning about the music - or looking for some insights into its history and culture. From Every Stage: Images of America’s Roots Music, was published in 2005, and includes 200 photos she has taken at festivals and concerts over the past thirty years.
In April of this year, Ledgin will be honored at the Governor’s Cultural Reception at Drumthwacket, the official residence of the Governor of New Jersey. This event is designed to recognize authors and literary figures from New Jersey, and both Gov. Corzine and Sec. of State Wells will be in attendance to present the honors.
You can find out more about Stephanie’s work - and her two recent books - by visiting her web site.
The April issue of Bluegrass Unlimited magazine is in the mail and on its way to subscribers. This month, BU has an obituary memorial by Eddie Stubbs marking the recent passing of Louise Scruggs, plus features on Tim White and Sally Jones.
There is also an article by Caroline Wright which features an exclusive “day in the life” look at Tony Rice. Wright and Tim Stafford are working on a book on Rice, with each author taking a different side on Tony - Stafford covers Rice as a guitarist, while Wright focuses on him as an artist and an individual.
You can get more info on Bluegrass Unlimited by visiting their web site.
Eric Gibson has just now passed along that the video is completed and has been released, and can be viewed on CMT.com. It is also expected to be shown on CMT’s Wide Open Country program, though at times not especially convenient for many US TV viewers.
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If you attend many bluegrass or acoustic music shows, you’ve surely encountered young fiddle phenom, Casey Driessen. Just 27 years old, he’s toured with Chris Jones, Tim O’Brien, B???la Fleck and folk/country rebel, Steve Earle since graduating from Berklee College of Music. Casey’s fiddle was also heard on the soundtrack of the smash hit Johnny Cash bio-pic, Walk The Line.
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Episode #21 of The GrassCast features an interview with 
The historic Belcourt Theater in Nashville will be the site for a CD release/tribute concert for Bobby Osborne’s 
