The 7th annual CMT/NSAI Song Contest is accepting submissions, with prizes that include among others:

The contest is run by the Nashville Songwriters Association International, and Country Music Television. Entry fees are $40 for a single song, or $55 for two songs, with the fees rising after September 30 to $45 and $60. There is no limit to the number of songs that can be submitted.

The contest rules state that all genres of music are eligible, and we asked Deanie Williams, CMT/NSAI Song Contest Director, whether she felt like bluegrass songs, or songs from bluegrass writers, would have a fair chance in the competition.

“Every year the CMT/NSAI Song Contest receives thousands of song contest entries from all across the U.S. as well as internationally. We receive entries from all genres of music, including Bluegrass. In fact, last year’s CMT/NSAI Song Contest found a bluegrass gem that made its way to the Finals! Do yourself a favor and send us your Bluegrass song if you think it’s ready for a single-song contract because that is exactly what you could win!”

The official deadline for submissions is November 30, 2006 but entries received by August 15 will be entered into a separate drawing for a prize pack that includes a lifetime NSAI membership, admission to the 2007 NSAI Symposium and attendance at a NSAI Song Camp - plus a Gibson Epiphone guitar.

You can find all the details and entry forms on the official contest web site.

Produced by Carl Jackson for Rebel Records, The Mark Newton Band will release a new CD this fall entitled Hillbilly Hemingway. Pre-orders are being accepted right now, and there are audio samples available for 5 of the 12 songs on the disc. Here’s the track listing:

• Hillbilly Hemingway
• Homefolks
• It’s A Good Town To Die In
• Are You Lonesome Tonight
• Stillhouse Road
• Fraulein
• When The Trumpets Sound
• Old Dirt Road
• What About You
• Blessings
• Downforce
• Jesse and Me

The Gibson company has set up a Memorial Fund for the family of Charlie Derrington, whose tragic death in a highway accident we reported last week. Charlie was a valuable (some would say indispensable) employee at Gibson’s acoustic instruments division, and is widely regarded as having primary responsibility for their mandolin line being brought back to credibility in recent years.

You can find the details about the fund on Gibson’s site, but in brief they are:

To make a contribution to the Charlie Derrington Memorial Fund, please send a check to:

The Charlie Derrington Memorial Fund
Gibson Guitar Corp
309 Plus Park Avenue
Nashville, TN 37217
Attention: Becky Dixon Treasury Dept.

This past weekend marked the 30th anniversary of Stompin’ 76, a huge music festival held near Galax, VA. Estimates of the attendance ranged between 70,000 and 100,000 people over three days. The festival was promoted by Hal Abramson, a young first time promoter who pooled resources within his circle of family and friends to pay deposits on a fairly pricey and ambitious lineup.

Performers included a who’s who of bluegrass, with The Earl Scruggs Revue, Lester Flatt & The Nashville Grass, Doc & Merle Watson, Vassar Clements, John Hartford, The Osborne Brothers and New Grass Revival among the acts on the show. A number of popular rock/pop acts were also included, such as Bonnie Raitt, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, John Prine and fiddler Papa John Creach, all of whom had acoustic music associations at the time.

If you happened to see any of the press coverage of this anniversary, you may have noted one tidbit that had been included in the Stompin’ 76 press releases, to wit that the event had been held on “Doyle Lawson’s farm.” That caught our eye, and we contacted Doyle Lawson (of Quicksilver fame) to see if he had been involved in this historic venture.

When we spoke, he had also been made aware of the reference on Abramson’s site, and informed us that, no, he certainly was not the Doyle Lawson mentioned in reference to Stompin’ 76.

“I was performing with The Country Gentlemen at the time, and we didn’t even play that festival. I’m sure I couldn’t have put two acres together back then, much less a farm!”

We passed along the promoter’s contact info to Doyle, and the festival web site now makes clear that the farm was not owned by our Doyle Lawson.

The Stompin’ festival occurred at a time when the 1969 Woodstock festival had taken on an iconic status. (more…)

This post is a contribution from Richard Thompson, a founding member of the British Bluegrass Music Association. He is also a longstanding contributor to British Bluegrass News, a quarterly print publication where he also briefly served as editor. He wrote the Roots & Branches column for International Country Music News for some years, and is now preparing a factbook (catalog of important events) on the life of Bill Monroe.

Looking back, it is surprising that on the last two occasions that I have seen The Del McCoury Band a “mouldye olde fygge” like me should have witnessed the band as co-stars with the notorious Steve Earle, touring in support of their collaboration CD “The Mountain”, and secondly as a support act on a Nanci Griffith’s tour. On the first occasion a friend “? he’s a Steve Earle fan “? and I enjoyed an excellent show at the Midland Arts Centre on the Warwick University campus in Coventry. My friend had never seen a bluegrass band in action before and probably only experienced it by listening to The Mountain CD. He was won over, recognising very early on in the concert the excellent musicianship of all the members of the band.

More recently, I saw The Del McCoury Band at the Birmingham Symphony Hall where the audience was predominantly made up of Nanci Griffith’s enthusiasts. Although the hall was not full during the time that The Del McCoury Band was on stage, (the hall was not sold out, even for Nanci Griffith) there was a very good audience for that period of the evening and there was very appreciative applause at the end of each song.

At one point, Del called for requests and although there was a response it was clear that very few people were familiar with his repertoire. I could not miss this opportunity and I called for the Richard Thompson song 1952 Vincent Black Lightning, which the band promptly played. There were a few requests made later but the band only had a limited time left on stage and couldn’t fit them into their schedule. (more…)

Here at The Bluegrass Blog we’ve teamed up with Darrell Scott to bring you the opportunity to win an autographed copy of his new CD The Invisible Man, along with a Darrell Scott t-shirt. All you have to do is go to the sign up page and register. The winner will be drawn on September 11th and we’ll announce who the winner is here on The Bluegrass Blog.

And if you haven’t already, you should check out Darrell’s CD. It’s not what you’d call strait up bluegrass, but it is good music.

Following up on the recent post from Brad Harper about file trading of live show audio, in response to one by Megan Lynch, I want to add a few words about comments, and why we typically do not allow them on The Bluegrass Blog. I also want to explain a bit more about outside Guest Contributions, which we publish on occasion.

After Megan posted some strong feelings about trading live shows in her Guest Contribution on Wednesday (not in favor), we heard from readers who wanted to chime in, and were frustrated by the fact that, unlike many other blogs, we do not allow for comments. Brad Harper wrote in to share the fact that he had used his own blog to comment on her post (in favor of file trading), and agreed to allow us to re-publish his thoughts as a second Guest Contribution.

We continue to welcome Guest Contributions, both from folks working in the bluegrass/acoustic music industry, and from fans and amateur/semi-pro pickers who have something they want to share with our readers. Cogency, timeliness and the appropriateness of the subject matter will be crucial to them being accepted for publication, and prospective contributors are invited to contact us if they have an interest in composing a brief essay for publication.

We have generally eschewed comments for individual posts for several reasons. Initially, we wanted to avoid the sort of “Shut up!” and “What an idiot!!” responses that are too often a big part of blog commenting. We did try comments on certain posts where we felt like it would be appropriate, but required that commenters be registered as users on our site, use their actual names in any comments they wish to make, and that they be moderated by The Bluegrass Blog before they appeared on the site.

As it transpired, not many of our readers felt the compulsion to post comments, perhaps because of those restrictions, so we have gradually discontinued enabling them. In response to some reader requests, however, both of the posts referenced above have now been enabled to allow for reader comments, and anyone who wishes to chime in is welcome to do so, as long as you are willing to abide by our comment policies.

All comments are moderated and must be approved before publication, and anonymous comments will not be allowed. We want to foster conversation via opinion posts, but insist that it be open, civil and clearly credited.

In the past few months, we have also discovered that a pernicious spambot was able to penetrate our registration filter and post some plainly vile pornographic links as comments. Of course, since the comments require moderation, none of them get through to your eyes, but it both further soured us on comments, and got us thinking in a new direction where reader participation is concerned.

We are currently developing a major upgrade to The Bluegrass Blog that will allow our readers to be more active in discussions of posts we publish here. Look for more news about The B in the next few weeks.

Follow-up, 10:15 a.m.: Commenting has been enabled for this post as well, should anyone wish to add a thought.

The following is a contribution from luthier and resophonic guitarist Brad Harper. This post has been adapted from a post that appeared on Brad’s own blog in response to Megan Lynch’s post Trading live shows - good for our music?, here on The Bluegrass Blog. We have enabled comments for this post, as the topic has generated some reader interest. Registration is required to post comments, and they are moderated, but please fel free to add your thoughts if you are so inclined.

Earl: “Hey, anyone heard of Meagan Lynch”?
Lester: “No, who is she”?
Earl: “She”s this incredible fiddle player with 3 Fox Drive. I”ve heard one of their shows on bluegrassbox and bought their disk. They are a great band!!”
Josh: “Alright then, I”ll definitely check her and the band out.”

The essence of the above dialogue has been a common theme for me throughout the past 4 years since my introduction to bluegrassbox.com. A website that”s an invaluable source for live bluegrass and acoustic music.

Meagan Lynch of 3 Fox Drive recently posted here on The Bluegrass Blog regarding live show taping and trading networks. While she did raise valid points regarding stealth taping of artists who”d prefer not to be taped, I question a few of her other premises.

Her first notion mentions the hardships of a musician”s life. The traveling, demanding schedules etc. are undeniably rigorous. As an individual who”s seen day to day life from both sides (albeit briefly) of the fence I feel little sympathy for her. Being a musician is a choice. A choice that comes with trade-offs. Some of those tradeoffs being the elements of a musician”s life that she mentioned. Every occupation features tradeoffs. It can be tough. Being a lawyer is tough. Collecting garbage is tough. Sitting in a cubical for 8-10 hours a day with fiddle tunes going through your head is tough. There are times where I would drive home an hour each way just to be able to pick for 15 minutes at lunch. Sure, I”d rather be playing music for a living, but paying my mortgage each month is a nice thing. For many years, I”ve chosen that tradeoff. Life is all about trade-offs. She enjoys the mental fulfillment of living in a musical realm. Her hard work and sacrifice have put her in the position to choose that lifestyle but every benefit has a cost.The trials of a life on the road in no way constitute a valid argument against recording (with permission) and trading (legally) live music.

Her next statement is arguable” (more…)

Here’s an interesting podcast you might want to give a listen. This is from The Nashville Nobody Knows. Candace interviewed the guys from Three Ring Circle.

Rob Ickes, Dave Pomeroy and Andy Leftwich have just released Three Ring Circle, the trio”s debut CD. They talk about their world of music, share some their impeccable musicianship and artistry, and even their thoughts on a new Bose personal PA system.

We’ve posted about Three Ring Circle before.

Charlie Derrington’s tragic death in a senseless accident on Tuesday night has received some attention in The Tennessean, the primary daily paper in Nashville. The details are not pleasant for any friend of Charlie’s to contemplate.

His funeral will be held today (August 3) at 5:30 p.m. at Pettus-Owen and Wood Funeral Home in Nashville (615-292-3392). Visitation will be from 3:30-5:30 (CDT).

Once again, on behalf of The Bluegrass Blog, our sympathies and condolences are extended to Charlie’s wife Susan and his daughter Anna.

Episode #40 features an interview with banjo player and band leader Sammy Shelor. We’ve interviewed Sammy before, but felt like it was time for an update. Lonesome River Band has seen some band member changes, has a new CD out, and a new website and online store since the last time we talked to Sammy. Sam discusses all those things and more in this interview.

This GrassCast is 13 minutes in length, with a download size of 15 MB (for the MP3 file).

Below is an mp3 file which you can hear now, or download to your computer. The GrassCast is also available in the iTunes music store as an enhanced podcast containing photos and hyperlinks relative to the subject matter being discussed in the interview.

Listen now:
Direct Download: ep40_sammy_shelor.mp3
Subscribe with:
Free Download: The GrassCast iPodder software

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

This year’s IBMA World of Bluegrass is almost upon us. John and I are working on our plans for this year’s event and we’ve found that we have quite a lot going on this year. We’ll be sharing much of our activities with you as the event draws nearer, but suffice it to say that we are feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the work load in front of us. In an effort to take some of the pressure off us and still keep the blog up-to-the-minute during the week’s events, we are seeking Intern Bloggers for that week. Here’s how it would work.

If you become an Intern Blogger for the event you will be asked to cover certain aspects or functions of the event. We will teach you everything you need to know about the admin interface for writing blog posts, but you must have your own laptop computer from which to work. We will be able to provide press credentials as needed, you will however need to obtain your own registration for the event. Each post you make will contain a short informational bio and a link to your website, if you have one, much like our Guest Contributor posts. Advertising and promotional consideration will be given to each IB who contributes regularly during the week. While we are looking for a number of people to help with general coverage of the event in this way, we will be asking two of those persons to provide special live coverage of the IBMA Awards Show. These two IB’s will be given extra consideration when arranging advertising and promotional compensation.

Interested candidates are invited to contact us with any relevant experience, writing samples and areas of particular expertise. The number of IB positions are limited, but all submissions will be seriously considered.

John adds: While we are seeking a number of bloggers to assist in generalized, ongoing coverage of the IBMA week (late night showcases, exhibit hall offerings, non-official jams and off-site events, for example), we will also welcome more limited involvement. For example, you could agree to report on only a single seminar or session where you have a particular interest, and which you plan to attend, as one correspondent has already offered to do.

We heard recently from Sam Farris, developer of the Tranjo Travel Banjo. His company had a humble beginning, to wit, Sam’s desire for a practice banjo he could easily disassemble and reassemble when traveling. He built one himself with a detachable, full scale neck, and a six inch head. The neck was made using a headless design, with the five tuners installed inside a body cavity beneath the head.

Initial reaction was so positive that he decided to pursue building and offering them for sale. Now, he has several different models and options available, and a licensing arrangement with Gold Tone Banjos to build a less costly, authorized Gold Tone Tranjo in Korea, available to all Gold Tone dealers. Farris will soon introduce a solid body electric 5 string travel banjo, the Trancaster.

He has also recently introduced his Silent Banjo System, a nylon mesh retrofit head that can be installed on any 11” banjo pot. He says that concept of a mesh head is one that drummers have embraced for “silent practice” for some time, and was brought to the banjo world by a small builder in Texas, now out of business, who was offering 10” banjos using this sort of head. Sam arranged for them to be manufactured for 11” rims, and offers them exclusively through his web site.

The mesh heads are also available in 6” sizes for use on his Tranjo models.

You can find more photos, sound clips and product details for all these items on the Tranjo web site. Click on any of the images below to see them enlarged in a pop up window.

Update 8/04, 8:45 a.m.: Owing to a number of reader requests, we have enabled commenting for Megan’s post. Comments are moderated, so they will not appear immediately, and we require a simple, free registration in order to post them.

This post is a contribution from Megan B. Lynch, fiddler with 3 Fox Drive, and a respected instructor at fiddle camps all over the US. Megan was inspired to contribute this commentary after giving some consideration to the growing availability of file trading sites where fans can make live shows of their favorite acts available for others to download.

“Hey, anyone out there got New South shows from 2004-06? How about Rhonda, anything with stuff from the new album? I’ve got a bunch of Blue Highway and Alison that I got with my minidisk - good stuff! Oh, and I uploaded most of it on this site, so just take what you’re looking for, and enjoy!”

Sure, go ahead. Take what you’re looking for. The bands and songwriters responsible for that music don’t mind. Most of them just do this for the fun of it. That and the driving. They love the driving. All night to a festival, then two sets and back in the van to the next show. Barely making enough to pay for fuel. Hoping to sell a few dozen CDs to make sure the other band members break even on the tour. So it’s fine if someone records the whole show, uploads it to a site for everyone to have, no cost. And what a bonus if the band plays a bunch of songs from the new album. Whew! That saves $15 bucks!

Turns out that there are a number of websites that are facilitating exactly this kind of thing. I must admit, I was surprised. I figured that whenever people wanted to upload music (mostly live shows, usually without the permission of the festival, and often without the permission of the band) they would ask. Nope. Apparently, if we don’t want them to do it, we have to contact them. We have to find all the sites, figure out how to contact the people running them, and let them know they don’t have permission to trade the illegally-obtained music. Huh? Who would have thought?

I know many bands allow, even encourage, recording of live shows. I respect their choice to do so. (I do still have some concern for the songwriters involved - but one issue at a time.) But for bands and musicians who choose not to allow it, I find it disturbing that the process is backwards.

So, let this be my call to all bands and musicians. Choose for yourself - but understand that this is happening, and it could be happening to you. Log on to www.bluegrassbox.com, and seek out the others. Let them know where you stand.

Megan B. Lynch, 3 Fox Drive

Charlie Derrington, long time employee of the Gibson company and a noted luthier, was killed last night while riding his motorcycle in west Nashville. He was struck by a suspected drunk driver who was traveling against traffic on Briley Parkway, driving in the wrong direction. The suspect fled the scene, but was apprehended shortly thereafter and is in police custody.

Charlie was a friend to a great many people in bluegrass music, and will be remembered as much for his warmth, good humor and love of life as for his many contributions to the world of bluegrass instruments. Though he became known mostly as a builder and the director of the mandolin shop at Gibson, he was also a mandolin player and tenor singer who loved bluegrass music and the people who created it.

He first made waves in the mandolin world when he successfully restored Bill Monroe’s Loar F5 after it was badly damaged in a deliberate act of vandalism. The mandolin was in pieces after being smashed with a fireplace poker, and Charlie was able to separate the fragments of wood from two damaged mandolins, and restore them both to playing condition.

He is survived by his wife and daughter, and we join Charlie’s many friends and admirers in extending our great sadness and condolences to the Derrington family.

This is a tragic and senseless loss to both our music, and the music community who loved Charlie so well.

Legendary bluegrass pioneer Mac Wiseman spent two hours on the air earlier this week on XM’s Bluegrass Junction with host Kyle Cantrell. Their chat was carried live on XM, and served as a kick off for a planned series of live shows to be carried by the satellite radio provider.

Mac talked about some of the memorable moments in his 63 year career in music, including stories about Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, Woody Herman and Bill Monroe.

XM will re-broadcast the Wiseman interview this coming Sunday (8/6) at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).

Bluegrass Junction host Cantrell now features live shows from the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum each Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 3:00-6:00 p.m. (Eastern). The 24/7 bluegrass feed can be found on XM Channel 14, DirectTV channel 812, and also on AOL Radio.

HighTone Records has announced that September 19 will be the release date for The Golden West, the first “bluegrass band project” in more than 6 years from West Coast fiddler/vocalist/songwriter, Laurie Lewis. Laurie Lewis and her Bluegrass Pals was released in 1999 to widespread critical acclaim, but her recorded output since that time has been primarily with her duet partner, Tom Rozum.

This project is billed as coming from Laurie Lewis & the Right Hands, and knowing what the term “right hand” means in bluegrass parlance, the band name could be seen as exhibiting more than a whiff of braggadocio. String musicians of every stripe know that both tone and timing are regulated by a performer’s right hand, so calling a band by that name suggests that they will bear some strict scrutiny in those areas.

But, as Dizzy Dean so famously quipped, “It ain’t bragging if you can do it,” and the folks on this CD have demonstrated just that sort of mastery over the years.

Though the band name is new, these musicians have a long history of performing and recording with Lewis. Craig Smith is on banjo, Todd Phillips on bass, Scott Huffman on guitar, and Tom Rozum on mandolin with Lewis on fiddle. In a true band format, lead vocals are shared among Lewis, Rozum and Huffman, with guest harmony vocals coming from Linda Ronstadt on two tracks.

The material mixes a number of Laurie Lewis originals with songs from Bill Monroe, John Hartford, Billy Joe Shaver, Jimmy Martin, Ana Egge and Jimmie Dale Gilmore.

No audio samples up yet on either the HighTone or Laurie Lewis sites, though she does have the lyrics available on her site.

Michael Cleveland has been added to the Roanoke Bluegrass Weekend faculty for 2006, taking the place of Kenny Baker, who has found that he will be unable to teach this year.

The RBW staff will make refunds available to any students who had registered especially to study with Kenny, though they expect that serious students of the fiddle will find Michael to be a much more than capable understudy.

Roanoke Bluegrass Weekend will be held from November 10-12, 2006 in Roanoke, Va. Four scholarships are available this year for young pickers aged 13-24.

Find more details about the event by visiting their web site.

We just got word that Mickey Harris, bass player and vocalist with Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, is a new proud papa! Mikayla Rose Harris arrived yesterday (7/31) at 9:48 Central Time, and weighed in at 7 lbs., 7 oz.

Congratulations and best wishes to Crystal and Mickey Harris.

We posted an announcement last week of the new Huber Ron Block model banjo. It is a near-replica of the pre war Granada Ron has been playing for many years, which was designed and will be marketed with his cooperation.

Ron, of course, is the long-time banjo player with Alison Krauss & Union Station. He passed a long a few word about the new Huber that he wanted us to share with our readers.

“I love the Huber Ron Block model. It has high-end clarity, yet still maintains warmth and midrange without muddiness; the tone remains constant at any dynamic level. The workmanship and attention to detail are top of the line. The way it looks makes me want to pick it up, and the way it sounds keeps it in my hands. Huber Banjos radiate excellence.”

Further details on the Huber site.