Merlefest 2007 is over and the reports are that it was a spectacular festival. I’ve heard several people recount for me the highlights of this year’s event. But my friend Scott Rouse, a Nashville based producer, had what must have been the coolest experience of the festival this year. Scott spent Thursday afternoon with Doc Watson and Elvis Costello.

He and Doc hung out in my hotel room and laughed and told stories for a little over 30 minutes. They both had a great time. Elvis’ “cool” is for real. what an awesome guy. He was relaxed and there to listen to whatever Doc wanted to say and talk about. Doc told stories from his childhood and so did Elvis. They talked about their wives and the festival and even food. Afterwards when Elvis left Doc said “That Elvis Costello is a good boy. I really like him. Yeah, he’ll do.”

Scott’s dad, Jim Rouse, was there with them and took the picture.

Elvis Costello at Merlefest? I wondered how that went over, but Scott assured me it was a hit.

Elvis did an awesome show and was welcomed with open arms into the Bluegrass world when he let go with some of his biggest tunes done acoustically. Sam Bush on mandolin, Byron House on bass etc. Its hard to go wrong there. His show floored the crowd.

His respect and love for Bluegrass runs deep. He, for real, loves it. The British really understand the importance of the history of bluegrass and music in general. They get all up in it. Take John Paul Jones for instance. He spent a couple of nights at the Carter family’s home. He’s read the book twice and the Carter family is one of the first things he wants to talk about when you talk to him. He’s totally obsessed with absorbing and learning all he can about our music. And it isn’t just the non de-script, overall view type info most people get from just learning a little bit about bluegrass and its history. He can go DEEP into where our music came from. There’s a guy, who was in one of the biggest rock bands of all time, and he is totally humbled by Mother Maybelle. It really makes you think about how important our heroes really are, not only to us, but to the most potent musicians in the world.

Yes, bluegrass may be a smaller genre in the larger music world, but it’s important. It’s important to us, and it’s important to musicians in other genres as well. And if you like good music, I guess you almost have to like Doc Watson!

CMT.com is reporting that McCoury Music has signed an exclusion distribution deal with RED Distribution.

McCoury Music was formed to release the recordings of bluegrass superstar Del McCoury when he left Rounder Records in 2003. They are also set to release the new CD from Larry Sparks, The Last Suit You Wear, tomorrow (5/1), and will release an acoustic project from Merle Haggard later this year.

RED is owned by Sony/BMG, and is considered to be the dominant distributor in the US for independent labels. Formed initially to distribute the recordings of smaller, independent heavy metal labels in 1979, but have since expanded to include music from a great many popular genres.

McCoury Music seems to be their first truly bluegrass label, though they also distribute the projects from SCI Fidelity, the String Cheese Incident label that has expanded to include several other artists as well.

The RED Distribution web site is currently being redesigned, but you can find them on MYSpace in the meantime.

The Road Headin’ Home, the first recording from Grasstowne, can now be ordered from the band’s web site.

The new CD won’t be officially released until June on Pinecastle Records, but the band has copies now for immediate shipping. Radio promos were mailed last week, so you should start hearing more from this new release before long.

Grasstowne was formed late in 2006 when Alan Bibey, Steve Gulley and Phil Leadbetter decided to pool their resources (and talents) to form a new venture. Jason Davis is on banjo, with Jamey Booher on bass.

Audio samples for all 13 tracks can be found on the Grasstowne site as well.

Rounder Records has announced the signing of The Steeldrivers to the Rounder label. The band is based in Nashville, TN and composed of the following musicians.

• Mike Henderson - mandolin
• Chris Stapleton - guitar
• Richard Bailey - banjo
• Mike Fleming - bass
• Tammy Rogers - fiddle

Several members of the band have impressive resumes that read like a who’s-who of bluegrass and classic country. Not only that, but the song writing skills of this bunch of pickers is impressive as well. I’m told the band’s debut album is currently being mixed and contains all new original songs.

The Steeldrivers are booked by Roe Entertainment and more information about the band members, along with a tour schedule, can be found on the band’s website.

Larry Stephenson is on the cover of the May/June issue of Bluegrass Music Profiles. The accompanying article has Larry talking about his latest release, Life Stories, an upcoming Gospel project, the members of his touring band, and his recent induction into the Southern Legends Entertainment & Performing Arts Hall Of Fame.

He also discusses dealing with the loss of his mother, who passed away earlier this year.

Publisher Kevin Kerfoot details some of the other items to be found in the new issue.

The May issue also includes the Top 20 Singles and Top 10 Bluegrass CDs charts, a DJ Profile on Cindy Baucom, a two-page Q&A with John McEuen, a conversation with Tut Taylor, Shop Talk with Mike Bub, Lorraine Jordan’s Bluegrass Favorites, an Instrument Profile on Saga’s Lonesome Pine Fiddlers 70th Anniversary Acoustic Guitar, an interview with The Circuit Riders’ Greg Corbett, a jam-packed Festivals section, a Promoter Profile on Nancy and Olen Bittinger’s Country Stage Music Park in Nova, Ohio, three pages of Fresh For The Pickin’ CD reviews, and a Songwriter Profile on Jerry Salley.

Subscription and and single issue purchase information can be found on the BMP web site.

The Listen Up feature in the April 17th edition of USA TODAY lists the author’s top ten music picks for the week. We don’t often see straight up bluegrass featured in such lists, so it’s nice to see Randy Kohrs on the list this time around.

Randy came in at #10 on the list with the song Shallow Grave. The song was written by Walt Aldridge & Kate Campbell, and is on Randy’s new CD, Old Photograph.

Here’s what the author of the article had to say about Randy, and the tune.

Shallow Grave, Randy Kohrs: One of Nashville’s finest Dobro players accompanies himself on this mournful tune of a love that’s dead but hardly laid to rest.

The print edition is long gone, but you can access the story online at the paper’s website, where you can also listen to the song in Windows Media format.

As we could have predicted, a video capture of the recent triple banjo performance on The Late Show with David Letterman has made its way to YouTube. The clip is taken from Wednesday’s program (4/26) and features Steve Martin, Tony Trischka and Bela Fleck playing Martin’s The Crow, one of 14 double banjo pieces on Trischka’s latest release, Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectatcular.

The clip also features Michael Daves on guitar, Brittany Haas on fiddle and Skip Ward on bass.

You can watch the Letterman video on YouTube, where you can also find a clip of Steve and Tony performing this same song on The Ellen DeGeneres show.

If you want more, there is an hour long video shot in January 2007 on the Kennedy Center site featuring Tony and Noam Pikelny on banjos with the same supporting cast (guitar, fiddle, bass) as the Letterman and Ellen shows.

We’ve reported several times this year about the many personnel changes going on within Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, with both Terry Baucom and Mike Hartgrove leaving, and Jamie Dailey announcing his departure by the end of 2007.

But to paraphrase the old Timex watch commercial, Doyle takes a lickin’, and keeps on pickin’. Chris Warner has come on board to play banjo, and Alan Johnson on fiddle.

Who better to make the announcement of the newest member than Doyle himself?

“I’m happy to announce that the new member of Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (replacing departing member Jamie Dailey) will be Ron Spears. Ron will be playing bass and handling lead and harmony vocals. Ron is a longtime student and fan of Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, and he understands the style—when we got together, the vocal blend with the trio and quartet was extremely pleasing to my ear. I’m looking forward to his vocal input as well as having another songwriter in the band.”

One of Ron’s songs, Ocean Of Teardrops, was included on Doyle’s latest release, More Behind The Picture Than The Wall.

Ron had been playing mandolin with Special Consensus, and will start working with Quicksilver some time this season, at a yet-to-be-determined date.

Doyle and the boys have a busy schedule this next few weeks. They are heading for Merlefest for an appearance on Sunday (4/29), and then off to California’s gigantic Stage Coach country music festival a week later (5/6). Then it’s the Doyle Lawson festival in Denton, NC (5/10-13), and a trip to New York City for a show at Brooklyn’s Southpaw on June 1.

We’ll update with news about Ron’s start date with the band as that is announced.

UPDATE 4/28: Greg Cahill asked us to clarify that Ron will continue to peform with Special Consensus until he starts with Quicksilver, and that he will be with Special C for their upcoming trip to Switzerland in July.

Speaking of Ricky Skaggs and Bruce Hornsby…

Yesterday’s edition of The New York Times carried a review of their concert this Tuesday night in the Big Apple.

Mr. Hornsby, who is fluent in piano idioms from gospel to modern jazz, aligned his solos with bluegrass timing — fast, twinkling, unsyncopated lines, sometimes playing parallel to Andy Leftwich’s fiddle parts — but also, at some points, refracted the harmonies through dissonance-laced jazz chords. Mr. Skaggs, who plays all sorts of stringed instruments, usually stuck to mandolin, playing solos that darted and twanged at sometimes dizzying speed or trading breaks with Mr. Leftwich, Cody Kilby on guitar and Jim Mills on banjo. They gently stretched the mountain-music idiom in songs like “Stubb,” which distantly hints at Eastern music, and “Gulf of Mexico Fishing Boat Blues,” with a chorus in odd meter, 5/4 time.

You can read the entire review online at the Times’ web site (free subscription required).

Thanks to The Mayor of Bluegrass for alerting us that Ricky Skaggs will be appearing on the Conan O’Brien show tonight at 11:30 PM CST.

Skaggs will be appearing with Bruce Hornsby and performing a tune from their duet CD.

If you’re inclined to stay up that late, be sure to tune in and hear Ricky pick one.

Yesterday (4/26), Earl Scruggs was a guest on NPR’s All Things Considered, where he discussed the recently released set of DVDs from the Flatt & Scruggs television shows in the the late 1950s and early ’60s.

He talks with Melissa Block about the old days, and shared a few stories about doing TV in that era. A few bits of audio from the DVDs are also featured.

You can hear the five minute segment with Earl on the NPR web site.

After teaching at Sore Fingers Week in England earlier this month, Rob Ickes, Noam Pikelny and Casey Driessen did some touring in the UK as The Nashville Acoustic All Stars.

The folks at ukbluegrass.com posted yesterday with links to three video clips on YouTube from a performance of theirs in Scotland. They were shot with two cameras, and offer a nice look at these fine musicians up close in a loose, jam-like setting.

The songs from this show (at the Polish Club, Kirkcaldy, Fife) are Sally In The Garden, Aint’ Gonna Work Tomorrow and Foggy Mountain Rock.

There is one other clip from this tour on YouTube, shot at the Ex-Servicemans Club, Helsby in England. This one has the boys playing a rip-roarin’ version of Groundspeed - which also includes a couple of choice quips from the guys at the start.

Back in January, John posted about a CD in the works from new comer Lizzy Long. The CD was released last week and includes a bonus DVD featuring interviews with all three artists, and discussions about the recording process.

What is interesting about the CD is the involvement of both Earl Scruggs and Little Roy Lewis on the CD of a relatively unknown 23 year old artist. They also appeared on stage with Long at the CD release part last week, held at the Station Inn in Nashville.

Scruggs treated the packed crowd to his legendary talents on the banjo, demonstrated his understated humor by helping 23-year-old Elizabeth remember her words, and contributed harmony vocals to several songs.

Little Roy Lewis, known for his banter and showmanship on guitar, autoharp and banjo, called the night “a dream come true,” and easily proved to the crowd why he is the 7-time GMA/Dove Award-winning front man for The Lewis Family.

Elizabeth “Lizzy” Long also impressed the audience with her fiddle playing and her

memorable vocals and harmonies to bring life to original and classic songs

Lewis, Scruggs, and Long: Lifetimes is on the Vine Records label and should be available now at stores inclined to carry such music.

Photo courtesy of Aaron Crisler for gospelmusicupdate.com

The King Easy Radio Sampler is a new entry offering radio service for acoustic music artists and labels. They will mail a sampler CD to 1,000 of the top folk, roots and Americana shows in the US and Canada, and will accept tracks from new releases, reissues, back catalog or digital-only projects.

King Easy is a division of Nashville-based CMG, which launched in 2003 as a managemnet agency and an indie label, Full Light Records. It was founded by John Condon, a former A&R man with Asylum who also spent time with Shanachie Entertainment. The company soon expanded into publishing and tour press, and now offers radio service through the Radio Sampler.

Special introductory pricing is available for new clients, with full details on the King Easy web site.

Fiddler Billy Hurt, from Boones Mill, VA, is the newest member of David Parmley & Continental Divide.

Billy was something of a fiddle phenom in southwestern Virginia as a youngster, winning at competitions and conventions in the area, culminating with the top prize the Galax Old Fiddler’s Convention in 1994. He went on to perform with bluegrass legend Jim Eanes for several years, and was a member of popular Virginia groups, The Bluegrass Brothers and Acoustic Endeavors.

Randy Graham, mandolinist and tenor vocalist with Continental Divide, says that they are delighted to have Billy on board.

“Billy is a very accomplished and versatile musician, and fits us just right. It doesn’t matter what he’s playing - soulful backup, an old time fiddle tune, or up in your face bluegrass breakdown fiddling - Billy plays what needs playing; no more, no less.”

Billy joins David Parmley on guitar and lead vocals, Randy on mandolin and lead/tenor vocals, Dale Perry on banjo and Jimmy Cameron on bass.

You can find their tour schedule on the band’s web site.

Merlefest 2007 begins this week. I’m sure this year will see another large crowd at the festival, but what about those of us that can’t make it? Well this year, we can listen in online.

All week long mvyradio.com will be broadcasting all weekend long from the festival. Thursday through Sunday they will be sprinkling highlights in their daily broadcasts. Sunday night at 10 PM will be a Best of Show from the weekend.

The campus radio station WSIF carries a feed from the main (Watson) stage and this year mvyradio.com will be streaming that feed all weekend long at RadioFreeMerlefest.org. The feed will be live, but if you miss a show you can find the archives of full sets at mvyradio.com and listen to them after the fact. The archives will include shows from other stages in addition to the main stage.

In addition to audio feeds, photos will also be uploaded all weekend long as well. Check the station’s Merlefest page for the photos and audio archives.

If you’re a fan of the duet between Alison Krauss and John Waite, you will want to tune in to GAC Nights this evening at 8 PM EST. Host Suzanne Alexander will be interviewing the two artists and discussing their current duet Missing You, among other things.

The interview airs tonight at 8 PM EST and again at Midnight.

The newest music and interview feature on the AT&T blue room includes a live performance from Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder with Bruce Hornsby, filmed during a recent show at BB King’s club in New York City.

There are live video clips of The Dreaded Spoon, Mandolin Rain and The Way It Is, all taken from Bruce and Ricky’s joint CD, Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby, plus several interview segments about how they came to record together and select material for the CD.

To see the Skaggs and Hornsby clips, click on the blue Live Performances tab in the upper left portion of the AT&T blue room main page, which will display the various artist segments currently available. When you click on the name, the videos will be displayed in a new pop up window.

We got a note from Blue Moon Rising yesterday with some news that will be of interest to their friends and fans.

The band is currently in the studio working on their second release for Lonesome Day records. It is being produced by Cody Kilby, flatpicking gunslinger with Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, and should be released sometime this summer.

Their first Lonesome Day release, On The Rise, was released in 2005.

The band also asked us to pass along a bit of news about a special show they are doing this Friday (4/27).

Blue Moon Rising is holding a benefit concert this Friday night for their former Fan Club President, Linda Watkins. Due to the heath crisis of Linda and some of her family members all at one time, Blue Moon Rising will host this benefit, Friday, April 27th at Vonore Elementary School, Vonore, TN. It begins at 7:00 pm. Only $10 pp and kids 12 and under are admitted free. All proceeds go to Linda and her family.

The new CD from Dwight McCall just landed in my mailbox over the weekend. The CD is titled Never Say Never Again, taking it’s name from the second song on the recording. Today is the release date for this recording, so it should be available now. It’s released on the Rural Rhythm label.

Dwight has been playing mandolin and singing with J.D. Crowe’s band The New South for several years now. Fans of Dwight’s first solo recording, Kentucky Peace of Mind, will want to get this new CD.

The recording includes a total of 14 songs ranging from the traditional Blue Eyed Boston Boy to the more contemporary feeling title cut written by Wayne Winkle and Craig Market. One track I’m especially excited about is Logan’s Crossroad written by Mike Evens and published by Brinksongs. This is a great Civil War song telling the story of a long battle that saw the loss of “many good men.” I’ve loved this tune since I first heard the demo a year ago.

Another cut worth mention is the classic Michael Martin Murphy tune Lost River. I remember this cut from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and it’s always been a favorite. Dwight’s version begins with an incredible mandolin kick-off from mando master Alan Bibey, and the rest of the track lives up to the standard set by Alan. The ending solo section, split by Alan’s mandolin and Ron Stewart’s banjo, is sure to bring to a smile your face. This cut was a highlight for me.

Two of the 14 songs are gospel, one written by Jon Weisberger and the other penned by Dwight himself. The later, He Never Turned Away, is one of the more uptempo songs on the CD and one I would list as a favorite.

The traditional tune, Little Bessie, is the last song I’ll mention. The harmony singing on this tune is excellent, featuring Dwight on lead and baritone vocals, and Rickey Wasson filling in the low tenor. It’s also my favorite mix on the entire CD with the solos out front and the rhythm pounding.

Overall this is a strong outing for Dwight, which finds him surrounded by stellar musicians on each track.

The artists featured on the disc include:

• Dwight McCall: mandolin and vocals
• Alan Bibey: mandolin
• Ron Stewart: banjo, fiddle and mandolin
• Harold Nixon: bass
• Brian Stephens: guitar
• Randy Kohrs: dobro
• Lou Reid: vocals
• Ricky Wasson: vocals
• Steve Gulley: vocals
• Missy Werner: vocals

I couldn’t find any audio samples online, but you can take my word for it, this is a great recording.