Recording King has announced the launch of a new series of acoustic, dreadnaught guitars based on the designs of the heralded pre-war flattops. These three new families of guitars (Classic, Contemporary and Historic) will be introduced sequentially, starting with the Classic line late this summer.

The Classic line will offer both solid top and all solid wood guitars, with more ornate appointments available on the solid wood models.

From the Recording King site:

All models feature fully scalloped forward-x bracing for tonal resonance and strength, a solid Sitka or Engelmann spruce top, solid or standard mahogany or rosewood back and sides, a one-piece mahogany neck, grained ivoroid binding and an ebony fretboard and bridge.

Retail prices will begin at $329 for solid top and $549 for all solid models.

Bluegrass Junction, XM Satellite Radio’s 24/7 bluegrass music channel, has launched its own monthly bluegrass music chart, based on the material which is most regularly aired on Bluegrass Junction.

Program Director Kyle Cantrell explains how the chart is compiled.

“Since our programming is album-based, rather than song- or single-based, we normally have several songs from a given album on our playlist simultaneously. Therefore, our chart is based on albums, rather than singles. Songs from the albums are chosen for airplay based on their popularity with listeners, their relevance to modern bluegrass, overall performance quality, and their ‘fit’ with the sound of Bluegrass Junction. Artists’ CDs which have more songs that fit these criteria get more airplay and, therefore, merit a higher position on the chart.”

The top five places for April include:

The April playlist chart is available online, as a PDF file on the Bluegrass Junction page at xmradio.com. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the chart link.

Kyle tells us that subsequent monthly charts will be compiled and posted at the beginning of each month. They are also planning to review the chart each month on-air, in a countdown format.

In the ongoing debate over the new CRB royalty rates, small webcasters were granted a reprieve yesterday when SoundExchange announced an offer for small webcasters. This offer extends the previous agreement, Small Webcaster Settlement Act, under which the small webcasters have operated since 2002, through 2010.

The recent changes that were enacted changed the royalty rate from a percentage of revenue, as it was under the SWSA, to a flat rate per song. Many webcasters protested this change saying it would result in such a large increase in royalties as to render them unable to continue in business. SoundExchange has now extended the SWSA terms, allowing small webcasters to pay 10% of revenue up to $250K and 12% above that. I believe the cap on revenue for being classed as a small webcaster is placed at $1.2M. I believe there is also a cap in place on listenership (usage), but I’m not sure what that limit is.

This should allow most bluegrass music webcasters to breath a sigh of relief.

The text of SoundExchange’s press release does suggest that SE is not thrilled with making this offer. They describe the new CRB rates as fair and correct, and then say this offer is a “subsidy” for small webcasters for the “alleged weaknesses” of their business models. They go to say that this extension of the SWSA is time limited and extends the “below market” rates small webcasters have enjoyed since 2002.

It is also made clear that SoundExchange was moved to offer this deal at the request of Congress, and probably wouldn’t have otherwise.

The fear that some have expressed is that this extension will serve to discourage small webcasters from growing their business because staying below the revenue and usage caps is much cheaper. My suggestion to bluegrass webcasters would be to take a good look at your business model, because this extension only gives you four more years (including 2007) before they are likely to insist on a per play rate structure. Don’t sit by and let this four years lapse without planning ahead.

Here’s a link to the pdf of SoundExchange’s press release concerning this extended offer.

Hot shot flatpicker and singer/songwriter Brad Davis will be the featured artist on Friday’s (5/24) broadcast of The Blue Plate Special on WDVX, 89.9 FM from Knoxville, TN. This is a live performance program with a studio audience.

Flatpicking Guitar Magazine editor Dan Miller will be accompanying Brad on bass and second guitar.

The WDVX feed is streamed live online, and Blue Plate Special airs from noon to 1:00 p.m. Check out Brad’s set live, as there are no past show archives.

The new CD from Paul Williams & The Victory Trio, Where No One Stands Alone, which Richard Thompson previewed for us last month, is now available on Rebel Records. Paul is one of the true treasures of bluegrass music, having been an active tenor singer, mandolinist and songwriter since the 1950s.

He now focuses entirely on bluegrass Gospel music, and continues to write, record and perform with his group, Victory Trio.

Where No One Stands Alone is available from your favorite bluegrass and Gospel music resellers, an in the iTunes Music Store, where you can hear audio samples for all 14 tracks.

To learn more about Paul Williams and his huge contributions to bluegrass music, check out the lengthy audio interview we did with Paul for The GrassCast. It is available in two parts as an .mp3 file.

Also new this week from Rebel is a 20 song Gospel compilation, True Bluegrass Gospel. These are all tracks from previous Rebel releases, with contributions from Ralph Stanley, Rhonda Vincent, The Country gentlemen, The Stanley Brothers, Jim Eanes and several others.

Brance mentioned last month - just ahead of the Merlefest weekend - that a number of live onlive audio streams would be available from the festival, and that audio archives would be available as well after the fact.

You can find these archives at Martha’s Vineyard Radio (mvyradio.com) where a mix of stage shows, workshops, jams and interviews from Merlefest 2007 are listed alphabetically.

With the far ranging musical diversity that is a Merlefest trademark, you can expect to find sets from some of your favorite acts and also discover something new. Bluegrass and acoustic music fans will surely be interested in the performances from headliners like Sam Bush, Cherryholmes, Del McCoury, Doyle Lawson, Peter Rowan and The Nashville Bluegrass Band.

Some special highlights are the guitar mini-concert with Bryan Sutton and Chris Eldridge, multiple performances by The Infamous Stringdusters and Uncle Earl, a set by Crooked Still and one by The Lovell Sisters.

Songwriters get their due as well, with a open mic set from Mark “Brink” Brinkman and Chris Austin Bluegrass Songwriting contest winner Jeanette Williams.

There are hours of great live music at the mvyradio.com Merlefest 2007 audio archives. Set some time aside and sample the sounds.

We just got a note from fiddler Megan B. Lynch, fiddler with 3 Fox Drive, announcing a summer camp she is conducting for young fiddle players.

The week of July 16-20, 2007 will see the first FiddleStar Youth Fiddle Camp. The camp will be held in Ridge Top, TN. Megan will be teaching fiddle tunes, but there will be much more than that at this camp.

Every day from 9AM - 3:30PM we will work on fiddle tunes, learn how to rehair bows and do basic fiddle repair, take hikes, learn to dance to fiddle music, and lots more. We’ll even get a chance to record in a real recording studio and the students will get a CD of their hard work!

Megan told me her goal with this camp is to create a new generation of bluegrass and traditional fiddlers. Assisting her with the camp will be Mike Anglin from the Lonesome River Band. Plans are in place to host several camps in 2008, adding an adult fiddle camp, and a full-on bluegrass camp.

The cost of attending the camp depends on your plans. They have different rates for daytime attendees and sleep-over attendees. Parents are welcome as well. Costs for students range from $250 - $425. Various meals are provided depending on the package purchased. All student fees include camp t-shirt and CD.

Visit FiddleStar.com for more information, or register by phone at 615-428-1681.

Skaggs Family Records has indicated that June 12 is the official release date for the long awaited sophomore release from Cherryholmes on their label. The CD has been promoted for some time with the title, Cherryholmes II, but as you can see from the CD cover, it has both that and Black And White displayed in text.

There are no audio samples up yet on the Cherryholmes site, but we’ll be sure to update when we find them.

Advance orders are being accepted now on the band’s web site, and all online pre-orders will be entered in a prize drawing to coincide with the project’s release. The grand prize winner will receive a brand new Bourgeois Country Boy guitar, with other winners getting strings, posters, T-shirts or CDs.

John posted Saturday with his review of the Tony Rice/AKUS concert we attended Friday evening. Here are my thoughts on the concert after a weekend of reflection on the show.

As John said in his post, we missed the first couple of tunes, but I did hear part of Early Morning Rain from the lobby. That is one of my favorite Lightfoot tunes that Tony ever recorded, I’m sorry I missed it. But there were plenty more where that one came from. I especially enjoyed Alison’s rendition of Song For A Winter’s Night.

The band sounded great on this material and Tony blended right into the band, not taking center stage until they gave it to him. Even the traditional bluegrass numbers they did from the Album Band repertoire where performed true to the way Rice recorded them, with no guitar solo. Let me tell you, there was no need. Tony’s rhythm was spectacular! I’ve always been a fan of his rhythm playing and he was in fine form Friday evening. Driving, tasteful, spicy, and grin inspiring, not to mention spot on timing, Tony’s rhythm was one of the highlights of the concert for me.

One thing that struck me was the obvious mutual respect on the stage. AKUS was very respectful of Tony, honoring him as a hero. But you tell he reciprocated that respect. Rice heaped praise on both Alison and Tyminski as being two of his favorite singers. Introducing one song, Tony made a comment to that effect and Jerry Douglas said “Thanks Tony” to much laughter from the audience. But seeing Douglas and Rice play together reminded you that these two have recorded and played together a lot down through the years. They have that synergy you sometimes see where it appears they are feeding off each other’s creativity and doing more together than they would either do alone.

The show included the funny stage banter we’ve come to expect from Alison. While introducing the band members, she referred to banjoist Ron Block as the bands “sexy librarian.” She also told a very funny story about a country fan who had a crush on Barry Bales at a show…and thought he was playing the cello!

During the final performance (they did come back for an encore) of Freeborn Man, they projected a slideshow of photos on the screen behind the band. The photos were mostly of Tony, though there were a few of Alison as well, with different bands and musicians he’s recorded and performed with over the years. It was a nice touch to add to what could be considered Tony’s signature song.

Overall, the show was entertaining and the music was excellent. I can’t wait for the recording of this tour to be released. It’s bound to be a classic instantly. I got the feeling toward the end of the show that this was one of those moments my children and grandchildren are likely to ask me about.

If you’ve tried to find Wildfire online recently, you will have surely noticed that their web site is down. One might be forgiven for suspecting that they had thrown in the towel after seeing first Phil Leadbetter, and then Darrell Webb, Andy Ruff and Barry Crabtree depart to pursue other opportunities.

But remaining original members Robert Hale and Curt Chapman assure us that this isn’t the case - they are reformed and still pickin’ it solid on the road!

The new look features Daniel Grindstaff on banjo, and Chris Davis on mandolin, with Curt on bass and Robert on guitar. Matt Leadbetter (Phil’s son) has been filling in as possible on dobro, when his schedule as a member of Lonesome River Band allows, and Curt tells us that a decision on a new dobro player for Wildfire will be announced shortly.

Curt also says that the newly redesigned web site will be up soon, and that in the meantime, he can be reached by email for any Wildfire business.

Adam Steffey’s first-ever instructional DVD for mandolin is due for release from AcuTab Publications on June 12. It will be a two-DVD set, entitled My Approach To Bluegrass Mandolin.

The first of the two disks focuses on Adam’s approach to the instrument, including his thoughts on proper technique and how to build “authentic” bluegrass-sounding mandolin solos for standard songs. He shows how he would create a simple meldoy-based solo for several popular jam session favorites, in a variety of keys.

The second disk has him teaching a number of his most-requested solos from his recordings with Alison Krauss & Union Station and Mountain Heart: Everytime You Say Goodbye, No Place To Hide, #6 Barn Dance, Cluck Old Hen, Liza Jane and several others.

There are no details up yet on the AcuTab site, but there is a link where you can request notification when they begin accepting orders.

My Approach To Bluegrass Mandolin will be available wherever bluegrass instructional DVDs are sold, on the AcuTab site, or from Adam at his live shows with Mountain Heart.

UPDATE: I uploaded a short video clip to my studio website. The clip features Adam performing Daybreak In Dixie with accompaniment from Barry Bales and Kenny Smith. Watch the clip here.

Recently I posted about the CMA’s annual music festival and the bluegrass artists that would be present this year. I briefly mentioned the bluegrass booth run by Dave Burley at the Fan Fest. I emailed Dave to ask him a few questions about the booth and get some background info. I knew that Dave was the primary mover behind the booth, as well as the primary financier of the booth, and I wanted to know the story behind the booth. He kindly wrote me back a lengthy response providing plenty of details about the bluegrass booth.

Brance: Dave, tell us the story of the bluegrass booth. When and how did the bluegrass booth get started? And how is the booth supported financially?

Dave:

Eight years ago I posted on the BG-L that I felt the IBMA should doing something at the CMA’s Fan Fair for bluegrass. They wouldn’t do anything. After harping on it for a while, someone suggested that if I felt so strongly about this, do it myself. They told me that in a sarcastic way…..So 8 years ago I sponsored the first booth for bluegrass and Classic Country music at the fairgrounds in Nashville, the last year the CMA held the event at the fairgrounds. I paid for everything. I painted the signs, built the booth and did everything connected with the booth.

The next year we moved up to the Convention Center on the corner of 5th and Broadway, right across from the Ryman Auditorium. I did start to get a little financial help from a few bluegrass lovers.

The booth has grown from a 10′ x 10′ booth at the fairgrounds to a 50′ x 10′ booth at the Convention Center.

I am still the main financial supporter of the booth although I do have a couple people, not even connected to bluegrass, that help me out in a fairly big way. This year from the bluegrass community I received a total of $225.00 which is not even a 10th of what it costs for the booth. I’m not complaining, just telling you the facts. This year we will have Rhonda Vincent, Cherryholmes, Lorraine Jordan and Carolina Road, the Lovell Sisters and a bunch more that will be signing autographs in the booth. In the past we have had….Rhonda, Cherryholmes, Charlie Louvin, The Steven Sisters, the Larkins, Marty Rabon, Jeannie Kendall, Kentucky Thunder, Clark Family, Leroy Troy, Don Helms, John Hughey, Paul Brewster and I shouldn’t have started naming names because I don’t have any data in front of me.

Last year the Jay Leno people from the Tonite Show visited our booth and we were fortunate enough to have Jay feature our booth for 32 seconds, two different times, on the Tonite Show.

Brance: Fascinating story. It sounds like the booth is a real presence for bluegrass at this large event. But what exactly is the purpose of the booth? (more…)

This past weekend saw the awarding of the prizes for European bluegrass bands at the European World of Bluegrass festival, and we are delighted to see that G2, a young Swedish band we recommended to you all last fall, came away with the top honors.

They were selected as the European Bluegrass Band for 2007, with Meantime from Slovakia in second, and Kreni from the Czech Republic in third.

G2 will represent the European Bluegrass Music Association at next year’s IBMA World Of Bluegrass in Nashville, giving them the opportunity to showcase their music before the throng of bluegrass industry folks in attendance. Congratulations guys!

The Audience Popularity Award was also announced last weekend at EWOB, with Wheel Drive from Netherlands taking first, G2 again in second, and Rawhide from Belgium in third.

As always, you can keep tabs on the European bluegrass scene by reading The European Bluegrass Blog.

Sammy Shelor has just posted some live video clips on the Lonesome River Band web site, shot this past March at the Moncton High School in Moncton, NB. The video was shot by an audience member with a handheld camera, but he does a good job and the audio is quite good.

Five songs are included, each in a separate video segment: Just A Step Away, Perfume Powder and Lead, Cabin Of Love, Won’t Be Over You and Lonesome Won’t Get The Best Of Me.

If you’ve yet to catch this latest iteration of LRB (Sammy Shelor, Brandon Rickman, Andy Ball, Matt Leadbetter and Mike Anglin), these concert clips will give you a excellent glimpse of their current stage show.

This post comes from our semi-regular correspondent, Richard Thompson. He writes from England, where he is also a longstanding contributor to British Bluegrass News, a quarterly print publication where he also briefly served as editor.

Bluegrass singer/songwriter Joe Ross contacted me a few days ago to remind me of the significance of today; the 80th anniversary of Charles Lindbergh’s historic trans-Atlantic flight.

On May 20 1927, pioneering aviator Charles Lindbergh Jr. took off in the Spirit of St. Louis from Roosevelt Field, near New York City, at 7:52 A.M. He landed at Le Bourget Field, near Paris, on May 21 at 10:21 P.M. Paris time (5:21 P.M. New York time). Thousands of cheering people had gathered to meet him. He had flown more than 3,600 miles (5,790 kilometers) in 33 1⁄2 hours.

Lindbergh’s heroic flight thrilled people throughout the world and he was honoured with awards, celebrations, and parades. President Calvin Coolidge gave Lindbergh the Congressional Medal of Honour and the Distinguished Flying Cross for his efforts in the field of aviation.

Joe recently wrote and recorded a song, The Spirit Of St Louis, for his latest CD, a 12 track collection released earlier this year (Zephyr 0430), in which he relates the story of this important event in aeronautical history.

Here he shares some information about the way the song came to be ……

“The seed was planted for The Spirit of St. Louis when I read a newspaper article in 1987 (upon the 60th anniversary of Lindy’s flight). To accurately write such a historical account involves considerable research to get the facts right. One DJ told me that airplay of the song resulted in considerable calls from listeners who both enjoyed and learned from the song. A caller mentioned that he was very impressed by the accuracy of the account.

After drafting an initial version of the song, I also rented the 1957 movie with Jimmy Stewart called The Spirit of St. Louis. It ran for over two hours. It had been directed by Billy Wilder but wasn’t particularly thought of as a hit because of too many dull and trite scenes, and too many sequences showing Lindy flying solo on his 3600-mile, 33.5-hour journey.

That’s one reason I wanted my song to be up-tempo and move right along, as well as being in a minor key to create a certain feel of tension, adventure and discovery.” (more…)

Brance and I had the good fortune to attend last night’s concert in Salem, VA by Tony Rice with Alison Krauss & Union Station, featuring Jerry Douglas. That’s a long name for a concert bill, but with the stature of the various artists slated to perform, what else could you call it?

Their two hour set was every bit as stellar as the pairing of these two groundbreaking acts would suggest. We missed the first three songs due to a problem with our tickets, but even from the lobby, we could feel the excitement in the auditorium from the first note that was struck.

As we have outlined in previous posts, the concept for this tour was to have Tony on stage with AKUS, on a show whose material was drawn exclusively from the vast Rice recorded repertoire. The only Alison song was Let Me Touch You For Awhile, and she introduced the song as one she had thought that Tony might have chosen for himself to sing back in the day.

The song selection drew from the various segments of Tony’s recording career. The early days (The New South era) were represented with Freeborn Man, I’m Walking, and Summer Wages, the first two sung by Dan Tyminski, and the last by Ms. Krauss. I Was Born To Be With You was also featured, sung as a trio throughout.

The Manzanita album was represented by Ginseng Sullivan and Manzanita - which featured an heretical banjo break!

Church Street Blues was included from the album by the same name, along with The Streets Of London and Any Old Time. The first two were performed by Dan and Alison respectively with only Tony’s guitar accompaniment, a la the original recording. Any Old Time, however, was done with the full band and Krauss in soaring voice, quite reminiscent of her powerful version of Oh Atlanta.

The Bluegrass Album Band era had Dan singing Down The Road and I’m On My Way Back To The Old Home, and Tony’s solo projects were highlighted with Four Strong Winds, Shadows and I Think It’s Going To Rain Today.

A special moment for me was the duet performance of Summertime on guitar and Dobro. (more…)

Mountain Heart is set to start work next week on their next CD - a live recording to be tracked at a number of shows over the next few weeks.

Mandolinist Adam Steffey told us this morning that they had long wanted to record a live project, and that fans had been asking at shows if such a project was available for years. He also suggested that the live CD will be a high energy effort - and their grassiest project in some time.

Adam insisted that it would be a true live album, not “a bunch of overdubs with an audience track.”

Fiddler Jim VanCleve says that even though they had been interested in doing a live album for years, the way this project has come to pass comes with an interesting story.

“We were asked to play the Ann Arbor folk festival, on the campus of Michigan University earlier this year. We went on right after actor Jeff Daniels did a short set, and right before John Prine. There were in excess of 8,000 on hand there, we were told, and it was a pretty hyped crowd.

When we got finished, the crowd response was one of the most incredible experiences of my career. I had to pull my ear monitors out. The crowd’s reaction to the set was so loud coming back through the mics onstage that it was hurting my ears! Anyways, we made the announcement we were going to be playing Ann Arbor’s home for great music, The Ark, a month or so later, and the place erupted. We sold all our CD’s there that night, and had about a thousand or so emails regarding the show. The Ark is one of the premiere music rooms in the country, indisputably.

A month later when we actually got to the Ark, we found out the show had been sold out for hours in advance, and was going to be standing room only. It was, again, one of the most special nights I’ve experienced in my whole career - just an insane response. We had tossed the idea of recording the show that night around a bit, but it didn’t come to pass. When I mentioned that to the crowd, they went nuts. So after the show, the owner approached us, and told us the show had been the best he’d ever seen at his venue, which floored us, of course! Then, he pursued the possibility of us recording there.

Fast forward about two months. The day after we actually booked the show, it was on the front page of the Ann Arbor newspaper. Who knew a bluegrass band could ever have such an impact on a big town like that?

So, here we go. We’re starting our first-ever, full length MH LIVE album. (more…)

Downtown Nashville will soon become home to the 2007 CMA Music Festival. The event is held annually in downtown Nashville, TN and features over 70 hours of concerts in four days. Each year upwards of 160,000 country music fans attend the event to hear, meet, and interact with their favorite country music artists. This year’s event is schedule to be held June 7-10, 2007.

While the festival is mainly about country music, bluegrass does have a presence. One such presence is the Bluegrass Booth in the exhibit hall. Dave Burley hosts the booth and encourages all bluegrass fans in attendance to stop by for a shake and howdy.

The artist lineup for the event also includes a number of bluegrass performers. I looked over the list and plucked out a few names that caught my eye, but this is not meant to be an exhaustive list of bluegrass artists at the event, just a sampling. The complete list is available here.

• Alecia Nugent
• Cherryholmes
• The Grascals
• The Infamous Stringdusters
• Carolina Road
• Kassie DePaiva (more info here)

A ticket for the four day event will set you back $110 at least, with higher prices for better seats. Tickets are available online through TicketMaster.com or by calling the festival box office at 1-800-CMA-FEST (262-3378).

For those of you who watch daytime soap operas, you know who you are, you might be familiar with the name Kassie DePaiva. Or maybe you know her better as Blair from One Life To Live. What you might not have known was her background in country/bluegrass music.

DePaiva was born and raised in Kentucky (Morganfield) where she was surrounded by country and bluegrass music. As a teenager she sang backup in a show at Opryland in Nashville, TN. And at 18 she performed as a soloist on the Grand Ole Opry. She later moved to Los Angles and sang in a four-part harmony band called Newport. Following that she performed on a USO tour of Japan, Korea, and Okinawa. Returning to the states she sang back up for Bobby Womack and then opened for Kenny Rogers. It was after all this experience in the music business that she started acting.

She currently works as a full time cast member on One Life To Live, and beginning this September she’ll be hosting a new show on PBS called Knit and Crochet Today. In the midst of all this activity she’s releasing a CD this month entitled I Want To Love You. The CD could best be described at bluegrass influenced, mostly acoustic, country music. The disc contains 14 tracks that are heavy on acoustic guitar, mandolin, and dobro. I couldn’t find any banjo on the CD, but I did hear a number of G Runs from the acoustic guitar.

The promotional copy of the disc I have doesn’t list the musicians so I don’t know who they are, but the performances are very good. A couple songs that stood out in my mind are One Thing Even God Can’t Do, a tune about how even God couldn’t make an honest man out of the person she’s singing about, ouch! Get On Over Here is a very cool bluesy tune that had an infectious grove that made me want to hit repeat.

Audio samples are available on DePaiva’s website. The CD will be released nationally on May 22, 2007, but is available for pre-order directly from her site.

Kassie will be co-hosting The View on May 22, the day I Want To Love You is released. In addition to hosting duties that morning, she’ll also be performing on the show. She will then be a guest and sing on Fox’s The Morning Show with Mike & Juliet on May 25th. DePaiva will also be appearing at the CMA Music Festival in Nashville, TN next month.

If you ever doubted that bluegrass music and NASCAR share more than just a fan base, this story may change your mind.

We received a note the other day from Lee Hendrix, who was on the winning team at the Doyle Lawson Golf Scramble, held on the Thursday (5/10) before the 27th Annual Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver Bluegrass Music Festival in Denton, NC.

I played in Doyle Lawson’s golf scramble this past Thursday. The night before the scramble and Doyle’s festival in Denton NC, DL&Q did a benefit performance for Kyle Petty’s Victory Junction Youth Camp for children with serious illnesses or chronic medical conditions.

Doyle invited Kyle to play in the scramble the next day and he joined us, was on my team, and we won 1st place. Doyle’s team finished second, just one stroke behind.

Kyle really enjoyed himself and talked about how much he loves bluegrass music. A good time was had by all.

Two really class people…Doyle Lawson and Kyle Petty!

You can find out more about Victory Junction on their web site.