Here’s the story of three guys from Florida who moved to the New River Valley in SouthWest Virginia and are reviving an old local radio station.

WNRV is located in Giles County, half way between Narrows and Pearisburg. The station’s broadcast coverage area should cover from Princeton, W.Va., to Christiansburg. The format they are adopting for the station is all bluegrass, all the time. Except on Sundays when they will air broadcasts from local preachers.

The story is in today’s issue of the Roanoke Times newspaper. The station begins broadcasting this Sunday. The story profiles the three principles involved, their backgrounds, and why they wanted to start a bluegrass radio station.

If you live in the area you might want to start tuning in to WNRV 990AM, The Ridge, for your bluegrass fix.

UPDATE 7/3: WNRV now has a web site set up, though it is still under construction. Check them out at www.wnrvradio.com.

The IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) has recently mailed its members inviting registrations for its 2007 World Of Bluegrass events that take place during the week commencing Monday, October 1st. The bulk of the events will take place at The Nashville Convention Centre, Nashville, TN, and the adjoining Renaissance Hotel.

The World Of Bluegrass week comprises four days of business activity – with seminars, meetings, official showcases, specialist sessions and product exhibitions – three days of Fan Fest entertainment, the International Bluegrass Music Awards show and a golf tournament.

Dan Hays, the IBMA Executive Director, has this to say about embracing the business issues that will be exercising minds during the World Of Bluegrass week.

“The business of music hasn’t seen the level of changes we’re experiencing today since the advent of radio and records almost a century ago and with change comes both opportunity and challenges. The information and ideas you’ll take home from the World of Bluegrass seminars, meetings and just informal discussions will absolutely make a difference when you put them to use. Imagine trying to track all this down on your own and you’ll see how it takes you farther, quicker and saves money and time in the process.

I’m especially excited about one afternoon at this year’s conference which will be devoted to what I’d describe as a ’summit meeting’ with attendees to examine the future of the music business.

It requires an investment to attend and that takes form first in a desire to get to the next level – for our individual careers and for bluegrass in general. When that desire and commitment is real, the events offer the information and connections to help make it happen.”

There are the usual formal showcases and these take place during each of the first three evenings of the gathering (October 1 – 3). (more…)

Testimony from this morning’s full committee hearing in the US House of Representatives Small Business Committee (Assessing the Impact of the Copyright Royalty Board Decision to Increase Royalty Rates on Recording Artists and Webcasters) is posted on YouTube.

Opening statements are included from: Chairwoman Nydia Vel?°zquez (D-NY) and Ranking Member Steve Chabot (R-OH); Bryan Miller – WOXY.COM General Manager; Tom Silverman – Chairman, Tommy Boy Records; Kieran Kelly – Co-Owner, Stunning Models on Display Records; Cathy Fink – Artist; Joey Allcorn – Artist; Richard Eiswerth – President, General Manager & CEO, Cincinnati Public Radio; Thomas F. Lee – President, American Federation of Musicians.

The question/answer session with the members of the committee are also included, with 15 separate YouTube videos between the statements and the questions.

No big surprises in the testimony – the labels and artists feel they deserve this larger share, and the webcasters decry the large-scale rate increases – though one artist did support the stance of the online radio people.

If you are interested in how this issue is resolved, this is a rare opportunity to hear both sides present their position. If you feel strongly about this and are a US citizen, perhaps you might contact your Representative and make your own views known to them.

Bluegrass fiddler and legendary Ohio Valley radio personality Paul “Moon” Mullins will accept a well-deserved honor at this Saturday’s Cityfolk Festival in Dayton, OH. On June 30, he will receive the 2007 Ohio Heritage Fellowship Award for Performing Arts, given by the Ohio Arts Council for exemplary Ohio artists and musicians.

The award is described in this way by the OAC:

These Fellowships are awarded to an individual or group whose achievements have had a positive impact on the excellence, vitality and public appreciation of folk and traditional arts in Ohio.

Nominated individuals or groups should have a history of continuing artistic accomplishments and be actively participating in their art form as performers, teachers or both. Criteria in this category include authenticity, artistic excellence and significance within the tradition of the performing art form.

Paul was the fiddler with The Stanley Brothers from 1958 to 1960, and wrote the song Katy Daly, one of Ralph Stanley’s most enduring  numbers. He was a founding member of The Boys From Indiana in the 1970s, and The Traditional Grass in the 1980s – along his son Joe.

He began his broadcasting career in the early 1960s, and The Moon Mullins Show was a popular program on WPFB for many years. He joined his son at WBZI in Xenia, OH when Joe decided to give up his career as a bluegrass performer and purchase the station in 1995, and remained there for the next ten years until his retirement.

In 2000, The IBMA voted him Broadcaster of the Year, and bestowed their Distinguished Achievement Award as well.

Congratulations to Paul “Moon” Mullins for the Ohio Arts Council recognition, and thanks for the many years of service to bluegrass music!

More details about Paul’s lengthy career in the business can be found on WBZI MyClassicCountry.com.