Today’s (9/30) edition of The Chicago Sun-Times has an interview with Merle Haggard, primarily about his upcoming CD release, The Bluegrass Sessions, due out this coming Tuesday (10/2) on McCoury Music.

In the interview, the Sun-Times’ Dave Hoekstra talks with the Hag about his interest in bluegrass, and how he came to record this new project as an acoustic, bluegrass-flavored album. He also reveals this interesting tidbit:

The Bluegrass Sessions was recorded in two days last November in the front room of Ricky Skaggs’ studio outside Nashville. Haggard said he is thinking of a bluegrass tour — if the CD does well.

Read the full article on the Sun-Times web site.

We just got a note from Jamie Dailey to say that their official band web site is now up and operational at www.daileyvincent.com.

You can check their performance schedule, read biographical information on each of the band members and find out how to contact them for bookings or media requests.

No audio samples yet, but hopefully Rounder will make something available from their debut album soon.

The Clyde, North Carolina-based quintet Balsam Range has just announced the release of their debut CD, Marching Home.

The band comprises Marc Pruett (banjo), Caleb Smith (guitar), Darren Nicholson (mandolin), Tim Surrett (upright bass and resonator guitar) and Buddy Melton (fiddle) who all hail from Haywood County and live within 10 minutes of each other.

The quintet got together recently after various combinations had assisted in the production of solo albums. All the members of Balsam Range are from and live currently in Haywood County located in Western North Carolina. Although each were from the same town they had not played together as a group until this year. The start of the formation came with Buddy Melton’s solo recording project which featured Marc Pruett on banjo, Tim Surrett on bass, Tony Rice on guitar and Adam Steffey on mandolin. Shortly after that session, Darren Nicholson recorded his solo project which also included Marc Pruett, Tim Surrett and an array of various bluegrass greats. Soon they were getting together at each others houses to play great music for the fun of it. It basically snowballed from there.

Surrett, for whom music has been a big part of his life since school days, had recently moved back home after being gone from the area for many years traveling and playing with groups such as the Kingsmen. Nicholson had recently come off the road after playing for three years with Rounder recording artist Alecia Nugent, while Smith, who has been playing music since the age of 7, had found himself home after years of traveling with a bluegrass gospel group he helped form called Harvest. Pruett, who has long been associated with Ricky Skaggs, as well as playing with James Monroe among others, and Melton, a relative new-comer having got serious about bluegrass music while at Western Carolina University, had once played together in a bluegrass gospel group called Rock Springs Reunion and had recently started playing events together again. Some might say the timing of this union was more than just coincidental.

The CD is the result of a three way collaboration involving the group, Crossroads Records and Evergreen Publishing in Nashville. It was originally intended as a Bill Monroe tribute album, but in the end Balsam Range decided to include songs from other sources, because they felt that would be a better presentation for the band

They kept six songs associated with Monroe and added the balance of 13 from what band members brought to the sessions.

Marc Pruett spoke of the original material that they used for the CD to Carol Mallett Rifkin during an interview published in Ashville’s Citizen-Times ……………….

“Two of the songs were written by Milan Miller, of Waynesville. He and Buddy Melton are close friends. When Buddy worked in Nashville with the Jubal Foster band, he met songwriter Connie Harrington and she brought Blue Mountain to him. We all loved it. The producer wanted a really fast song, one that would blister the paint off the back wall. One that I had in my back pocket was The Train’s Ready. The Marching Home instrumental, well, my family has been interested in Civil War history for a long time. I was sitting around thinking about Lee’s surrender to Grant at Appomattox and all those boys. One day they were in the army of Northern Virginia and the next day they were marching home. That was the inspiration.”

At the same time Buddy Melton said …….. (more…)

The Bluegrass Calendar 2008 is now available from Bluegrass Productions of Virginia, and can be purchased on-line via the website. I am sure that I am not the only bluegrass fan who missed the joys of having one of the calendars last year and news of a new calendar is tremendous.

The 2008 bluegrass calendar has as its theme the ladies of bluegrass; from pioneers, to group members and then to band leaders, as the trend developed.

Since the 1980s there has been a proliferation of women in bluegrass music, more and more actually leading bands. Previously there was a small number playing the music; just Sara and Maybelle Carter; Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard; and Rose Maddox. Now following in the footsteps of those pioneers is, firstly, Alison Krauss, then Lynn Morris, Laurie Lewis, Rhonda Vincent, Claire Lynch, Valerie Smith, Dale Ann Bradley, Lorraine Jordan, Alecia Nugent and Honi Deaton.

In addition there are the side musicians such as Janet Beazley, Missy Raines, Kristin Scott Benson, Becky Buller, Rayna Gellert and Sally Love, all of whom make a very significant contribution to their respective bands.

Gary Reid shares some recollections of the way in which his 2008 Bluegrass Calendar came to have women in bluegrass as its theme.

“Maryland-based photographer Priscilla Warnock had a lot to do with the concept. We met at the IBMA World of Bluegrass event in Nashville several years ago; I had a booth set-up in the trade show and was promoting the most recent edition of the Bluegrass Calendar. Priscilla made me aware of her photographic activities and shortly after the trade show, I contacted her and began a dialog that led to the 2008 edition of the calendar. It’s been a while since we started the project, but… if memory serves me correctly, I think it was her idea to highlight the role of women in bluegrass.”

The ladies featured in the pages of the 2008 Bluegrass Calendar are Margie Sullivan, 3 Fox Drive, Sally Love, Cherryholmes, Hazel Dickens, Rhonda Vincent, Laurie Lewis, Lynn Morris, Valerie Smith, Becky Buller, Megan Lynch, April Verch, Nancy Cardwell, Jeanette Williams, Sharon Gilchrist, Casey Henry, Murphy Henry and Janet Beazley.

Gary Reid has been publishing the Bluegrass Calendar since 1991. In addition he continues to manage Copper Creek Records, write liner notes for CDs, to do production work for other companies and to do research into the lives of his much beloved Stanley brothers. Gary has set up the new organization, Bluegrass Productions of Virginia, to deal with those matters not related to Copper Creek Records’ business.

Maryland-based photographer Priscilla Warnock has been the staff photographer for the Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival for the last few years, as well as being active in photographing events such as IBMA’s World of Bluegrass festivities.

Country and bluegrass stalwart Marty Stuart has signed on to host a one hour weekly radio program on XM Satellite Radio. Marty Stuart’s American Odyssey will debut on Friday, October 5 at 8:00 a.m. on XM’s classic country channel, America (track 10).

Marty plans to showcase a wide variety of American music styles - traditional country, blues, rockabilly, bluegrass, gospel and rock - focusing each week on a different part of the country. He’ll interview and showcase local musicians from each highlighted city or town, and will perform himself with both studio and live sets.

Marty Stuart’s American Odyssey will also be featured all day October 5 on XMX (track 2), so you can tune in whenever it may be convenient.

Hailing from Selma, N.C., at Samantha Casey & The Bluegrass Jam is a two person band comprised of 11 year old Samantha Casey on fiddle, and her dad, Daniel, on guitar and banjo. The two have been performing together for four years now. They started when Samantha was only 7 years old, and performed mostly at churches, retirement homes, and civic organizations.

Now, four years later, at the age of 11, Samantha has just won the Oreo & Milk Jingle Contest. The duo performed the jingle on guitar and fiddle with Daniel singing lead and Samantha carrying the tenor part. The final performance was given in Times Square. The event was hosted by NBC late night talk show host Carson Daly, and broadcast live on national television. The father-daughter duo were also featured on Fox & Friends yesterday morning.

I couldn’t find video of either performance, but you can see their audition tape online at Samantha’s website.

The pair took home a cool $10,000 for their winning performance. They also had their image on the Times Square Super Sign. Samantha commented on the whole affair.

Playing in Times Square with the other groups was really cool. Our favorite part of the contest was seeing ourselves on the Times Square Super Sign and we’re so glad that Oreo made that happen!

The Caseys say that most of the $10K will be saved for Samantha’s college fund.

Interestingly, they are the first winning group in the contest’s history to use instruments; previous grand prize-winning groups sang a cappella versions of the cookie jingle. Carson Daly, didn’t just host the event, he was also one of the judges, and he commented on the winning performance.

Choosing a winning group was tough since all the groups were so great, but this talented father-daughter duo was something special and really brought the Oreo & Milk moment to life.

Any bluegrass fan could have told Nabisco this is the way the jingle should be done!

The first new set of post-Nickel Creek dates for Punch Brothers, the latest nom de guerre for Chris Thile’s merry band of super-pickers, have been posted online.

They show one date in New York City next weekend, a New Years Eve show in Chicago and a smattering of festival and concert stops in early 2008. One would expect to see that schedule fill in quickly over the next few months.

The band is well on their way towards completing a new CD, which has been said to be set for release on Nonesuch Records.

It has just been announced that The Dailey Vincent Band (Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent) have signed with Rounder Records to release their debut, self-titled CD in January 2008.

In addition to Jamie and Darrin, the band features Jeff Parker on mandolin, Joe Dean on banjo and Adam Haynes on fiddle.

Most of our readers will know Jamie from his 9 years as a singer, guitarist and bass player with Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. Darrin has been with Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder this past ten years, and before that worked with his family’s band, The Sally Mountain Show, along with his sister Rhonda.

The band is managed by Don Light Talent in Nashville.

Updated from an earlier posting… re-updated 2:25 p.m. to correct some errors.

Tomorrow, September 28, The Grascals will be guests on The Big Show, more commonly known as The John Boy & Billy Show. It airs from 6:00-10:00 a.m. (eastern) on dozens of stations in the southern US, many of whom offering live audio streaming over the web.

Terry Smith and Terry Eldredge will take part in an episode of Dollywood Squares on the show, along with a number of the former cast members of the Andy Griffith Show. The two Terrys will share a square, and join Maggie Peterson (Charlene Darlin), Betty Lynn (Thelma Lou), James Best (Jim Lindsey-”The Guitar Player”) and David Morris (son of Howard Morris - Ernest T. Bass).

Look for the Grascals during the 9:00 a.m. live segment (eastern). They will perform their new Mayberry’s Finest jingle on the show.

Thanks to Cindy Baucom of Knee Deep In Bluegrass for getting us the corrected info for what is sure to be a wacky hour of radio on Friday.

An upcoming episode of Kentucky Life will feature the young bluegrass group Kentucky Sassafras. The program was taped at My Old Kentucky Home State Park. The focus of the episode is Bardstown, KY, home of the Jim Beam distillery.

A good portion of the show is sure to be given over to the Jim Beam story. Another segment of the show will feature Promotional Wood Products’ owners Charlie and Patrick Hutchens. They’ll talk about their business, and when asked if their sons will follow in their footsteps and one day take over the family business, they introduce the band, which includes their sons, Jory (fiddle) and Turner (mandolin). It seems the boys have another career in mind!

KSassafras begins their segment of the show at Tom Pig’s Restaurant in Bardstown, KY by playing My Old Kentucky Home. The rest of the performance takes place at the Waterfront in Louisville, KY.

There they perform “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” which includes the “switcheroo” where Tyler and Chloe share one banjo during a break of the song, and then Turner and Jory share the mandolin during a break of the song.

They close out the segment with Catfish John.

KSassafras’ members range from ages 12-17. The current line up of the band includes Jory Hutchens (fiddle), Turner Hutchens (mandolin), Cloe Blayne (guitar/banjo), Tyler Mullins (banjo/guitar), and Amelia John (bass).

Cloe and Amelia John are sisters and the two Hutchens boys cousins, making the band a family affair.

The show airs Saturday, October 6 at 8PM EST and again on Sunday, October 7 at 4:30PM on KET1. It will also run on Sunday, October 7 at 7PM EST on KET2.

Sam Bush will be a guest host this evening on Sirius Bluegrass, warming up for next week’s IBMA convention in Nashville, where Sam will serve as host for the International Bluegrass Music Awards on October 4.

Sam takes over at 5:00 p.m. today (9/27) for an hour of talk and music. He’ll spin tracks of his choosing, and expound as his inclinations direct. Sounds like fun…

The show will be rebroadcast on Saturday (9/29) at 9:00 p.m. and again on Sunday (9/30) at 3:00 p.m. All times eastern

Sirius subscribers can find Bluegrass on channel 65, broadcasting bluegrass 24/7.

Brance told us back in February about the imminent debut of The Dailey Vincent Band, jointly fronted by former Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver singer Jamie Dailey, and long time Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder singer Darrin Vincent.

Though they won’t start touring until January of 2008, they will be a featured performer at the IBMA Fan Fest on October 6 in Nashville. The lineup will include Jamie Dailey on guitar and vocals, Darrin Vincent on bass and vocals, Jeff Parker on mandolin and vocals, Joe Dean on banjo and Adam Haynes on fiddle.

Their MySpace page does not yet display a performance schedule for next year, but they have an impressive set of bookings for ‘08, especially for a band that hasn’t appeared in public.

We expect that there will a lot of buzz about this new band at IBMA next week.

XM Satellite Radio has announced that they will begin carrying the WSM radio’s Eddie Stubbs Show and the Tuesday, Friday and Saturday broadcasts from The Grand Ole Opry starting in October.

The shows will be carried live on XM Track 11 (Nashville), and XM also plans to make individual Opry performances available for broadcast on other channels that feature country and bluegrass music - like Bluegrass Junction (track 14).

The Opry shows will air each Tuesday evening at 8:00 p.m., on Fridays at 9:00 p.m. and Saturdays at 7:30 and 10:30 p.m. All times are eastern. They will encore on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 10:00 a.m. on XM’s classic country channel, America (track 10).

The Opry on XM will debut on October 20, which will be their 82nd Opry Birthday Bash. More details are expected soon as to the start of The Eddie Stubbs Show, which airs on WSM weeknights from 7:00 p.m. to midnight (Friday 9:30-12:30, after The Opry).

In their ongoing effort to keep their back catalog alive online, Rebel/County Records has reissued two more classic LPs as download-only releases.

The Blue Sky Boys are such well-established icons in early country music that even those with little or no familiarity with their music will cite them as exemplars of the brother duet sound. Bill and Earl Bolick had a string of well over 100 recordings starting in the 1930s, and were among the most popular entertainers on radio in the southern US until they retired in 1951 rather than change their old time style to fit evolving modern tastes.

They were coaxed out of retirement during the 1960s when young American audiences warmed to folk and traditional music once again, and recorded a number of albums for various labels. It was during this time that this set was released on the County label, one that Bill Bolick is said to have remembered as one of their most satisfying records. There are 10 tracks, including Beautiful, Beautiful Brown Eyes, Don’t Let Your Sweet Love Die, I Never Will Marry and 7 others.

The digitally remastered project, The Blue Sky Boys, is available for download in either iTunes or emusic.

Amazingly, Joe Greene’s Fiddle Album on County Records in 1969 was his sole solo project, his only other instrumental album being the 1968 classic High Country twin fiddle recording with Kenny Baker. As the story goes, Greene, a well-respected fiddler from North Carolina, met Kenny Baker at the 2nd Bluegrass Festival in Fincastle, VA in 1966, launching a friendship and collaboration that brought Greene to Nashville, where he established a career as a side man working with Roy Acuff and Little Jimmy Dickens.

Joe Greene’s Fiddle Album is a stellar example of his fiddle work, and will be a wonderful discovery for those not already familiar with his playing. J.D. Crowe is on banjo, and Chubby Wise on guitar for a 12 track romp through some fiddle workouts. To my ears, this project is as essential to any fiddle music library as the many great Baker recordings of the late 60s and ’70s. I bought the download while preparing this piece.

Greene offers versions of Katy Hill, Money Musk, Paddy On The Turnpike, Grey Eagle and Salt River - all as much a part of the old time as bluegrass fiddle repertoire - and his version of Daley’s Reel in B flat is one that will turn many a modern fiddler’s head. The banjo/fiddle duet on Turkey Buzzard shows Crowe’s mastery of this idiom several years before his 1975 New South LP brought it to a wider audience.

You can also get Joe Greene’s Fiddle Album in both iTunes and emusic.

Ross Nickerson has released his newest banjo instructional DVD, Essential Banjo Licks, with more than 100 common banjo phrases every banjo player needs to know.

It is intended to offer useful information for players starting at a beginner’s level, with many licks that will be helpful for advanced students of the instrument as well.

Ross says that each lick is shown in a split screen format - played fast and slow - and a printable tab booklet is included on the disk.

The material is arranged in eight categories:

1. Beginnings, Endings and Turnarounds
2. Must Know Scruggs Style Licks for G, C and D
3. Melodic and Single String Style Banjo
4. Backup Banjo
5. Up the Neck Banjo
6. Slow Banjo Styles
7. More Blues Chromatic, Triplets, Hot Licks
8. Bending the Strings

Find out more on Ross’ web site, BanjoTeacher.com.

The US Navy Band, Country Current, has announced an opening for the position of pedal steel guitar player in the country line up of the band. More pertinent to bluegrass music though, is the news that Master Chief Musician Wayne Taylor has made plans to retire in the early part of 2008.

Taylor’s retirement will leave an opening in the band for a lead vocalist/acoustic guitar player, and auditions are currently being held. The position does double duty, playing and singing in both the bluegrass and country versions of the band. In addition to lead vocals and acoustic guitar, the position is also that of emcee for the band.

Master Chief Musician Wayne Taylor is retiring and will be out soon. We are actively looking for people to audition for Lead Vocals and Acoustic Guitar… Must have strong, well founded bluegrass and country background. Must send in a cd with current songs, a resume’, and should be comfortable as emcee.

The job starts with a rank of Petty Officer 1st Class and an E6 pay grade. That works out to approximately $50K a year plus 100% medical and dental benefits for the person’s entire family.

There is an age restriction for the job. The Navy specifies that the person must be between the ages of 18 and 34. Navy standard for hight/weight ratio must also be met. Anyone not meeting these standards will not be auditioned. Here is a pdf file of the Navy weight standards for reference.

All auditions are by appointment only. To schedule an audition time, one should contact Master Chief Stuart McLean or Chief Musician Christopher J. Raifsnider at (202)433-2840, or by email at NavyBand.Auditions@navy.mil.

Fans of Red Allen’s music will be delighted to learn that there is to be a book published about him shortly. Author, Dennis Satterlee’s book, Teardrops In My Eyes - The Music Of Harley “Red” Allen, is scheduled to be made available in November, published by The Plucked String Foundation Inc. Press.

The book is expected to have about 220 pages and comprises a biographical study of Red Allen’s musical career and a detailed discography; with recording dates, musicians, vocal parts, studios, producers where available, album numbers, single numbers and EP numbers.

It is anticipated that the 8 x 10 format paperback will have between 20 and 30 black and white photographs that are, for the most part, from private sources and never before seen.

Satterlee, who has played bluegrass and brother-duet style music in various parts of the States, is originally from western New York State and worked for the federal government for almost 30 years. His work has taken him to Louisiana, Vermont, New Jersey and now, retired, he lives in South Carolina, and plays bluegrass in a Georgia band. Here he provides some background information that led him to write his book ……

“I started listening to bluegrass music in the early 1960s. Mostly Flatt and Scruggs and the Dillards because that’s all I could find in the record stores. My first Red album was the Folkways album with Frank Wakefield. It just struck me as something that fit between the smooth crooning of Lester Flatt and the more urgent styling of Bill Monroe. Red (and Frank) seemed to be a perfect combination for bluegrass. When I retired (1997) I started looking for Red’s albums and singles that I didn’t have in my collection. Someone told me about the Red Head’s recording (see my article in Bluegrass Unlimited, April, 2006). I called both Red Spurlock and Frank Wakefield to learn more about that recording session and they told wonderful stories. It occurred to me at that point that maybe I could put together a discography (which I was doing for myself anyway) and add some stories from the musicians who played on the sessions and do a book. Over 50 musicians, family members and friends have added stories and remembrances to this work.”

The book, of which there will a first print run of 500 copies, is expected to retail at $25. Plans to determine through what outlets it will be sold have yet to be finalized. Watch this space!

Satterlee, who is a member of the International Bluegrass Music Museum and Hall Of Honor in Owensboro, Kentucky, is donating his royalties from this book to the museum.

Mandolin Cafe has posted details for a special all-star show in Nashville on October 22, all for the benefit of Butch Baldassari. The show will be held on the Vanderbilt University campus at 7:00 p.m.

Butch has been battling a brain tumor with intense and aggressive treatments, and the proceeds from this concert will go help defray his many medical expenses - and other financial obligations he faces.

Performers who are slated to appear include Butch’s Nashville Mandolin Ensemble, The Nashville Bluegrass Band, Bela Fleck, Dierks Bentley, 3 Ring Circle, John Cowan and several others.

Most of our readers know that Butch is a veteran bluegrass and mandolin music artist, writer and arranger who also founded and manages his own label, Sound Art Recordings. He is a long time friend to our music, and one who has contributed greatly to its excellence and continued expansion.

For those unable to attend the 10/22 show, donations to his medical fund can be made through Mandolin Cafe, where they have set up a support fund for Butch.

Donations by check and cards/well wishes can be sent by mail to:

You can get more details on the Baldassari Benefit Show at Mandolin Cafe.

Richard Thompson has a put together a fine report on the renaming ceremonies in Bristol honoring WCYB. Gary Reid of Copper Creek Records and Penny Parsons of the Penny Parsons Company also contributed to this story.

The Farm and Fun Time radio program, which was instrumental in bluegrass beginnings, now has recognition in downtown Bristol, on the Tennessee/Virginia state line. The thoroughfare previously known as Winston Alley has now been renamed as Farm and Fun Time Alley. WCYB’s radio show Farm & Fun Time was an important radio show in the history of early bluegrass music. The station featured many of the finest bluegrass and old-time artists of the period. The show had a loyal audience base in Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia. It was a highly influential part of the lives of many people from the region, some going on to become major bluegrass artists themselves.

Ralph and Carter Stanley, the Stanley Brothers, worked on the program from just after Christmas 1946. At that time, the program was approximately an hour long, from 12:05 to 1:00 and transmitted at 1,000 watts, increasing to 5,000 watts in September 1947. The program was then extended to fill a two-hour slot. In February 1957 the Stanley Brothers recorded The Flood of ‘57 and a year later did No School Bus In Heaven, both for Mercury, utilizing the station’s studio. Also, shortly after leaving Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys, the fledgling Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys group found a niche on the program for about a nine month period through to March 1949.

The program was broadcast live from a studio in the General Shelby Hotel. It also helped to establish the careers of other legendary bluegrass performers, including the Osborne Brothers, Jim and Jesse McReynolds, Mac Wiseman, Carl Story, The Sauceman Brothers, and Curly King & Tennessee Hilltoppers, as well as the brother duet act the Blue Sky Boys.

Larry Gorley, Rhythm and Roots Music Committee official and DJ on WOPI’s Bluegrass Jamboree, shares this brief recollection of what Farm And Fun Time meant to him and his family ……..

“I remember listening to this radio show as a boy and my most vivid memory is visiting my grandparent’s home in the country during summer vacation from school. They would stop whatever work was being done and gather around the kitchen table for lunch. And after the blessing was said, they would turn the kitchen radio on to WCYB and ‘Farm & Fun Time’. Listening to the program gave them great pleasure as well as the latest farm news and it was only in my later years that I found that so many others made it a point to be tuned into the show that could be heard in several states.”

(more…)

Today at noon, Bela Fleck & The Flecktones will give a live radio performance on Blue Plate Special, broadcast on WDVX 89.9 FM in Knoxville, TN. The show will also be simulcast online via a web audio stream, but is not archived so be sure to catch the show live.

Bela and the boys played last night (9/23) in Knoxville, and have another show there this evening. The Knoxville Daily Times published a lengthy interview with Bela on Friday, which can be read online.

Catch The Flecktones on Blue Plate Special at noon on September 24, eastern time.