Check your closets, everybody. If you can scrape together $49,000, you can purchase a 1965 tour bus previously owned by Bill Monroe. If you’re feeling lucky, it only takes $19,000 to open the bidding at ebay Motors for a chance to drive home with Big Mon’s bus.

The seller offers the following details:

It is a driving operating fun bus that was bought from the king of bluegreass in Nashville TN on 4-23-1994. It has 3 bullet holes in the edge of the door where Monroe was apparently shot at leaving one of his concerts. This bus contains THE ORIGINAL CLAWFOOT TUB from a house he had installed. It has the table(pictured) which Monroe counted his money on and prepared his business contracts during traveling. It has a 318 Detroit that was rebuilt by Monroe shortly before the sale.

So… what are you waiting for?

HT - Ryan Baker, Sugar Hill Publicity

The New York Times has an interesting article published last Friday (2/22) entitled A Journey Shaped by a Guitar. It gives an insight into the workings of the famous Martin Guitar company’s Nazareth, Pennsylvania, factory.

Spoken of in terms of being a tourist attraction, it outlines what a visitor may see of the guitar-making process and the facilities and services provided.

The full illustrated story can be read at the New York Times website, including a number of multi-media features.

I received an interesting E-mail message from Charles Lewis this morning.

A native Eastern Kentuckian, Lewis is the founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of America’s Bluegrass, Inc. He has produced and hosted such Bluegrass and Gospel groups as The IIIrd. Tyme Out, Doyle Lawson, Ralph Stanley, The Lonesome River Band, Rhonda Vincent, Cherryholmes, Larry Sparks, Dave Evans, Ernie Thacker, The Osborne Brothers, Bobby Osborne, The Lewis Family, Larry Cordle, Ronnie Reno, Don Rigsby, Melvin Goins, Tim Surrett, Joe Isaacs, The Freemans, The Kingsmen, The Florida Boys and many, many more local and national groups.

The purpose of his message was to alert me to the posting of some pictures from the Old Time Gospel Singing Convention held at the Paramount Arts Center in Ashland, Kentucky, on December 28th.

The montage of pictures from the convention can be viewed at the website. There is an impressive array of talent on show.

Also, you can view pre-show interviews with a variety of artists who performed at the convention; namely Don Rigsby, J.D. Crowe, Paul Williams, Larry Cordle, Kenny and Amanda Smith, Joe Freeman, Dave Carroll, Ricky Wasson, Tim Surrett, Ronnie Bowman, Joe Isaacs, and James King.

All of the video interviews can be seen on YouTube.

Runaway Freight is a Tennessee-based band that has been in existence since December 2003. The band comprises Chris Smith (banjo and vocals), Justin Ford (Dobro ® and vocals), Matt Ford (guitar and dulcimer, vocals) and Sam Morgan (upright bass and vocals). Their usual stomping ground is Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee, where they have performed at the two largest fairs for three years in a row.

They have two albums of secular material in addition to their newest CD, Welcome Aboard (Switch Track Records RF 8099), an all-Gospel set.In their promotional material they describe themselves as having “a sound all of their own based in traditional and old time with undertones of today’s progressive bluegrass bands.” Matt Ford explains,

“Our vocal stylings are different according to who is singing lead on the song. We all sing lead at one time or another. My brother, Justin and I, use a lot of ‘Stanley brothers style’ when we sing harmony to each other, while Sam sings a low lead instead of bass or baritone on some of the songs which gives a unison sound.”

The CD presents a mixture of older ‘traditional’ Gospel material, like I Am A Pilgrim, the lead vocal sung by the inimitable Sam Morgan, Washed In The Blood with a brief break on the bass and some of the unison singing about which Matt Ford was speaking, and Meeting At the Building, another track which features a short bass break.

There are six original songs of which Chris Smith provides two songs, Streets Of Gold and Come As You Are, on both of which Smith sings a fine lead vocal. The ubiquitous Halls (Tom T. and Dixie) have supplied two songs - the title track and Good Ole Gospel Music. The former rattles along with the banjo setting the tempo from the beginning. There’s a sparkling guitar break giving a taste of a feature that is found to good effect on several tracks. Good Ole Gospel Music is a wonderful reminder of the type of song that found great favour at old camp meetings.

Miss Dixie’s Welcoming Tomb has also been recorded by Ralph Stanley II. Here Justin Ford gives a heartfelt rendition with neat harmonies on the choruses and what sounds like a bowed bass. (more…)

We’ve written often about Berklee College Of Music in Boston and their recent embrace of the banjo and mandolin as principal instruments. Like most top music schools, Berklee requires all degree students to complete a minimum of two years of intense study (technical proficiency) on an instrument or voice, even if pursuing a program other than performance.

To tutor the mandolinists and help lead ensembles Berklee hired noted mandolinist and instructor John McGann as an associate professor in the Strings department. John put together a concert at the college on February 5 to showcase the mandolin, bringing together faculty, staff and students. All Berklee concerts are recorded on video and 8 clips from the show are available on YouTube.

Annika Lückenbergfeld is a professional classical mandolinist who came to Berklee to study improvisation. I wrote a duo piece called Minatures which we play together.

On the long Blue Grass medley we play at the end, I feature Berklee students Eric Robertson and Jacob Jolliff. Eric is from North Carolina, and is ridiculously great for having only played for 4 years. He has a great combination of rootsy, bluesy expressiveness and an adventurous streak. Jake is from Oregon and sounds like he started playing in utero-just a natural talent who works his behind off at sounding effortless. He weaves beautiful, flowing lines.

The medley also features fiddler Nate Leath, a Berklee graduate who now plays with Old Scool Freight Train. Flynn Cohen plays great bluegrass (as well as other styles) of guitar, and my fellow professor Dave Hollender is on bass.

The complete medley is Midnight Sun (one of my tunes), Mississippi Waltz (Monroe), Huggin’ The Rail (original), Roanoke/Wheel Hoss/Big Mon - the last three being Bill Monroe tunes. I arranged all the harmony parts, etc. (more…)

I’m sure many of you are already familiar with iLike, and most with iTunes, but for those who aren’t I thought I’d share.

iLike is a social networking site that revolves around music. But the site isn’t where the magic is. It’s the iLike Sidebar that makes the music happen. The iLike Sidebar is an application enhancement for both iTunes and Windows Media Player. Since I’m on a Mac I’ll just tell you how it work in iTunes.

Once installed, the iLike Sidebar will become visible in iTunes and fulfill it’s purpose in life, helping you find new music. When you’re listening to something, the Sidebar will show the current track at the top. Beneath that it will show related music that you already own and have available in your library. Next up it will show you related music you don’t own, but can purchase from iTunes. It generally shows about 6 potential tracks for your interest. And finally, it will actually show you related music you can download for FREE from new artists wishing to connect with an audience.

Right now I’m listening to the new Longview CD and it’s showing me tracks from Del McCoury, Jim Lauderdale, Alison Krauss, Gibson Brothers, Laurie Lewis, and The Nashville Bluegrass Band. Those sound like pretty good matches to me.

There are other options with the iLike Sidebar. What I just explained above is just the “Related Music” tab. Other options include a tab for recent activity from artists you’ve selected as being favorites. These updates include new music, tour dates, and other events.

And then there’s the social part of the network. Just like MySpace or Facebook, you can invite friends in iLike and when you select the “Friends” tab in the Sidebar, iLike shows you the most recently played song by each of you friends. And this includes a link to listen and potentially purchase that music for yourself.

How well does iLike accomplish it’s purpose of connecting you, the listener, with new music? According to this study from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, it works extremely well.

* Long-term users of iLike added nearly 250% more music to their personal music libraries within a month of registering on iLike versus the month before.

* Five months later, active iLike users continue to add nearly 30 to 50% more music per month than before joining.

* It is indicated that the iLike Sidebar may account for this dramatic increase in music purchasing among iLike users.

I don’t know if I’ve added THAT much music to my library because of iLike, but I have discovered a few artists I wouldn’t have otherwise. Check it out and see if you like, I know iLike.

The Dan Tyminski Band will appear on Saturday night’s (2/23) edition of The Grand Ole Opry.

This widely-heralded new group, whose debut release is expected on Rounder this spring, is headed by former Alison Krauss & Union Station and Lonesome River band stalwart Tyminski on guitar and lead vocals, along with Barry Bales on bass, Adam Steffey on mandolin, Justin Moses on fiddle and Ron Stewart on banjo.

It has been suggested that this bunch might be described as The Bluegrass Album Band of their generation, and that may well be true. With the exception of Moses, whose relative unknown status is about to be shattered by his association with this group, all the members hold the rank of player’s player on their respective instruments, and Dan’s is among the most recognizable male voices in and around bluegrass.

Brance and I expect to see them live here in Roanoke next week, and will post with our impressions after that show.

Look for Dan & Co. during the 7:30-8:00 and 10:30-11:00 p.m. Opry segments on Saturday. The show is available over the air in the Nashville market on WSM AM 650, and simulcast worldwide via online streaming at wsmonline.com.

Should you miss it live, highlights from the show will be available in the WSM audio archives next week.

Banjo pioneer Bill Keith is interviewed in a lengthy piece published online by the Hudson Valley Bluegrass Association.

Bill talks about his current musical activities and his involvement with a number of noteworthy ensembles in his younger days. He was introduced to most bluegrass fans when he joined Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys in 1963, where he brought his then-embryonic melodic (or scalar, fiddle-tune style) banjo techniques to much wider attention.

Keith also performed with folk artists Geoff and Maria Muldaur, and found himself a part of what came to be considered a landmark ensemble called Muleskinner. This band featured such notable artists as Clarence White on guitar, David Grisman on mandolin, Richard Green on fiddle and Peter Rowan on guitar and vocals.

“Then, the plan was that we were to back up Bill Monroe in an appearance on the television show. So we got together and rehearsed and got a few numbers to do on our own…and so rehearsed the numbers we were pretty sure Bill would play – Foot Prints in the Snow, and Kentucky Waltz, and whatever. We had our rehearsal, and the next day we scheduled another rehearsal that Bill was supposed to come to. But we got a telephone call that he couldn’t make that rehearsal, so we added a few more tunes to what we could play on our own. The next day was a dress rehearsal in the morning and then taping in the afternoon. But Bill wasn’t there for the dress rehearsal and so we added a couple more things and of course the point in time came and he still wasn’t there, so we did the TV show on our own.”

The video of that show has been a collector’s item for fans of early 1970’s vintage modern bluegrass, and they went on to record a successful album as Muleskinner, which led to a release of the audio from the initial TV appearance.

Hear Muleskinner on Rhapsody or in iTunes.

Read the full interview online.

The SteelDrivers can be seen and heard on this week’s edition of Unplugged at Studio 330 at CMT.com.

They perform music from their recent self-titled debut release, and talk about the band, the material they write, and what sets them apart from other new bands on the bluegrass scene.

Members include Richard Bailey on banjo, Mike Fleming on bass/vocals, Mike Henderson on mandolin/vocals, Tammy Rogers on fiddle/vocals and Chris Stapleton on guitar/vocals.

You can watch the songs and discussion segments online at CMT.com.

There are also a couple of clips of The SteelDrivers on YouTube from the recent Joe Val Festival near Boston.

Here’s Part 3 of our interview with Chris Thile and Chris Eldridge (a.k.a. Critter) of the Punch Brothers. In this third, and final, installment, we’ll be discussing the actual process of recording the new Punch Brothers CD, Punch, and in particular the major composition, The Blind Leaving The Blind.

Brance: Your last CD, How To Grow A Woman From The Ground, was recorded live with only two microphones. How about Punch?

Chris:

We recorded live again on this record. It’s my favorite way to record. This time around we did multi-track, but in a minimal way.

The main tracks were recorded with a setup borrowed from orchestral recording called a Decca Tree. We just gathered around that setup in a semi-circle and and recorded totally live. But we didn’t want Noam and Gabe to have to lay back too much, we wanted them to be able to play dynamically they way they normally would, so we did set up some spot mics so we could give a little boost here and there when needed.

A Decca Tree is a method of recording that combines three microphones positioned spatially in a “T” shape. It is most often used with omni-directional microphones. Chris told me they used three Neumann mics for their set up. The Tree is positioned above the assembled musicians and provides a pleasant sounding stereo recording.

Brance: Using a set up like that requires a bit of room. What size space where you in?

Chris:

We cut the tracks in New York City, in a large orchestra room with a very nice natural room sound.

Brance: Recording a CD live is hard enough, how did you handle recording such long compositions?

Chris:

Well, we didn’t record it all in one day! We tracked one movement, or two songs per day on average. The music is fairly intense, and recording has an intensity of its own, so it takes it out of you to record something like this live. We went in to the studio knowing the music was hard to play, but our goal was to make it sound easier than it is!

Considering Chris’ statements about combining classical composition disciplines with the vibrancy of bluegrass songwriting, keeping the music intense and engaging, and making it sound easier than it is, I’d say they guys did a fantastic job with this recording.

Punch is released this coming Tuesday, February 26, 2008. I’m sure we’ll have a post or two with some comments on the music itself by then, but I’ll go ahead and give you my recommendation. Go get it!

Be sure to read Part 1 and Part 2 of this interview.

The latest album from Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver - and the first featuring the veteran band leader’s new bunch of pickers and singers - is due for release March 30 on Horizon Records.

Help Is On The Way was recorded over December ‘07 and January ‘08 with Darren Beachly on guitar/vocals, Joey Cox on banjo, Alan Johnson on fiddle, Carl White on bass/vocals, Josh Swift on resonator guitar/vocals and Lawson on mandolin/vocals. It is an all-Gospel project, a recurring theme in Doyle’s music.

“I believe these songs are timely for today and the way America’s over-all faith seems to be waning. Each song has it’s own message, but ‘Help Is On They Way’ is what I built the concept of this CD around.”

Doyle told us that working with his new band in the studio was “absolutely wonderful,” and that he is eager to get the new CD out there for everyone to hear.

“To me this recording has a freshness and energy about it. I know  each one of us were excited about recording this first CD together. This is the most fun I’ve had recording in quite some time.”

The title track is being played on a number of bluegrass and Gospel radio stations, and you can expect to hear plenty more when promos are sent out in the next few weeks. Pre-ordering is enabled now on Doyle’s web site.

Cross-genre and cross-cultural banjo icon Béla Fleck journeyed through several African nations last year in an effort to learn more about the music and people from whence the banjo originated. He visited Uganda, Tanzania, Gambia and Mali and met and performed with many African musicians along the way.

An album is planned for the future based on the music recorded on this trip, and a documentary film will debut next month about this musical adventure as well. It is entitled, Throw Down Your Heart, and was shot by filmmaker Sascha Paladino (Béla’s brother), who also produced and directed the film short that was included with The Flecktones’ CD/DVD, The Hidden Land.

The new film will premier at the 2008 South By Southwest Film Festival on March 9 in Austin, TX, and a short clip has been posted on YouTube.

News is expected soon about the African journey CD’s release, and about whether Throw Down Your Heart will be picked up for theatrical release, or perhaps on DVD.

Blue Highway will join host Kyle Cantrell on XM Satellite Radio’s Bluegrass Junction for a track-by-track rundown of their new release, Through the Window of a Train.

Kyle will be playing all the selections from the new CD, interspersed with discussions with the members of the band. All of the songs were written within the group, so expect a good bit of songwriting detail in the conversation.

The Blue Highway show will debut on Thursday (2/21) at 8:00 a.m., with encore presentations airing on Sunday (2/24) at noon, Tuesday (2/26) at 3:00 p.m. and Thursday (2/28) at 8:00 p.m. All times Eastern.

The guys also recently recorded a live performance and interview program for Bluegrass Junction, which is set to air as a Studio Special program in March.

In another XM programming note, they will be re-playing the Grasstowne interview from last week again tomorrow based on numerous listener requests. Look for that on 2/21 at 6:00 p.m.

Dobro-meister and celebrated vocalist Randy Kohrs will be a featured guest on this Friday’s (2/22) edition of The Rachel Ray Show. No, he isn’t there to perform his latest single or even to plug an upcoming appearance with his band, The Lites. Randy is visiting this popular syndicated daytime talk show to talk about his kitchen.

Rachel Ray has become one of TV’s most recognizable personalities based on her several acclaimed food and cooking programs, which led to her success as a talk host as well. An ongoing segment on the show is their Coolest Kitchens in America series, and Randy’s got the attention of Kristen Cunningham, host of HGTV’s Design On A Dime show, who visited Randy’s home in Nashville for The Rachel Ray Show.

Brance had posted once before about Randy being recognized for the unique design of his Slack-Key Studio, patterned after a vintage diner, complete with a booth using replicas of his ‘64 Chevy Impala seats. It was this distinctive look that attracted Cunningham’s gaze, and she visited the studio earlier this month to shoot a segment for the show.

As the shoot was scheduled over the SPBGMA convention weekend, Randy’s band was in town, and were invited to pick a few while the cameras were rolling. The segment went so well that Randy was invited to New York to appear on the show in person and talk a bit more about his kitchen and diner theme. The show taping was set for last week, and events very nearly conspired to prevent him appearing.

Ashley Brown, fiddler and vocalist with The Lites and chief publicist for Randy’s Left Of Center Records, accompanied him for the trip and said that bad weather almost put the kibosh on their plans.

“We were scheduled to fly out the night before, that flight got canceled. We were moved to a flight at 7:15 am the next morning, which was delayed. Taping was supposed to start at noon and we didn’t get into LaGuardia until 11:45am. They actually delayed the taping for him, which was very cool of them to do.”

I suppose some things are meant to be…

The show is syndicated widely throughout the US, but times vary from one market to another. You can find times for a station in your area on the show’s web site. To celebrate his appearance, Randy will be offering a free track download of his next single, She Ain’t Comin’ Back, from his MySpace page for a short time following the show.

Ashley also sent along a number of photos taken during the video shoot and Randy’s visit to the show in New York.

       

When we left our dynamic duo yesterday, at the end of Part 1 of this interview, they had just engaged in a small snowball battle. Having concluded that brief engagement, we returned to the interview.

Brance: What about the other four songs on the CD?

Chris:

We basically co-wrote those tunes as a band. Those four tracks actually contribute to the overall presentation of The Blind Leaving The Blind. We introduced them in that particular order purposefully.

But you know, we’re really just getting warmed up on the mutual creative process. Looking ahead to the future with this band is pretty exciting.

Brance: What is the context for presenting this new material live in a show? What other material is being performed alongside these new compositions?

Chris:

We’re still performing material from How To Grow in the shows. We’re also doing some tunes from my various solo recordings as well.

Critter:

We do a few interesting covers as well. And the show is really different each night. We try to mix it up so that if a person comes to more than one show, they’re going to hear something different each time.

Brance: Chris you mentioned earlier that the composition of The Blind Leaving The Blind was colored by the players. (more…)

No Depression, a bi-monthly magazine that covers a wide range of Americana and roots music, will cease publication of its print edition after the next (May/June) issue is delivered to subscribers. They will continue to publish online, with expansion of their web efforts continuing apace.

The publishers note a 64% drop in ad revenue over the past two years and the declining numbers of copies sold at retail outlets as primary in their decision to cease publication. The first issue of No Depression came in September 1995.

The current (March/April) issue contains a letter from the publishers to subscribers, which can also be read online. They expand a bit on their reasons for shutting down the presses, including the anxiety within the music industry during this period of uneasy transition, and the shrinking of the market for music in general.

That community is, as they say, in transition. In this evolving downloadable world, what a record label is and does is all up to question. What is irrefutable is that their advertising budgets are drastically reduced, for reasons we well understand. It seems clear at this point that whatever businesses evolve to replace (or transform) record labels will have much less need to advertise in print.

All in all, the letter shows an admirable - though understandably grudging - acceptance of reality, and may sadly be the first among many such letters we will read within the acoustic/folk/bluegrass community over the next few years. That said, the following quote seems a bit over the top:

Whatever the potentials of the web, it cannot be good for our democracy to see independent voices further marginalized. But that’s what’s happening. The big money on the web is being made, not surprisingly, primarily by big businesses.

Just as it is in every other aspect of the economy. Let’s shed a tear for the loss of No Depression, but democracy seems to be on a solid footing.

Just before Christmas John reported advanced news regarding the forthcoming Ricky Skaggs CD Honoring the Fathers of Bluegrass - Tribute to 1946 and 1947 on Skaggs Family Records.

Although the official release date isn’t until March 25th, audio samples from the 12-song album, which pays tribute to Bill Monroe and the ‘Original Bluegrass Band’ (Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, Chubby Wise and Howard Watts) who created the genre in 1946 and 1947, are now available on the Skaggs Family web site. There you will also find a special pre-order deal from the record company, where orders placed before the release date will have their copy autographed by Ricky Skaggs.

The album features material drawn from early recordings made by Monroe’s Original Bluegrass Band. Full track listing is as follows ….

As well as the members of Kentucky Thunder (Jim Mills, Paul Brewster, Andy Leftwich, Cody Kilby, Mark Fain) two guests are featured - both former Blue Grass Boys - Earl Scruggs adds his banjo to the mix on Goin’ Back to Old Kentucky and Del McCoury provides vocals on The Old Crossroad.

There is a lengthy interview with John Cowan available online, published by the folks at The ProgFiles - a site dedicated to reviewing progressive music of all genres.

John talks about his initial entry into the world of alt-grass back in the 1970s when he first joined New Grass Revival…

“I had actually heard them around 1973, in Louisville Kentucky, I was, as usual playing in two bands at the time. One was an R&B show band a la Al Green, and the other was an original band playing Prog-Rock called YOU. When I saw NGR I thought they were great, though I knew absolutely nothing about that kind of music. But they had a drummer, were all plugged-in (electrified) and jamming and playing Leon Russell and Jerry Lee Lewis tunes.

Again, I knew nothing about this style of music, had never played without drums etc. But, I was a really good bassist as I was so into Chris Squire, Jack Cassady, Jack Bruce, John Paul Jones, Noel Redding, Berry Oakley, McCartney etc. I actually was able to incorporate my prog-style playing into the band cause they were already into “stretching” so to speak. Sam & I in particular were only a year apart (I was 22, Sam 23) and he also was a Rock Fan. He loved Jefferson Airplane, Cream, The Allmans, Hendrix. Needless to say we turned each other on to a lot of music. I turned him on to Little Feat, he turned me on to John Hartford, & Norman Blake and on & on.”

…and incorporating politics into his music:

“Artists have a responsibility to the times they live in. Now am I gonna get up on stage and preach to people about religion or my political views? No, but I will do it in song and certainly in a public forum like the internet (and not anonymously!) The world doesn’t change when people clinch their jaws instead of their fists.”

You can read the full interview online at ProgFiles.com, or on John’s web site. The language is unguarded and freewheeling… FYI.

With the release of the new Punch Brothers CD only a week away, Chris Thile fans are eagerly awaiting the latest entry in his musical diary. This one has been a long time coming.

I had the opportunity to speak with Chris, along with guitarist Chris Eldridge (a.k.a. Critter), last week and ask them about the new CD. We spoke in the early morning hours (11 AM) the day after a show in Vermont. The pair were on their way to Starbucks for a cup of java while we chatted.

The new CD coincides with the new band name, Punch Brothers, and is named simply, Punch. Scheduled to be released next Tuesday, February 26, 2008, the recording is centered around a Thile composition over a year and half in the making, The Blind Leaving The Blind. The work is presented in four movements, each a separate track on the CD.

Brance: Chris, tell us about the composition of The Blind Leaving The Blind. It seems quite an ambitious project to write something that large in scope, for performance by a bluegrass band.

Chris:

Yeah, it’s big. I spent a year and a half writing it. Not that I worked on it every day, but I probably spent about two and half months worth of days in actual composition, over the course of that year and a half. I worked with a music composition software called Finale.

The finished piece is about a 70/30 mix, through composed material vs. something that looks more like a jazz lead sheet or a written out fiddle tune. My goal was to fuse the formal disciplines of jazz or classical composition with the vibrancy of bluegrass or folk music song writing.

When I started composing, we were still doing the Nickel Creek thing. I was having trouble with certain aspects of the work because I didn’t know at the time who would be playing it with me. So parts of it had to be put on hold until I had put the current band together. The composition is absolutely colored by the players.

Brance: The finished work is in four movements totaling over 42 minutes of music. Do you perform it as one continuous piece of music, or do you take breaks in between the movements?

Chris: (more…)

Hot on the heals of the success of Rounder recording artists at The Grammy award show on Sunday comes news of an award for the label itself.

The North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance (Folk Alliance) will honor Rounder Records as a recipient of the 2008 Elaine Weissman Lifetime Achievement Awards (LAAwards) at the Folk Awards Show Wednesday, February 20, 2008, in Memphis, Tennessee.

The awards, a highlight of the Folk Alliance’s annual conference, are given to those who have inspired others, achieved definitive leadership in their field and contributed to the advancement of folk music and/or dance. Each year the LAAwards honor two performers, one living and one legacy, and a person or institution involved in the business or academic side of the folk world, who have devoted their life’s work and talent to the advancement of the performing folk arts. Mavis Staples and the late Tommy Jarrell take the award in the living and legacy categories, respectively.

The Rounder story is well-known, indeed we have recently posted a link to a press article in a Massachusetts newspaper. However, here’s what the Rounder press release says about themselves.

In 1970, with only their passionate enthusiasm for American roots music lighting the way, three Cambridge, Massachusetts college students, Bill Nowlin, Ken Irwin, and Marian Leighton Levy, cast their lot into the perilous music industry. The tenacious trio went the distance: from humble beginnings to what is now America’s premier independent record label. From its early interest in rural American music (via fiddle, stringband, blues, and bluegrass recordings) to an expansive catalogue of more than 2,500 titles running the gamut from folk to world, soul to socas, jazz to juju, Cajun to Celtic, and beyond, Rounder has emerged as the pre-eminent source for vital, uncompromised music of all genres.

Rounder’s award comes in the Business/Industry Lifetime Achievement Award category.

I asked Marian Leighton Levy for her reaction to this news

“It’s wonderful to be honored with Folk Alliance’s Lifetime Achievement Award. It came as a complete surprise and is the kind of recognition of Rounder artists, the label’s history and catalogue, that makes us both pleased as punch and very proud. While it’s always nice to have Rounder recognized within the industry, it’s particularly meaningful when it comes from an organization so devoted to the music and make up of fellow-music lovers like ourselves.”

Two Rounder artists, The SteelDrivers and Vienna Teng, will be performing at conference showcases throughout the week.

The 2008 International Folk Alliance Conference runs from Wednesday, February 20 until Sunday, February 24. The full schedule is available on their web site.

The Folk Alliance was founded in 1989 and seeks to create new and better opportunities for all those involved in the performance folk arts. With thousands of attendees annually, their conference offers a complete view of the business world of traditional and contemporary folk music and dance through showcases, educational seminars, films, and a networking-rich trade show.