Sierra Hull, the prodigious young singer and mandolin player, who has a debut Rounder album, Secrets, set for release on May 6, has landed a part in the film about Billy Graham’s early life, currently being shot on location in middle Tennessee.

The part came about following an article in The Tennessean newspaper and the submission of Ms. Hull’s name by Claire Armbruster of Nashville’s Keith Case & Associates, the firm responsible for booking Sierra’s personal appearances.

From the article…

“I sent it in without (Sierra) knowing. When I read what Anastasia [Brown] said about needing an 11- or 12-year-old that sounded like Alison Krauss, I thought of Sierra, even though she’s 16, because she’s so petite. They do miracles in the movies.”

The newspaper reports, on Thursday (March 27), Sierra recorded Just As I Am and I’ll Fly Away with producer John Carter Cash at his famed log cabin studio in Hendersonville. Participating in the session were top-notch musicians Randy Scruggs, Harry Stinson, John Cowan, Ronnie McCoury, Ronnie Bowman, Sarah Peasall and John Wesley Ryles.

“Just As I Am was being sung when Billy had his conversion and walked the sawdust trail to the altar”, Anastasia says. “Her voice will be extremely highlighted during this climax of the film.”

Sierra had this to say about how the part came about, what her reaction was to learning of her role and of her early involvement in work for the film …..

“I’m really excited to be a part of the upcoming Billy Graham film. It should be a really wonderful experience and I’m excited to see how the movie will all come together in the end. I first received a call from Claire Armbruster at Keith Case and Associates (the folks who do my booking) one day after school informing me that she had sent my new record, ‘Secrets’, to Beverly Keel – a columnist for the Tennessean – who then passed it along to Anastasia Brown. She just wanted to let me know that she had sent them the CD, but wasn’t sure if they’d respond or not. A few days later Claire got a call from Anastasia letting her know that they would like me to be part of the project. I was told that I’d be singing Just As I Am for a scene in the movie. However, it wasn’t until about a week ago that I realized that I would actually be playing the role of Catherine Graham.

I’m so thrilled to have the chance to do something like this. This past Thursday was spent recording the music for the film at John Carter Cash’s studio in Hendersonville. What an honor it was to get to sing with some of my favorite singers like Ronnie Bowman and John Cowan. I’m anxious to hear how it all ends up sounding. Acting in this movie will be quite a new experience for me, but one I’m really looking forward to. My first couple days on set will be in Mid-April and then again sometime in May.

I feel so blessed to be a part of this, and I think it will be a really wonderful movie that will hopefully touch the lives of many people no matter whether you are a Christian or not.”

Beverly Keel’s full story can be read at The Tennessean website.

Rick Hayes, mandolinist with The Gibson Brothers, is in the studio putting the finishing touches to his first solo CD, Fly By Night, due for release in May. Rick plays mandolin, guitar and bass on the project with Ron Stewart on banjo, Jim VanCleve on fiddle and Josh Swift on dobro.

Hayes handles the lead vocals as well, with the exception of a guest lead each by his bandmates Eric and Leigh Gibson. Harmony vocals were provided by Dwight McCall, the Gibsons and Clay Hess. The CD will also include a bonus track sung by his father, Green Hayes.

Hess contributed three new songs to the project, and Mark Cole, formerly of Larry Sparks & the Lonesome Ramblers, has two.

Fly By Night was recorded in Rick’s studio, Hayes Productions, where he has previously tracked projects like Dwight McCall’s Kentucky Peace of Mind and Clay Hess’s Red Haired Boy. It will be released under his new label Kang Records ‚Äì an homage to the bluegrass pronunciation of the legendary King Records.

Rebel Records has two new releases released last week, a greatest hits compilation and a new duo recording.

Jimmy Gaudreau and Moondi Klein are names that should be familiar to bluegrass fans. Klein spent time with Seldom Scene, and later with Mike Auldridge (and Jimmy Gaudreau) in Chesapeake. Gaudreau has been a member of several of the most celebrated acts ever to play bluegrass – The Country Gentlemen, JD Crowe & The New South and The Tony Rice Unit, to name a few.

Their debut CD together is called 2:10 Train, and the performances are true duets throughout. There are no guest artists, just Moondi on guitar and lead vocals with Jimmy on mandolin and harmony. The material is taken from traditional old time and country music, and some of the best contemporary bluegrass and folk songwriters. If you’ve followed these genres for the past 20 years or so, most of the titles will be familiar, but each receives a treatment that is fresh and perfectly in keeping with the minimalist approach on this CD.

You’ll find Tom Paxton’s Last Thing On My Mind, Pete Goble’s Colleen Malone, Harley Allen’s High Sierra and Eric Bogle’s And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda among the newer songs along with old time favorites like Sweet Sunny South, Shady Grove and Black Jack Davey.

There are a few audio samples on Jimmy and Moondi’s site, and for all the tracks in iTunes.

Greatest hits of bluegrass collections seem to come out every few months, many of them little more than back catalog tracks by lesser-known artists. When a project is titled Best Loved Bluegrass – 20 All-Time Favorites, it’s fair to expect a good bit from the CD.

And this new Rebel compilation delivers. Not only are there offerings from Tony Rice, Lonesome River Band, The Country Gentlemen, Larry Sparks, Del McCoury, Ralph Stanley, JD Crowe and others, the songs are great examples of each artists’ work during the time they recorded for Rebel.

The Lost Found are here with Love Of The Mountains, Emerson & Waldron with the original version of Fox On The Run (classic!), Reno & Smiley with Little Rosewood Casket and Claire Lynch with Wabash Cannonball. The Gent’s offer Bringing Mary Home and Mac Wiseman Footprints In The Snow, with Larry Sparks’ version of Roving Gambler and Keith Whitley & Ricky Skaggs doing Dream Of A Miner’s Child (while they were still in school).

You can see the full track listing – and hear audio samples – in iTunes.

Luke McKnight is the son of Gwen McReynolds, the oldest of Jesse’s four children. He has worked as part of the Virginia Boys since 1994 or 1995 when he joined on a part time basis and, I recall, he piqued my interest in him when I heard him singing on Our Kind Of Country (Pinecastle PRC 1108). In fact, I had missed his contributions to an earlier CD A Gift For Keith, recorded as a benefit for the late Keith McReynolds, Luke’s uncle. McKnight is also among the musicians on other Jesse McReynolds’s CDs since then, as well as releasing his debut album in 1999.

More recently, McKnight has decided to go out on his own, form a band – Luke McKnight & Thunder Road – and make another album. The current band members are Daniel Grindstaff, on banjo; Kent Blanton, on bass; Steve Thomas, on fiddle; and Garrett McReynolds (Jesse’s other grandson) on guitar and tenor vocals.

McKnight recently announced the availability of that self-released album, Leader Of The Band. Recorded last year in Steve Thomas’ Gain Train Studio in Hendersonville, Tennessee, it features McKnight (mandolin and lead vocals), Grindstaff (banjo), Blanton (bass), Thomas (guitar and vocals, as well as fiddle) Donny Catron (vocals), Tommy White (Dobro ¬Æ), Carl Jackson (vocals) and Scott Vestal (banjo).

The CD comprises an interesting mix of material, beginning with The Beatles’ I’ve Just Seen A Face. There are a few other older songs including Rovin’ Gambler, Eastbound Freight Train, Lizzy Lou and Don’t Fall In Love With a Rambler, along with newer songs, such as the title cut, Mr. Right Now (written by Garth Brooks) and 2000 Years Ago, a Gospel song written by Jesse McReynolds.

Additionally, there are two instrumentals – Showboat Ride and the McKnight composition The Crossing, another showcase for the cross-picking style of mandolin playing.

There are audio samples on Luke’s website, and at CD Baby.