The state of Kentucky honored native son Sam Bush this week, and Sam returned the favor by picking a few for the KY State Senate in Frankfort on Monday.

The Senate approved a resolution which celebrated Bush’s contributions to newgrass music, specifically for his crucial membership in both Bluegrass Alliance and New Grass Revival. The full text of the resolution appears below:

A RESOLUTION adjourning the Senate in honor of Kentucky’s own Sam Bush, the founder of New Grass music.

WHEREAS, Sam Bush was born on April 13, 1952, in Bowling Green, Kentucky; and

WHEREAS, Sam Bush began playing the fiddle in his early childhood, winning several awards, including National Fiddle Champion at age 15. As a teen, he was also proficient on the mandolin and guitar, and was soon a key member of a bluegrass band, the Bluegrass Alliance; and

WHEREAS, inspired by the pioneering progressive bluegrass band, the New Deal String Band, Sam Bush formed the New Grass Revival in 1971. The New Grass Revival broke new musical ground with its pioneering fusion of bluegrass, jazz, rock and roll, and soul; and

WHEREAS, the New Grass Revival toured extensively until they disbanded in 1989, and they have been credited with “slapping a new coat of paint” on a style of music that had fallen out of favor with the record-buying public. It was Bush’s hope that his music would lead record buyers back to original bluegrass artists like Ralph Stanley and Bill Monroe; and (more…)

Larry Stephenson will be celebrating the official release of his new Gospel CD, Thankful, this evening by joining Eddie Stubbs on WSM AM 650 in Nashville at 10:00 p.m. (EDT).

You’ll be able to hear the WSM debut of the music from Larry’s new release, and hear him discuss the songs with Eddie on the air. WSM’s signal reaches a large portion of the central US, and is also cybercast online at wsmonline.com.

Our review of Thankful was posted over the weekend, and can be read online.

Tomorrow on XM Satellite Radio’s Bluegrass Junction will be the first chance to hear the latest project from The Gibson Brothers. Eric and Leigh Gibson will join host Kyle Cantrell for a track-by-track preview of Iron & Diamonds, their upcoming release due April 8 on Sugar Hill.

This album is their first recorded with the touring band - Eric Gibson on banjo/vocals, Leigh Gibson on guitar/vocals, Rick Hayes on mandolin, Clayton Campbell on fiddle and Mike Barber on bass.

Like most of Bluegrass Junction’s exclusive programming, the Gibson Brothers feature will run several times over the next two weeks. It will debut on Thursday (3/20) at 9:00 a.m., with rebroadcasts scheduled as follows (all times EDT).

• Tuesday (3/25) at 6:00 p.m.
• Sunday (3/30) at 10:00 a.m.
• Saturday (4/5) at 4:00 p.m.
• Tuesday (4/8) at 3:00 p.m.

Eric also shared some thoughts about the new CD with us during an interview posted late last year. He offered some insight into a number of the originals he and Leigh composed for this project, as well as the theme in the title.

“The ‘Iron’ in the title concerns the mines, while the ‘Diamonds’ is a baseball image. Leigh and I played for the Lyon Mountain Miners of the Champlain Valley Baseball League in the late 80s, early 90s. They were sons and grandsons of real Miners, but those guys all had that same us-against-the world attitude that I imagine their ancestors had.”

Read the full interview here.

The Washburn Guitar folks have a number of new acoustic models. All were debuted at the recent Winter NAMM show, and will be arriving in dealer showrooms later this summer.

Striking and unexpected wood choices are a theme with these five new guitars, three of which are available with onboard electronics.

The two dreadnaughts (D46SP and D46CESP) are maple guitars, using a highly-figured spalted variety for the top, back and sides. This splating is a result of the action of fungi on maple after harveting, but prior to manufacture.

The D46SP will retail for $839.90 and the D46CESP with cutaway and B-Band A-15 electronics for $999.00.

Another interesting wood choice is Java Ebony, used on the J27CE jumbo cutaway. The body is ebony with a mahogany neck and a rosewood fingerboard and bridge. Many people associate ebony with a nearly-black appearance, but a great deal of ebony has a streaked, reddish-brown look before staining. Washburn has left this wood in its natural state.

The J27CE, with onboard electronics will retail for $1,099.90.

There are also two new additions to Washburn’s long-running and very successful Festival Series guitars. These feature an oval sound hole and a cutaway with the EA17 ($649.90) being a deep body guitar and the EA21HM ($1,299.90) a much thinner model. Both feature the same B-Band A-15 electronics.

Kenny Smith just called with some news. They have hired Trent Callicutt to play banjo with The Kenny & Amanda Smith Band.

Trent is an 18 year old picker from Asheboro, NC. He has been doing shows with the band this past two weeks.

Kenny said that when Joey Cox left them to go to work with Doyle Lawson, he didn’t really look very hard for a replacement.

“Baucom was filling in with us, and we were liking that so much that it didn’t seem like we were in a hurry to find someone. We ended up just using Terry all of last year, with Ron Stewart doing a few shows when Bauc couldn’t be there.

Trent had actually given us a cassette tape some time ago, and I had literally forgotten about it. Aaron - our mandolin player - asked me one day if I had ever listened to it, and I had to dig around for both that tape and something to listen to it on!

When I called to see if he wanted to try out, I think we really shocked him since he never heard anything when he gave us the tape.”

In addition to the new banjo player, Kenny and Amanda will also have a new CD shortly. Their latest project, the fourth for Rebel, is completed with art design just underway.

Kenny told me that they felt like the pressure was on after the success of their Tell Someone CD, which has received both Grammy and Dove award nominations, but said that this was the most painless album they have recorded to date.

“I think this new one has a little more fire in it. We do have three Gospel numbers, and we hope they will get the same sort of attention as the all-Gospel CD did.”

He and Amanda are very excited about the material as well. He said that he co-wrote one with Wayne Winkle, and also included a classic country song, I Jumped The Mississippi. They also have one written by Artie Hill, Drive That Fast, which he wrote especially for them.

The one he spoke about most pointedly is a new song from Brandi Hart of The Dixie Bee-Liners.

“Brandi sent us this song, Changing, which is a really different song. It’s a mining song that we really like and hope will end up as the title track.”

Rebel has just received the finished master and a release date has not yet been set. We’ll be sure to update everyone when more details emerge.

Here’s a new CD release from Rural Rhythm that we missed recently. Tim Hensley is a seasoned veteran of both the bluegrass and country music genres. Hensley has toured as a side man for Ricky Skaggs, Patty Loveless, and Kenny Chesney. Now he’s stepping into the spotlight with his first ever solo recording, Long Monday.

A multi-instrumentalist, Hensley has previously played both mandolin and guitar with the stars he’s toured with. He’s also contributed backing vocals to many of their well known songs. On Long Monday that vocal arrangement is reversed. Hensley is still playing guitar and mandolin, but this time he’s singing lead, with background vocals coming from Ronnie Bowman, Melonie Cannon, Vince Gill, Sonya Isaacs, Patty Loveless, and more.

The CD is produced by Country Music super-star Kenny Chesney, with whom Hensley has been performing for six years.

Tim gets up there every night and rocks with us, but it’s after the shows, walking back to the bus that you can hear his voice in the halls, singing what he truly loves. You hear enough of someone singing something that really matters to them, well, you wanna help them realize their music, too. That’s how it felt with Tim and the bluegrass stuff…It was letting the world get to hear something we’ve been lucky enough to get to hear almost every night for the last five or six years.

Chesney brought in ACM Song of the Year writer Buddy Cannon to co-produce the project.

Hensley traces his musical roots back to his days singing in church with his family and then Southern Gospel bands, before moving into bluegrass and commercial country territory. The CD reflects his musical journey. Many of the songs have a more contemplative feel that is typical on a bluegrass album. Don’t worry, there’s some hard driving bluegrass present as well though. It takes the form of tunes like Fox Run The Henhouse and Shady Grove.

Joining Hensley instrumentally are such bluegrass luminaries as Rob Ickes, Aubrey Haynie, Wyatt Rice, Tim Stafford, Adam Steffey, and Dave Talbot.

The songs come from all directions on this CD, some are traditional tunes that you’ve heard before, arranged afresh by Hensley and Chesney. Others are written by bluegrass songwriters such as Tim Stafford, Shawn Camp, Larry Cordle, and Ronnie Bowman. Also present are tunes from the pens of John Prine and Rodney Crowell. Hensley wrote one of the tunes himself.

If you like a smoother sounding bluegrass, this CD is the one for you. The press release accompanying the CD sums it up quite well.

Blending the various genres he has passed through - Southern Gospel, bluegrass, singer/songwriter, mountain soul and strait-up the middle country, Long Monday is a survey course in much of what’s great about organic American music.

Make no mistake, this is not a country album. It’s just not a banjo-centered bluegrass record. While it contains its share of fiery banjo picking, it tends to center more around the sound of the acoustic guitar as played by Hensley, Stafford, and Rice. And that’s not a bad thing!

Audio samples are available on Tim’s website.

Spring Break usually means a quick sprint to southern beaches for college students eager to escape the grind of their studies. For serious-minded students at Berklee College of Music, spring break each year means a trip to Nashville to learn more about opportunities in Music City, meet alumni working in town, and attend sessions with top industry pros.

Tonight at the Tuesday Night Opry in Nashville, they will also be on hand when Ricky Skaggs accepts an honorary doctorate from Berklee. The Boston institution notes that…

Skaggs’ virtuosity, his rich musicality, and his commitment to the deep roots of American music make him a deserving recipient of a Berklee Honorary Doctorate.

Berklee awarded a similar honor to Earl Scruggs in March of 2005 and to Loretta Lynn in 2006. They have also been awarded to jazz and pop luminaries like Duke Ellington, Billy Joel, Sarah Vaughn, Dizzy Gillespie and Paul Simon.

The presentation will be a part of the Tuesday Night Opry radio broadcast, which can be heard on WSM AM 650 and simulcast worldwide via online streaming at wsmonline.com. If you want to listen in, that segment is scheduled during the final half hour, from 9:30-10:00 p.m. (EDT).

GAC’s cameras will be on hand to record the ceremony, which they will air during this weekend’s edition of Opry Live.

Our friend Dave Hollender is in Nashville with the Berklee contingent, and he will try to get us some more details about the Opry event as well as the students’ various activities in town during their break.

Recently we provided some information about the forthcoming Longview CD Deep In The Mountains, Rounder 0578. We can now add that there are 30 second WinMedia and RealAudio audio clips available to listen to at the Rounder website.

The group is a largely studio-only supergroup, featuring James King, Don Rigsby, Lou Reid, JD Crowe, Ron Stewart and Marshall Wilborn. The personnel has changed some over the years and the three previous recordings under this name, but their penchant for finding terrific songs and capturing them in a soulful, traditional bluegrass style has remained throughout.

The CD, which has 12 tracks, is scheduled for release on April 8. You can read more about the new project in our earlier post.

We heard last week that bluegrass print magazine Bluegrass Now had made the decision to abandon the physical print format in favor of an online only distribution model.

The magazine has been in print for 18 years, having begun in 1990. The print edition has always been beautifully done with attractive graphics and nice glossy paper. Starting in May, you won’t be able to hold it in your had again. The May 2008 issue will be a landmark edition as the magazine ceases publication of the print edition entirely, and becomes totally electronic.

The press release describes a two year research effort prior to making this decision.

The decision comes after two years of researching marketing trends in the entertainment industry, amassing and studying data regarding the reading habits and preferences of consumers, consulting with a cross-section of major magazine publishers nationwide, and soliciting input from our current readership.

Although this decision was initially quite difficult for a retired academic who has lived by the printed word for more than half a century, I am truly excited about being in the vanguard of multimedia publishing in the bluegrass community.

The new, online only, Bluegrass Now should feel familiar to subscribers, as it retains all the elements of the print version: cover story, features, charts, reviews and regular columns. But the publishers plan to enhance the publication to take advantage of interactive features offered by the online presence.

…as readers explore the site, they’ll discover that our stories have been enhanced with audio and video clips. They’ll be able to hear samples of songs when they read reviews, and invited to contribute their own reviews if they desire. Readers will be invited to participate in our new “Fans’ Choice Music Chart,” as they cast a vote for their favorite song and artist of the month. All ads will carry hyperlinks for additional information and connection. Our readers will be delighted by virtual tours of festival sites around the world that explore what makes each festival a unique cultural experience.

Wayne Bledsoe, one of the publication’s editors, tells me that some of the content will be available free, to all who visit the site, while subscribers will have access to premium content. (more…)

Our good friend Brad Davis is one of those super fast flatpickers that leaves you wondering, “How does he do that?” Well, Brad wrote in to share one of his secrets (besides insane talent, and lots of practice). The secret is coffee.

Brad is an avid coffee drinker. I’ve been in studio sessions with him that lasted 12 hours or more, and I’ve seen him drink a lot of coffee. Somewhere around a year ago, Brad showed up with a new coffee he insisted I had to try. The brand was Coffee Fool. I had never heard of them before, but Brad swore by the stuff.

Brad went on to write a theme song for company, just because he loved the coffee so much. You can hear that song by visiting CoffeeFool.com and clicking the play button in the lower left.

Just a couple months ago at the January NAMM show, Brad teamed up with Flapicking Guitar Magazine editor Dan Miller, to convince the guys at Coffee Fool that bluegrass flatpickers were in need of a special brew to give them the energy boost necessary to keep up with banjo and fiddle players during late night jam sessions. The company responded by creating a special coffee blend just for flatpickers. It’s called Flatpicker Fuel.

Pick the high note and low note at the same time with our post-roast blend of high energy Breakfast Brew, rich Fool’s House Italian and the subtle sweetness of pure Extra Fancy Hawaiian Kona. Just the right combo to keep you jammin’ through the day… or night!

CoffeeFool.com is a great supporter of music and musicians. They are sponsoring some of Brad Davis’ workshops and performances and are also co-sponsoring some live music events with Flatpicking Guitar Magazine. Dan Miller had this to say about working with Coffee Fool.

When Flatpicking Guitar Magazine needed a co-sponsor to help with the costs of promoting and hosting an Infamous Stringdusters show in California, with opening act Keith Little and Jim Nunally, Coffeefool.com didn’t hesitate to jump on board and get involved. They are good folks who love supporting live music.

So if you’re a flatpicker in need of a speed boost, give Flatpicker Fuel a try.

Tonight is a big night for Darrell Webb, the newest member of Rhonda Vincent & The Rage. Starting at 6:00 p.m., he’ll be recording a live album at the converted Bellamy’s Hardware building in Surgoinsville, TN. And the boss will be on hand to lend her support.

Rhonda and the band will join Darrell on stage for the live recording, as will fiddle legend Bobby Hicks and award-winning vocalist Marty Raybon. Songs set to be cut include bluegrass favorites like Little Maggie and Molly And Tennbrooks, plus You Can’t Have One Without The Other, which Darrell nows sings as a part of Rhonda’s show.

If you’ll be in East Tennessee, there is no admission charge to attend the taping, but seating is limited. Contact info can be found online.

Girl power… on the hour. That’s what the folks at Sirius Bluegrass have in store for this week.

Starting today (3/17) and running through Friday (3/21) Sirius Bluegrass will offer hourly biographies of the women who have left a mark on bluegrass music. Rhonda Vincent and Dale Ann Bradley will host these brief segments to help celebrate Women’s History Month.

Sirius Bluegrass can be found on Channel 65 on your Sirius Satellite receiver, and subscribers can listen online. They have a free, 3 day trial for their internet radio service should you want to get a taste of the Sirius experience.

Bill Bolick, who with his brother Earl performed for years as The Blue Sky Boys, was remembered in today’s (3/16) edition of The Hickory Record. He passed away on Thursday at the age of 90.

He and his late brother, Earl Bolick, grew up in west Hickory, where their father’s battery-powered radio and a $4.95 mail-order banjo ignited a spark that boosted the brothers first to statewide radio fame and later to national stardom.

Bill Bolick eventually got a guitar, too, but traded it for his brother’s mandolin. The two instruments and the two west Hickory voices created a style that stood out from the many brother duets of the 1930s and ’40s.

You can read the full piece at hickoryrecord.com.

Larry Stephenson is one of the best high lead/tenor singers in bluegrass today. He has a voice uncannily like that of Bobby Osborne’s and there can’t be any higher praise than that. Additionally, Osborne is a big fan, readily praising Stephenson’s contributions to the bluegrass genre.

Thankful is Larry Stephenson’s fourth bluegrass Gospel release and his second for his current label, Pinecastle Records.

In addition to Stephenson, playing mandolin, there are contributions from his then band members Dustin Benson (guitar, and lead and harmony vocals), Aaron McDarris (banjo, and lead and harmony vocals), with guest appearances by Sonya Isaacs (harmony vocals), Warren Goad (bass vocals), Ben Surratt (harmony vocals), Missy Raines (acoustic bass) and Shad Cobb (fiddles).

Stephenson picked the songs on Thankful, using his collection of about 3000 LPs as a source for a good few of the great songs among the round dozen in this collection. Old or new, the songs fit together well, thematically following the message of the title track.

Stephenson’s voice soars really high, pitch perfect, in the opening few bars of the first track, How High Is That Mountain, a new Jerry Salley song, and he sustains that elevated standard as the banjo and guitar push it on. Salley and Stephenson co-wrote the inspirational Open Up The Window. It relates the experience of some children terminally with cancer, who touchingly share their story of visions of the Angels that will come soon to take them away. Sonya Isaacs’ harmonizing helps add to the emotiveness, as does the deft fiddle playing. It’s soul searching stuff!

The title track is a little-known Louvin Brothers song, not surprisingly accompanied by guitar and mandolin supporting sibling-like harmonies.

A couple of songs are from the home of Good Home Grown Music, in other words, Dixie and Tom T. Hall. Lord It’s a Hard Road Home has Surratt and Goad harmonizing on the chorus and some with background humming. The second is specially written by the couple, with assistance from Stephenson, in memory of Larry’s recently departed mother, a happy mother’s day tribute, Every Day Is Mother’s Day.

When I Get Home and Weary Pilgrim Welcome Home are both new songs, the latter written by Barry Clevenger, the banjo player in the West Virginia band 2nd Generation. It is performed in a traditional Gospel quartet style. The former, by Tonya Lowman, a talented songwriter from North Carolina, bears all the hallmarks of a great old sacred song, although done in a contemporary style. Both are notable for the deep and resonant bass singing.

Stephenson mixes it up very well with Press On O’ Pilgrim, from Jim & Jesse, and Washed In The Blood Of The Lamb, right out of the Baptist Hymnal, showing that he recognizes good older material. I Need The Prayers “of those I love” is an old country song that Stephenson has been listening to for many years. Fiddles are prominent here, along with very tasteful banjo work and great harmonies on the choruses. Set Another Place At The Table “the rest of the family’s coming home” is an old Lewis Family song, with banjo well to the fore and a need lead guitar break. It provokes images of The Last Supper.

The sedate closing song, May The Good Lord Bless and Keep You, is an old Eddy Arnold song that Larry sings solo with a minimum of instrumental accompaniment.

Thankful is a thought-provoking collection of sacred songs done mainly in the traditional mode. Stephenson sings effortlessly and smoothly throughout. The ‘band’ is solid and the arrangements are interesting and variable. Stephenson demonstrates his deep affinity with sacred material and this CD confirms his status alongside the best of bluegrass Gospel singers.

I spoke to Larry about this CD and enquired what religion means to him. Here is his response…..

“Religion is very important to my wife and I. We attend a small Baptist church here in Cottontown, Tennessee, and enjoy it very much. Gospel music has always been a part of my life, in and out of bluegrass. It’s such a big part of bluegrass music and think that’s why all four of our gospel CDs are still in print.”

The album hits the streets on Tuesday [March 18], and audio samples can be found on the Pinecastle site.

This past week’s American Idol had the various contestants interpreting the music of The Beatles, and one competitor, Chikezie, started his version of She’s A Woman with a banjo and a fiddle.

The grassyness only lasted through the first verse, but I guess it’s still a milestone worth marking.

There is video of the full performance on the Idol web site.

Marty Raybon is about to start work on his next bluegrass CD. He will be including a number of new songs he has written, and is in the process of gathering additional material now.

No title has been discussed as yet, and Marty is looking at a mid-summer 2008 release.

We understand that Marty has also booked studio time for a new all-Gospel project, with a fall 2008 release date. Busy little beavers…

You can find Marty’s tour schedule online if you’d like to catch him and his band, Full Circle, live this season.

David Davis and The Warrior River Boys will be the guests today (3/14) on WFDU-FM’s Lonesome Pine RFD.

They will bring their traditional, Monroe-inflected bluegrass to the studio for a live performance and discussion with show host Carol Beaugard from 11:00 a.m. until noon (EDT).

WFDU broadcasts at 89.1 FM in the New York City metro market, and online via live streaming.

The next editions in the series of DVDs featuring recordings from Best of The Flatt & Scruggs TV shows, Volume 5 and Volume 6 are scheduled for released on April 1.

This series contains the best musical performances from a long lost TV show taped in the 1950s and 1960s. Never available before, this footage features Flatt and Scruggs in their prime with their group the Foggy Mountain Boys playing many of their most famous songs as well as many other bluegrass classics.

The series is available from the independent record and video company Shanachie Entertainment of New Jersey, in cooperation with The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

A complete track listing can be seen in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum online store, where pre-orders are available.

We received a sad note this afternoon from Ted Jones (Ted Jones and the Tarheel Boys) about the loss of another member of the founding generation of bluegrass music.

“I wanted to let you know that earlier today the music world lost a great treasure. Mr. Bill Bolick the last surviving member of The Blue Sky Boys passed away at his home in Hickory, NC. Funeral Services will be held on Monday.

I was a good friend of Mr. Bill’s and had visited with him and played his 1929 Martin mandolin used on all the famous recordings. I felt that the bluegrass world needed to know about this event.”

The Peter Rowan & Tony Rice Quartet has undergone a couple changes recently. In addition to Rowan & Rice, the quartet formerly consisted of mandolinist Sharon Gilchrist and bassist Bryn Davies.

Both ladies have recently moved on to other pursuits and accordingly, Rowan & Rice have brought two new pickers onboard to fill the vacancies.

Joining the quartet on mandolin, and I presume fiddle, is Ricky Simpkins. Simpkins has played with Rice for many years in The Tony Rice Unit, and it seems natural that he would called on for this gig.

Multi-award winning bassist Mike Bub has been called in to hold down the low notes. Mike is well known throughout the bluegrass world for the years he spent in the Del McCoury Band. Bub is a busy man these days. He has been touring with Dale Ann Bradley, and keeping himself busy with other pursuits as well.

Yes, I am playing with the R&R Quartet and Dale Ann Bradley. So far there have been very few conflicts on dates. I am also doing a couple of music camps this year including the Transatlantic Blugrasss School in Wales, UK , Rockygrass Academy and the Augusta Heritage Workshop in Elkins, WVA. Oh yeah, I am also working with a fellow named Jimmy Stewart here in Nashville who years ago played dobro and fiddle with Doyle Lawson. He has been a utility player for Brooks and Dunn for about 12 years and will have a record out on Warner Brothers this year. Oh and one more….still working with songwriters Verlon Thompson and Shawn Camp. We have been doing the Station Inn for about the past year with Chris Henry and hope to get something on CD soon.

In addition to all his musical jobs, Bub is also busy being a dad to his three year old son, a job he relishes.

Riley is the joy of our life. He’s already aspiring to be a musician, pilot, race car driver, railroad engineer and lady killer.

Commenting on the quartets recent performance at the Birchmere, the Washington Post had this to say concerning the new band members.

The quartet’s lineup remains first-rate, with Simpkins and Bub providing smoothly integrated accompaniment and soulful vocal shadings.

I’m sure they’re correct. Bub and Simpkins are long time favorites of mine on their respective instruments. I’m looking forward to the chance to hear them in this context.