As the winners of the 2007 European Band Of The Year at the European World of Bluegrass, they garnered the IBMA showcase slot “reserved” for the EWOB winners. They played on the Wednesday brunch showcase during IBMA week, but unlike most invited showcase acts, they were also featured on the International Bluegrass Music Awards show and the weekend Fan Fest.

But this wasn’t a matter of pure kismet; the band had laid the groundwork in advance. Banjoist Jens Koch had attended IBMA on a number of occasions, and the entire band was there in 2008. They generated quite a buzz from their late night showcase slots last year, and worked the networking hard that whole week.

Perhaps most importantly, they retained US representation (Roe Entertainment) following IBMA 2008, and booked two brief tours here prior to IBMA ‘09. Nothing shows an eagerness to perform in the US more than, well… performing in the US!

Jens shared a few impressions of their recent IBMA experience:

“We felt like we did a good performance on the main stage, and the energy in that room was great. I think that it’s great to have people sit down and enjoy the music with some food, that never hurts. We got great reactions after that showcase and to us it meant the world compared to doing all the late night showcases where very few people actually show up and personally I think that it’s hard to perform that well in a little showcase room due to our constant fight with jet-lag (it’s like 8 or 9 in the morning for us when we do late night showcases), less sound reinforcement and the small crowds. So we loved to play the brunch showcase.

Playing the Awards Show was such a treat. It felt very special to walk on that stage and I think one of us said ‘what the heck happened down there?’ as we came back to the dressing room in the Ryman, followed by ‘My record collection was sitting in the front row looking at me.’ Scary and nice at the same time. The vibe at the Ryman was definitely something else!”

Their second CD on Sweden’s Cosmos Records is due out shortly, and a number of US labels have expressed an interest in licensing it for distribution in the States.

G2 has plans for another US tour during the summer of ‘10, and maybe two. Jim Roe of Roe Entertainment tells us that their exposure at IBMA this year has made a big difference in arranging dates for the band.

“It’s a great selling point that they played on the awards show – not everyone gets to play that show.

We had a lot of interest following their Wednesday showcase. One major festival contacted me right away about having them next year after hearing them live. We’re not sure yet whether they’ll be able to do it, but the immediate response was very encouraging.”

Jim said that they will be in the US from mid-June of 2010 through at least the end of July.

“Their tour will start at the Grass Valley Festival in California, and we also have them booked at ROMP in Louisville. They are booked at Mohican Bluegrass just before IBMA, and we are still filling open dates. If we can keep them busy all summer, the band will stay over here from June all the way up to IBMA in September.

They also did as many media appearances as possible while they were here this fall, including live sets for WAMU’s Bluegrass Country and Bluegrass Breakdown, syndicated on Tennessee Public Radio.

There was also a set for The Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour, which was broadcast a few weeks ago on their many affiliate stations. Though primarily a radio show, Woodsongs also offers their programs on video, and you can see G2’s performance online, or in the player below. Just click the image if the player controls don’t appear.

Click here to view the embedded video.

G2 was so visible this year that a number of European bluegrass enthusiasts got to grumbling about how well they were treated at IBMA versus other acts that have made the trip. Acousticure, the 2008 EWOB band champs (from Hungary), made their first trip to IBMA this year, and they could do a lot worse than emulating the example G2 has set for success in the US market.

UPDATE 11/17: Dan Hays, executive director of IBMA, sent along a clarification about the showcase selection process as it involved G2.

“G2 was actually chosen for an official showcase performance slot based on their own merits and IBMA’s selection criteria….rather than assuming a slot reserved for an EWOB winner. In fact, IBMA does not reserve a slot for EWOB winners or any other competition from Europe, the US or elsewhere. All of IBMA’s official showcase artists are selected from amongst those that apply and best fulfill the criteria for those presentations and we wouldn’t want anyone to think G2 was chosen on anything other than their own merits and through processes open to everyone.”

Martin was on British TV (BBC2) on Tuesday night also. He performed on Later Live, and will be on Later…with Jools Holland on Friday (13th) at 11.35 p.m. Video from that appearance will be available online.

Here is a taste of the Guardian review…

Dressed in a grey suit and tie, with his white hair and glasses, Martin looked like a doctor who was about to make an unpleasant prognosis. But instead he began with a barrage of self-deprecating jokes. Once he started playing, it became clear that he could hold his own against his impressive acoustic band, the Steep Canyon Rangers, both through his mastery of the claw-hammer banjo style, and – perhaps more surprisingly – his ability to write strong and varied material influenced by anyone from Scruggs to Bill Monroe, the father of bluegrass.

The full review can be found on the broadsheet’s web site.

On September 21, 1995 in Rosine, Kentucky, the US Navy’s Country Current bluegrass group performed for the birthday celebration and plaque dedication ceremony for Bill Monroe, the Father of Bluegrass Music. At that ceremony, as the leader of Country Current, I had a conversation with John Sheldon, the Secretary of the Scottish Bluegrass Association from Penicuik Scotland. As we were talking, John inquired about the possibility of Country Current performing in the United Kingdom but, at that time, the possibility of a performance would not come to fruition.

John spoke face to face with the Father of Bluegrass Music on that day and made a vow that he would do all he could to promote bluegrass music in the United Kingdom. Bill boasted with pride that his music would continue to grow around the globe. Since that ceremony in 1995, John has worked feverishly to fulfill his promise by hosting tours for over 100 USA, Canadian, and European bluegrass bands in the UK.

Upon my retirement from Country Current, I contacted John Sheldon to get the wheels rolling toward getting my new group, Wayne Taylor and Appaloosa to the UK. John arranged a thirteen-day tour, a series of performances ranging from state of the art theaters in Newcastle, England to Moniaive’s first annual bluegrass festival in the south of Scotland. We also did a pair of Music in the Schools performances for 500+ children in grades Kindergarten through 6th grade, which was funded by the International Bluegrass Music Association and the Scottish Bluegrass Association. Our schedule also included group and individual workshops.

Throughout the 13-day tour WT and Appaloosa traveled many miles, performing 18 shows for hundreds of bluegrass enthusiasts as ambassadors of bluegrass music and as US citizens. The tour was highly successful. John continues to fulfill his promise to Bill Monroe with other groups lined up for next year.

I would highly recommend this adventure for any bluegrass group who would like to experience the trip of a life time to see some of the most amazing scenery, landscapes, castles and meet some of the friendliest people anywhere.

Here are a few photos from our trip.

To see more photos and information regarding the tour, visit our web site, or to contact John Sheldon visit www.scottishbluegrass.com.

I’m back home again after almost 2 weeks of continuous travel in planes, boats, buses, trains, and a van.

The remaining two shows after my last post here were a lot of fun and were very well received… a great way to end the trip!

I had been to the venue we played in Germany before, and the crowd’s enthusiasm didn’t dissipate from our last visit there over 2 years ago. We were practically sold out of band CD’s after the show, and some of the band’s friends from around the area treated us to some awesome food and hospitality afterwards. Thank you!

The Czech Republic was a new place for me. It’s a beautiful country, with really nice and hospitable people. A few minutes after we crossed the border, a country music station came through on the radio. After 11 days of hearing nothing but American, British, and German pop on almost every radio station, it was pretty strange to hear Johnny Cash covers in Czech mixed with original country classics in English! Even though the English language was spoken far less there than most of the other places we went, you can sense an appreciation for traditional and acoustic music in the people there… and what an awesome bluegrass community of pickers and singers!

Sometimes I feel a good bit ignorant and lost when I travel to a new place, and they can speak a little bit of English and I can’t speak any word of the local language. It’s hard not to feel pretty stupid when you go in a store and start pointing at things and counting change very slowly! Every time I’ve been in that circumstance, the locals have been so nice and helpful. So I take that as a lesson… be nice and give directions to people that aren’t familiar with their surroundings when you can! You never know when you’ll wind up in the same boat(or train, bus, van, or plane)!

We had a little bit of delay in getting back, and I’m still lagged quite a bit from the 20 hours or so of airports and layovers yesterday so I’ll have to keep this story short and sweet.

Thanks to all of the bluegrass music fans in Europe for making this tour possible! Hope to see you again soon.

Next week it’s Mashville Brigade at the Station Inn on Tuesday, and then Special C’s off to Waldo, Florida!

After our train ride to Copenhagen we rode the long road to the Netherlands, had two shows there and had a good time. Even though we were pretty tired from all the riding and moving around to get there, it was a really nice place to visit. Nice hospitable folks there… but beware! Our hosts introduced us to these waffle and caramel cookies called Stroopwafles, and now we’re all addicted to them! I’m going to have to go on a serious diet when I get home.

Anyway, we made the long van ride from Holland here to Switzerland yesterday and got here just in time to eat dinner and play a little show in Lausen (right outside of Basil) and then we got a good night’s sleep. In attendance at our gig last night was a professional classical guitarist that grew up just about 15 or 20 miles away from where I grew up in North Carolina, and has lived in Europe for 40 years since he graduated from the School of the Arts in Winston-Salem. I guess there’s Tarheels everywhere! Small world!

I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but for this trip we’re in a decent sized van that’s a little larger than the ones we have rented on previous trips. Still it’s pretty cramped for all of these 5-8 hour trips. Vehicles are much smaller on average here in Europe, so I guess we’re lucky that we’re in something that we can all fit in.

At least we’re not in this…

Now we’re spending the afternoon before our show at a friend of the band’s house. This is the first time we’ve had Wifi in a few days, so we’ve turned her dining room into a computer lab.

After our show in Feuerthalen, Switzerland tonight, we’ll be back in Germany for a show in Bochum, then our last show will be in the Czech Republic. Never been there before, so I’m looking forward to it!

I’m having a great time here, but after 8 days I’m starting to look forward to going home and being in my own bed, not having to travel hours and hours every other day, and not trying to figure out what kind of money I’ve got and how much I’m spending! We’ve been on four currencies so far, and one more to go!

Regardless, it’s nice to be here reporting to you from Switzerland! Maybe I’ll get one more update in before I go home.

Headlining is Steep Canyon Rangers, who will be fresh off their US tour with Steve Martin, and hawking their newly-released CD, Deep In The Shade. Rounding out the show will be US old timers Beverly Smith & Carl Jones, and British grassers Toy Hearts.

The tour is intended to be an annual event, which the promoters describe as a first for the European bluegrass scene. In true barn storming fashion, Bluegrass Jamboree will consist of 16 consecutive one-nighters which will hit Berlin, Bonn, Munich, Hamburg and another dozen German cities.

Sophia Johnson of Toy Hearts shared a few words about their participation.

“We are very proud to be involved with this project – which is the first of its kind, to have a touring show of 3 bands doing 15 (?) consecutive nights together. The Headline band the Steep Canyon Rangers are personally one of our favourite groups – they are incredible musicians and who put on a really great show, and as they write their own material, they are a great showcase of the new wave of young, dynamic bands currently coming through in the USA. I think the whole show will have something for any audience member, because of the range of bands, it would be a great introduction for newcomers to Bluegrass as well as featuring enough great picking for the more trained ear!”

Sophia also mentioned that Toy Hearts is set to return to the US in January to record their 3rd CD. David Mayfield of Cadillac Sky is set to produce, and the band is hoping to involve some top Nashville pickers on the new project as well.

Details on the various Bluegrass Jamboree tour stops (December 5-20) can be found online.

Today is day 6 of the trip, and I’m writing this on a train from Stockholm to Goteburg, Sweden.

After our two dates in Denmark, we left early Saturday morning on another extended hour excursion from Copenhagen to Stockholm for our first show here in Sweden last night. Due to construction on the train tracks in Copenhagen, our first train was delayed forcing us to miss our connection that was supposed to get us into Stockholm early enough to settle into our room and do a sound check. After talking to quite a few people at the ticket counters that said there’s no way we could make the show (PANIC!), Greg found a supervisor that got us on another train that took us out of our way a little bit, adding a couple of hours to the already 6 hour train ride… but it got us to the show!

Taking the train is pretty nice here. There’s room to move around, a “bistro” car that has snack food for purchase, there’s nice scenery with the Swedish countryside just outside the window. It’s nice to be able to spread out here using my PC listening to my Ipod without being scrunched up in a rental van. I was so inspired that I just wrote a new bluegrass train song!

I was just thinking that it was kinda funny that the only other times that I’ve been on a train outside of Europe was once or twice to get downtown Chicago, as a shuttle between airport terminals, and when I was a cap gun shooting kid in a cowboy hat at Tweetsy Railroad in Boone, NC. It’s way more common for people to travel from place to place by train here, and it’s nice… except when they’re late.

The places and people have been great so far. With the little bit of free time that we had in Denmark, a few of us went downtown Copenhagen late Friday night after our show and it was awesome! Despite it being the coldest October they’ve had in recent history and some rain, it was great to see the city lit up with people biking and walking around. I want to come back, but maybe when the dollar’s stronger! Eating and getting around here in Europe is very expensive for this North Carolina boy. Still an awesome experience… Copenhagen was great.

We saw less of Stockholm just because we barely had time to get there, play the show, and go to bed so we could get up early for our train today, but it’s a beautiful old city. The city is build around a lot of different islands and little ancient streets. I will for sure spend some time looking around there one day. We drove by the palace this morning and I really wanted to go in and say hey to the King, but we didn’t have time. Everyone was so friendly there in Stockholm, and I’m sure he is too.

Some of our friends from the Swedish bluegrass band G2 came by last night, and we got to pick a few tunes after the show. They’ll be touring the US again next year, so check them out if they’re ever in your area!

Tomorrow it’s another early morning and another train, and then we drive to Holland. These days of 8-10 hours of moving, lots of coffee and tea, and two hours of picking surprisingly haven’t worn me or my voice out yet so I’m keeping my fingers crossed! 3 shows down, 7 to go! Signing off from Vagn (Wagon) 13 of the Stockholm Center City to Goteborg City Center Bluegrass Express!

Tuesday night was another blast at Mashville, even though I’m still fighting off the remnants of the IBMA bug. The lineup was Josh Williams, Jenee Fleenor, Randy Barnes, Thomas Wywrot and myself. We went a little bit late with the show because our resident “country star” and good friend Dierks Bentley made an appearance and brought a crew from CBS Sunday Morning with him to film his activities for the night. They set up all kinds of lights and did some interviewing, so our break was a little longer than normal, but it didn’t really bother anybody. I’m not sure when it will air, but look for Dierks Bentley with the Mashville Brigade on CBS Sunday Morning some time in the near future! hehe

Got home around 1:30, and Wednesday I slept until 9:30 or 10 and got up to finish packing then it was off the the airport. Our flight to Chicago left around 4pm CST and landed safely an hour and a half later, and then we had a little layover at O’Hare before the 8 hour flight to Frankfurt, Germany. I tried to get a little sleep towards the end of the flight, but woke up around 2AM my time, or 9AM Frankfurt time for the breakfast that the crew was serving. We landed around 11AM Frankfurt time, and then our fearless leader Greg gathered the rental van, and we were off to Denmark!

None of us had much sleep, but we had a 9 hour drive ahead of us. We went from Frankfurt through Hannover, then had a quick schnitzel at some road side place, and then it was on to the ferry station towards Denmark.

By the time we got on the ferry we had all been up and traveling for well over 24 hours, minus a few uncomfortable naps here and there. We still had a few hours to go before we arrived here, outside of Copenhagen. There was a little bluegrass welcome committee to greet us, and give us the keys to this hostel-like place where we’re staying.

This is my first time in Denmark, and just like most everywhere I’ve been over here in Europe they speak enough English to help me get around and everyone is very helpful. Had a great breakfast already today, and now it’s time for a little rest before the show tonight.

Battery’s about to die, and I’m power adapter-less at the moment, so that’s all for now.

Hopefully I can update again soon! Goodbye from Denmark!

Bands interested in showcasing at the EWOB festival can apply between now and November 20. A total of 42 showcase spots are available and though bands are not paid for these appearances, some travel expenses are offered to European bands. Event producers and music press from all over Europe are typically on hand for these shows.

The festival also hosts a European Bluegrass Band Awards competition, with winners chosen on two separate tracks. The primary award is chosen by the other musicians in attendance, and a second trophy is awarded by the fans, an Audience Popularity Award. The winner of the European Bluegrass Band Award each year is offered the opportunity to perform at the following year’s IBMA convention in Nashville.

Application details can be found on the European Bluegrass Music Association web site, where you can also find sponsor, vendor and volunteer information.

This time out, they have a grassed-up version of the familiar Hush Little Baby.

Click here to view the embedded video.

“After a bit of a delay (due to artistic differences over the use of a drum ‚Äì now happily resolved!) The Bluegrass Babies launch their second video HUSH (little baby). This time they are in quieter (but not too quiet) mode with their gently rocking version of this much loved lullaby.”

Wonderful stuff… hat’s off to Roberts and Castle!

Brink is also profiled this week on Music from Foggy Hollow, hosted each week on WAMU’s Bluegrass Country by Mike Kear. Mike plays some of Brink’s songs on this week’s show which have been recorded by artists like Don Rigsby, Grasstowne, Wildfire and Ryan Holladay.

Music from Foggy Hollow originates in Sydney Australia on Hawkesbury Radio 89.9FM, and is heard six times a week on Bluegrass Country. You can catch the Brinkman show on Tuesday (9/22) at 3:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., Thursday (9/24) at 10:00 p.m., and Friday (9/25) at 12:00 p.m. All times eastern US.

As Mike related to us in a recent email…

“Also on this week’s show I’m playing new music from Sam Bush, Adam Steffey, Becky Schlegel, Ricky Skaggs, Claire Lynch and plenty more of the latest bluegrass. As usual I don’t take the show too seriously – there’s time for goofing off too. It’s another show oozing with bluegrass goodness, so you’d be a wombat to miss it!”

Bluegrass Country’s 24/7 bluegrass music feed can be heard worldwide on www.bluegrasscountry.org and in the Washington area on HD Radio WAMU-88.5 Channel Two, and on 105FiveFM.

Sean McKerr and Mel Corry, members of The Tennessee Hennessees, were accosted by brigands on their way to a pub session on Thursday (9/17). Violence was breaking out throughout the town of Lurgan (just south of Belfast) in response to the jailing of three dissidents for plotting to murder police officers. According to press reports, at least five vehicles were hijacked and set on fire in an attempt to lure police into an ambush.

Showing both the indomitable spirit of the Irish, and of the bluegrass musician, McKerr managed to get a passerby to snap this photo in front of their burning van. He also posted this comment on the BIB site:

“We hope this photo will not deter visiting musicians. Although they burned our van out, the hi-jackers were very courteous and let us keep our instruments.”

Glad to know that the guys made it through in good shape. You can read the full piece on The Bluegrass Ireland Blog.

Davies is a social worker and long-time amateur rock musician who has undertaken a study of the banjo, and plans to walk the Great North Run on September 20 playing his 5 string. This half marathon is a very popular event which raises funds for a number of charities. Mark has dubbed his attempt as the Great North Strum and invites folks to sponsor him in his quest.

We think that our readers will enjoy his tale of taking up the banjo in mid life, and his quirky sense of humor. If you feel called to support Mark in his walk for charity, he can be reached by email.

“So this is how it is. I’m rapidly reaching Forty, and there’s a couple of things I want to be able to say that I’ve achieved by that milestone. One is to have completed a half marathon, and another is to learn to play the banjo (there are others, but I wont bore you with Playing the Albert Hall, with the Pixies as my back up band).

As Wham might have put it, last Christmas (08), my wife presented me with a lovely Godman 5 String Banjo, and away I went. By mid January I was informed that if I didn’t stop playing a dodgy version of (and I quote) ‘Duelling F*$!*&g Banjo’s’ that I would be acquiring a banjo shaped colonoscopy. But by then it was too late, I had heard Cripple Creek, Wildwood Flower, Wabash Cannonball, Foggy Mountain Breakdown and so much more that I’d previously been aware had existed, but never really listened to. I wanted to get into that place. I told my wife that there were other ways I could be having a mid-life crisis, she said she’d take them!

Around this time, my weight was also becoming a concern. So i started walking, which led to jogging, which led to some weight going (it’s not lost, I know exactly where it is, it’s in the off license and the fridge) which led to a 5K run in my hometown of Middlesbrough (So good they named it once). I clocked in just over thirty minutes, which I was pretty pleased with, and immediately set my sights on attempting the Great North Run. I was running for Butterwick Hospice. My Mother died of Brain cancer, which had spread from her bowel two years ago, so it’s a cause that`s close to my heart. All was going swimmingly, regular 8-10 mile jogs, interspersed with the odd 2-3 mile runs, when in May I felt something go pop in my knee. After seeking advice I was informed to rest it for a couple of months.

During this time a friend of mine was informed that he had late stage aggressive Lung Cancer. This man has in the past and continues to be an inspiration to me in so many ways, professionally, and personally. I wont bore you with how, but here’s an example of this guy. We were discussing in the office whether Jaffa Cakes were biscuits or cakes. People were mentioning tax duty, ingredients, but no definitive answer was forthcoming. When asked, your man just said ‘they’re cakes. Cakes go hard if you leave them out, biscuits go soft.’ Simple as that.

He knew that I’d been messing about with the banjo, and as he is getting a few things ready for when the train reaches the final station, he gave me a battered Windsor Whirle 5 String Junior, which he had bought a few years back meaning to restore. You can imagine what this beautiful instrument means to me. So I had it restored (Nigels guitar Workshop in Richmond North Yorkshire, amazing fella, with the best job in the world) and it sounds great.

So there I am, the knee’s not brilliant, but I reckon I can at least walk the Great North Run, but that’s not really good enough is it. I needed a way to be able to raise money for a couple of Hospices, and Cancer Research. I started training again, and whilst walking I had an epiphany. Carry that Banjo throughout the Great North Run!!!!! Play it at the start, stop (there’s only so often people can listen to the Ballad of Jesse James), and play it as I cross the finishing line! I laughed this off, but the idea stuck. It would be fitting to use the Windsor, and why stop at the great North Run? There’s countless places and events I could take part in with it. I mentioned it to the Wife, and a couple of people (Northern Banjo Boy being one, great blogsite incidentally), and was surprised to hear positive reactions.

I have a blogspot which has daily details posted of how I’m getting on, and have the support of Patrick Costello, and Dame Tanni Grey Thompson.  Thanks for taking the time to read this.”

Here are a couple of clever videos Mark created while he was training for the banjo walk.

Click here to view the embedded video.

After that, it’s on to IBMA in Nashville where they will be featured in the Wednesday brunch showcase (9/30), and on the Awards Show the next day (10/1). That is an honor for any bluegrass artist, but for G2, it will also mark the first time a European band will perform on the show.

G2 has been working on a new CD and though it won’t be ready in time for their US trip, they will be bringing a 3 song sampler to share with promoters and record labels. The new project will be released on a Swedish label, Cosmos Records, but the band is hopeful of finding a licensing and distribution agreement with a US label while they are in Nashville.

Here’s a taste of two of the tracks from the sampler, new songs from G2 guitarist and lead singer, Christoffer Olsson. Both will be featured on the next CD.

G2 consists of Tobias Strömberg on resonator guitar, Jens Koch on banjo, Christoffer Olsson on guitar, Jimmy Sunnebrandt on bass, and Erik Igelström on mandolin. Christoffer sings lead on both of those tracks, with assistance from Cia and Skip Cherryholmes on Gold Rush. Molly and BJ Cherryholmes contribute twin fiddles on that track as well.

Here’s a video of the guys at The Station Inn when they were in the States last year for IBMA. It shows that they know their traditional grass as well as the modern sound.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Bass man Jason Moore said that he has a ton of pictures, but that his internet connection has been sporadic, so he will send more when he gets back home on Monday. Bon Voyage, fellas!

He and pianist Michael Alvey made the trip to perform at the Red Sea Jazz Festival in Eliat, a gorgeous resort town in southern Israel – at the northern tip of the Red Sea. Ickes and Alvey collaborated on Rob’s latest CD, Road Song, a set of duets on a mix of jazz standards and new compositions.

Rob shared the story of how a resonator guitarist from Nashville got the call to perform with jazz legends like John Scofield and Paquito D’Rivera halfway around the world.

“There was a guy, Ori, at ResoSummit last year who is Israeli, and he somehow got one of the first mixed cuts from Road Song to Avishai Cohen, the director of the festival. He loved the track, and invited us to perform based solely on that one cut.

It was a really wild trip. I left on Sunday (8/23), we played that Tuesday and Wednesday, and got back on Thursday – plus I had Blue Highway shows the Saturday before and the Friday after!”

Even with that sort of nerve-wracking schedule, Rob said that the trip was worth every drop of sweat. He tells us that Eliat Harbor was beautiful, and that the hotel  where they stayed was magnificent.

“Everything was great… the sound was perfect. I was seeing all these heavy jazz cats and started thinking, ‘What are we doing here?’ but people really dug what we were doing. There was a jam stage just outside the hotel where people were playing every night until 6:00 a.m. I didn’t bother getting much sleep.

After our first show Tuesday night, I had a workshop Wednesday morning and I figured that no one would be there. But lo and behold, there were 50-60 people there! They were fascinated by the dobro, and wanted to learn all about it. Several young people came up to me afterwards and wanted to find out how they could learn. That had me flashing back to when I was first inspired to play -  those kids had that same look in their eye.

One guy asked if he could just put a pencil under his strings to raise the action to get started, and I laughed and said, “That’s just what I did!’

Our second show was sold out, with more than 1,000 in the venue. Before our second set, the festival director came up to me and said that he really had taken a chance booking us, based just on a recording, and that made me feel so good that they heard something they liked that well. Plus he said that he wanted to have us back.

It wasn’t all work, though. Rob said that he had a chance to hook up with his old college roommate who lives in Israel now, and even got to swim with the fishes, metaphorically speaking of course.

“Our chaperon for that week runs a dolphin park, so we got to hang out with the dolphins and relax at a salt water spa. It was like the Dead Sea – so salty that you float effortlessly in the water. If you laid your head back into the water, you could hear the music they had piped into the pool.

It was a very cool trip.”

You can hear audio samples from Road Song on the site for Rob’s record company, ResoRevolution.

Theirs is a story of determination and tenacity, and it shows what can be accomplished when talent, hard work and perseverance come together.

The boys first gained nationwide attention in Australia when they were among the winners in the 2005 Nescafe Big Break competition, and have since won dozens of awards within the Aussie music scene. Earlier this year, they won a Golden Guitar at the Australian Country Music Awards. They took the trophy in the Instrumental of the Year category for their song, Left Hand Drive.

Later this month they will be a featured showcase performer at the IBMA World Of Bluegrass in Nashville, the first time an all-Australian band has been so honored.

Hamish and Lachlan first attended the IBMA convention in 1997, when both were in their teens. They’ve since made the trip for IBMA three more times, taking advantage of the Nashville studios and players to record an album during each visit.

All the while they’ve been promoting bluegrass – and their original music – in the somewhat less hospitable climes of Australia, teaching other musicians to play and sing in a bluegrass style, and carving out a niche for themselves in the burgeoning country music scene down under.

Lachlan explained how the band has used networking to leverage their hard work into a string of September dates at major US festivals and an IBMA showcase.

“This will be our first official tour of the USA, with work VISAs and all that. Last year I attended IBMA to be part of the International Summit meeting which really encouraged me to pursue our international connections.

It started with some follow-ups from the Gig Fair at IBMA in 2007. We locked in a gig at the Tri-State Festival from there. Also that year we did a guest spot at Starvey Creek, and they followed through with a booking for this year. Bean Blossom has given us a guest spot, and we are on the bill at Jerusalem Ridge in Rosine.

In January we applied to Showcase at IBMA and we were selected. It was only the second time we have applied. We released our first single in the USA last July on Prime Cuts of Bluegrass, which got a great response.”

The Davidson Brothers Band features Hamish on banjo and fiddle, Lachlan on mandolin and fiddle, Peter Cooper on resonator guitar, Daniel Watkins on guitar, and Joshua Verco on bass. Both brothers provide lead and harmony vocals, with Watkins contributing as well.

“We thought this would be our best opportunity to get as much exposure possible in the US bluegrass scene without being there all year. This seems to be the best time of year to be there, with so much on.

Bringing our own band from Australia – all young guys – is really important to show that not only Hamish and myself can play at the level of today’s bluegrass, but we have trained up a whole band to really showcase our talents.

We’re looking forward to the many connections being established at IBMA, and can’t wait for the feedback on our track on the Showcase CD – and how we are received with our Aussie sense of humor and style of entertaining.

We are both extremely excited!”

Here’s a music video from one of their previous CDs, a track called Raised On The Road, directed by Ross Wood.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Czech bluegrass community has lost one of its greatest personalities – Mr. Milan “Stranger” Leppelt. He passed away after a wasp bite in his garden on August 18th, 2009, not even 50 years old.

He was a musician, singer, banjo player and teacher, songwriter, publicist, translator, secretary of the Czech Bluegrass Association, tireless promoter and good, kind and always a helpful friend.

His family and the European bluegrass community bid him the Last Farewell on Tuesday, August 25th in Police nad Metuji.

Milan’s biggest dream to visit the U.S. will never come true, but now he is playing in the Heaven Bluegrass Band with all his old heroes…..

They will be playing at two bluegrass festivals, the Tri-State Bluegrass festival in Indiana and The Bluegrass Heritage festival in Dallas, TX., and have gigs booked in Chicago, Oklahoma, Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, Waco and Houston. These shows all lead up to their week in Nashville during for IBMA’s World Of Bluegrass.

The group are all very excited to be invited to play at Byron Berline’s legendary fiddle shop, in addition to the opportunity to play onstage with The Texas Swing Kings when they open for Asleep at the Wheel. Toy Hearts also has three radio performances scheduled and slots on two FOX TV shows, and they are planning to document the US tour with a video diary.

Lead vocalist and mandolin player, Hannah Johnson commented,

“We are all very excited about the trip and especially now we have our visas printed and returned to us….. We’re ready to go!  Can’t wait!”

In preparation for the US tour, Toy Hearts have recently recorded a live-in-the-studio EP which they will offer for sale at their live appearances in September.

Guitarist Sophia Johnson tells us more…

“The recording of the live EP was done on Friday, 21st August, at Major Key Studios in The Public in West Bromwich (close to Birmingham UK where we live).

The regular line up of Hannah, Dad [Stewart Johnson on banjo] and myself was joined by Bradley Blackwell on double bass, and a young virtuoso French fiddle player, Raphael Maillet, we have recently been working with, and who will be touring with us in the USA.

We recorded 6 songs completely live – 5 brand new originals:

• The Captain
• Tequila and High Heels
• The Cat Song
• Bet Good Money
• She Got There First

… and also a longtime audience and band favorite, a song called Carolina that we got from a CD by Kate McKenzie.”

You can find the entire US tour schedule on the band’s web site.

After touring the past two years in Ireland with Janet Holmes and Colin Henry of Belfast, Gary has made it official. Ferguson, Holmes and Henry have started recording and will be touring again in Ireland in September under their new name. They will focus on the original material written by the three of them.

Gary and Janet play guitar, Colin guitar, banjo and resonator guitar, and Gary’s son Chris Ferguson is on bass. All three of the named principals are featured vocalists.

Ferguson says that they have plans for an EP, and perhaps a full length CD. He is working on getting them over here to the states for a bit of touring as well.

You can hear some of their music on the new Ferguson, Holmes and Henry MySpace page.