The Grand Ole Opry is taking on a bluegrass flavor this weekend as the World Of Bluegrass prepares to descend on Nashville.

Tonight’s Friday Opry (9/26) will feature Del McCoury, Ricky Skaggs, The Whites, Grascals and Jesse McReynolds.

On Saturday night, they’ll have Del, Ricky and The Whites again along with Bobby Osborne and The Carolina Chocolate Drops.

The Friday Opry is broadcast from 9:00 to 11:00 p.m. (EST) and the Saturday show runs from 8:30 p.m. until 12:30 a.m. Both shows are available over the air in the Nashville market on WSM AM 650, on XM channel 11 (XM Nashville), and simulcast worldwide via online streaming at wsmonline.com.

Our Richard Thompson will be at The Opry tonight, so perhaps we will have a report from him tomorrow.

WAMU’s Bluegrass Country will be broadcasting live from the IBMA World Of Bluegrass in Nashville next week. Nearly a dozen hosts of WAMU’s online 24/7 bluegrass channel will be on hand sharing the microphone over six days on the air.

Broadcast times will be from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. (EDT) and 6:00-7:00 p.m. Monday through Friday (9/28-10/3), and again on Sunday (10/5) from 6:00-10:00 a.m. (EDT).

Unlike last year’s IBMA broadcast, which interspersed live interviews with pre-recorded music, the live remotes will primarily consist of live, in-studio performances and discussion with top bluegrass artists. The exceptions will be the Thursday afternoon shows which will focus on that night’s upcoming Awards Show, and the history of The Ryman Auditorium and Sunday’s remote broadcast of Stained Glass Bluegrass.

Highlights will include a live a capella set from Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, a trio set from Larry Cordle, Carl Jackson and Jerry Salley, sets from Cherryholmes, Lonesome River Band, Dailey & Vincent and Steep Canyon Rangers.

Oh… and an interview with John and Brance from The Bluegrass Blog on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. (EDT)!

We’ll post the daily schedules each morning from IBMA. You can listen to Bluegrass Country via audio streaming online, and via HD Radio in the Washington DC market (88.5-2).

Be sure to keep an eye on The Bluegrass Blog and an ear on WAMU’s Bluegrass Country throughout IBMA week.

UPDATE 9:48 a.m. We got a note from Jen Hitt at Bluegrass Country to tell us that she and the rest of the staff will be “tweeting” at IBMA as well. Their Twitter address is wamubluegrass.

We got a note from Ned Luberecki of Sirius Bluegrass this morning.

He’s at the Winfield festival, preparing to head home, and he and his Sirius cohort, Chris Jones, plan to shake things up a bit with today’s lineup.

“At 12 Noon today (Monday) Chris Jones and I will begin what we expect to be a 12 hour straight broadcast from the van on our way home from Winfield, KS to Nashville, TN. We’ve only done the moving broadcast a couple of times before, but never for this long. I am filling in for Joey Black’s afternoon shift this week (he’s on vacation) while Wade Jessen is filling in for me on the morning show.

Listeners can tune in and hear our progress along the way. If anyone is unfamiliar with what it’s like to travel 12 hours with a bluegrass band… this could give some valuable insight! Or it just might be goofy and fun.”

You can follow Ned and Chris’ excellent adventure on Sirius channel 65.

Family bluegrass band Cherryholmes is making its first attempts to cross over to country radio.

According to a Reuters/Billboard report, Cherryholmes is remixing - with added piano and drums - This Is My Son, one of the cuts from their forthcoming album, Cherryholmes III - Don’t Believe, and releasing it as a single to be promoted to country radio.

The band has a few other ambitious plans that make this fall a very busy time for them.

You can read the full story at reuters.com.

There are audio samples from the new CD at the Skaggs Family Records’ website.

Already a Grand Ole Opry veteran as a high school senior, bluegrass prodigy Sierra Hull has a very special appearance scheduled for tonight’s Friday Opry (9/19).

Sierra has a dozen or more Opry appearances under her belt, but those were all ones where she sat in or appeared alongside some other artist or Opry member. Now, with her debut Rounder CD, Secrets, doing well and her performance schedule staying full, her Opry spot tonight is all about Sierra.

“I’ve played the Opry usually a couple times a year since I’ve been about 10, but it’s always been with other people. It’s been about a year since I played last, and that was with Alison Krauss, Dan Tyminski, Ron Block, and Dennis Crouch. It’s always a big honor to get to play there for sure!

I’ve played one other time under my own name along with my brother when I was about 14 or so, but I kinda feel like this is really the first time. It will be the first time doing my own songs since having a record come out, so it’s very exciting!”

She will be performing with members of her road band, with a couple of special guests - Cory Walker on banjo, Jacob Eller on bass, Shane Blackwell on guitar, Cody Hull on guitar, Rob Ickes on resonator guitar and Sierra on mandolin and lead vocals.

“My brother and I hardly get to play together anymore, so I’m thrilled he can be part of this. We’re also so happy to have Rob come out and play with us. He’s amazing and a joy to get to pick with too!”

The Friday Opry can be heard from 9:00-11:00 p.m. (EDT) over the air at WSM 650 AM, broadcasting from Nashville, on XM channel 11 (XM Nashville), or via live streaming at wsmonline.com.

Sierra’s set is scheduled in the 10:30-11:00 segment.

I’m just barely old enough to remember bluegrass shows that ran on television in the early mornings. During the summer I could often find Don reno, Arthur Smith or sometimes even Flatt & Scruggs appearing on one of the early morning “farm shows” that ran before the morning news.

Before those days, such shows ran on radio and most nationally touring bluegrass acts had a home radio station where they would perform live each early morning. If the station had a good reach, the band could book shows throughout the listening area, and still get back each morning for the next show.

Straight Drive, from Hasbrouck Heights in New Jersey, starts a show this week that offers something of a throwback to those golden days of bluegrass radio.

On Wednesday mornings following the 7:30 a.m. news break, they will be featured during Susan Rose’s Bluegrass Breakfast show on WDVR-FM. The new mini-show, Straight Morning Drive, will run for 15 minutes, and is pre-recorded live.

Banjo player Terry McGill has had this concept brewing for some time.

“For a long time I have wanted to do a short radio program that would be recorded live and feature our brand of traditional bluegrass music. Our show will be run much like our regular stage show. It will feature traditional and original bluegrass music as well as old time duet singing. In between the songs I will tell about each song or talk with band members and generally have a good time.

During the 1940’s through the 1960’s there were many shows of this type throughout the US, but most had faded out or switched to records by the 1970’s. I feel that today’s listeners will enjoy the vintage feel of a live band on the airwaves.”

McGill went to WDVR with this show idea based on their ongoing support of traditional music, and since he feels like the station is run like radio was in an prior era.

In addition to McGill on banjo, Straight Drive features Jen Larson on guitar and vocals, Ronnie Feinberg on fiddle, Ben Fraker on mandolin, David Hampton on guitar, and Dave Gandin on bass.

WDVR broadcasts at 89.7 and 91.9 FM with coverage in the Delaware and Lehigh Valley of western NJ and in eastern PA. Their signal is also simulcast online via live streaming.

There are a number of opportunities to catch some special bluegrass programming and live music today (Friday, 9/12).

At 1:00 p.m. (EDT), Carrie Hassler will be interviewed on WorldWideBluegrass.com. Carrie will join WWB host Gracie Muldoon to talk about her latest CD, CHHR2, and what she and her band, Hard Rain, are up to heading into the IBMA convention at the end of this month.

Catch the live WWB stream online at worldwidebluegrass.com.

Then at 5:00 p.m. (EDT), The Dixie Be-Liners will be performing live on WNCW FM. They will be on the Studio B program, and highlight material from their latest CD, Ripe.

WNCW broadcasts on several FM frequencies in NW North Carolina, and streams their signal online at wncw.org.

Tonight’s Friday Opry also has some bluegrass on tap. Both Cherryholmes and Rhonda Vincent are scheduled - Cherryholmes between 9:00-9:30, and Rhonda in the final segment between 10:30-11:00. All times eastern.

Rhonda is set to appear during the same segment as country crooner Gene Watson, fueling speculation that they may perform their duet version of Together Again, from Watson’s current CD, Matters Of The Heart.

The Grand Ole Opry is carried over the air at WSM 650 AM, broadcasting from Nashville, on XM channel 11 (XM Nashville), or via live streaming at wsmonline.com.

The Infamous Stringdusters were featured last week on Acoustic Cafe. They joined host Rob Reinhart in the studio to talk about their latest CD (The Infamous Stringdusters), their songwriting process, and how they work together as a band.

Several tracks from the CD were also featured in the September 2 program, which can be heard online.

It runs just over 25 minutes and offers a nice look at the closeness of this unique band - and their somewhat twisted sense of humor.

Jayme Stone and Mansa Sissoko’s cross-cultural musical adventure, Africa To Appalachia, will be released in the US next Tuesday (September 9) with a lengthy tour of the states starting on September 15.

Stone, the Canadian banjoist, and Sissoko, a Malian kora player and vocalist, collaborate on the CD in a genre-bending mix of tones and styles. The music is beautiful and transparently recorded and, should be welcome to ears open to new and different sounds.

Audio samples and more details can be found on Jayme’s web site, where you can also find details for the tour stops on this upcoming tour.

Jayme and Mansa will also be performing tonight (9/4) on WNYC’s New Sounds program at 11:00 p.m. (EDT). The show is broadcast at 93.9 FM in New York City and streamed live at www.wnyc.org.

Archives are maintained on the WNYC site where you can listen to the show after the fact if you miss the Thursday night broadcast.

Blue Plate Special, the long-running noontime radio show on WDVX has a big dose of bluegrass on the program this week.

Today’s show (9/3) features Gold Heart a terrific young family bluegrass group from northern Virginia. The band is made up of the singing Gold sisters, Analise, Jocelyn and Shelby, and their dad Trent along with Zach Gilmer. Their harmony is emblematic of why family singing groups have had such an exalted place in the history of bluegrass, and they play with intensity and passion.

On Thursday (9/4) the raucous, jam-grass Hackensaw Boys will perform, followed by bluegrass bad boys Cadillac Sky on Friday. Expect C-Sky to preview material from their new CD, Gravity’s Our Enemy, released in August on Skaggs Family Records.

Blue Plate Special originates from Knoxville, TN, where it airs weekdays at noon (ET) on 102.9 and 105.9 FM, and via the WDVX streaming broadcast over the Internet. No audio archives, so be sure to listen live.

If it seems like The Grascals are everywhere these days… well maybe it’s because they are. They are showing up TV and radio every few days, and there are two more chances to catch them coming up.

The guys will be on tonight’s Tuesday Opry (9/2), performing in the 8:30-9:00 segment along with Jean Shepard. The Opry show is broadcast over the air on WSM AM-650 from Nashville from 8:00-10:00 p.m., and via live streaming at wsmonline.com. The show is also carried live on on XM channel 11 (XM Nashville).

Then tomorrow morning (9/3) Friday morning (9/5), they will be the guests on Studio Special, which runs on XM Satellite Radio’s Bluegrass Junction (XM 14). The show debuts at 8:00 a.m. (EDT) with a number of rebroadcasts over the next week or so.

• Saturday, September 6 at 11:00 a.m
• Sunday, September 7 at 6:00 p.m.
• Monday, September 8 at 8:00 p.m.
• Tuesday, September 9 at midnight
• Thursday, September 11 at 3:00 p.m.

The show features a live, in-studio performance from The Grascals, along with interviews and discussion with Studio Special host Kyle Cantrell - who tells us that this show was one the final appearances of former fiddler Jimmy Mattingly with the group. Kyle also mentioned that when they recorded this show back in March, the band had not yet publicly performed a number of the songs from their newest CD, Keep On Walkin’, which serves as the focus of this program.

Though Kyle Cantrell is taking Labor Day off at XM’s Bluegrass Junction, he has pre-programmed a new show to start this afternoon (9/1).

At 3:00 p.m. (EDT), you can hear a track-by-track run-through of Dan Tyminski’s recent Wheels album, with Dan joining Kyle for comment and discussion of each of the songs included on the CD.

The Tyminski program is set to air several times over the next two weeks, all times eastern.

• September 1 - 3:00 p.m.
• September 3 - 6:00 p.m.
• September 9 - 8:00 a.m.
• September 13 - 4:00 p.m.

Speaking of XM, their new Nashville studios were in the news last week, with coverage from WTVF NewsChannel 5 is Nashville. The story is posted online, with text, photos and video showing the new XM digs.

Bluegrass Underground, the new live performance radio show we posted about last month, debuts tonight (8/29) on WSM. The show features a live performance by The Steeldrivers, recorded August 16 more than 300 feet underground at Cumberland Caverns in McMinnville, TN.

The show’s premise is based around the unique environment where it is recorded, this underground cavern completely removed from any sound generated at the earth’s surface. Each month, a new episode will be taped before a live audience, using as few microphones as possible to capture the natural acoustic sound, and aired on the last Friday night of the month.

Producer Todd Mayo told us that this first concert taping was a sellout, and that The Steeldrivers put on a whale of a show. He also sent along some photos that demonstrate the dramatic surroundings where they record.

Here’s a video clip that gives an even better look at the concert hall.

Tennessee Shines is a new live music radio show which debuts tonight (8/27) on WDVX, broadcasting at 89.9 FM in Knoxville, TN and via live audio streaming at wdvx.xom. The two hour show will be hosted by Jim Lauderdale and broadcast live on the last Wednesday of each month from Knoxville’s historic Bijou Theater.

Tonight’s guests will be The SteelDrivers, Darrell Scott, Shawn Camp and the everybodyfields.

In addition to live performances from each of the musical guests, Jim will be chatting with the bands, finding out what they have been doing, and what they have on the horizon. He will also participating in a songwriters session with Shawn Camp and both Mike Henderson and Chris Stapleton from The SteelDrivers.

WDVX will be the base radio home for Tennessee Shines, and discussions are now underway to bring the show into wider syndication, and hopefully satellite radio as well.

Guests have been booked for the September edition of Tennessee Shines, and the lineup will be announced during this evening’s program. Tonight’s show is sold out, but tickets to attend future shows can be obtained through the Tennessee Theater box office, and as available, at the door.

Tune in from 7:00-9:30 p.m. to catch the debut program tonight.

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I like Pandora.com. The internet radio service is one of my two favorite (iLike is the other) ways to discover new music. Pandora might be shutting down soon however.

With the increase in royalty rates dictated by the CRB recently, Pandora is facing a situation in which 70% of their revenue will be eaten up by song royalties. That doesn’t leave a lot for paying the bills, and staff, let alone expansion.

Founder Tim Westergren says Pandora’s funding comes from venture capitalists who won’t be inspired to continue supporting a business who’s revenue model is broken.

We’re losing money as it is. The moment we think this problem in Washington is not going to get solved, we have to pull the plug because all we’re doing is wasting money. We’re funded by venture capital. They’re not going to chase a company whose business model has been broken. So if it doesn’t feel like its headed towards a solution, we’re done.

Jon Simson, of SoundExchange, has said Pandora needs to adopt a new business model that includes audio ads placed between songs, if it is to survive as a viable business. Pandora, however, doesn’t seem to keen on that idea. Pandora’s thinkers feel that such a model would be a turn off for listeners and simply drive them away.

Pandora is hoping for relief from Washington lawmakers, who they are hoping will alter the royalty system as it currently stands. They feel the disparity in revenue percentages paid by internet radio (70-300% depending on which internet station you talk to), when compared with satellite radio (6%) or terrestrial radio (0%), is unfair and should be amended.

On the other hand, SoundExchange points out that satellite radio brings in a total revenue of $115 per listener per year, whereas internet radio stations average only $3.50 per listener per year. Their argument is that the percentage must be higher to generate a similar amount of royalties for a similar amount of listening. The thought process being, if the internet radio stations can’t figure out how to earn income, that’s no one’s fault but their own.

On the one hand, I understand the sentiment. If I were the creator of a product, which others sold, and one retailer sold it for a price I liked while another told me they needed a steep discount because they couldn’t sell it for much, I might choose not to sell to that retailer.

On the other hand, at a time when the industry is hemorrhaging due to slumping CD sales, some revenue is better than none. I don’t buy the argument that the industry needs time to develop, it’s had the time and just hasn’t developed a revenue model that will generate the kind of royalty rate SoundExchange would like to see. But they are generating a royalty. 25% of something, is more than 70% of nothing.

If you want to learn more about the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), and their upcoming World Of Bluegrass convention in Nashville, you can tune in to Katy Daley’s show tomorrow (8/20) at 9:00 a.m. when she interviews Dan Hays, IBMA’s Executive Director.

Dan is also sure to pass along congratulations to Katy who is nominated for IBMA’s 2008 Bluegrass Broadcaster of the Year award.

Katy’s show is broadcast on WAMU’s Bluegrass Country Monday-Friday from 7:00 until 10:00 a.m., where they stream bluegrass online 24/7. The signal is simulcast on HD Radio in the Washington, DC metro area at 88.5-2.

Catch the interview at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning at www.bluegrasscountry.org.

The Grascals are scheduled to perform this Saturday (8/16) on The Grand Ole Opry, not only on the radio, but on the televised portion as well. They’ll be offering songs from their latest CD, Keep On Walkin’, and celebrating the two IBMA nominations they received yesterday.

An hour of Saturday’s Opry show is carried live on GAC TV, on Opry Live, which airs from 9:00-10:00 p.m. (EDT). The show will re-air on Sunday (8/17) at 1:00 a.m., again at noon and 7:00 p.m., and then again on Tuesday (8/19) at 8:00 p.m.

Catch the Opry radio show over the air from 8:00 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. at WSM 650 AM, broadcasting from Nashville, on XM channel 11 (XM Nashville), or via live streaming at wsmonline.com.

We mentioned yesterday that Rhonda Vincent was being considered in the second round of CMA voting for her duet with Gene Watson, an it turns out, The Gracsals are candidates in this last vote as well, in the Vocal Group Of The Year category.

Wouldn’t it be great to see several bluegrass acts among the CMA nominees?

If you’ve read about such award winning bluegrass radio programs as Cindy Baucom’s Knee-Deep In Bluegrass or Terry Herd’s Into The Blue, but couldn’t find them on a local station near you, Bluegrassmix.com offers the solution.

Bluegrassmix.com is a 24/7 streaming internet radio station that plays bluegrass and old traditional country music. They’ve just announced that these two award winning shows will now be included in their lineup.

We are so proud AND honored to annouce that Nationally known DJ’s, Cindy Baucom and Terry Herd, will be added to our broadcasting line-up!!!

Cindy Baucom’s Knee Deep in Bluegrass is scheduled to air on Wednesday nights 10 pm - 12 midnight EST.

Terry Herd’s Into the Blue is scheduled to air on Sunday mornings 9am - 12 noon EST.

The site/station was started in December of 2007 by Roger Randolph and Julie Raye. The two have many ideas and goals, adding these syndicated shows to the lineup was one of those goals.

So visit Bluegrassmix.com and tune in to some great bluegrass 24/7.

Ex-pat British banjo picker Johnny Butten will be among the guests on today’s (8/8) edition of Blue Plate Special on WDVX.

Johnny was born and raised in England where he learned to play bluegrass banjo as a boy, winning multiple competitions and joining a professional band while still in his teens. He moved to the US earlier in 2008 and now resides in Minnesota.

On Blue Plate Special he will surely be performing music from his new CD, Solo, and demonstrating the technique that earned him the title of World’s Fastest Banjo Player by the Guinness Book.

The show originates before a live audience from Knoxville, TN, where it airs at noon (EDT) on 102.9 and 105.9 FM. You can also catch Johnny and his banjo online via the WDVX streaming Internet broadcast.

Knoxville’s own MBRC is also on the bill, an eclectic quartet who describe their sound as “new-timey grass-rock.”

In December of 2007 we told you the story of Bluegrass FM. An FM radio station that was starting a second station and pursuing an unusual business model. General Manager, Pete Stover, contacted us recently with an update and some more news.

The FCC has approved a request to increase the original station’s (WWED 89.5 in Fredericksburg, VA) power from 380 watts to 16,000 watts. Together with its sister station, WWEM 91.7 in Lynchburg, VA, Bluegrass FM broadcasts bluegrass music 24 hours a day in a non-commerical format.

The two stations are run as a private business, broadcast commercial free, and depend on corporate/business underwriting and listener support in a way similar to public radio.

This power increase is not without associated costs.

WWED will need to replace its current transmitter, antenna and antenna cable before the power increase can take effect. The project will cost an estimated $100,000 and will need to be raised from donations from listeners and corporate sponsors. Once the project funds are received, equipment can be ordered and installed.

Such changes will increase the station’s coverage dramatically toward Richmond, Charlottesville and Culpeper, as well as providing a denser and more listenable signal into portions of Northern Virginia south of Washington, D.C.

Completion of the power increase is anticipated in mid-2009.

I asked Pete how the new station in Lynchburg was fairing and he stared this report. (more…)