Casey Henry has agreed to send us occasional updates from The American Revival Tour, where she is performing with Dixie Bee-Liners. Also on the tour are Sierra Hull & Highway 111 and headliners Uncle Earl.

Here is Casey’s report.

Do you remember the song that Madeline Kahn sings in Blazing Saddles: I’m Tired? It has the bit about “coming and going and going and coming and,” well, I’ll stop right there. But if I had to pick a theme song for the last few days of this tour, that would be it. It seems like FOREVER since I wrote my last post about the tour, but it was only a week and a half ago!

Since then we’ve been to Baton Rouge, Houston, Fayetteville, AR, Springfield, MO, Bowling Green, KY, and Knoxville, TN. We’ve had two computer crashes (Sierra Hull’s and KC Groves), one lost wallet (Sierra’s), one minor van repair (when Cory Walker’s computer blew one of their van’s fuses), and one case of laryngitis (Kristin Andressean), but no major disasters.

There have been some great moments as well, like when Uncle Earl pulled together and rearranged all their songs when Kristin couldn’t sing (the show must go on…). Uncle Earl also wrote and recorded a theme song for the daily tour blog (which is over on the Murphy Method Blog). They even sang it on stage one night!

At a coffeeshop called Coffee and Chocolate in downtown Knoxville we discovered that they had Kopi Luwak, a kind of coffee beans harvested from the forest floor in Sumatra after having been eaten and excreted by cat-like creatures called Luwaks. They roast the beans just like regular coffee, but they are highly prized for their unique flavor. We’ve been talking about this kind of coffee for years and we could not pass up the opportunity to try it. A two ounce package cost us $60 and we split it eight ways. The coffee (which they brewed in a french press) was very good. It had a very earthy flavor. But… It was so not worth paying $480 a pound.

Oftentimes on tour the best moments occur serendipitously. In Bowling Green Jeremy Darrow and I were walking around near the theater and we ran across a micro-distillery called Corsair. Their door was open, so we went in, met one of the owners, and he gave us an impromptu tasting and a little history of their business. A great find.

In Knoxville I ran across Morelock Music, which which was right around the corner from The Square Room, where we played. Matt Morelock has put together a charming store that combines instruments, LPs, consignment vintage clothing, and music lessons. This huge banjo, which reached from floor to ceiling, made me feel right at home.

In Arkansas we drove right by Janet Davis Music. Unfortunately it was on a Sunday, and they were closed, but one of the guys who worked there had come to the show the night before and offered to let us in if we wanted to stop by anyway. We didn’t have time, but I’ve always wanted to see her store.

Adam Steffey and his wife Tina came to the show in Knoxville. I’m glad I didn’t know that until after our set or else I would have been more nervous.

We have three more shows to go on our tour. When it’s over it will be one of those sad/glad moments: sad for such a great time to come to an end, but very glad to be going home!

Dale Ann Bradley will be collaborating next year with her old friend and former employee, Michael Cleveland, when she goes on the road with his band, Flamekeeper, for select shows next year. These dates will bill as Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper with special guest Dale Ann Bradley, with Jim Roe of Roe Entertainment handling the booking and arrangements.

These dates will feature Michael and Flamekeeper doing a one hour set, after which Dale Ann will join them for 30-45 minutes of her material with Michael and his band providing accompaniment.

Cleveland explained how this pairing came together.

“Tony Williams, promoter of the Kentucky Lake Bluegrass Festival, had booked Dale Ann Bradley and our band on the same show this year and he had an idea to have Dale Ann and Flamekeeper do a jam set at the end of the festival on that Saturday night. Tom Adams, Jesse Brock and myself had worked in Dale Ann’s band years ago, so we were pretty familiar with her older material.

We had so much fun playing that show together and we talked about it for days after. So the idea of teaming up with a package show like this seemed exciting and fun for all of us. I always enjoy getting to play music with her and I know what an incredible singer she is. Dale Ann can take any song, whether it be an original, or a standard and make it her own and I’m really looking forward to doing some shows together.”

Only a limited number of dates will be available for this show, as both acts maintain active schedules on their own. It seems likely that audiences, especially for indoor concert settings, will appreciate being able to see the 3-time IBMA Instrumental Group of the Year (Flamekeeper), 7-time Fiddle Player (Cleveland), reigning Bass player (Marshall Wilborn) and mandolin player (Jesse Brock), and the 3-time Female Vocalist (Bradley) in one, all-star show.

Dale Ann is eager to see these shows come to be.

“When I went out on my own, Michael Cleveland as well as Jesse Brock and Tom Adams were the musical glue that held it all together. Watching Michael play the fiddle with his signature drive and sensitivity…man, he’s something else. I am thrilled to be sharing a stage with him and all of the guys in Flamekeeper.”

Sounds like a fun show.

Two shows are scheduled: Saturday (11/21) from 2:00-8:00 p.m. at Bob Mackey’s Music World in Wilder, KY and Sunday (11/22) from 2:00-9:00 p.m. at the Freedom Worship Center in Franklin, OH. The shows are both billed as The Weekend For Jim, with suggested donations of $10 to help defray his medical expenses.

Several bands will play each day, and door prizes will be awarded at both shows. Banjo man Johnny Butten will also be on hand to attempt a new Guinness record for the longest continuous playing of the banjo.

If you are unable to attend the shows and would like to make a donation, they can be sent to:

Or you may find sidemen touring together while their primary musical employers are taking some time off for the holidays. There are two such mini-tours for the end of 2009 that should be of interest to bluegrass and acoustic music fans.

First up, The Nedski-Mojo Show, which began this past weekend, and continues through next week. It features banjo picker Ned Luberecki, who performs with both Chris Jones and Larry Cordle, and guitarist Stephen Mougin, who works with Sam Bush. Both are superb musicians and singers, and Ned could easily hold forth for half the show as a stand up comedian.

They have a string of concerts and workshops along the east coast leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday and you can be sure to catch a highly entertaining and musically challenging program if they stop near you. A full list of dates can be found on Facebook.

Then in December, mandolinists Adam Steffey and Kym Warner will tour together briefly in Virginia and Maryland, billed as Mandolin Sessions.

Steffey may be the most prominent bluegrass mando man in the biz these days. He has been named Mandolin Player of the Year six times by the IBMA, and his current CD and DVD releases are hits with the public. Most folks first came to know his music when he was a member of Alison Krauss & Union Station, and he has toured since with Mountain Heart and now, Dan Tyminski.

Warner is a founding member of The Greencards, a fascinating, genre-bending outfit of acoustic musicians who formed in the US, though none were native born. Kym hails from Australia, but lives now in Nashville.

You can find information about the Mandolin Sessions dates at Mandolin Cafe.

They will perform as an acoustic duo, with both contributing on guitar and vocals. Nershi and Law recorded together in 2006 as Honkytonk Homeslice, along with Nershi’s wife Jillian.

Here is a taste of their show.

Van Ghost will open each show on the tour. You can details on all these dates on the Nershi-Law web site.

The road winds through the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests in Virginia, and the Pisgah and Nantahal in North Carolina. Almost every mile avoids population centers of any kind, and with easy access off and on along the way, is a tourist favorite for its spectacular mountain vistas of the Blue Ridge region.

Of course this region has been home to a great deal of bluegrass and old time music, and the seminal artists who defined it. The National Parks Service and the National Council for the Traditional Arts jointly operate a venue near Galax, VA to acknowledge the musical history of the area, The Blue Ridge Music Center.

The Parkway is celebrating 2010 as their 75th Anniversary with a full year’s worth of special events along the way. Things kick off this Saturday with a benefit show near Asheville, NC featuring what will surely be a memorable musical aggregation.

Billed as The Blue Ridge All Stars, this one-time grouping of musicians born and bred in the VA/NC mountain region includes Doyle Lawson on mandolin, Sammy Shelor on banjo, Bryan Sutton on guitar, Jim Van Cleve on fiddle and Tim Surrett on bass.

Jim told us that Bryan Sutton put the group together.

“Bryan Sutton called me back in April or May about this show, and it’s something I’ve been looking forward to ever since then! It’s a big honor to be involved in a BIG SHOW of this nature, and the band Bryan has assembled will be a BLAST to play with!!!”

Singer/songwriter Nanci Griffith is also on the show, which will be held in the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium at the Asheville Civic Center. Proceeds from the show will go towards the funding for the 75th Anniversary events during 2010.

You can find full concert details on the BRP 75th site.

The second week of the American Revival Tour (The Dixie Bee-Liners, Sierra Hull and Highway 111, and Uncle Earl) started in the cute, cute little town of Newberry, SC. Since we had driven down from Virginia on Tuesday, we had all Wednesday morning before the show to do whatever we wanted. Hiking was what we Bee-Liners wanted to do, so we Googled a hiking spot and took off for Lynch’s Woods at the crack of dawn. (It’s funny how nine o’clock can feel like the crack of dawn…) After a refreshing couple of hours stomping through the woods in the crisp fall air we all felt refreshed and renewed.

The hotel in Newberry is directly across the street from the Opera House, and I cannot express how awesome it is to be able to walk from one to the other. We carried our instruments across the street, soundchecked, then came back to our rooms to change, so we didn’t have to haul all our suitcases into the dressing rooms. The Opera House is really old, has been beautifully renovated, and is the only theater I’ve ever seen that has individual chairs for the side seating. Someone commented, “It looks like a president could be shot here,” somewhat morbidly referring to its resemblance to Ford’s Theater. The crowd was disappointingly small, but it was a Wednesday night, after all.

I’m getting the feeling that this tour is a well-kept secret. Those who know about it and come just love it, but not that many people know! I talked to a local banjo-player friend of mine after we played the Orange Peel in Asheville and she said she only heard about the show two or three days before, when it’s been booked for months!

While on tour there are always unexpected things that need to be taken care of, errands that need to be run, fires that need to be put out (metaphorically speaking!). Sierra experienced a computer crash leaving her out of touch for a few days, and seriously hampering her doing her school work while on the road. She and her manager Claire Armbruster took off early one morning so that they could stop by a Mac store before load-in time. Her computer required a new hard drive, which the warranty covered, but it’s back up and running.

Monday night’s show got moved from the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta to the much smaller Red Light Café. When we heard we were a bit disappointed to be in such a small venue. But as it turned out, I think it was a good move. The Red Light was full of people, but the same number of folks spread out in theater seating would have looked like fewer and wouldn’t have created the same sense of energy. There were certainly disadvantages, like no dressing rooms and no backstage area, but the advantages outweighed them. And it was fun trying to squeeze all sixteen people on the small stage for the finale.

We’re just over the half-way point for the tour and, so far, we’re still going strong. We were all sad to say goodbye to Ron Block, whose last show was in Atlanta. Sierra’s regular banjo player Cory Walker will be taking over from here on out (except that Ron will be back for the Knoxville gig on Nov. 18th). You can read daily tour blogs over on the Murphy Method blog.

In case you want to catch the show, here are the remaining dates:

• Wednesday, Nov. 11th – Baton Rouge, LA – Manship Theater
• Thursday, Nov. 12th – The Woodlands, TX – Dosey Doe Coffee House
• Saturday, Nov. 14th – Fayetteville, AR – Baum Walker Hall Walton Arts Center
• Sunday, Nov. 15th – Springfield, MO – JK Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts @ MSU
• Tuesday, Nov. 17th – Bowling Green, KY – Capitol Arts Center @ WKU
• Wednesday, Nov. 18th – Knoxville, TN – The Square Room
• Friday, Nov. 20th – Glen Ellyn, IL – McAninch Arts Center, Mainstage
• Saturday, Nov. 21st – Hamilton, OH – Parrish Auditorium @ Miami University
• Sunday, Nov. 22nd – Pittsburgh, PA – Byham Theater

Rhonda posted a number of photos from the show on her Facebook page, and there is also a very nice slide show of images online, taken by Heather Byrd of The Tennessean.

Looks like it was a fun show.

Blue Highway played their first show on New Year’s Eve in 1994 with Tim Stafford on guitar, Shawn Lane on mandolin, Wayne Taylor on bass, Jason Burleson on banjo and Rob Ickes on resonator guitar. With that 15th anniversary drawing nigh, the band consists of these same 5 musicians, a testament both to the five of them as individuals, and to the way they run the group.

True, Burleson did take about a year off in the late ’90s (with Tom Adams filling the void), but he returned in short order and has never looked back.

Blue Highway has always been run as a true democratic entity, with all band decisions being made by equal votes among the members. No one is the leader, though they may each take the lead in certain tasks a band must perform. These guys obviously understand the value of the whole, and have kept egos from destroying something this unique and fine for 15 years – no small feat, that.

When the band got started, their intention was for it to be a part time venture. Tim Stafford had recently left Alison Krauss & Union Station, and Rob Ickes had left Lynn Morris, and neither wanted to be back on the road full time. After their first two Rebel releases, demand was such that a return to the highway was indicated, and that was the direction they took.

The band has a page on their web site dedicated to this anniversary year, with an extensive array of photos from over the years collected and sent in by fans. Rounder is set to release an anniversary CD, and a special anniversary concert is scheduled for December 18.

The CD, Some Day: Fifteenth Anniversary Collection (1/19/10), will include 13 tracks. 9 are culled from the band’s 4 previous Rounder albums, 1 comes from an Ickes solo project, 2 are fresh songs, newly recorded, and 1 is a re-recording of the title track, an enduring staple of their live show.

The full track listing follows (new tracks *):

The concert on 12/18 was as close as they could get to New Year’s Eve. It will be held in Roanoke, VA at the historic Jefferson Center at 7:30 p.m. Scheduled to be a festive affair, the band is eager to celebrate their anniversary with fans and friends before closing their touring for 2009 and heading off to spend the Christmas season with loved ones.

They expect to have copies of the new CD at the Anniversary Show, and concertgoers who purchase the VIP ticket will receive an autographed copy at the show, along with an invitation to attend the post-show reception.

Hats off to Blue Highway – here’s to 15 more!

If you live within WSM’s very wide broadcast footprint, you can hear the show on 650-AM. If not, it will also be streamed live online from 7:00-9:00 p.m. The format brings four bands to the stage, emceed by Jim Lauderdale and Eddie Stubbs, with artist interviews conducted live by Craig Havighurst.

The Grascals have been enjoying their richly-deserved time in the spotlight this past few years. With a trio of critically-acclaimed albums and multiple IBMA awards, these guys (and gal) have been burning up the highway, keeping a very busy tour schedule.

Less well known (for now) is The Josh Williams Band. Regular readers of The Bluegrass Blog have seen our occasional mentions of Williams, a very talented, young artist who, at the age of 29, has already had the eye of the IBMA on him for 16 years. At age 13, he was singled out to be included in a group of Youth All Stars at the IBMA show, along with Chris Thile, Michael Cleveland, Cody Kilby and Brady Stogdill. Here he is in that illustrious company – on banjo – which foretold much of what we have seen from these fine pickers since that day.

Josh had memorable stints with Special Consensus and Rhonda Vincent in his late teens and early twenties, and has now struck out on his own. His third solo project will be released by Pinecastle in February, and The Josh Williams Band will soon begin recording their debut CD.

They had a very strong showing at IBMA 2009, and we spoke with Jim Roe of Roe Entertainment, who books Josh, about the impact of their high profile during World Of Bluegrass.

“Their main stage showcase went really, really well. They played a number of late night showcases in 2008, and I heard from several people that the band sounded much more mature this year, and that Josh looked really confident fronting his band.”

When we caught them at IBMA, the band consisted of Josh on guitar and lead vocals, Jason McKendree on banjo, Randy Barnes on bass and Scott Napier on mandolin. Greg Blaylock is often seen with them on resonator guitar, though not a regular member of the group. I also saw them in 2008, and can agree that this past year has seen Josh develop into a future star in bluegrass music.

Roe related another story about this very subject…

“A festival promoter that had the band for a show early in 2009 called me after the festival, and shared with me how much he enjoyed their performance, but pointed out a few areas where he thought they could improve. After seeing them at IBMA last month, he has decided to have them back next year.

With a full year as a front man under his belt, Josh is a lot more comfortable in his new role.”

Josh is excited about playing Music City Roots tonight. In addition to Josh and The Grascals, the show will also include music from James Intveld and Shawn Byrne.

Not to be outdone by NewFound Road and the folks on the American Revival Tour, Josh sent along a few Halloween photos of his own, taken at their Saturday show at The Station Inn. Josh’s dad, Tony Williams, also provided a play-by-play…

The Halloween Hoot from the world famous Station Inn, in Nashville, Tennessee, night before last(October 31, 2009 proved to be a blast, as expected!

The evening’s edition of the Josh Williams Band included from stage left to stage right: Resophonic guitar genius, Willie P. Richardson, (aka Greg Blaylock, the pride of Dickson, TN.) former President, and banjoist extraordinaire, Abraham Lincoln (aka Jason “Jaymack” McKendree), one of history’s finest guitar players and lead singers, Wyatt Earp (aka Josh Williams), the always bloodthirsty, King of blood-suckers, and the acoustic upright bass, “The Count” Vlad Randolph Barnes (aka Randy Barnes), and with guest mandolinist, and traveler of the high seas, Long John Frank, (aka Ashby Frank).

The house was packed with guests from Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Florida, and no doubt more, to hear this good-looking and picturesque Rogue’s gallery, who kept the crowd entertained through two excellent sets of the finest quality Bluegrass and Americana music for a little over two and one half hours. Excellent audio engineer and legendary Lonesome River Band producer and engineer, Tim Austin, did an outstanding job on the sound board, keeping the incredible band well heard, and noise free for the entire length of the show.

In the audience, along with many people in street attire, one could observe, Raggedy Andy, several vampires, zombies, and a trio of folks with horns protruding from the heads. The staff at the Inn included beautiful Swiss misses Emily and Jess. Two separate groups of young ladies added international presence, good friends of First Lady, Amelia Aerheart-Lincoln (Carolyn Klassen McKendree) attending as part of a visit with their friend, all from the Canadian province of Manitoba, in and around the town of Winkler, Carolyn’s home-town. Another group of lovely young Japanese ladies were attending, and seemed to thoroughly enjoy all the band members, and their very entertaining show.

All in all, I’d say this was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen at the Station Inn, in the twenty-odd years I’ve been attending performances there.

Casey Henry has agreed to send us occasional updates from The American Revival Tour, where she is performing with Dixie Bee-Liners. Also on the tour are Sierra Hull & Highway 111 and headliners Uncle Earl.

Here is Casey’s report.

The arrival of November saw The Dixie Bee-Liners, Uncle Earl, and Sierra Hull and Highway 111 burning up the roads of the southeast in the first week of our much anticipated tour – American Revival: Celebrating the New Stars of American Roots Music.

When three bands of young-ish people get to travel together for four weeks, hi jinx will ensue. We have a long-running tour game involving sausage, but I’ll leave that for another time. Our most fun show, by far, was Halloween at the American Theater in Hampton, VA. Buddy Woodward, Bee-Liner mandolin player, is great at zombie makeup and we took full advantage of his talents. He also helped out Sierra’s band, giving fiddler Christian Ward a slash across the face, bassist Jacob Eller a bullet hole in the head, and transforming guitarist Clay Hess into a very convincing wolf-man. Ron Block went as Ron Howard—no makeup needed! Uncle Earl was four bad witches and one good witch.

Punch Brothers Chris “Critter” Eldridge and Noam Pikelny came for the night’s show. Critter dressed as a Christmas party guest, complete with battery-powered lights. Noam borrowed a spare witch hat and grey wig from Uncle Earl. They joined the Earl girls on stage to sing Happy Birthday to their fiddler, Stephanie “Pumpkin” Coleman, who turned 24.

Our post-show Halloween celebration took place at a little martini bar down the street—Six—where we had tapas and cocktails and played with the motorized witch hat KC Groves had found at the grocery store. It played Ding, Dong, The Witch Is Dead, and wagged its bell-adorned, pointed tip merrily back and forth.

Monday night we played at the Birchmere in Alexandria, a legendary bluegrass venue. For most of the Bee-Liners it was the first time we’d played there and we were honored to get to take the stage where the Seldom Scene ruled for so long. I actually had my fifteenth birthday party at the Birchmere. My parents took me and a group of my friends to see the Johnson Mountain Boys play. My friend Nancy Peterson, who came to the show last night, was at that party. She said it was like coming full circle, getting to see me play on that same stage.

Today is a travel day—more than 500 miles down to South Carolina. The Bee-Liners are stopping by WAMU this morning to play a little in-studio music and then hitting the road.

For more pictures and anecdotes, see Sierra Hull’s blog. I feel this must be the most-blogged-about bluegrass tour ever!

Casey Henry has agreed to send us occasional updates from The American Revival Tour, where she is performing with Dixie Bee-Liners. Also on the tour are Sierra Hull & Highway 111 and headliners Uncle Earl.

Here is Casey’s first report.

I’m composing this email while backstage at the Birchmere, waiting for our sound check. Week 2 of the American Revival Tour is about to commence, starting with gigs in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia – and I’d just like to point out that some of them are not that far from Charlotte and Waxhaw (hint, hint).

• Wed. Nov. 4th – Newberry, SC – Newberry Opera House – 7:30 p.m.
• Thurs. Nov. 5th – Morganton, NC – Municipal Auditorium (CoMMA) – 7:30 p.m.
• Fri. Nov. 6th – Greensboro, NC – Carolina Theater – 8:00 p.m.
• Sun. Nov. 8th – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel – 8:00 p.m.
• Mon. Nov 9th – Atlanta, GA – Red Light Cafe – 7:30 p.m. —NOTE—This show was originally supposed to be at the Variety Playhouse and has been MOVED!! If you’ve already bought tickets, they’re still good!!!!! (Though the Red Light Cafe website hasn’t been updated yet.)

Our complete tour schedule can be found on The Dixie Bee-Liners website.

If you want to see how the tour is going so far, I’ve been blogging every day over on The Murphy Method blog. And I must say, we had some pretty awesome halloween costumes.

Hope to see some of y’all at the shows!

Billed as The American Revival Tour - Celebrating The New Stars Of American Roots Music, this road show will include 19 shows in 25 days, each with performances from Dixie Bee-Liners, Sierra Hull & Highway 111, and Uncle Earl.

The tour starts in Raleigh, NC on October 29 and wanders through NC, VA, SC and GA until the second week on November, when they head down to Louisiana and Texas. After a swing through the middle of the country, the road show concludes in Pittsburgh on November 22.

All three bands are female fronted – at minimum. Uncle Earl is comprised of five talented women, Dixie Bee-Liners is half-and-half, and Sierra Hull manages a quartet of fellas in her band.

We asked Tobias Tumarkin, who is producing this tour for Columbia Artists Management, whether they had planned to make this a spotlight for the ladies from the start.

“We didn’t plan for it to work out that way, but when it looked like that was the way it was headed, we liked it, and even considered making a reference to that in the title before deciding to go with American Revival.

What we wanted was to find groups that were up and coming and whom we felt would do a great job in appealing to theatre crowds who are often different than fans that you would usually find at Bluegrass Festivals. We wanted to expand the audiences of the band and introduce great new bands to audiences that might not already know these groups.

In coming up with the specific bands we worked closely with Michael Jaworek of the Birchmere. Michael has a vast knowledge of bands from all over the country and acted as an advisor and helped us reach out to make contact with the bands we wanted to work with.”

Uncle Earl will be headlining the show, and KC Groves, who plays guitar, mandolin and bass with the group, is raring to go.

“We’ve so excited be a part of this series and hope that we can, by playing to some new audiences, spread the joy that we know bluegrass and old time music can bring.”

Brandi Hart of Dixie Bee-Liners explained how they came to be a part of this tour…

“We were selected for the American Revival tour after a representative from Columbia Artists Management saw our official showcase at World of Bluegrass 2008.  Of course, we were thrilled to be chosen, and we immediately began working with Pinecastle Records to fast-track the release of Susanville. We are always thinking 2-3 albums ahead, and we’d been writing Susanville for about five years. However, when the CD release was accelerated to coincide with American Revival, we jumped into high gear.

We’ve also been saving back a special bonus track for the American Revival tour. For the time being, this track will only be available to American Revival concertgoers who participate in our ‘Textual Activity’ promotion. Fans should bring their cell phones to shows (in silent mode, please!) and be prepared to get textual with The Dixie Bee-Liners this fall. More information is coming soon at www.dixiebeeliners.com!”

Susanville will be released on November 3, and audio samples from all 19 tracks can be heard online. It’s a concept album about life on the road, with a very creative packaging theme.

You can find all the details about The American Revival Tour online as well.

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.

Casey was tapped to play fiddle on Béla Fleck’s Throw Down Your Heart tour earlier this year, along with a number of the African musicians who were featured in the film and CD of the same name.

While on the road with the show, Casey captured a great many images with his camera, with the best of them displayed on his web site.

Casey agreed to let us show a few of the photos here, but a trip to his site will let you see them all.

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.

From a group of pickers at the 1984 Diamond Lure Bluegrass Festival in Ellijay, GA, SEBA has grown to more than 800 members, with 9 chapters in 3 states (GA, TN, SC). Their web site contains an exhaustive listings of events near their chapter cities, including SEBA sponsored jams and pickings, appearances by local (member) bands, and festivals, workshops and concerts throughout the southeastern US.

Their Silver Anniversary Superstar concert will be held on October 24 at the Gwinnett Performing Arts Center in Duluth, 30 miles north of Atlanta. Headlining are two award-winning bluegrass acts that despite their many successful recordings, are only rarely found performing live: Longview and The Daughters of Bluegrass.

Longview consists of top bluegrass artists JD Crowe on banjo, Ron Stewart on fiddle, Don Rigsby on mandolin and vocals, Lou Reid on guitar and vocals, James Kinhg on guitar and vocals, and Marshall Wilborn on bass. They have 3 albums on Rounder Records, most recently Deep In The Mountains in 2008. Membership has varied substantially since the band launched in 1995, designed to showcase traditional bluegrass.

Similarly, Daughters Of Bluegrass formed to showcase the many talented ladies who pick and sing. They have 3 CDs, also featuring a large varied cast of characters, primarily organized by North Carolina band leader Lorraine Jordan. More than 4 dozen top female artists have recorded with this group, tanging from fresh-faced teens to, well… highly-experienced women. For the 10/24 show, the band will consist of Dale Ann Bradley on guitar, Gena Britt-Tew on banjo, Frances Mooney on bass, Tina Adair Dishman on mandolin, Lisa Ray on fiddle, Lorraine Jordan on mandolin, Jeanetta Williams aon bass, and Mindy Rakestraw on guitar – all contributing as vocalists.

Before the show, SEBA will sponsor a full day of workshops, including sessions with Ron Stewart on banjo and fiddle, Don Rigsby on mandolin and vocals, and Dale Ann Bradley on guitar. You can see the full workshop schedule online.

Congratulations to SEBA for their Silver Anniversary – here’s to 25 more!

His first introduction to bluegrass fans came when he joined New Grass Revival in 1974, where he held forth as bass player and lead vocalist until the group disbanded in 1990. Championed by legions of remaining fans, NGR pushed their share of boundaries, and John’s rock and blues-inflected vocals shaped much of their distinctive sound.

Since then, he has worked with Sam Bush, The Doobie Brothers and others while continuing to release solo projects, eventually forming his own group, The John Cowan Band, whose recording career began in 2002. Cowan’s band and his current sound owe much to the “newgrass style” he helped pioneer, and his road show reflects that vibe as well.

His latest release, Comfort & Joy, was released October 13 on Koch Records, and it may come as a surprise to a lot of his fans. It’s a Christmas CD that pairs John’s soaring vocals with some familiar and beloved favorites, arranged for acoustic stringed instruments.

John shared some thoughts with us about the CD, starting with what led him to this theme.

“It was an idea that had been floating around since I sang Please Come Home for Christmas by Charles Brown for a Christmas record produced by Chuck Rhodes last year for Koch records. I had been very familiar with Charles’ original version, though most people nowadays may associate that song with The Eagles. I really enjoyed it, and it sort of set me to thinking about a Christmas CD.”

I wondered if it struck him as odd to be recording Christmas music “out of season.”

“Perhaps, but music is everything to me, it’s mostly what I think about 24/7. Other than it being early July, it was just part of the creative process for all of us.”

Speaking of “all of us,” I asked who recorded with John for Comfort & Joy.

“Our band, primarily: Jeff Autry on acoustic guitar and vocals, John Frazier on mandolin and vocals, Shad Cobb on fiddle and vocals, and our wonderful drummer Bryon Larrance. We had quite a few guests: Charlie Chadwick on upright bass, John Mock on gut-string guitar and pennywhistle, Jim Hoke on autoharp, Kenny Malone on percussion, Tom Britt on acoustic finger-picked guitar/slide.

Our producer Walter Carter arranged all the music and led the mandolin quartet with Matt Flinner and John Frazier. We had some amazing guest vocalists. My step-daughter Jenny Anne Mannan wrote a new tune Little Match Girl which she sang as a duet with me. Also Mike Farris joined me, Bonnie Bramlett, and her daughter Bekka on Let’s Make A Baby King and Go Tell It On The Mountain.

It was quite hectic actually as we (JCB) were on a month long tour during the pre-production phase of this record. I got great suggestions from my wife, Carol, and then Walter had a few song ideas, as did I.

I basically asked Walter Carter to do the lion’s share of the work – songs, arrangements, players – as I was swamped at the time. I already knew what songs I wanted to sing, but I was very open to Carol and Walter’s suggestions.”

The songs include a mix of sacred and secular – The Christmas Song, O Holy Night, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, I’ll Be Home For Christmas – but the one that really stands out for me is John’s plaintive rendition of Schubert’s Ave Maria.

“I have to say Ave Maria is the one I really sweated and obsessed over the most of all these timeless songs. I must have sung it 20 or 30 times.

I am a huge Luciano Pavarotti fan, and most people associate this song with his amazing rendering of it. That was one reason we decided to do it in English. Also being a Christian, I found the translation to be so simple, yet revealing. It is basically just the simple Catholic prayer Hail Mary Full of Grace.”

The John Cowan Band will start a 2009 Christmas Tour shortly where they will perform music from the new CD.

Audio samples from Comfort & Joy can be found on John’s MySpace page and in iTunes. This music suits John’s voice perfectly, and he does a brilliant job on this album.

Another opportunity comes up this weekend, when the Friends of Eddie & Martha Adcock host a benefit concert on Sunday (10/25) for these longtime bluegrass troopers at Nashville’s storied Station Inn.

Eddie has been performing on banjo since the early 1950s, including stints with Bill Monroe and (most memorably) with The Country Gentlemen in the ’60s. After leaving that group, he and Martha fronted a number of acts (IInd Generation and Talk Of The Town) before settling in to performing as a duo, which they have done for many years.

The Bluegrass Blog posted several times last year about Eddie’s pioneering deep brain surgery to correct a disabling hand tremor. Prior to the surgery, he was unable to play the banjo for the shaking in his hands, but since the implantation of electrical leads in his brain, he is again able to pick – and play his trade.

Though the surgery has been an amazing success, its outcome wasn’t certain when it was scheduled in 2008. The Adcocks were unwilling to book shows until Eddie’s capability to perform was demonstrated, and as a result, they have been unable to work for the past 18 months. Sunday’s concert is designed to raise some cash to assist them financially, and to remind promoters that Eddie & Martha are back, and looking forward to performing regularly in 2010 and beyond.

The show will feature performances by The Whites, Jerry Douglas, Gene Johnson, Jesse McReynolds, Don Wayne Reno, Randy Waller, The Harley Allen Band, Missy Raines & The New Hip and many others. Music begins at 7:00 p.m. and a donation of $20 is requested, though larger donations are most welcome.

Those who are unable to attend can send a contribution, payable to:

Not only have the Adcocks dedicated their lives to bluegrass music, their personal generosity is well known to a great many friends all over the world. Their annual bluegrass Benefit For The Homeless is a Nashville tradition, one which will be continued by Eddie & Martha.

Hat’s off to Terry Comer, the “Bluegrass dentist” of Franklin, TN and his assistant Patty Mitchell who have arranged the 10/25 show, the many artists who are donating their time, and the fans and friends who will support the Adcocks through this venture.

On behalf of The Bluegrass Blog, we ask any of our readers who are in a position to do so, to please consider making a contribution of your own.

His first big hit came in 1973 with Uneasy Rider, a countryfied talking blues, years before the rap craze began. The hilarious song, following on the recent success of the Dennis Hopper film, Easy Rider, told the tale of a stranded, long-haired motorist who stumbles into the wrong bar looking for a phone in the deep South. It was a hit primarily in the rock music world, with a story that appealed to the “hippie” culture more than the country music world of the day, where Merle Haggard’s Okie From Muskogee had been a 1969 hit.

In 1978, Daniels’ Devil Went Down To Georgia was an even bigger hit, mixing a rock beat with an old time fiddle in a timeless story of dueling with the devil. Charlie worked the southern rock scene for many years, but always as a fiercely independent artist who went his own way. As pop and country formats moved away from his signature sound, he formed his own label, Blue Hat Records, and has released new projects annually, without regard for radio play.

In 2005, Charlie released his first bluegrass CD, Songs From The Longleaf Pines, featuring Earl Scruggs, The Del McCoury Band, Mac Wiseman, Doc Watson, Ricky Skaggs and Chris Thile. Since then, two other releases have featured substantial bluegrass content, while it is also included in his live show.

For the end of 2009, Daniels has a new CD/DVD project with a bluegrass Christmass theme. Joy To The World – A Bluegrass Christmas has an audio CD with 12 new studio tracks and a DVD with 10 live performances of the songs from the CD. The Grascals join Charlie for Christmas Time’s A Comin’, Dan Tyminski is on hand for The Christmas Song, and Kathy Mattea for O Come All Ye Faithful – on both discs.

Other guests include Aaron Tippin, Jewel, and Suzanne and Evelyn Cox.

Audio samples can be heard in iTunes, and the CD/DVD set is available from the Charlie Daniels web site and wherever recorded music is sold online.