http://www.thebluegrassblog.com News at the speed of Bluegrass! Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:25:39 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en We are  deeply saddened to note that Allen Shelton passed away, November 21. After having been released from the hospital a week ago (11/13), he was readmitted on Thursday, slipped into unconsciousness on Friday and died on Saturday afternoon. Allen had been initially hospitalized in October, where he was diagnosed with ... http://www.thebluegrassblog.com/allen-shelton-1936-2009/ When we last spoke with Raymond McLain about the Bluegrass, Old Time & Country Music program at East Tennessee State University, they were in the process of seeking full accreditation to offer a four year Bachelor of Arts degree. McLain is the director of this program, which currently allows for ... http://www.thebluegrassblog.com/bluegrass-b-a-approved-at-etsu/ 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 ... http://www.thebluegrassblog.com/american-revival-tour%e2%80%94the-home-stretch/ Here's another interesting package show for 2010. 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 ... http://www.thebluegrassblog.com/dale-ann-with-michael-cleveland/ At IBMA this year I had the pleasure of spending some time visiting with Phil Elliott of Elliott Capos. As bluegrass conversations go, we talked about music, family, and church. One particular aspect of a conversation with Phil is that you're bound to talk shop about capos. Phil spends his ... http://www.thebluegrassblog.com/the-elliott-elite-capo/ Clay Hess has been making waves as a guitarist since he first hit the scene in a big way with Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder in the 1990s. He has since had a memorable stint with Mountain Heart, and is currently touring with Sierra Hull. Rick Hayes Instruments, makers of dreadnaught ... http://www.thebluegrassblog.com/clay-hess-and-his-rick-hayes-guitar/ Bluegrass folks in Kentucky and Ohio are getting together this weekend to raise money for Jim Chatfield, bass player with Shadez Of Blue and an on-air host on WorldWideBluegrass.com. Jim recently underwent quadruple bypass surgery following a heart attack, and the bluegrass community is banding together to provide some financial ... http://www.thebluegrassblog.com/the-weekend-for-jim/ Country crooner Dierks Bentley tells Vernell Hackett of The Boot that he plans to record a bluegrass album during 2010. Bentley has a long history of including bluegrass music on his chart-topping releases, and has collaborated several times with The Grascals and other Nashville grassers. He was a fixture on the ... http://www.thebluegrassblog.com/dierks-to-release-a-bluegrass-cd/ Cindy Baucom sent along a number of photos from this past weekend's debut North Carolina Banjo Clinic in Burnsville, NC. She was in attendance with her husband, Terry Baucom, and sent us this report. "Terry was an instructor, along with Tom Adams, Mike Scott, Jim Rollins and Bill Emerson. Josh Goforth worked ... http://www.thebluegrassblog.com/north-carolina-banjo-clinic-2/ We talked not long ago about the demise of Bluegrass Now, a fine print monthly which closed the doors about this time last year after 18 years in publication. Now it appears that Sing Out!, the venerable folk music mag, is approaching its 60 year anniversary in a very tenuous state. ... http://www.thebluegrassblog.com/pete-shouts-out-for-sing-out/ Sugar Hill Records has just released a download-only album in iTunes which consists of the Top 50 tracks from their deep catalog of bluegrass and Americana music. Members of the Sugar Hill staff chose the songs for this collection, which is offered for download at $19.99. The songs include early classics ... http://www.thebluegrassblog.com/sugar-hill-50-on-itunes/ We've been telling you about the works of art created by bluegrass painter Robert Yonke for a couple years now. He's painted some fantastic bluegrass scenes in the past, including the artwork for the 2008 IBMA World of Bluegrass. We've just learned that Yonke has recently been commissioned to create artwork ... http://www.thebluegrassblog.com/robert-yonke-provides-artwork-for-delfest-2010/ Many thanks to David Hollender, upright bass and banjo instructor at Berklee College of Music, for turning me on to Ragtime West, makers of some of the most amazing musical creations I have ever seen. The company is the brainchild of Ken Caulkins, who has modified the concept of the player ... http://www.thebluegrassblog.com/robot-banjo-who-knew/ Junior Sisk is not known as the most talkative artist in bluegrass music, but he did record a podcast interview last week for Roanoke.com, the online home of my hometown newspaper, The Roanoke Times. Junior had a show nearby and spoke at some length with music reporter Tad Dickens about his ... http://www.thebluegrassblog.com/junior-speaks/ Wired magazine's Epicenter blog recently ran a story about an impending time bomb written into the Copyright Act of 1976. Their explanation of the legislation is that copyrights for sound recordings are soon going to be up for grabs. If an artist or author sold a copyright before 1978 (Section 304), they ... http://www.thebluegrassblog.com/copyright-time-bomb/ There is an interesting interview with Punch Brothers on the Paste Magazine web site. It features the guys sitting down with Paste's College Music Journal correspondent to talk about the instruments they use. If you are interested in old instruments and the stories behind them, you'll want to give this a ... http://www.thebluegrassblog.com/punch-brothers-in-paste/ End-of-the-year tours offer unique opportunities to see familiar faces in new and interesting settings. Sometimes, it will be artists with special music, like Jerry Douglas and John Cowan, who each are touring in support of new Christmas albums. Or you may find sidemen touring together while their primary musical employers are ... http://www.thebluegrassblog.com/two-big-little-tours/ That's the name of the newest CD release from Phil Rosenthal, former Seldom Scene lead vocalist and long-time singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. It's a apt title, as it perfectly describes the material and the presentation. There are 17 tracks, mixing vocal and instrumental pieces,and  traditional and familiar songs, as well ... http://www.thebluegrassblog.com/a-treasury-of-bluegrass-and-country-songs/ We are delighted to let everyone know that banjo legend Allen Shelton has been released from the hospital, and is home again with his family after a hospitalization of nearly two months. Shelton was diagnosed with leukemia, which at age 73, is an awfully serious bit of news. He had been ... http://www.thebluegrassblog.com/good-news-allen-shelton-back-home/ G2 is another example of a band that took full advantage of their opportunities at IBMA this year. The trip from Sweden involves considerable expense and preparation, and these five talented musicians were determined to leave as big a footprint as possible behind after their trip to Nashville. As the winners ... http://www.thebluegrassblog.com/g2-at-ibma/