We heard yesterday from Alan Bibey, fresh from a week of recording with his new band, Grasstowne. He reports that they are about halfway finished with the new project, as yet untitled, which has already been set for a June 15 release on Pinecastle.

Alan voiced excitement, not only about recording with such talented musicians as Steve Gulley, Phil Leadbetter, Jason David and Lee Sawyer - with guest appearances from Stuart Duncan and Tim Crouch on fiddle - but also for the material they were cutting, and the arrangements.

The songs we have for this project are the strongest of any recording I have done. There are three Steve Gulley tunes, one from Tim Stafford, and a Craig Market song.

I wrote a new instrumental for this project, called Grasstowne City Limits. It’s a Monroe-feeling tune in B. I can’t wait for everybody to hear this CD!

Bibey said that he is singing three or four tunes, and Gulley the rest, and that almost all are never-before-recorded songs. He especially mentioned one remake, a high-lead version of Lizzie Lou, which the Osborne Brothers cut in 1974.

The band will make their official debut this weekend at the SPBGMA Convention in Nashville, appearing on Friday (2/2) at 6:30 p.m. (CST).

After that, they are back in the studio next week to try and complete overdubs and vocals, and put this highly-anticipated initial release in the can.