Both Brance and I had the good fortune to attend the Pickin’ At The Paramount show this past Sunday, January 15, an which we had previously mentioned here. The concerts were held at the historic Paramount Theater on State Street in Bristol, TN and served as a true all star celebration of bluegrass talent. Performers included Jim Mills (Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder), Tim Stafford and Rob Ickes (Blue Highway), Jason Carter and Rob McCoury (Del McCoury Band), Steve Gulley and Adam Steffey (Mountain Heart), David Talbot and Terry Eldridge (The Grascals), Darrell Webb and Phil Leadbetter (Wildfire), Kim Fox (3 Fox Drive), Junior Sisk (BlueRidge), Ronnie Bowman, Don Rigsby, Marshall Wilborn, Bobby Hicks, Mike Bub, Tim Laughlin, Alecia Nugent, and Larry Cordle.

All of these many pickers and singers were formed into groups which changed regularly over the course of the program, allowing for this unique opportunity to see this many artists on stage during a single show. Some performed songs from their latest releases, while others chose material they just liked to play or sing, but perhaps didn’t get the chance to feature in their regular stage sets. Two shows were held and the event was so well received that loose plans are already in discussion to repeat the show on an annual basis.

Though nothing firm is in place, the show’s organizers hope that it will be broadcast live by Sirius Satellite Radio in January 2007. More details on that as they emerge.

During the course of the afternoon, we were able to record some terrific interviews which will be released over the next few weeks on The GrassCast, our weekly audio podcast. We spoke with Ronnie Bowman about seeing his song It’s Getting Better All The Time climb to #1 on the country music charts, as recorded by Brooks & Dunn. We recorded a fascinating interview with Steve Gulley and Adam Steffey about their upcoming Skaggs Family Release for Mountain Heart, Wide Open, and spoke with David Talbot and Terry Eldridge of The Grascals about their new music video for Me and John and Paul. Bluegrass fiddle legend Bobby Hicks gave us a terrific overview of his storied career, performing with Bill Monroe in the 1950s, right through time with The Bluegrass Album Band and two iterations of Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder – both country and bluegrass.

Brance also spoke with Cindy Baucom about her syndicated radio show, Knee Deep In Bluegrass, with Larry Cordle about his success as a songwriter, and with Alecia Nugent about her upcoming Rounder release. He got some terrific photos on Sunday, which he will post soon as well.