Monday night fans and musicians filled the Grand Ole Opry house in Nashville to help Rounder Records celebrate forty years in the record business. I really feel like we did help them, because the show was not only a concert, but a television taping. That meant that we had to do a lot of extra clapping and look pretty for the camera’s audience shots. It also meant that everything took longer than it would have in a typical live show, especially resetting the stage between acts. (And pictures were absolutely forbidden, so all you’re getting today is text.)

But the performances made all the waiting around worthwhile. There was a lot of music on the show that wasn’t bluegrass (Mary Chapin Carpenter, Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas, the amazing Irma Thomas, and the emcee, actress Minnie Driver), so I won’t talk about that here. Suffice to say it will be well worth tuning in to the PBS special when it airs in March 2010.

Of bluegrass interest was Bela Fleck, who played a couple solo pieces. The one he played on the cello banjo was really cool. It was some music that he learned in Tanzania and Mali on the trip to Africa that resulted in the documentary film Throw Down Your Heart, and the CD of the same name. His second tune started out solo but quickly turned duo when he was joined on stage by Abigail Washburn, who sang I’ve Got The Keys To The Kingdom. His final tune was another duet—this time with Jerry Douglas. He said that they were “kids together on Rounder.” Indeed Bela was only 19 when the label first signed him.

The final act of the evening was Alison Krauss + Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas. It was great to see the band play together again, since they’ve been off doing individual projects for so long. They did five numbers including the first song that Alison recorded for Rounder back when she was a teenager, Too Late to Cry, written by John Pennell, who was in the audience. They sang their last song, A Living Prayer, gathered around one mic. The magical performance earned them a genuine standing ovation long enough to merit an encore, Ghost in this House.

After Ghost everyone pretty much thought the show was over and started leaving until Minnie Driver came back on stage and said that there’s a big finale with everyone singing on stage and “don’t leave!!” The feel-good medley of Angels Watching Over Me/I’ll Fly Away/Down By The Riverside was the perfect ending to the celebratory show.

One last note—part of the background set for the show were huge versions of album covers. It especially tickled me that one of the covers blown up was J.D. Crowe and The New South (Rounder 0044) in colors much more vibrant than they ever were on the cardboard LP jacket. It was, by the way, the second cover. Not the original one with J.D. signaling his intentions.

It seems like only yesterday that we celebrated the 60th anniversary of the founding of bluegrass music, marked by the first Grand Ole Opry performance in 1946 by the “Original Blue Grass Band:” Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, Chubby Wise and Cedric Rainwater (Howard Watts). 60 years seems like both a long time, and the merest sliver in the larger scheme of things.

Well, now we have Rounder Records with a big anniversary of their own, choosing Monday, October 12 to commemorate 40 years in business. They have been recording bluegrass, roots, alternative and Americana music since 1970. A special concert at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House will be filmed for a later broadcast on PBS stations during 2010.

The show will feature performances by Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas, Béla Fleck, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Irma Thomas, Nathan & The Zydeco Cha Chas along with host (and performer) Minnie Driver. A portion of the proceeds from Monday’s concert will go to the NARAS Grammy In The Schools Programs.

From a recent Rounder press release…

Rounder Records was founded in 1970 by Ken Irwin, Marian Leighton Levy and Bill Nowlin.  With only their passionate enthusiasm for American roots music lighting the way, the three Boston area college students cast their lot into the perilous music industry. “Before founding Rounder, we were basically music fans,” says Rounder Records co-founder Ken Irwin. “None of us,” echoes co-conspirator Bill Nowlin, “had any record industry experience whatsoever.”

“I doubt that ‘industry experience’ is a term we would have comprehended at the time we started Rounder!” interjects the third member of the Rounder triumvirate, Marian Leighton.

Ticket information can be found online.

Here’s another great weekend TV viewing option.

The broadcast of Alison Krauss & Union Station at The White House (with Brad Paisley and Charley Pride) airs on GAC this weekend. If you didn’t get to watch it live online, you can catch it on cable Sunday (8/23) at either 8:00 p.m. or midnight (technically Monday morning).

The show will air once again in September, on 9/9 at 10:00 p.m., and 9/10 at 2:00 a.m. All times eastern.

Be sure to check out the photos Ron Block sent us from their visit to the White House in July.

We’ve mentioned twice this week the visit to the White House by Alison Krauss & Union Station, which included both an afternoon workshop with music students from all over the country and an evening concert in the East Room with the Obamas in attendance.

Ron Block gave us an inside look with some photos he took on Tuesday (7/21), and I have a report from Mike Mitchell, who runs the Floyd Music School in Floyd, VA, who escorted a group of his young musicians to DC for the trip.

The students from Floyd were even interviewed for local TV in Roanoke.

Mike shared some of the highlights (and lowlights) of their trip…

On Tuesday the 21st students and teachers from the Floyd Music School went to the White House for the much publicized First Lady’s Music Education series. We were hosted in the lower east wing. Around 150 students (from schools listed below) were in attendance and the kids and teachers alike got to practice a little close up hero worship.

Alison Krauss and Brad Paisley were introduced by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and someone from one of the Country Music associations in Nashville. That feller introduced Brad, Alison, a fifth grader from Nashville, and his backup guitarist and never once acknowledged Dan Tyminski, who came in to back up Alison on Angeline the Baker, they tore it up of course!  But the FMS group was so surprised by the slight that we hollered a big “Danny” when he got on the stage.

We were expecting a  “two hour interactive songwriting workshop” but, none the less, enjoyed a one hour moderated session.  Brad played two of his tunes and Alison and Dan fiddled one and sang one, “I Know Who Holds Tomorrow.”  They discussed how they were brought up to be performers and good players. Alison noted that she was a Midwest fiddle competition kid but really found the best fiddling when she came to the South, mentioning Kentucky and Virginia.  They both stated that a move to Nashville, following a good business model, investing the due amount of time, money and sweat were the ingredients of their success.  I found it interesting that Paisley, when asked (by an FMS student) how much home time he had, said “about four days a week” in contrast to Alison, who said “mostly when I’m recording.” (more…)