People in the biz have been predicting great things for this family band, who just recently released their debut release for Skaggs Family Records. Their stage presentation is dynamic and engaging, and the four siblings have been developing into legitimate talents with a flair for performing.

Mom and dad (Sandy and Jere), along with the “kids” (Cia, Skip, BJ and Molly), have been traveling the road as a full time band for several years, winning fans and building an audience along the way. Now, they play between 250-300 dates every year, so getting to see Cherryholmes won’t be a difficult thing to do.

Now it appears that these predictions are starting to be realized, as just one week after its release, Cherryholmes is set to debut on the Billboard Magazine Bluegrass chart at #3. This chart is based solely on direct sales, and the ranking is derived from Neilsen’s SoundScan results. The chart results are not available online.

Cia told me last week that she had just heard that the CD shipped over 1,000 units in the first few days. That may not be big news in the commercial pop music world, but it matters greatly in bluegrass especially for a relatively new act.

Congratulations to the Cherryholmes Family for this exciting news from Billboard.

What More Should I Say, the most recent Pinecastle release for Michelle Nixon & Drive, debuted this week on the Billboard Magazine bluegrass chart at #46. This chart is compiled using Soundscan reports, a service of the Nielsen Company – the same folks who compile viewer data for television and radio broadcasting.

Soundscan compiles their data based on the actual sale of CDs at over 14,000 retailers in the US and Canada, using the bar code scan at the register (hence the name). Of particular interest to bluegrass artists and labels, Soundscan also allows bands who sell directly to consumers at their shows to report those sales to Nielsen via a portable hand held scanner. There is no cost to submit a title to Soundscan, but obtaining the reports requires a hefty subscription fee, which may be the reason why only a few bluegrass-oriented record companies are taking advantage of the service.