We just received our summer (July/August) issue of Bluegrass Music Profiles and found, in addition to a cover feature on Longview, that the magazine has graduated to a full color, glossy stock publication.

BMP debuted in the spring of 2003 as black & white on newsprint, with spot color, and remained as such until the Nov/Dec ‘07 issue where the cover went full color. They went to gloss stock for the March/April ‘08 cover, and now the entire magazine is color on gloss.

Congratulations to publishers Kevin and Lori Kerfoot for finding a niche for this new publication during a time of declining print circulation. It seems that their catalog of personality-based features on bluegrass artists and industry figures has found favor with bluegrass readers.

You can find subscription, single and back issue information on the BMP web site.

The latest (May/June) issue of Bluegrass Music Profiles is out, with a cover feature on Steep Canyon Rangers.

The article features an interview with guitarist and primary vocalist Woody Platt, who discusses the band’s humble beginnings, their first record deal (with Rebel Records), working with outside producers and how their material is chosen and arranged.

“There’s a formula that bluegrass music has that we tend to follow. We don’t necessarily copy it in our arrangements, but in our approach we feel like we add something youthful and fresh to bluegrass. We definitely, within the tradition, fit right in there.”

Publisher Kevin Kerfoot shares a quick overview of what you’ll find inside:

In the current issue you’ll also find a DJ Profile with WSM’s Bill Cody, an interview with Balsam Range’s Darren Nicholson, Shop Talk with Wayne and Kristin Scott Benson, Larry Sparks and Jerry Butler’s Bluegrass Favorites, a Promoter Profile with Festival of the Bluegrass’s Jean Cornett, an interview with The Dixie Bee-Liners’ Buddy Woodward and Brandi Hart, and a Songwriter Profile of Jim Lauderdale.

You can read an excerpt from the Platt interview and learn more about Bluegrass Music Profiles on the magazine’s official web site.

Dailey & Vincent grace the cover of the latest issue of Bluegrass Music Profiles, which contains a 5-page article on their new band. They were interviewed the day they debuted on The Opry, and reflected on the enormity of this event and how their separate careers had brought them to this point.

Darrin Vincent shared his own reaction to he and Jamie Daley coming forward as a duo:

“If you think about it there’s not any duos out there at all in bluegrass. We’re taking a lot from The Louvin Brothers and Monroe Brothers – old things from the forties and fifties. We’re taking that kind of sound to the new ages today. We’re bringing back the mandolin and guitar and just the two-part harmonies. Instead of straight tones we’re jumping parts where you do the fifths and thirds and all kinds of cool little things. We’re trying to bring that back. All of the duos – The Osborne Brothers, Jim & Jesse and Flatt & Scruggs – all those folks that have really plowed a lot of ground for bluegrass today they’re just fading away.”

The same March/April issue issue of BMP has a DJ Profile with Fred Bartenstein, an interview with Mountain Heart’s Josh Shilling, Promoter Profile with Durango Meltdown’s David Smith, Shop Talk with Mark Johnson, Bluegrass Favorites with Larry Stephenson and Grasstowne’s Phil Leadbetter, an interview with The Dillards’ Mitch Jayne, a Songwriter Profile with Jake Landers and an interview with Ronnie Reno.

You can get more details on the BMP site.

The winter 2008 issue of Bluegrass Music Profiles has a cover feature on The Infamous Stringdusters in the form of an interview with resonator guitarist Andy Hall

Andy talks with BMP about how the group came into existence, how they signed with Sugar Hill and their newest member, Andy Falco. A point that he made forcefully had to do with growing the bluegrass audience.

“We want to develop our own audience the way that a band like Nickel Creek was able to develop their audience. There were people that liked bluegrass that came to their shows and there were those that didn’t know anything about bluegrass coming to their shows, but they were all Nickel Creek fans. We want people to be The Infamous Stringdusters fans with as many people in it as want to see us play.”

A portion of the Hall interview can be read on the BMP web site.

The Jan/Feb issue also includes articles on DJ Charlie Hansen, John Reischman and the Jaybirds, Shop Talk with The Rocky Top X-Press and Charlie Sizemore Dobro player Matt DeSpain, Russell Moore’s Bluegrass Favorites, Remembering Tater Tate, Promoter John Hutchinson, songwriter Connie Leigh, as well as their 2008 annual Festival Guide.

Coming back to The Infamous Stringdusters…  They will will be performing live on the radio tomorrow (Friday, 1/11) on WNCW from Spindale, NC. They will be on at 3:00 p.m. (EST), and they have teased that they may preview a couple of songs they will include on their next CD.

If you aren’t in the Charlotte radio market, you can listen live via web streaming.

The November/December issue of Bluegrass Music Profiles is out, and is their second annual Women In Bluegrass edition.

The cover story is on Roni Stoneman and includes discussion of her new book, Pressing On - The Roni Stoneman Story. The article also covers her many years as a cast member on Hee Haw, and what she has been doing of late.

Publisher Kevin Kerfoot describes this issue as chock full of bluegrass ladies.

“Other women featured include Rhonda Vincent, Donna Hughes, Amanda Smith, Laurie Lewis, Uncle Earl’s Rayna Gellert and Abigail Washburn, Ola Belle Reed, and MasterShield Records’ Verna Rodes. Other features include Shop Talk with Cia Cherryholmes, Carrie Hassler’s Bluegrass Favorites, a DJ Profile with Gracie Muldoon, a Promoter Profile with Shorty Jobe, and a Songwriter Profile with Louisa Branscomb.”

Kerfoot says that they intend to highlight Women In Bluegrass with their final issue each year.

Larry Sparks is on the cover of the September/October ‘07 issue of Bluegrass Music Profiles. The cover feature finds Larry discussing his new CD, The Last Suit You Wear, plus his road band, his personal guitar, his sister’s songwriting and his future performing and recording plans.

Also profiled in the current issue are radio host Terry Herd (Into The Blue), Curly Seckler, Bobby Osborne and songwriter Mark Brinkman. Sammy Shelor shares his Bluegrass Favorites, and Brad Davis talks guitars. The new Recording King Artist Supreme banjo is written up, and coverage of the 50th anniversary Country Gentlemen concert is included.

Find out more about this bi-monthly print publication online.

The summer (July/August) issue of Bluegrass Music Profiles is available, featuring a cover story on Pine Mountain Railroad.

BMP has as its focus, the people who play, write, and produce the music, along with those who build and maintain the instruments on which it is played. They focus on the personalities, and seek to help fans get to know the people who make the music happen.

This summer issue also contains an interview with Reid Burgess of King Wilkie, where he speaks candidly about the band’s decision to move away from the traditional bluegrass format that brought them to early success. They were so enamored of Bill Monroe, that they chose the name of one of Bill Monroe’s horses as the moniker for the band.

“King Wilkie initially tried to fit the mold of Bill Monroe’s brand of bluegrass. To me, Bill Monroe is bluegrass and unfortunately he’s not still here to do it better than everybody else. I guess we eventually realized - like many people do - that we’re not Bill Monroe and never will be.”

Publisher Kevin Kerfoot shared a few other tidbits found in the new issue:

Other features include a Q&A with Doyle Lawson, Shop Talk with Tony Trischka, a DJ Profile on Main Street Bluegrass Show’s Ward McAfee, David Peterson’s Bluegrass Favorites, a Q&A with Bluegrass Boy #37 Frank Buchanan, an Instrument Profile on Gibson’s Ricky Skaggs Limited Edition Distressed Master Model Mandolin, a feature remembering Grand Ole Opry Fiddler Casey Jones - which includes an interview with his daughter Marilyn Boyd, a feature about the International Bluegrass Music Museum’s Video Oral History Project, a Promoter Profile on Carolyn and Johnny Vincent, and a Songwriting Profile on Larry Cordle. You’ll also find BMP’s Bluegrass Mailbag, Anything Bluegrass News, Top 20 Hot Singles and Top 10 Bluegrass CDs, Festivals, Grassifieds, Web Sightings, Bluegrass Store, and Fresh For The Pickin’ CD reviews.

Individual issues can be purchased for $3.00, and annual subscriptions run $15.00. Get more details on the BMP web site.

Larry Stephenson is on the cover of the May/June issue of Bluegrass Music Profiles. The accompanying article has Larry talking about his latest release, Life Stories, an upcoming Gospel project, the members of his touring band, and his recent induction into the Southern Legends Entertainment & Performing Arts Hall Of Fame.

He also discusses dealing with the loss of his mother, who passed away earlier this year.

Publisher Kevin Kerfoot details some of the other items to be found in the new issue.

The May issue also includes the Top 20 Singles and Top 10 Bluegrass CDs charts, a DJ Profile on Cindy Baucom, a two-page Q&A with John McEuen, a conversation with Tut Taylor, Shop Talk with Mike Bub, Lorraine Jordan’s Bluegrass Favorites, an Instrument Profile on Saga’s Lonesome Pine Fiddlers 70th Anniversary Acoustic Guitar, an interview with The Circuit Riders’ Greg Corbett, a jam-packed Festivals section, a Promoter Profile on Nancy and Olen Bittinger’s Country Stage Music Park in Nova, Ohio, three pages of Fresh For The Pickin’ CD reviews, and a Songwriter Profile on Jerry Salley.

Subscription and and single issue purchase information can be found on the BMP web site.

The latest issue of Bluegrass Music Profiles is in the mail, and subscribers should see it in their mailbox soon - if they haven’t already received it. The cover feature is an interview with Russell Moore of IIIrd Tyme Out, in which he covers his long career in bluegrass, starting with his days as a member of Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver.

Other items include an interview with Steve Gulley and Phil Leadbetter about their new venture, Grasstown. Paul Williams discusses his favorites off-stage pursuits, and Rob Ickes talks about his resonator guitars. Interviews with Cadillac Sky’s Bryan Simpson and The Grascal’s Terry Smith are found in the March/April ‘07 issue as well.

Publisher Kevin Kerfoot was especially proud of this announcement:

This issue also includes the debut of BMP’s Top 20 Hot Picks singles chart and its Top 10 Bluegrass CDs chart. Both charts are based on songs receiving the most radio play from BMP reporting stations.

Find out more about BMP on their web site.

Bluegrass Music Profiles has been publishing a bi-monthly print magazine since 2003, focusing on the personal side of bluegrass artists and personalities. They have just announced the debut of their bluegrass music charts, based on radio airplay from their list of reporting stations.

The chart consists of three parts. Top 20 Hot Picks are the individual tracks getting the most airplay, Top 10 Bluegrass CDs lists the projects getting the most play, and Barn Burners are the 10 fastest rising tracks.

The chart will be viewable online as a PDF file, and the February chart is posted now on the BMP site.

The new (Jan/Feb ‘07) issue of Bluegrass Music Profiles is out, featuring a cover story on J.D. Crowe & The New South. Each member of the band is interviewed, and J.D. shares his thoughts about their latest release, Lefty’s Old Guitar.

A sample from the New South article can be read on the BMP web site.

This issue also has Chris Thile talking about his current stage vehicle, How To Grow A Band, and their 2007 transition into The Tensions Mountain Boys. Bryan Sutton takes the Shop Talk section to discuss his guitar collection, and Mac Wiseman shares his bluegrass favorites - including which of his songs is his all time favorite.

You’ll also find BMP’s 2007 Annual Festival Guide, with details on hundreds of bluegrass events throughout the US.

Single issue and annual subscription info can be found on the Bluegrass Music Profiles site.

The November/December issue of Bluegrass Music Profiles is in the mail, with Rhonda Vincent on the cover. Publishers Kevin and Lori Kerfoot tell us that this is their first Women In Bluegrass edition - an “all girls issue” - something they plan to make into an annual project at BMP.

In addition to the cover feature - an interview with Rhonda - there are interviews with Claire Lynch, Dale Ann Bradley, Alecia Nugent, Alison Brown, Missy Raines, Martha Adcock, Sandy Cherryholmes, Dixie Hall and Lorraine Jordan.

Here’s how the Kerfoots describe this issue:

Rhonda discusses her new Christmas album as well as how she looks at the controversy created by her All American Bluegrass Girl project and how she decided on which photo to finally use for the cover.

Claire opens up about the reason for her absence from touring and recording and why her new CD is titled New Day.

You’ll also learn Sandy Cherryholmes’ favorite food, why Martha Adcock is in the studio and where Missy Raines got her 1937 Kay bass.

The issue also has a photograph of Josh Graves at his last performance, the details of his funeral, and Jerry Douglas and Phil Leadbetter’s thoughts on the Dobro world losing its King.

You can read portions of the Rhonda Vincent interview, and find subscription details on the BMP web site.