Alison Krauss & Union Station will be in Washington, DC today (7/21) to help the Obamas celebrate American country music, and demonstrate the music to middle and high school students.

There will be a workshop from 2:00-3:00 p.m. at The White House where 120 music students from all over the US will learn more about bluegrass and country music from Alison and her band, along with country superstar Brad Paisley. Songwriting as well as instrumental and vocal performance will be covered, and there will be a song performed from student and professional songwriters who collaborated through the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Words and Music program.

Then at 7:30 p.m. (EDT), there will be a concert in the State Room, emceed by Grand Ole Opry announcer Eddie Stubbs, and including remarks from the President. It will be broadcast live online via The White House streaming video site.

This event will be hosted by Michelle Obama in her role as First Lady, and presented in association with The Country Music Association, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, produced by the Grand Ole Opry and Great American Country Television. One imagines that a TV special may be forthcoming?

We will have more details about this afternoon and evening’s goings on after the fact.

We have written in the past about Kate Lee, a talented young singer, fiddler and songwriter from New York. Kate has just now turned 16 and continues to impress audiences throughout the northeastern US and beyond with her poise and ability. The Bluegrass Blog is especially interested in the development of young grassers, and we thought it might be fun to have Kate share some of her experiences as a teen musician with our readers. She promises to send us ongoing reports as her schedule allows.

In my last letter, titled The Holy Grail, I told you a little bit about myself, my music, and how I fulfilled one of my dreams by meeting Alison Krauss while performing in Nashville last April. My band, No Strings Attached, and I have been very busy with touring, and recording new material. In addition to that, I just got back from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where I attended a performance work shop. The time I spent at Berklee reinforced what I have learned about music, particularly bluegrass music.

Chapter 2 – Less Is More!

Most of us have grown up with the statement, “less is more.” As I learn and grow musically – remember I’m sixteen – I am coming to understand that concept more and more. My dad and my band members, who are older and often wiser than me, have always stressed that, although I should set challenging goals, I should not over complicate those goals by trying to perform music that I am either not ready for or that does not display my strengths. That’s not always easy advice to follow for a kid who wants to perform like Alison Krauss or fiddle like Stuart Duncan!

Throughout my school years, I have witnessed students performing music that is far beyond their abilities, especially in the area of vocals. Few ten-year-olds can sing like Barbara Streisand or Ella Fitzgerald. Singing songs beyond one’s ability and/or age is not only detrimental to one’s reputation.  Doing so is also unhealthy for one’s voice, especially if his or her voice is developing. Whenever I see or hear a young singer performing these difficult songs, I thank my band and my dad for their sound advice.

While I was at Berklee, I performed at a few of the college’s gigs. I chose some bluegrass and folk style songs. Both the staff and the students really enjoyed my selections. They weren’t the most difficult tunes to play or sing, but they harnessed what I like to call, my voice’s “sweet spots.” Every voice has unique gifts and unique boundaries, and I’ve worked hard to discover mine. It is absolutely crucial for a singer to discover his gifts and boundaries himself, as no other person can do so for him.

Because of my personal vocal awareness, I am able to let the song be the star! (more…)

The Bluegrass Blog always pays special attention where young pickers are concerned. The education and nurturing of our next generation of bluegrass artists is a matter of great concern to many formerly young people such as myself who care deeply about the future of this music.

So it is always a treat to find out about talented young pickers like Green on the Vyne, a Nashville-based quintet of teenaged grassers. Their debut CD, Ready For The Pickin’, was released a few weeks back, showing that these youngsters have learned quite a bit about music – plus performing and recording – at such a tender age.

Here’s a video introduction to the band…

The eldest member of the group is 16 years old, but they have all spent quite some time exposed to and studying bluegrass. They have had the great good fortune of having Deanie Richardson as a mentor, something that is often missing when talented young artists take a shot in the professional music world. Deanie was a member of The New Coon Creek Girls in the mid-1990s, along with Dale Ann Bradley, and has worked in Nashville with Patty Loveless, Vince Gill and many other country acts, returning to bluegrass from time to time as well.

Deanie explains how the band came together…

I was part owner in a music school (The Main Stage in Springfield, TN) and three of these band members, Sydni Perry, Ty Jackson and Emily Dean, were students of mine. I had been working with them individually for a while on their various instruments and singing, but often wondered what it would sound like – of if they would even know what to do – if I put them together in a trio setting.

It was amazing. I could not believe what I was hearing. They all three heard parts and the blend of them together was so intense; it brought me to tears. At this point they were only 12 and 13 years old. I was so in awe of how they knew instantly what to do with these parts….even though they hadn’t spent a lot of time around bluegrass music. They just instantly heard the natural bends and twist.

Then we added the most talented Casey Campbell, son of the late, great Jimmy Campbell. I have known Casey since birth. His mother Marcia is a lifelong friend of mine and my family’s. Casey just fit right in and added the traditional mandolin style that I was hearing with these vocals. He is such a tasteful old soul kind of player. (more…)

We have written in the past about Kate Lee, a talented young singer, fiddler and songwriter from New York. Kate has just now turned 16 and continues to impress audiences throughout the northeastern US and beyond with her poise and ability. The Bluegrass Blog is especially interested in the development of young grassers, and we thought it might be fun to have Kate share some of her experiences as a teen musician with our readers. She promises to send us ongoing reports as her schedule allows.

I’m Kate Lee with No Strings Attached and this is my story, or at least some of it. It is better described as a small chapter from a book being written as I navigate this world of music. I will try to keep it brief, but it will be difficult, as there are already many great stories to tell. I say already because I have only been involved in music since I was nine in Fourth Grade, about seven years. It feels much longer because there have been so many rehearsals, performances, television and radio concerts, music and music writing contests, touring and uncounted hours of individual practicing. My stories will, I hope, be interesting as they are told through the eyes and memories of a teenager.

Chapter 1 – The Holy Grail

Actually it’s more like chapter 3 or 4 (I know I always have to be different) because I am going to start my story with some fairly recent events.

My friend and first guitarist, Jack Metzger once told my dad and I, after hearing we were going to write our own songs, that original material is the “Holy Grail” within the music industry. That has proven to be the truest, most valuable statement that anyone has ever told my dad and me.

Musically, everything changed in a very positive way the day after we wrote our first song. 20 Paces was written three years ago, and in a round about way it propelled Kate Lee with No Strings Attached into the “Big Leagues.” Soon we would be opening and sharing the stage with the likes of Rhonda Vincent, Nothin’ Fancy, Jay Unger, and The Grascals, as well as meetings with Gordon Lightfoot, Charlie Daniels, Ricky Skaggs, and ultimately Alison Krauss. The rest of this chapter or story will be devoted to how I got to meet and spend an evening with Ms. Alison Krauss. (more…)