Katy Daley, the 2009 IBMA Broadcaster of the Year, will have some help in the studio for her show this Thursday on WAMU’s Bluegrasss Country. Darren Beachley and Mark Delaney (Darren Beachley & Legends Of The Potomac) will be on hand from 8:00-10:00 a.m. (10/22) to assist in the 2009 Fall Membership Campaign.

Darren said that both he and Mark grew up with WAMU’s bluegrass programming, and spent countless hours listening to Katy, Gary Henderson, Lee Micheal Demsey and Ray Davis when they were learning to play.

“Mark and I are really excited about the opportunity to sit down with Katy and help do the work that needs to be done to keep bluegrass alive and kickin’. For us to be able to be in the studio, for an institution that’s meant so much to us and bluegrass music over the years, is a real treat.

I remember as a kid when they would be doing the membership drives… WAMU would do what they called a winter bluegrass festival, and it was wonderful stuff from all Gospel, to trivia, to live shows. It was a great time, and Mark and I are very honored to play a part this year.”

WAMU’s Bluegrass Country broadcasts 24/7 live online, and like many public radio (and television) outlets, dedicates some time each year to fundraising. This is their time for 2009, and they invite anyone who enjoys their free bluegrass programming to consider making a donation. As they say on their site…

It costs about $450,000 a year to run WAMU’s Bluegrass Country. We pay for music streaming, features, additions to our library, and acquisition of outstanding programs.

Katy mentioned that they have also been thankful for on-air help from Eric Gibson, Alan Munde, Kevin Church and Paul Williams during this campaign. Eddie Dean, Ralph Stanley’s co-writer on Man of Constant Sorrow: My Life and Times, will be on with Lee Michael Demsey on Thursday (10/22), and Mark Schatz is scheduled for Friday (10/23).

We recognize how tedious it can be to listen to fund drives, but think for a moment about the poor on-air personalities who have to do the begging. If you can help, be assured that it will greatly appreciated.

And not just WAMU’s Bluegrass Country! We encourage our readers to consider supporting any and all broadcasters who keep bluegrass on the air. Make donations if you can to public radio, and mention bluegrass shows when you patronize the advertisers of commercial shows and  stations.

Ralph Stanley will be a guest today (10/14) on the Diane Rehm Show, broadcast on WAMU 88.5 FM in the Washington, DC metro market. He will join her live in the studio to discuss his autobiography, Man of Constant Sorrow: My Life and Times, due for release tomorrow (10/15) by Gotham Books.

The show can be heard on WAMU online and is syndicated on 150 NPR affiliate stations all over the US. The segment with Ralph is scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m. (EDT).

Audio archives are maintained on the WAMU site, and today’s show will be available in the archive approximately one hour after the program ends.

UPDATE 1:00 p.m. – We just heard from WAMU’s Bluegrass Country host Katy Daley, who sent along a couple of photos from today’s visit from a number of bluegrass legends.

While Dr. Ralph Stanley was being interviewed (and line singing) with Diane Rehm, Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen were across the hall on the air with Lee Michael Demsey on Bluegrass Country.  Hillman and Pederson sang a few songs live — Wait a Minute, Love Reunited among them — and talked their 45-years in the music business — Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers, Desert Rose Band.

They’re in town to play the Birchmere tonight with The Grascals.  Chris Hillman is giving a lecture on his career at the Library of Congress on Friday from Noon to 1.

Brance and I will soon be packing our grip, and all the rest of it…

We are heading for Nashville and the IBMA World Of Bluegrass, where we will report on the very many activities that occur during this brief span of days. It can be overwhelming to even fathom the sensory and intellectual overload, not to mention the stress that results from trying to “take it all in.” That is what led to the now-somewhat stale joke that IBMA stands for “I’ve Been Mostly Awake.”

With the near impossibility of covering such a wide-ranging event, we have enlisted some extra help for the 2009 festivities.

Brance’s wife, Lauren Gillihan will also be working IBMA with us. She is a talented videographer and we expect that her presence will allow us to get more videos posted, and sooner, than we have been able to do in the past.

Casey Henry will serve as a roving reporter, posting news and impressions based on her multiple responsibilities next week. In addition to her work for The Bluegrass Blog, Casey will have official duties as an exhibitor with The Murphy Method, and as a performer with The Dixie Bee-Liners. She is also able to stay up later than I can, so I look forward to her coverage of what goes on in the wee-wee hours.

We will also have news photographer Dean Hoffmeyer working IBMA, posting frequent galleries of the people, places and sights from World Of Bluegrass. We are especially excited about Dean’s participation during Thursday’s Awards Show. If all goes according to plan, he will be able to post photos from the show while it is occurring.

I should mention that Brance and Lauren’s daughter, Haddie, will also be with us, though her contributions are expected to be limited to pre-verbal expressions of glee.

Our Thursday coverage is our most comprehensive to date for the Awards Show. Brance and I will be live-blogging the show from the press area at The Ryman. I am convinced that we have resolved our issues with page loads from prior years, and will be able to announce the award recipients as they are announced in a single post that refreshes itself automatically.

We will also expand our Red Carpet coverage, with both Katy Daley from WAMU’s Bluegrass Country and Doug McKelway of WJLA serving as co-hosts. They will do brief interviews with the many award nominees just before the show, which we will edit and post on The Bluegrass Blog as soon as possible – hopefully by the weekend. Katy tells us that she has found a “killer dress” – I can’t wait.

There will be all sorts of news that breaks at IBMA, and you can be sure that we will be on top of it all. Artists, labels and festivals regularly schedule major announcements during IBMA week, and we will be following several that have already been scheduled.

Keep your eyes on The Bluegrass Blog all week.

Once again, WAMU’s Bluegrass Country will be broadcasting live from Nashville during IBMA week.

They are dragging all the necessary technical gear, not to mention nearly a dozen staff and show hosts, to The Renaissance Hotel adjacent to the Nashville Convention Center where all the World of Bluegrass and Fan Fest activities are scheduled. Both over-the-air broadcasts in the DC metro market and their online simulcast will originate from Nashville for several hours each day, including interviews and live,”in-studio” performances.

They will also broadcast live from the official showcase stage on Monday night, featuring performances from The Davidson Brothers, Gold Heart, Spring Creek, Darin & Brooke Aldridge, The Crowe Brothers and Josh Williams.

Artists already lined up to visit on-air with Bluegrass Country hosts include Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Audie Blaylock & Redline, Claire Lynch, Mountain Heart, Lou Reid & Carolina, Bobby Osborne, Sierra Hull… and your Bluegrass Blog authors Brance Gillihan and John Lawless! We’ll be on Thursday (10/1) at 2:00 p.m. (CDT) to talk with Katy Daley about that evening’s gala Award Show – and our pre-show red carpet interviews with all the bluegrass stars. Also joining us on-air will be Doug McKelway of WFLA in Washington, who will be Katy’s co-host on the red carpet.

Don’t fret… we’ll remind you lest you forget.

Here’s the Bluegrass Country broadcast schedule from Nashville for next week:

• Monday Night Showcase (9:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m.)
• Monday-Wednesday (3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.)
• Thursday (3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.)
• Friday (10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.)

All times CDT – Nashville time. **Times are actually eastern, not central.**

Since the World Of Bluegrass is a business conference – an industry affair, if you will – it is primarily attended by folks who work full-time in the bluegrass biz, and is not particularly accessible to either fans, pickers or even many part-time bluegrass businesspeople.

It is the mission of WAMU’s Bluegrass Country – and The Bluegrass Blog, of course – to bring the flavor of this event to everyone who can’t be there on the ground.