In the wake of Alan Bibey leaving BlueRidge to help form Grasstowne with Phil Leadbetter and Steve Gulley, the remaining members of the group have elected to disband after fulfilling some dates in early 2007. Alan tells us that they have some shows in January, and a couple in early February. After those, BlueRidge will cease to exist.

Wildfire, however, has a statement on their web site saying that they will be carrying on as a band, with announcements forthcoming about a new band member and new representation.

Mountain Heart is also expected to have an announcement soon about a new hire.

Alan said that for a limited time, all the BlueRidge recordings will remain available from the band’s online store, which will itself be shut down at the end of January.

BlueRidge will be the guests on WNCW’s Goin’ Across The Mountain show tomorrow afternoon (12/2). They will perform live in the studio, and discuss their plans for 2007 with host Dennis Jones.

The show airs at 1:00 p.m., and can be heard over the air in the Charlotte, NC area at 88.7 FM, or via live online streaming at WNCW.org.

Given the news we see in Brance’s recent post concerning Alan Bibey, I imagine this will be an interesting, newsworthy interview.

Dennis also mentioned that he will have Cherryholmes in the WNCW studios next Thursday (12/7) at 1:00 p.m. for a live show, but his expectation is that their set will not be available on the Internet stream – just over the air.

UPDATE 12/2/2006: Turns out the “new band” will be called Grasstowne after all.

I had a chance to speak with Alan Bibey yesterday about his decision to leave BlueRidge and embark on the Grasstowne “new band” adventure with Steve Gulley and Phil Leadbetter which Brance just detailed. Alan had been agonizing over this for several days, and expressed a range of thoughts and emotions about the change.

On the one hand, leaving something he had help start (with Terry Baucom) in BlueRidge was an odd feeling, Alan had been more than just a founding member, as he was deeply involved in all their business arrangements and musical direction as well. Of course, he had also become very close with the members of the band over the years.

“It has been a great experience these last ten years with Blueridge. I want to thank all the musicians and life long friends that I’ve had the opportunity to play with during this time. I wish them all the best!”

Alan said that he isn’t sure yet what the guys in BlueRidge will do, but suggested that folks keep an eye on the band’s website for more announcements as they settle on a plan.

Most of our conversation, however, centered on how much he was looking forward to working with the new group, tentatively described on their MySpace page as Gulley/Ledbetter/Bibey.

“I’m very excited about this new and exciting adventure with Steve and Phil, two extraordinary musicians and people. I have been fortunate to have been friends with these two gentlemen for quite sometime, and have respected their work for many years.

I especially admire their dedication to the professional side of the business, and think that the three of us can go further together than we might on our own.”

Alan said that they are already in discussions with a major bluegrass label, and hope to start recording soon. We’ll update with more details as we learn them.

UPDATE 9:55: We just heard that the new band will not be called Grasstowne, as they had initially planned. Not sure yet what the name will be. We have edited the text/headlines of a couple of this morning’s post to reflect this change.

Each year, the Roanoke Bluegrass Weekend holds a faculty concert on the Saturday night of their three day instructional event. It is the only part of the weekend which is open to the general public (not registered to attend the 3 day workshop) and is always a highlight, both for the students and the local bluegrass community.

The concert will be held this year on Saturday, November 11 at 7:30 at the Holiday Inn Roanoke, the site for all the Roanoke Bluegrass Weekend activities.

The format is a loose, relaxed jam-like setting, where the many artists are grouped in a variety of configurations – either solo, duo or in groups – with a good mix of vocal and instrumental music. Both the performers and the audience always enjoy the fun, “no pressure” environment as well as the chance to witness or be a part something as potentially spontaneous as this.

The musicians will sometimes not even choose the song they will perform until a few minutes before they go on stage, a sign both of their high level of skill and professionalism, and the sort of fun they have with this show.

Performing on the RBW faculty concert this year are Eddie Adcock, George Shuffler, Roland White, Craig Smith, Don Rigsby, BlueRidge, Jack Lawrence, Bull Harman, Herschel Sizemore, David McLaughlin, Acoustic Endeavors and many others – plus a number of unannounced surprise guests.

Maps and driving directions can be found on the Roanoke Bluegrass Weekend web site.