The road winds through the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests in Virginia, and the Pisgah and Nantahal in North Carolina. Almost every mile avoids population centers of any kind, and with easy access off and on along the way, is a tourist favorite for its spectacular mountain vistas of the Blue Ridge region.

Of course this region has been home to a great deal of bluegrass and old time music, and the seminal artists who defined it. The National Parks Service and the National Council for the Traditional Arts jointly operate a venue near Galax, VA to acknowledge the musical history of the area, The Blue Ridge Music Center.

The Parkway is celebrating 2010 as their 75th Anniversary with a full year’s worth of special events along the way. Things kick off this Saturday with a benefit show near Asheville, NC featuring what will surely be a memorable musical aggregation.

Billed as The Blue Ridge All Stars, this one-time grouping of musicians born and bred in the VA/NC mountain region includes Doyle Lawson on mandolin, Sammy Shelor on banjo, Bryan Sutton on guitar, Jim Van Cleve on fiddle and Tim Surrett on bass.

Jim told us that Bryan Sutton put the group together.

“Bryan Sutton called me back in April or May about this show, and it’s something I’ve been looking forward to ever since then! It’s a big honor to be involved in a BIG SHOW of this nature, and the band Bryan has assembled will be a BLAST to play with!!!”

Singer/songwriter Nanci Griffith is also on the show, which will be held in the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium at the Asheville Civic Center. Proceeds from the show will go towards the funding for the 75th Anniversary events during 2010.

You can find full concert details on the BRP 75th site.

It is a set of ten songs and tunes featuring Bryan in the studio with many of the artists with whom he has performed in recent years. Punch Brothers make an appearance (sans regular guitarist Chris Eldridge) along with Béla Fleck, Sam Bush, Hot Rize, Stuart Duncan, Jerry Douglas and several other notables. The intention was to capture the music live in the studio, with minimal overdubs or tweaking.

The CD’s vibe is nicely captured by Nate Chinen in a mini-review in the New York Times’ Playlist column on July 8:

The contemporary bluegrass style upheld by the flat-pick guitarist Bryan Sutton has a lot to do with high-polish whimsicality. There’s no room for raggedness on his crisp new album, “Almost Live” (Sugar Hill), but as the title suggests, looseness is a priority.

You should be able to find Almost Live for sale wherever you like to purchase bluegrass CDs, or in iTunes where you can hear audio samples as well.

It looks like this one may do well, as it is the #1 selling bluegrass CD at Amazon.com today.

But it also means that his many admirers have precious little opportunity to hear him out front, performing his own music.

Sugar Hill has another of those rare glimpses into Sutton as a spotlight artist with a new CD, Almost Live, due for release on July 14. The title comes from the concept for the album – to get together in the studio with the several groups with whom Bryan has toured in recent years, and capture the informal and sometimes extemporaneous character of a live show.

These include the occasional Hot Rize reunions, Punch Brothers, and Béla Fleck (and his Acoustic Planet band). Each is featured on at least one track, along with a trio of duets with Fleck, Russ Barrenberg and Chris Thile. Not too shabby, eh?

As always, Sutton’s tone is gorgeous – large and round – and while it is clearly his album, the tunes (and songs) dictate the arrangements. In other words, it’s not a “guitar album.” Most of the materials falls squarely within the bluegrass/newgrass/Americana category, with one track that showcases Bryan’s more recent fascination with gypsy swing music.

Sutton wrote the bulk of the tunes, with a Norman Blake classic (Church Street Blues with Hot Rize) and a Delmore Brothers chestnut (Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar with Thile) included for a bit of vocal relief. Choosing standouts is a daunting chore given the high caliber of music and musicianship throughout, but here are a few that grabbed my attention.

Big Island Hornpipe is a co-write with Thile which Bryan says the two of them finished while he was touring with Chris’ How To Grow A Band. Sutton filled in with them on shows when their ultimate guitarist Chris Eldridge was still working with The Infamous Stringdusters. It’s quite a romp!

Rye Straw Suite finds Sutton in duet with B?©la Fleck, with whom he wrote the tune.

Loretta’s Waltz is a lovely melody which Bryan wrote and named for his wife. The execution, with Dennis Crouch on bass, Aubrie Haynie on fiddle and Jeff Taylor on accordion, is restrained and quite powerful.

Be on the lookout for Almost Live folks – if you care about virtuosic instrumental acoustic music, that is. And why wouldn’t you?

Already this year, they have a solo project from The Infamous Stringdusters’ Jeremy Garrett, I Am A Stranger, which hit on March 31. Next week, they have a new CD from The Greencards, Fascination, with a number of others on deck.

Here’s a partial 2009 Sugar Hill release schedule (with more to be announced soon):

• 5/19: Chris Pandolfi – Looking Glass
• 6/16: Sarah Jarosz – Song Up In Her Head
• 7/14: Bryan Sutton and Friends – Almost Live

No… not that list (the one with all the Nashville glitterati in their sparkly clothes). They appear on the list of musicians who support all the big stars and make their records sound so good, which the ACM describes as the “Off Camera Nominations.”

Aubrey Haynie is nominated for Top Fiddle Player Of The Year, Bryan Sutton for Top Guitarist Of The Year, and Randy Kohrs and Rob Ickes for Top Specialty Instrument(s) Player Of The Year.

The awards will be presented on April 5 in Las Vegas, broadcast live on CBS at 8:00 p.m. (ET/PT).

Congrats to all of our guys for their nominations, and best of luck in Vegas!

His new CD, Feel That Fire, will be released on February 3, and the last track is a remake of Last Call, written by Ronnie McCoury and originally recorded on his 2000 solo project, Heartbreak Town. The Dierks cut features him in duet with Ronnie along with Alan Bartram on bass, Bryan Sutton on guitar, Randy Kohrs on resonator guitar, Jason Carter on fiddle and Rob McCoury on banjo. Ronnie also plays mandolin.

Dierks has been telling Ronnie for the last several years that one day he was going to record Last Call, and so he has.

GAC has a pre-release Feel That Fire TV special which debuts this evening (1/29) at 10:00 p.m. Ronnie will be part of the show, singing with Bentley on this bluegrass song.

The show will air several more times over this next week, in case you miss tonight’s initial broadcast. All times EST.

• 1/31 – 10:00 p.m.
• 2/1 – 2:00 a.m.
• 2/1 – 11:00 a.m.
• 2/3 – 8:00 p.m.
• 2/4 – 12:00 a.m.

UPDATE 3:00 p.m. – We just heard from Dierks’ people that they are uncertain whether the performance of Last Call made the final cut for the GAC special.

We should also mention that Bryan Sutton plays acoustic guitar on almost every track of Feel That Fire, and plays banjo on several as well.

In the second installment, Pam talks about a number of the songs she chose for this project (with audio samples).

Farewell Wagon Master – Listen now:

“This one is a heart breaker for me. And yet, a true tribute to Porter Wagoner, a man I grew up watching on TV and who I later stood next to on the Opry stage and who was my buddy. That part of my life was a totally unexpected experience, and it enriched me greatly. I can’t say enough about the Opry experience, and I’m so grateful for the friendship, performance, and recording that I did with Porter. He really was a great country artist, and I am so proud.

As I stood by his grave on the day he was buried, in the silence before we all departed, I felt so compelled to start singing ‘Yes, they’ll all come to see me, in the shade of that old oak tree when they lay me beneath the green, green grass of home.’ I just didn’t have the nerve. But I was so struck to stand there and realize that it had finally really came true. I’m forever grateful that it came inside my head from the great Giver of songs.”

Just Love Me – Listen now:

“This was the first song I’d written in quite some time, and Benefit of Doubt came along right after it. They were both happy, bright songs- actually inspired by the same person I was in relationship with at the time. I was just happy and in love and in love with music again. It had been a long time since I’d felt so inspired to pick and write.

When we recorded these songs for the CD, it was so wonderful to work with Bryan Sutton and Wanda Vick, well everyone – and hear these songs with full accompaniment. I wrote both of them on the banjo, which is a bit unusual for me.”

You can hear samples from all 14 tracks by visiting Pam’s web site.

The Dailey & Vincent CD lived up to every expectation I had, and then some. I knew I was going to like Jamie’s singing, and I expected he would choose good songs. I had no idea the band would sound this good. The band members are all great players, but the ensemble is so much stronger than any individual, these guys really understand what it means to be a band.

Jamie handles the rhythm guitar work and lead vocals on seven of the twelve tunes. The other five songs are led by Darrin Vincent who is also playing bass, and at times some guitar. As the name implies, these two guys form the core of the group, when not singing lead, each adds flawless harmony vocals. In addition, they’ve surrounded themselves with some other great players.

Jeff Parker, formerly of Lonesome River Band, is the mandolin player and also contributes harmony vocals. Those familiar with Parker will know that he is one of the best harmony singers in the business, and his ability to blend perfectly with Darrin and Jamie contributes to the outstanding quality of the vocals on this record.

Joe Dean is a young man with a bright future ahead of him. He played banjo with Bull Harman & Bull’s Eye before joining Dailey & Vincent. Though he is the youngest and least experienced member of the band, his banjo playing is mature, tasteful, and flawlessly timed. I was very impressed with this young man’s playing on this record. And as a surprise to me, he adds the bass vocal to a gospel quartet song.

Since the recording was finished, Adam Haynes has been added to the band as the fiddle player. Adam has played with such noted bluegrass acts as David Parmley and Continental Divide, and most recently, The James King Band.

Adam wasn’t a part of the band while the CD was being recorded, and so they called on the talents of Andy Leftwich and Stuart Duncan to lay down the fiddle tracks. In addition to these two outstanding fiddlers, Bryan Sutton contributes guitar parts to three of the tracks, and Cody Kilby joins the band for one number on guitar.

This CD is absolutely the best bluegrass record I’ve heard in quite some time. The band dynamics and details of arrangement are a tribute to the lessons learned by Dailey and Vincent in their former jobs working for Doyle Lawson and Ricky Skaggs respectively. These two young men learned their lessons well and together they’ve created some great music.

The CD opens with a romping tune called Sweet Carrie. While this is a new song, it’s reminiscent of many classic bluegrass songs, speaking of spike driving and southern railroad lines. Moving along at a brake neck pace, propelled relentlessly by Joe Dean’s banjo and Jamie’s rhythm guitar, this song will get your blood pumping.

The second tune of the CD is the classic Jimmy Fortune song, More Than A Name On A Wall. You can read the story of their involvement with Fortune and this song here.

River of Time is a song Jamie says he was holding for 6 years waiting for the right time to record. I’m glad he chose now to cut this track, it’s one of my favorites on the CD. It’s a beautiful song, and the ending…wow!

By The Mark is a gospel song from the pens of David Rawlings and Gillian Welch. It is performed here as a duet with just Jamie and Darrin on guitar and mandolin. Sung in two part harmony for it’s entirety, the tune takes you back to the duo performances so common during the early years of bluegrass music.

Take Me Back (And Leave Me There) is another favorite of mine. This is a great song about the good old days and wanting to go back to them. How can you ask for more out a song that mentions “Grandma’s blue ribbon pickles?”

Another duet song worth mentioning is a Ronnie Bowman, Bob Minner, David Dunkley penned tune titled Music of the Mountains. Darrin sings lead on this one with Jamie laying a tenor part in on the choruses. The sparseness of the guitar/mandolin accompaniment is perfect for this song.

Here’s a complete list of the songs on the disc.

1. Sweet Carrie
2. More Than A Name On A Wall
3. Cumberland River
4. River Of Time
5. By The Mark
6. Poor Boy Workin’ Blues
7. Take Me Back (And Leave Me There)
8. My Savior Walks With Me Today
9. Don’t You Call My Name
10. I Believe
11. Music Of The Mountains
12. Place On Calvary

As is obvious from the song list, there are a good number of gospel songs on this CD, reflecting the strong Christian faith of both Jamie and Darrin. The CD presents a good mixture of secular and gospel tunes, that makes you feel as if you are listening to life with a bluegrass soundtrack.

Rounder has set the release date for the CD as January 29, 2008. The title of the CD is simply Dailey & Vincent.

While there are a lot of great CDs out there these days, Dailey & Vincent is as close to a perfect bluegrass CD as I think I’ve ever heard. With bands like this around, the future of bluegrass music is in good hands.

The biggest bluegrass award of the night was given to Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder who took home the Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album, for their most recent work, Instrumentals. I believe this is the 12th Grammy win for Skaggs and the 6th for the band. Congratulations guys!

Best Country Instrumental Performance was handed to Bryan Sutton and Doc Watson for their duet rendition of the tune Whiskey Before Breakfast, from Bryan’s latest CD, Not Too Far From The Tree.

Best Contemporary Jazz Album was awarded to Bela Fleck & The Flecktones for the CD The Hidden Land.

Even though it’s not strictly bluegrass, we’ll claim Vince Gill as one of our own and acknowledge his win for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for his song The Reason Why.

Several of my favorites won in non-bluegrass categories as well, especially in the classical genre. The Grammy website has the complete list of nominees and winners posted so you can check to see if your favorites won.

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 song, Nature Of The Beast from his debut CD release, No Apologies, received a nomination in the Best Country Instrumental Performance category.

“I can’t really even put into words what an extreme honor it is to be recognized with a Grammy Nomination!! It’s incredible! To be nominated right alongside some of my musical heroes in the Instrumental Performance of the Year category, is the most flattering honor I could ever imagine! I thought that “Nature of the Beast’ definitely had a certain mood that really hit home with me, but I certainly wasn’t ready for this!! Thanks to everyone who has supported me and my efforts on ‘No Apologies’ in the past year!!”

The other nominees in this category include Casy Driessen (Jerusalem Ridge from 3D), Tommy Emmanuel (Gameshow Rag/Cannonball Rag from The Mystery), Bryan Sutton & Doc Watson (Whiskey Before Breakfast from Not Too Far From The Tree) and Chris Thile (The Eleventh Reel from How To Grow A Woman From The Ground).

Congratulations and best of luck to all the nominees for Best Country Instrumental Performance. The Awards will be announced in Los Angeles, CA on February 11, 2007.

Scruggs’ segment starts off with Rob Ickes leading the band through Foggy Mountain Rock, followed by a version of John Hardy. Nick Forster then interviews Earl about how he came to develop his groundbreaking banjo style, which Earl describes in his typically understated and unassuming manner. He also speaks about the early days performing on the road and on TV with Flatt & Scruggs, and how he came to be associated with The Beverly Hillbillies.

After the discussion, the band returns to play The Ballad Of Jed Clampett and Foggy Mountain Breakdown. The music is fine, of course, but for many Scruggs-o-philes, the interview may be the more enjoyable part of the show.

There is a direct link to the audio on Wernick’s site, or it can accessed directly via the Etown archives. Access to the archives is restricted to registered users on the Etown site, so if you feel that you are “getting over” by using Pete’s direct link, you can register and get the audio from this and other Etown programs.

Speaking of Wernick’s web site and Hot Rize…

Pete now has two bits of sample video up at Dr.Banjo.com taken from the recently released Hot Rize concert DVD, shot in 1987. One is the band performing Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning, and a song from their bus mates, Red Knuckles & The Trailblazers doing One Woman Man.

These are Quicktime files of one entire song each, and may take a few minutes to download or open in your browser.

The first is a montage of clips showing the band arriving at the show, doing sound checks and preparing for the performance at the Belcourt Theater, set to the music of Watch ‘at Breakdown, the opening track of Thile’s How To Grow A Woman From The Ground CD.

The second is the band rehearsing in a dressing room backstage, running over Cazadero, with Bryan Sutton on guitar.

Oddly enough, towards the end of this second video, the camera pulls back to show regular guitarist Chris Eldridge sitting on the couch, grooving to the tune. Eldridge was thought to have been previously obligated on a Stringdusters show that evening, so Sutton got the call, even though Chris ended up being free that evening after all.

In any event, both videos should be of interest to fans of Chris Thile and the fine musicians he has assembled for this new CD.

The DVD covers both lead and rhythm guitar playing and is described  a “tricks of the trade” presentation to help improve flatpicking speed, power, timing and musicianship

From the Homespun site:

Bryan addresses many of the problems that he sees in aspiring pickers, and passes along tips on how to keep your picking hand and arm tension-free and your fretting hand supple and quick. He provides drills and exercises, teaching an arsenal of licks, bends, double stops, slides and other devices that will help you build powerful and memorable solos.

Tunes covered include Daley’s Reel, Texas Gales, Wild Bill Jones and Beaumont Rag.

A complete description and online video samples can be found on the Homespun site.

The Guitar Player Of The Year for 2006 is:

Review past recipients of this award.

This post is a contribution from Tim Kruzic, banjo player with Blue Daze. Tim is a long time friend of The Bluegrass Blog who has been involved with IBMA on many levels over the past several years. Serving on various committees and participating in the Leadership Bluegrass program Tim is a valuable asset to the bluegrass industry.

One of my favorite things about IBMA is witnessing some of the unique picking sessions that occur because of the gathering of so many great musicians. At Owensboro or Louisville, it was a bit easier to walk the halls and discover some of this magic. In Nashville, one of the coolest events is the series of concerts sponsored by Fred Carpenter at The Violin Shop. Though the venue is a bit of a ride from the main IBMA event and has a separate admission charge, it is well worth the effort. Fred sponsors shows on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights. The venue only seats about 50 people and features an all acoustic setup. The concerts are recorded on video and subsequently released on DVD. Twenty five percent of the concert admission is put toward a scholarship fund for up and coming fiddle players to attend music camps; the remainder of the admission goes directly to the musicians.

Last night’s concert featured Tim O’Brien with an all star supporting band of Bryan Sutton on guitar, Stuart Duncan on fiddle, and Dennis Crouch on bass. Tim played a ninety minute set that featured some old Hot Rize favorites (Blue Night), more recent material from his solo career (Senor, Drunkard’s Hiccups [Jack Of Diamonds]), current material (Look Down That Lonesome Road, Cornbread Nation), and some great instrumentals featuring the band (Red Apple Rag, Lee Highway Blues). An added treat was twin fiddles by Tim and Stuart on several tunes. Tim continues to be on top of his game. His mandolin playing sounded quite crisp, and his vocals reaffirmed his mastery of phrasing and unique melodic interpretations. In addition to the great music, Tim’s characteristic understated sense of humor and dry wit provided continuity to the show. A particular highlight was his song using a familiar bluegrass melody with new lyrics from the computer age about love gone bad. I can’t recreate the lyrics here, but it’s really funny.

One of the interesting aspects of the evening was the musical versatility of Stuart Duncan. It’s no surprise given Stuart’s mastery of the fiddle, mandolin, and bass vocal as shown over the years with the Nashville Bluegrass Band. In this show, Stuart sang lead on the choruses for several songs (like Nick Forrester used to do with Tim in Hot Rize), tenor on several other songs, and a solo lead vocal on Train 45. He certainly did a credible job on the vocals. I was most surprised to hear Stuart play clawhammer banjo. I learned after the show that he got interested in clawhammer banjo a couple of years ago. Stuart was also really funny. His vocal accompaniment on some of the fiddle tunes was a riot, and he fired off some pretty good quips in between the songs (especially when a fiddle string broke when he picked up the fiddle after the clawhammer tune).

Bryan Sutton played his usual astounding guitar style. His rhythm was perfect for every song whether a ballad, a swing tune, or a bluegrass flavored song. For any of you reading this that think Bryan’s style is only "machine gun" notes as he did on the fast fiddle tunes with Ricky Skaggs, take another listen. Bryan is such a versatile guitar player that he complements every song in just the right way. And he added some nice baritone vocals on several trios.

Not to be overlooked is Dennis Crouch. The rhythm from this group was really snapping the way it should to suit each song, and Dennis’ bass was a big contributing factor. Dennis took one bass break (I can’t remember the name of the song) which was exceptional for its ability to create the melody.

Although the feel of IBMA in Nashville is different than Louisville, great music happens when great musicians are brought together. The locations may be unfamiliar and the methods of finding it may be different, but it’s there if you look for it. When I look back over my highlights of IBMA 2006, the Tim O’Brien concert will certainly be one of the highlights and fondly remembered.

For all you guitar lovers out there, Pantheon Guitars has recently announced a new model. The Bourgeois BK Slope D features premium bearclaw Sitka spruce top, figured mahogany back and sides, brazilian rosewood headstock, fretboard, bridge and bridge plate, and Adirondack spruce bracing. Additional features include ivoroid binding, snakehead headstock, 1 23/32″ nut width, ebony bridge pins, Nickel/Ivoroid Waverly tuners and a natural finish.

The first 30 guitars will be signed and numbered by Bryan Sutton and Dana Bourgeois.

Dana Bourgeois says:

The BK Slope D has a deep, broad tone. Through wood selection and voicing, we push it in the direction of a bigger bottom end, a “lush” top end, and greater volume, similar to the characteristics of Bryan’s original BK. When I first started making slope shouldered Dreadnoughts, I went for something as different as possible from the balanced and focused sound of my standard Dreadnought. The Banjo Killer gets me back to that original idea.

Bryan Sutton says:

From the first time I played the Slope-D Bourgeois that would come to be known as the “Banjo Killer”, I was amazed at the range of tone and volume the guitar could produce. The guitar always seems to be to able to handle any dynamic level of play. I can hear the guitar clearly in a loud jam session without feeling like I have to overplay and also enjoy a full and sustained tone when I want to play softly. Dana has recaptured that magic with the new BK model.

List price for the new BK Slope D is $4195.

For more information visit PantheonGuitars.com

Direct link to product page. (no site navigation)

We’ll leave it to others to ponder what it says about modern country music when the acoustic, steel string guitar is considered to be a specialty instrument.

Here is Dan’s overview of the current issue:

The May/June issue of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine (Volume 10, Number 4) features Chris Eldridge of the Stringdusters. Chris is the son of banjo legend and Seldom Scene founding member Ben Eldridge. In addition to playing with the Stringdusters Chris is also currently working with Chris Thile on Thile’s next CD. Chris recorded his arrangement of Stoney Creek for this issue’s audio companion and a transcription of Chris’ solo appears in the magazine.

In addition to Chris Eldridge, the May/June issue features Keith Yoder, a music store owner and multi-instrumentalist from Iowa, and a lengthy interview with Bryan Sutton about his new CD Not Too Far From the Tree. Two of Bryan’s solos from Carroll County Blues are also transcribed in the magazine. Our guitar builder feature highlights Kentucky builder Neil Kendrick and our regular cast of talented columnists (which includes Brad Davis, Joe Carr, Orrin Star, Harold Streeter, Adam Granger, John McGann, Bill Bay, Steve Kaufman, Dan Huckabee, John Carlini, Chris Jones, Kathy Barwick, Mike Maddux, and Dix Bruce) also contribute audio and tablature to this new issue.

Find out more about the magazine on their web site.

If you live within the WNCW broadcast area (southwestern NC, northwestern SC) you can catch the show over the air on 88.7 FM starting at noon on Saturday, April 8. The show is also simulcast online via streaming audio from the WNCW web site.