When the complete list of nominees for the 2009 Academy Of Country Music Awards were announced yesterday (2/11), a number of bluegrass pickers showed up on the list.

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!

Big-time country artist Dierks Bentley’s bluegrass roots have been chronicled a number of times on The Bluegras Blog, as has his ongoing support of bluegrass artists and songwriters.

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.

Here is the second part of our interview with Pam Gadd about her new CD, Benefit Of Doubt. In the first part of our discussion, Pam talked about her early exposure to bluegrass music, and how she chose the musicians for the new album.

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.

Every once in a while a CD comes along that just stuns me. Just before Thanksgiving the new CD by Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent landed in my mailbox. I had been anticipating this CD ever since Jamie told me they were recording. I’ll admit that Jamie has been one of my favorite singers since I first heard him with Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver.

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 (more…)