Why Don’t You Give Jesus A Try, as the name suggests, is an all-Gospel release from Tom T. and Dixie Hall’s Blue Circle Records. It actually hit the street at the end of March, but only recently have audio samples appeared online.

Carolina Road features band leader Lorraine Jordan on mandolin and lead vocals, Jerry Butler on guitar, Ben Green on banjo and Josh Goforth on fiddle.

A complete track listing and several audio samples can be found on the band’s web site.

The first hour features interviews with Dr. Banjo (Pete Wernick), and Jamie Dailey of Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. The second hour includes interviews with Tony Williamson, and three members of Carolina Road (Lorraine Jordan, Jerry Butler, and Ben Greene).

The show will air today at 12 Noon, and again several times this week at various times. You can visit BluegrassCountry.org and click on Schedule Changes for a full listing of show times.

Another interview that might be of interest is with the Cherryholmes family. That interview runs during a different show and airs today at 8:05 PM.

While the festival is mainly about country music, bluegrass does have a presence. One such presence is the Bluegrass Booth in the exhibit hall. Dave Burley hosts the booth and encourages all bluegrass fans in attendance to stop by for a shake and howdy.

The artist lineup for the event also includes a number of bluegrass performers. I looked over the list and plucked out a few names that caught my eye, but this is not meant to be an exhaustive list of bluegrass artists at the event, just a sampling. The complete list is available here.

• Alecia Nugent
• Cherryholmes
• The Grascals
• The Infamous Stringdusters
• Carolina Road
• Kassie DePaiva (more info here)

A ticket for the four day event will set you back $110 at least, with higher prices for better seats. Tickets are available online through TicketMaster.com or by calling the festival box office at 1-800-CMA-FEST (262-3378).

The title cut on the CD was written by Dixie and Tom T. Hall and sung by new band member (guitar) Jerry Butler. Lorraine Jordan also contributes lead vocals and mandolin. Josh Goforth provided fiddle and vocals. Ben Greene played banjo and contributed vocals. Todd Meade holds down the low notes on the bass. Kim Gardner guests on dobro.

Tom T. Hall commented on the band:

We are proud and honored to claim Carolina Road, not only as Blue Circle recording artists, but as friends and heroes. Lorraine has made great choices with her selection of band members.

Audio samples are not yet available on the band’s website.

The site is dedicated to all things Knoxville, but since Byron, the site author, is a big bluegrass fan, there is a good bit of grassy content as well.

Last month, Knoxville Trivia Blog ran another lengthy bluegrass interview, that time with Phil Leadbetter of Grasstowne.

Jerry has joined up with Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road where he will be featured as a lead singer along with band leader Jordan. He joins the existing band, which includes Lorraine Jordan on mandolin/vocals, David Guthrie on guitar, Ben Greene on banjo, Josh Goforth on fiddle, and Todd Meade on bass.

Butler has been involved as a bluegrass performer since he was 12 years old, when he had a band with Phil Leadbetter of Wildfire called The Knoxville Newgrass Boys. Before his tenure with Pine Mountain Railroad, Jerry worked with the Joe Isaacs Band.

Jerry is very pleased with the new gig.

“I am excited to be working with Lorraine and the boys. They are a good group to travel with as I have already found out on a recent trip to Branson. I look forward seeing old friends and making new ones as well.”

The excitement runs back in his direction from Lorraine Jordan as well.

“Jerry will give Carolina Road the extra sound that it needs to reach the next level. What a great singer and entertainer he is! This is a great move for both he and I.”

You can find the band’s schedule on the Carolina Road web site.

Gena and her husband Tim have agreed to join Carolina Road for the start of the upcoming season. Gena and I also play together in the Daughters of Bluegrass. The Daughters of Bluegrass are signed with Blue Circle Records out of Nashville, TN. Carolina Road plans to stay traditional and looks forward to a new show for 2006.

We contacted Gena to ask her about it, and to find out what her future plans were.

For the time being, I will be playing banjo and Tim (my husband) will be playing dobro until about mid-April this year (unless she finds permanent replacements before then). Lorraine is beginning her search for permanent band members and she’s making an effort to find the right people for the job.

After Tim & I finish our free-lance gig with Lorraine, we have alot of great things coming up. I have a new album coming out this year called “Doing All I Can” and I will be re-forming the Gena Britt Band.

Be sure to check back here in the future as we’ll bring you updates about Gena’s new CD and new band.