The second Rural Rhythm release from Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain isn’t due until July 29, but a single has been released to bluegrass radio this week.

The song is I Can Go Back Anytime, written by Jennifer Strickland, who had also contributed the song Going On The Next Train for Carrie’s first project. This new track is a driving, modern bluegrass number, which you can sample below.

Listen now:

Brance and I were very impressed by Hassler and her young band at IBMA last fall, and expect that their sophomore effort, CHHR2, will be every bit as strong as their 2006 debut. Round 2 was produced by Jim Van Cleve, who served in that capacity on the band’s earlier self-titled CD as well.

In addition to Carrie on lead vocals, the band is Keith McKinnon on guitar, Kevin McKinnon on mandolin, Travis Anderson on bass, Josh Miller on banjo, and Jamie Harper on fiddle.

UPDATE 2:35 p.m.: Jim Van Cleve shared a few comments about CHHR2:

“I am really fired up about this project on a number of levels. They came in with some very edgy material, and were completely committed to going all out with their vision on where their music is heading. They are an extremely talented, motivated, and energetic group of musicians, and their creativity is going to knock people out on this new project. It picks up right where the last one left off, and pushes harder and farther than even I expected when we started putting it all together.

It covers A LOT of musical ground…”

We got a note from Jim VanCleve this morning with news about his next producing project, the upcoming CD from Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain. Jim had produced their self-titled debut release for Rural Rhythm in 2006 and when we spoke with Carrie at IBMA last fall, she offered him a great deal of credit for the way that CD turned out.

Recording starts today with Carrie and her talented band: Keith McKinnon on guitar and vocals, Travis Anderson on bass, Josh Miller on banjo and Kevin McKinnon on mandolin and vocals.

Jim sounded mighty upbeat about getting them back into the studio.

“There were a lot of high expectations already in place before we even started selecting material for this album, largely due to the success of the last record, and the big splash the band made on the scene last year. We’re all really pumped to get this thing going, though. We’ve got a bunch of really good material put together, with a good number of the songs coming from within the band.

As folks who’ve already heard or seen Carrie are aware, she’s got that ’star vocal quality’ that is so hard to find. She’s also got the luxury of carrying a band that can ‘mash it’ in the studio or on the stage, which is rare! They are a very dynamic bunch of musicians. Oh yeah, they are about the most hilarious bunch of personalities you will put in a room at one time, too. So, as you can imagine, it’s always a lot of fun to get together with the Hard Rain Gang!

The project will be released on Rural Rhythm Records, and right now, we’re all aiming at a March release date, which will make the project available just in time for festival season. Judging by the looks of the Hard Rain calendar, fans will certainly have a good opportunity to get their hands on it, too.”

Our friend Cindy Baucom wrote in to tell us about a new festival she’s a part of this year. The 1st Annual FarmFest will be held at the Farmington Dragway in Farmington, NC. The dates set for the festival are April 11-12.

The festival is more than just bluegrass music, it’s a celebration of traditions of the Carolinas. In addition to some great bluegrass music, there will be food, displays, a children’s area, craft show, merchandise vendors, open mic, jam sessions, camping and more.

The line up of bluegrass acts for the festival are:

• Steep Canyon Rangers
• Cadillac Sky
• Lou Reid and Carolina
• Kenny and Amanda Smith Band
• Carrie Hassler and Hard Rain

Besides all these great bluegrass groups, there will also be a special Allstar Bluegrass Super Jam featuring Terry Baucom and Special Guests-including Wes Golding, Josh Williams, Lou Reid, Wayne Winkle and more.

Tickets for the weekend, if purchased in advance, are $40.00. At the gate, the tickets will be $25.00 per day. Children 10 and under will be admitted FREE. Rough camping is available for $5.00 per day.

Tickets will be available at ETIX.com (not yet listed) and a number of businesses across the region

Vendor spaces cost $20.00 per day until 3/31/08, after 3/31/08 they will be $25. Vendor space includes one comp admission.

For additional information, call 1-800-891-0350, or visit farmfestnc.com

We spent part of our lunch hour today visiting with Carrie Hassler and the folks at Rural Rhythm Records.

One of the hardest things about trying to keep to a schedule at IBMA is the fact that any trip from point A to point B will take you past a half dozen people you are eager to see. Three or four chance meetings and brief conversations in the hallway, and you’re running behind.

And so we arrived at the Rural Rhythm suite after Carrie and her band, Hard Rain, had finished their performance. We apologized for being late and missing the show, only to see Carrie round up her boys, and sing a few just for us. We certainly appreciated that kindness, and were prepared to enjoy some good music.

I don’t think that either of us were expecting to see and hear such a powerful performance, and knew from the first few bars that these folks had something special. Carrie has a strong and expressive voice, and a comfortable manner before an audience. Her band, Hard Rain (twin brothers Keith and Kevin McKinnon on guitar and mandolin respectively, Josh Miller on banjo and Travis Anderson on bass), are dynamic and driving, with a keen sense of what should be played - and when.

Watching them go from socializing and eating to a thoroughly professional performance in a matter of moments really cemented my impressions. They did it live, with no amplification, and it was even more engaging than the versions on Carrie’s debut recoding, Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain.

The music was all from the CD, and I found both the material and the arrangements to be clever and original - not always a given with “new” songs. When we spoke after her performance, Carrie offered much of the credit to her producer, Mountain Heart fiddle man Jim VanCleve. She said that Jim helped her find the songs and put the arrangements together. Jim, who was standing nearby, deflected all the credit back to this talented young singer, saying that with a voice like hers, his job was an easy one.

One thing that caught my eye at their suite was a big stack of Moon Pies on the table. It turns out that they have struck a sponsorship agreement with the company, and give out free samples at all their shows. Carrie said that lines for the free chocolate and marshmallow snack cakes at their shows are often the longest in the park.

“I love Moon Pies, and I think it’s something fun that people remember. If people remember me as ‘the Moon Pie girl,’ well that’s alright by me.”

This is a very entertaining bunch, and I expect that they will find an appreciative audience among younger fans of acoustic music, who love the drive and power of bluegrass, but also prefer songs that have a newer edge. Big things should be ahead for Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain.

Rural Rhythm Records has posted two music video performances and a video bio from Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain, featuring special guest Jim VanCleve on fiddle.

The videos (also available on YouTube) are for two tracks from her self-titled debut CD, and include Seven Miles From Wichita (currently #7 on the Bluegrass Unlimited Singles chart) and her latest single, Going On The Next Train.

The video bio has Carrie and the boys shopping for music in Nashville, and talking about their musical backgrounds - with comments from producer (and Mountain Heart fiddler) Jim VanCleve as well.

UPDATED 11/9: The dates indicated for Carrie’s Studio Special when this was first posted were incorrect, owing to mistaken information being provided to us. The dates shown below have been edited, and are correct.

Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain, will be featured on XM Satellite Radio on November 17, 2006. They’ll be on Kyle Cantrell’s show, Studio Special with special guest Jim Van Cleve on on fiddle. The show will debut on the 17th at 8 AM EST and will be rebroadcast at the following times.

Saturday, November 18 - 11:00 am
Sunday, November 19 - 6:00 pm
Monday, November 20 - 8:00 pm
Tuesday, November 21 - 12:00 midnight
Thursday, November 23 - 3:00 pm

Additional Links:

www.carriehasslerandhardrain.com
myspace.com/carriehasslerandhardrain

Carrie Hassler has plenty to celebrate these days. The debut CD with her band, Hard Rain, is being produced by Mountain Heart’s Jim VanCleve, and the first single, Seven Miles From Wichita, is being distributed to radio via Prime Cuts Of Bluegrass. She has signed with Rural Rhythm Records who will release the self-titled project on September 26.

We don’t have a lot more information about Carrie or her band, but she does have several audio samples up on her web site. These are full downloads, but not of the finished track that will appear on the CD when it is released.

Her band is made up of Josh Miller on banjo, Kevin McKinnon on mandolin, Keith McKinnon on guitar, Josh Swift on resophonic guitar and Travis Anderson on bass. They are all featured on the new CD, along with guest artists (and Rural Rhythm labelmates) Jim VanCleve and Clay Jones, as well as Adam Steffey and Darrin Vincent.