Mastershield Records has released a second volume from Bill Yates where he reprises some of the classic songs from The Country Gentlemen. Bill was a member of the band for 20 years, and his first Country Gentlemen tribute CD was warmly received by their legions of fans.

Bill plays bass and sings (just as he did with the Gents), with assistance from Darren Beachley on guitar and vocals, Kevin Church on banjo and vocals, Dave Propst on mandolin and vocals, Mark Clifton on resonator guitar, Mike Phipps on vocals, and Terry Pearson and Dave MacGlashan on bass.

The songs will all be familiar to long-time followers of The Country Gentlemen.

• Joe’s Last Train
  
• Darby Castle
• One Morning In May
• I’d Rather Live By The Side Of The Road
• Willow Creek Dam
• Dark As A Dungeon
• Meet Me Over On The Other Side
• Bringing Mary Home
• Matterhorn
• The Old Pine Tree
• Fox On The Run
• Legend Of The Rebel Soldier
• It’s Just Like Heaven
• Traveling Kind

Several audio samples can be found on Bill’s MySpace page.

We’ve been in touch recently with Fred Robbins, a photographer and bluegrass enthusiast who has posted a brilliant set of photos from the 1972 Country Gentlemen Festival at Indian Ranch online. This was the first such festival hosted by the Gents, held in Webster, MA.

Fred tells us that he just stumbled across the slides after decades sitting in a box, and says that he is delighted to be able to share them with the bluegrass community.

If you enjoyed the Bluegrass Country Soul DVD released in 2006, you are sure to appreciate Fred’s photos, which were taken a year after the festival documented in that DVD. New bluegrass fans will get a kick out of seeing some of today’s premier artists when they were younger, and folks who were following bluegrass in the 1970s will have some powerful memories rekindled.

There are shots of The Country Gentlemen, The Kentucky Gentlemen, Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys, James Monroe, Bluegrass 45, The McLain Family, Mac Wiseman, IInd Generation and the original Newgrass Revival.

Here are a few images Fred agreed to let us post, but you really need to see them all, put together in a very nice slide show online.

                 

Fred also has a great many audio and video recordings from bluegrass events posted where they can be seen and heard online.

We heard last week from Darin Aldridge, former member of The Country Gentlemen and current mandolinist with The Circuit Riders. This young man has quite a busy time ahead of him in the near future.

First up, he is engaged to be married to Brooke Justice, with whom he has started a new band. Darin is on guitar, Brooke on mandolin, with Chris Bryant on banjo, Eddie Biggerstaff on bass and Perry Woddie on resonator guitar. All five sing, with Brooke and Darin the featured lead vocalists.

Darin Aldridge & Brooke Justice will have a new CD, I’ll Go With You, due October 14 on Pinecastle Records and the band will be at IBMA this coming week showcasing the hard driving Gospel music that is their specialty.

Here is a YouTube clip of the band doing Get Down And Pray, one of the songs from the new CD. Audio samples for the others can be heard on their MySpace page.

Darin says that in addition to a wedding on December 27, he is also working on a new recording with The Circuit Riders this fall, which will also be released on Pinecastle.

Darren Beachley has written in to give us an update concerning the production of the second Country Gentlemen Tribute CD from Bill Yates. Darren and Bill are co-producing this new recording.

The first CD was released in December of 2006. We first brought you news of volume 2 in December of 2007. Darren tells me a December 2008 release is planned for this second tribute CD.

Work is about 75 percent finished. Songs include “Traveling Kind”, “Dark As A Dungeon”, “Joe’s Last Train”, “Darbys Castle” and “Willow Creek Dam”. The lineup includes Bill Yates, Darren Beachley (DL&Q), Mike Phipps, Dave Propst, Kevin Church (former country gent) and Mark Clifton.

Yates and company are currently putting together their tour schedule for early next year in support of this new recording.

You can find their tour schedule on their myspace page.