The SouthEastern Bluegrass Association (SEBA) has reached quite a milestone. This weekend, they will mark their 25th Anniversary supporting and promoting bluegrass music with a special concert and workshop in Duluth, GA.

From a group of pickers at the 1984 Diamond Lure Bluegrass Festival in Ellijay, GA, SEBA has grown to more than 800 members, with 9 chapters in 3 states (GA, TN, SC). Their web site contains an exhaustive listings of events near their chapter cities, including SEBA sponsored jams and pickings, appearances by local (member) bands, and festivals, workshops and concerts throughout the southeastern US.

Their Silver Anniversary Superstar concert will be held on October 24 at the Gwinnett Performing Arts Center in Duluth, 30 miles north of Atlanta. Headlining are two award-winning bluegrass acts that despite their many successful recordings, are only rarely found performing live: Longview and The Daughters of Bluegrass.

Longview consists of top bluegrass artists JD Crowe on banjo, Ron Stewart on fiddle, Don Rigsby on mandolin and vocals, Lou Reid on guitar and vocals, James Kinhg on guitar and vocals, and Marshall Wilborn on bass. They have 3 albums on Rounder Records, most recently Deep In The Mountains in 2008. Membership has varied substantially since the band launched in 1995, designed to showcase traditional bluegrass.

Similarly, Daughters Of Bluegrass formed to showcase the many talented ladies who pick and sing. They have 3 CDs, also featuring a large varied cast of characters, primarily organized by North Carolina band leader Lorraine Jordan. More than 4 dozen top female artists have recorded with this group, tanging from fresh-faced teens to, well… highly-experienced women. For the 10/24 show, the band will consist of Dale Ann Bradley on guitar, Gena Britt-Tew on banjo, Frances Mooney on bass, Tina Adair Dishman on mandolin, Lisa Ray on fiddle, Lorraine Jordan on mandolin, Jeanetta Williams aon bass, and Mindy Rakestraw on guitar – all contributing as vocalists.

Before the show, SEBA will sponsor a full day of workshops, including sessions with Ron Stewart on banjo and fiddle, Don Rigsby on mandolin and vocals, and Dale Ann Bradley on guitar. You can see the full workshop schedule online.

Congratulations to SEBA for their Silver Anniversary – here’s to 25 more!

The November/December 2008 edition of Bluegrass Music Profiles (BMP) is now available according to a note that I received this morning from the publishers, Bluegrass Publications, LLC.

This new edition carries the legend “3rd Annual Women In Bluegrass Issue,” and it features articles about Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain, Sierra Hull, Jeanette Williams, and Next Best Thing (Tensel and Sally Sandker). In addition you’ll find in its pages a DJ Profile with Andrea Bradstreet, ShopTalk with Casey Henry, Songwriter Profile with Donna Ulisse, and a Promoter Profile with Chris Palmer of RiverCity Bluegrass Festival.

BMP is currently soliciting submissions from promoters regarding their 2009 festival dates for a free listing in the magazine’s annual festival guide, to be included in the January/February 2009 edition.

Women in Bluegrass is also the theme of this week’s Music from Foggy Hollow, airing on WAMU’s Bluegrass Country. The show is hosted by Australian Mike Kear and is offered 6 times weekly over the 24/7 streaming audio feed at bluegrasscountry.org.

Mike says that every song played on this week’s show will either be all-female, or feature a female performer. A number of selections from the newest Daughters Of Bluegrass CD, Bluegrass Bouquet, will be played, along with an interview with co-producer and songwriter Dixie Hall.

Look for Mike’s show Tuesday at 3:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., Thursday at 10:00 p.m., and Friday at noon. All times eastern.

Blue Circle Records has announced the release of Bluegrass Bouquet (BCR-017), what they describe as “an organic all-female album” from the IBMA Recorded Event of the Year award-winning Daughters of Bluegrass.

This CD, the second album for the Blue Circle Record label by the Daughters of Bluegrass, is a landmark extravaganza featuring over 50 daughters and 17 songs.

The opening cut, Proud To Be A Daughter Of Bluegrass, certainly is an extravaganza with Dale Ann Bradley leading 20 other ladies in a remembrance of their forebears in bluegrass and delighting in their own involvement in the music. Such esteemed members of the fairer sex as Heather Berry, Lisa Martin, Gloria Belle, Sierra Hull, Rhonda Vincent, Lisa Ray, Linda Lay, Sally Jones, Carol Lee Cooper, Jeanie Stanley, Sonya Isaacs, Becky Isaacs Bowman, Michelle Nixon, Jeanette Williams, Sophie Haislip, Louise Tomberlain, Mindy Rakestraw, Lizzy Long, Frances Mooney, Lorraine Jordan, Annette Kelly, Lily Lieux, Dixie Hall, Judi Marshall, Beth Lawrence, Melissa Lawrence, Donica Christensen, Rebecca Frazier, Jenni Lyn Gardner and Lisa Manning all share in that pride.

In varying combinations that cast of songstresses, re-enforced by the talents of vocalists Janet McGarry, Valerie Smith, Stacy York, Dara Wray, Alecia Nugent and Jennifer Strickland bring to luscious life some exceptional songs each of which was written by the people at Good Home Grown Music, namely Dixie Hall, Tom T Hall and Troy Engle, with an assist on one song by Billy Smith, who is himself no slouch with a guitar and a pen.

Providing the instrumental drive and finesse are Gena Britt, Vicki Simmons, Megan McCormick, Becky Buller, Tina Adair, Kristin Scott Benson, Rebekah Long, Jenee Fleenor, Jeana Martin, Janice Martin, Larita Martin, Martha Adcock, Amber Burks and Beth Stevens.

Song samples and ordering can be found at the Daughters’ website and on CD Baby. Albums are also available for purchase from most of the featured artists at their live performances and their respective websites.

On October 28, 2006 The Daughters Of Bluegrass took home the coveted Recorded Event of the Year award for their second CD release, Back To The Well. The evening before the awards were announced, they also performed at an official IBMA showcase, and video from that show is now posted on YouTube.

Songs available from that show include:

All seven of the videos can be found on the Hope River Entertainment YouTube page.