McCoury Music and High Sierra Music have posted a YouTube video of Dierks Bentley rehearsing his hit song I’ve Got A Lot Of Leaving Left To Do with The Del McCoury Band in preparation for their joint appearance at DelFest next weekend.

The video shows them running through the tune, complete with an extended jam section - where Dierks even trades a few G runs with the Delster himself!

Every so often, we find a wealth of opportunities to catch live bluegrass on the radio, and this next few days promises a bonanza over the air, online and via satellite.

Dennis Jones will have Dan Paisley & The Southern Grass performing live on WNCW this afternoon (5/9) during the 5:00 p.m. hour (EDT). WNCW broadcasts on several frequencies in western NC, and streams their signal over the Internet as well.

Both the Friday and Saturday Grand Ole Opry broadcasts this weekend will include performances from The Del McCoury Band and The Whites. Jesse McReynolds & The Virginia Boys will also appear on Friday. The show is available over the air in the Nashville market on WSM AM 650, and simulcast worldwide via online streaming at wsmonline.com.

One more, but with no live music… An interview with Doyle Lawson will be aired several times this weekend on XM’s enLighten channel (XM 34). Doyle will join host Dan Dixon for an in-depth discussion of Doyle’s music and the faith that informs it. Look for Doyle at 7:00 p.m. tonight (5/9) and again on Saturday (5/10) at 5:00 p.m.

Banjo players - and fans of Jimmy Martin - know Chris Warner for his driving style and hard hitting approach to the five string. Chris worked twice for Martin as a member of his Sunny Mountain Boys, from 1967-69, and again in the late 1980s.

During that second stint with Martin, Chris recorded two albums for Webco, All Original and Chris Warner & Friends, released as LPs and now out of print. He has recently compiled them both as a CD, Back Again, with 24 tracks featuring Warner as both banjoist and vocalist.

The tracks from All Original have Chris singing all lead vocals, with Del McCoury on tenor, and those from Chris Warner & Friends, have singing duties shared among Warner, Dudley Connell and Audie Blaylock.

But don’t think that banjo tunes get short shrift here. Chris knocks out 11 instrumentals mixed with 13 vocal tracks.

Newly minted bluegrass fans may not be aware of Warner’s top flight picking - and even long time listeners may not know him as a vocalist. Kudos to Chris for making this material available again, and to Pinecastle Records for their assistance in making it happen.

Audio samples for each track and online ordering are enabled on the Tom Adams web site, where Tom addresses the rumor that he and Chris are starting a band.

“With no official band name, no dates booked, and a disagreement over whether or not to wear matching shoes, I’d have to say yes, I believe there is a rumor that Chris and I are starting a band.”

I guess that settles that.

There is yet even more great bluegrass and acoustic music available from your radio (and computer) today (2/29). Tonight’s - and tomorrow’s - Grand Ole Opry broadcasts feature a number of favorite performers.

The Friday Opry boasts performances from The Grascals, The Whites, Jesse McReynolds and The Del McCoury Band. It airs in the Nashville area (and much of the central US) on WSM-AM 650, and live online at wsmonline.com, from 7:00-11:00 p.m. (ET).

The Saturday Opry show features Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart, Mike Snider, Bobby Osborne and The Del McCoury Band, and runs from 7:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Skaggs’ segment will also be carried on GAC TV ’s Opry Live at 8:00 p.m.

There are a number of great opportunities to catch some live bluegrass on TV and radio over the next few days, many being streamed online.

Today (1/15) at noon eastern, Balsam Range will be performing live on WDVX from Knoxville, TN. The show is streamed live online.

At 1:00 p.m., Claire Lynch will join host Gracie Muldoon for an interview on WorldWideBluegrass.com.

The Friday Opry from The Ryman on WSM will feature the Opry debut of The Steeldrivers, along with sets from The Whites and Jesse McReynolds & The Virginia Boys.

Saturday’s (1/16) Opry show has The Whites again, plus The Del McCoury Band, The Grascals and Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press. Both Opry shows are steamed online at wsmonline.com.

On Sunday’s (1/27) Fox & Friends show on Fox News, Rhonda Vincent will be a guest. The show airs from 7:00-9:00 a.m. (EST).

Once again, this weekend’s Grand Ole Opry broadcasts have much to offer bluegrass and acoustic music fans.

Tonight’s Friday Opry (1/11) will feature performances from Old Crow Medicine Show, The Del McCoury Band and Jesse McReynolds & The Virginia Boys.

On Saturday, Del and Old Crow return along with Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press, The Whites and Rhonda Vincent. The televised portion on GAC’s Opry Live will include Rhonda, so be looking for that at 8:00 p.m. (EST) on GAC.

Opry Live will be rebroadcast on GAC Sunday (1/13) at 12:00 a.m. (midnight Saturday) and 12:00 and 7:00 p.m., and then again on Tuesday (1/15) at 8:00 p.m.

The Friday Opry is broadcast from 9:00 to 11:00 p.m. (EST) and the Saturday show runs from 7:30 p.m. until 12:30 a.m. Both shows are available over the air in the Nashville market on WSM AM 650, and simulcast worldwide via online streaming at wsmonline.com.

Sirius Bluegrass (Channel 65) is giving New Year’s Eve over to Del McCoury, with 36 hours of back-to-back McCoury.

Starting Monday (12/31) at noon and running throughout New Year’s Day, Sirius Bluegrass will air encore presentations of their Hand Picked with Del program, hosted by McCoury. Del plays his favorite bluegrass songs (old and new), and shares stories from his long career in the business.

The only interruption from the Hand Picked Del-a-thon comes at 10:00 p.m. (EST) when Sirius will carry a live broadcast of the New Year’s Eve McCoury Family Pickin’ Party from The Ryman in Nashville. In addition to The Del McCoury Band, the show will feature performances from Ronnie Bowman, Leftover Salmon’s Drew Emmitt and Vince Herman, Jon Fishman (from Phish), and Steep Canyon Rangers.

It’s sure to be a rollicking good time, and a fine way to welcome 2008.

Del McCoury’s web folks have posted a clever and humorous video to promote the now annual New Year’s Eve Party at The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.

Joining Del and the boys will be Ronnie Bowman, Drew Emmitt, Jon Fishman, Vince Herman and Steep Canyon Rangers starting at 8:00 p.m. (CST) on 12/31/07.

The brief video does a great job of explaining what sort of show this is by playing on the stereotype of the cranky bluegrass fan.

Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster, or from The Ryman box office.

John posted the other day that Del McCoury and band would be making an appearance on NPR’s Talk of the Nation. In that post he mentioned that the show’s audio would be made available online.

The story is now online and does include a link for listening to the audio of the in studio performance. You can find it here.

The NPR: Blog of the Nation includes two follow up posts to the Studio 4a performance.

The first story focuses on a 10 year old mandolin player who called in to talk with Ronnie about the mandolin.

The second story, actually the first one posted, includes a video of Del’s in studio performance of 1952 Vincent Black Lightning. It’s wonderfully filmed footage and worth watching for all Del Heads.

Thursday afternoon’s edition of Talk of the Nation will include time with The Del McCoury Band. The show (talk/news format) airs each weekday on many National Public Radio affiliate stations at 3:00 p.m. (eastern).

The McCourys will appear during the Performance Chat segment on October 18, where they will pick and sing live in the NPR studio, and also chat with show host Neal Conan. They will offer songs from Ronnie McCoury’s new children’s bluegrass CD, Little Mo’ McCoury, and perhaps some band favorites as well.

The NPR signal is streamed live online if your NPR station does not carry Talk of the Nation and, should you miss Thursday’s show, the audio will be accessible on the NPR web site by 6:00 p.m. tomorrow evening (10/18), and archived indefinitely online.

Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs were honored last night as they were inducted into Nashville Songwriters Association International’s Hall Of Fame at their 38th Annual Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony.

Marty Stuart inducted Flatt & Scruggs, recalling how he joined Lester Flatt & The Nashville Grass when he was 13 years old. The Del McCoury Band performed a number of Flatt & Scruggs compositions (If I Should Wander Back Tonight, Earl’s Breakdown, Little Cabin Home on the Hill, Don’t Get Above Your Raisin’ and The Martha White Theme) and were then joined by Stuart for Scruggs’ classic Foggy Mountain Breakdown.

From the NSAI press release:

Joining Scruggs to accept the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Manny Award (short for manuscript) were Flatt’s widow, Gladys Flatt, and granddaughter Tammy Brumfield. “It’s been a wonderful ride,” Scruggs said. “Thank you all very much.”

Also inducted last night were Bob DiPiero, Mac McAnally, Dottie Rambo and Hank Williams, Jr.

The Del McCoury Band is set to record two live shows next week, with an eye towards a possible live CD release. The shows are next Wednesday and Thursday (10/17-18) at The Barns at Wolf Trap in Vienna, VA.

The folks at McCoury Music tell us that they haven’t yet made a firm decision on when or how the recordings may be released.

If you live in the DC/Northern VA area, you can be a part of the live recording at Wolf Trap - just don’t distinguish yourself by screaming out during a song!

Jon Glik’s fiddle playing can be heard on some of my favorite records. Anyone who knows me, knows I’m a huge Del McCoury fan. Don’t Stop The Music may be my all time favorite McCoury album, and Glik’s fiddle plays an important roll in the band’s sound on that recording.

Over the years Jon has recorded with a number of other bluegrass legends including David Grisman, Frank Wakefield, Peter Rowan, the Forbes Family, Dave Evans, Paul Adkins, Walter Hensley, Bob and Danny Paisley, and more.

Sadly, Jon is now in the hospital due to liver failure. This makes the third time this year he has been hospitalized. Like many other musicians, Jon does not health insurance and is faced with rising medial bills. In the midst of this, he is in need of a liver transplant if he is to survive.

The bluegrass community is coming together in an effort to assist this beloved fiddle player. A fund has been started to raise money for the transplant and to help offset his medical expenses.

Several things are being done to raise money for the fund.

A benefit concert is being held on Friday, October 19, from 7:00-11:00 PM. The concert takes place at The Arcadia Fire Hall, in Arcadia, MD. Admission is $35 at the door. Performers include The Del McCoury Band, David Grisman, David Grier, and The Forbes Family.

Eastman Strings has kindly donated a beautiful 904 D Mandolin to be raffled off at the concert, with all proceeds going directly to Jon’s medical fund.

James Reams, Walter Hensley & The Barons of Bluegrass are donating all proceeds (during the month of October) from the sale of the CD Wild Card, featuring Jon Glik on fiddle, to Jon’s medical fund. To order the CD, they ask that you mail a check for $15, made out to Jon Glik Medical Fund, to Mountain Redbird Music, 565 9th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215. They ask that you also include $1 in cash or postage stamps to cover shipping costs.

You may also contribute directly to the fund by sending a check to Jon’s sister, Barbara Glik. Again, the check should be made out to Jon Glik Medical Fund, and mailed to:

Barbara Glik
P.O. Box 4005
Annapolis, MD 21403

Let’s all pull together and help one of our own in his time of need.

The first music video from Little Mo’ McCoury, Ronnie McCoury’s new CD of bluegrass music for children, is now available online.

It’s for the song, Man Gave Names To All The Animals, and it’s a real hoot.

Fatherhood has a profound impact, and each man who experiences it feels the change in his own way. For Ronnie McCoury, it has called him to record bluegrass music designed to appeal to young listeners, and hopefully bring families together to enjoy the music as a group.

Little ‘Mo McCoury is due for release on August 21 on McCoury Music, featuring Ronnie and the Del McCoury Band on a set of both new and familiar songs with themes and/or lyrics that young children might appreciate, all performed in the unmistakable McCoury bluegrass style. They’ve included such classics as Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Teddy Bear’s Picnic and I’ve Been Working On The Railroad with bluegrass classics like Jimmy Brown The Newsboy and Mama Blues - with Rob McCoury on banjo.

Audio samples from all 16 tracks can be found on the McCoury Music site.

Some touring in support of this CD is expected, with more details anticipated before long.

Brance mentioned last month - just ahead of the Merlefest weekend - that a number of live onlive audio streams would be available from the festival, and that audio archives would be available as well after the fact.

You can find these archives at Martha’s Vineyard Radio (mvyradio.com) where a mix of stage shows, workshops, jams and interviews from Merlefest 2007 are listed alphabetically.

With the far ranging musical diversity that is a Merlefest trademark, you can expect to find sets from some of your favorite acts and also discover something new. Bluegrass and acoustic music fans will surely be interested in the performances from headliners like Sam Bush, Cherryholmes, Del McCoury, Doyle Lawson, Peter Rowan and The Nashville Bluegrass Band.

Some special highlights are the guitar mini-concert with Bryan Sutton and Chris Eldridge, multiple performances by The Infamous Stringdusters and Uncle Earl, a set by Crooked Still and one by The Lovell Sisters.

Songwriters get their due as well, with a open mic set from Mark “Brink” Brinkman and Chris Austin Bluegrass Songwriting contest winner Jeanette Williams.

There are hours of great live music at the mvyradio.com Merlefest 2007 audio archives. Set some time aside and sample the sounds.

Rebel Records has reissued two more bluegrass classics as download only releases, available only from eMusic and iTunes. Both were originally released on LP in the early-to-mid 1970s.

Folks these days know Ricky Skaggs as a successful band leader, vocalist and mandolinist, but when That’s It was released in 1975, Skaggs was a journeyman bluegrass pro working for JD Crowe and The Country Gentlemen. The 12 tracks are mostly instrumental, with favorites like Red Apple Rag, Florida Blues and Sweet Georgia Brown included along with a few Skaggs vocals.

Joining Ricky on this record were Jerry Douglas on Dobro, Tom Gray and Ed Ferris on bass, Marc Pruett on banjo, and Terry Baucom on fiddle and guitar.

Audio samples can be found in the iTunes Music Store.

Roy McMillan & the High Country Boys were known for hard driving, original North Carolina bluegrass in the 1970s, and High Country was their debut release on Rebel. The 12 tracks were all written by band members, primarily Roy McMillan himself.

You can also find audio samples for High Country in iTunes.

Also recently re-released in digital form by Rebel, available from eMusic and iTunes, are these other classics:

CMT.com is reporting that McCoury Music has signed an exclusion distribution deal with RED Distribution.

McCoury Music was formed to release the recordings of bluegrass superstar Del McCoury when he left Rounder Records in 2003. They are also set to release the new CD from Larry Sparks, The Last Suit You Wear, tomorrow (5/1), and will release an acoustic project from Merle Haggard later this year.

RED is owned by Sony/BMG, and is considered to be the dominant distributor in the US for independent labels. Formed initially to distribute the recordings of smaller, independent heavy metal labels in 1979, but have since expanded to include music from a great many popular genres.

McCoury Music seems to be their first truly bluegrass label, though they also distribute the projects from SCI Fidelity, the String Cheese Incident label that has expanded to include several other artists as well.

The RED Distribution web site is currently being redesigned, but you can find them on MYSpace in the meantime.

Vince Gill has announced the addition of The Del McCoury Band to an 18 date summer tour swing, in continuing support of his recent 4 disk mega-release, These Days. Gill’s wife Amy Grant will also be featured on this tour, which will run from July 14 through September 11.

From today’s press release:

“We’re calling this ‘Vince Gill: The Friends and Family Tour, Featuring Amy Grant and the Del McCoury Band,’” Gill announces. “I know that’s a real mouthful. But, believe me, it’s going to be a real earful, too. We aim to dazzle.”

“I always enjoy working with Vince,” says Grant, the gospel and pop star who’s also Gill’s wife. “It’s especially exciting to be on the road with him on the heels of his great project, These Days. Between Del and his band, the Sapphire Blue Horn Section and all the other musicians on stage, this will be a great spectrum of music.”

McCoury agrees. “Vince is like one of the boys,” he says, “great hair, great singer and a pretty good picker. Bluegrass has always been part of his life and it shows on stage.”

Del and the boys were involved in the recording of four tracks on These Days, and will presumably join Vince for a portion of his show, in addition to performing their own show as a group.

Find the tour dates on the Vince Gill site.

McCoury Music has four tracks from the upcoming Larry Sparks CD, The Last Suit You Wear, available for online listening on their MySpace page. The CD is due for release shortly on the McCoury label, produced by Don Rigsby and Larry Sparks.

The tracks available online are The Last Suit You Wear, For Your Love, Goodbye Little Darlin’ and Casualty Of War. There is one additional track from the Sparks CD on Del’s MySpace page, Those Blue Eyes Don’t Sparkle Anymore, which features Del singing tenor with Larry.