Brance and I had a great interview with Del McCoury (which we’ll get up as soon as we can), but I got down to the evening showcases too late to hear The Davidson Brothers, who traveled from Australia to perform at IBMA.

I did get to hear Gold Heart, and they delivered a strong set of original bluegrass, taken primarily from their new Rural Rhythm CD, My Sisters And Me. This teen sister trio consists of Analise, Jocelyn and Shelby Gold along with their dad, Trent, on bass and Russ Carson on banjo.

Mike Lovely shot some terrific pictures of them on stage.

The band is a youthful sister act, featuring the three Gold sisters, Alanlise on mandolin, Jocelyn on guitar and Shelby on fiddle. All three write and sing, and the group tours with papa Gold (Trent) on bass and Russ Carson on banjo.

Their new CD, My Sisters And Me, recently-released on Rural Rhythm, highlights their many talents. All but 3 of the 12 tracks are Gold sisters originals, and these skillful young ladies sound like studio pros – which they are, with two previous releases as Gold Heart.

We had the chance to discuss the new album with all three of them this week, and the interview shows just how thoughtful and serious the Gold sisters are about their music. Read it all (and hear several audio samples) after the jump.

Our first question involved the differences they have seen working with a label versus releasing self-produced projects.

“Wow! It is so cool! The Passamano family and Rural Rhythm Records are great people to work with. They have put a lot of confidence in us, believing that our project would be a success. We felt we couldn’t go wrong with Rural Rhythm Records and it was a true honor to sign on with them. It’s business, but it is also a relationship between families. They are very close knit and so are we.

Ironing out details has never been a problem and My Sisters And Me has been one  smooth experience from start to finish. We’re really, really happy and look forward to working with Rural Rhythm on future projects. We are truly blessed!

Just four years ago we were trying to figure out how to hold our instruments correctly and now we’re on the same label as Mountain Heart, Lonesome River Band, and IIIrd Tyme Out!  (No pressure here!)”

The CD was recorded at Brent Truitt’s studio in Nashville, with Justin Carbone producing.

“We met Justin for the first time at a festival in Arizona in 2006 and immediately hit it off. Our whole family and Justin became instant friends. That entire summer we kept running into Justin and Special Consensus at different shows. After that, we stayed in touch and would jam whenever we got the chance. He even filled in on bass, before Daddy joined the band.

He is a great friend and music mentor! Justin would patiently sit with the three of us and work on our breaks, rhythm, or just whatever. It was a lot of fun! When we got ready to record Never Let Go in early 2008, Justin was the first person we thought of to produce the project. We called to ask him what he thought. He was excited we asked and we were thrilled when he said yes.

We really like Justin’s style. He has a lot of class and has encouraged us from day one. Justin brings out the best in us and pushes us at just the right speed. He is extremely serious about producing, and at the same time, knows how to make it all enjoyable.

When he was getting things organized for Never Let Go, Justin introduced us to Brent Truitt. He actually gave us the option to use any of several studios to record at. After a family meeting, it was Brent’s all the way! Justin had worked with Brent on other projects and they were good friends. It was almost like we had known Brent for a long time too. The guy is incredible!

There is never a dull moment when Brent and Justin are teamed up. They seem to feed off of each other and that just helps us. When it came time to start our brand new project, it was Team Carbone-Truitt once again. Like they say, ‘If it ain’t broke don’t try to fix it.’

We honestly never thought of using anyone else.”

Recording in Nashville introduced some scheduling issues for Trent, but it also offered some wonderful opportunities for the group.

“We wanted Daddy to play bass on the CD and he was learning the new material for My Sisters and Me. Daddy still works full time and it would have been nearly impossible for him to take time off of work and come to Nashville to do the whole CD, continue to tour with us, and get the project out on time. He did make it in the studio to record Miles, which he co-wrote with Jocey.

Alan Bartram played bass on Never Let Go and My Sisters And Me. He did a fantastic job. He’s a super bass player and another good friend. Alan was able to fit us into his schedule in between touring with the Del McCoury Band.

Russ Carson wasn’t with the band when we cut the banjo tracks and we didn’t want just anyone to play banjo on My Sisters and Me. We needed a top-notch picker who meshed well with us.

Justin called one day and said, ‘Aaron McDaris.’ That’s all he said initially. He went on to say that Aaron should play banjo on My Sisters and Me. Our eyes lit up, but we didn’t know how it would work because we were used to hearing Aaron play at rocket speed and Gold Heart has this slow drive thing going on. Justin said it would work great and it did.

People are still asking us if that is really Aaron playing on the CD. He is so superbly versatile. Fast, slow, or in between, it doesn’t matter, he can do it all. Russ is with us full time now and has picked up the material incredibly fast. He’s a great musician and has been a welcome ray of sunshine to the band, with both his great personality and talent.

We needed some resonator guitar on My Sisters and Me and Andy Hall had also played on our Never Let Go project. What can we say about Andy? He’s one awesome picker!  We were happy to have him play on our last two projects. He knows us and just accents our music perfectly. Our seven-year-old brother Mikaiah has taken an interest in the Dobro and we hope to have him tour and record with us some day. We have actually been kicking around the idea of adding a Dobro to the band, but the search goes on.

Early on, Sam Passamano brought up the idea of having someone do a duet on My Sisters and Me. The duet, sung by Analise and Justin, on our Never Let Go album entitled Thank You Darlin’ went over very well, so when Sam recommended we include a duet, we were all for it. The song that we thought would work best as a duet was Never Be Through With Lovin’ You.

Daddy suggested Brandon Rickman. He said it was a Missouri thing. Brandon has always been one of our favorite male vocalist and we were delighted to have him join us on this project!”

Here’s a trio of audio samples from My Sisters and Me with some comments from the girls…

Sister – Listen Now    

Sister is our first single from the new CD. Our friend, Nora Jane Struthers wrote this song especially for us Gold sisters. We were honored!

It was the night before we went in to the studio to start recording and we were still one song short. Justin spoke with Nora Jane and explained how we needed one more song for Shelby to sing. It needed to have a positive impact, and at the same time be a song that fit our 13-year-old sister well.

To this Nora Jane replied, ‘Well, I’ll write a song for them. Give me 45 minutes.’

The next morning, Justin brought us a demo of Sister. As soon as we heard the song, we knew we had to record it! We worked up our harmonies, tweaked it a bit and were ready to go.

Sister fits us so perfectly and portrays just how lost we would feel without one another. Shelby’s twin fiddle work really helped set the mood for this beautiful song!”

Grin And Bear It – Listen Now    

“The three of us wrote this song a couple of weeks before we went into the studio. This is the first song the three of us girls ever wrote together. The band totally meshed together on this track and that made it even more fun to record! We really wanted to kick My Sisters and Me off with a groover.

The first time we we played this song on stage was at our first gig in Kenilworth, England last April with Jens Koch.”

Miles – Listen Now    

“Jocelyn and Daddy wrote Miles together. She wanted to recognize our Dad and the effort he has put forth on the United States border for the past 24 years. Mama did pray every time he went to work. He has a tough job, especially when he was patrolling the border. There are miles of dusty roads, miles of steel fence, and miles and miles of desert and Daddy has seen a lot of it.”

All the Golds are headed to Nashville next week for IBMA. I saw them perform at a number of late night showcases last year, where they turned a lot of heads, but this year they have a chance to appear in front of a lot more people.

“We are so excited about IBMA this year! We have been invited to perform as a 2009 IBMA Official Showcase Band. In addition to our Official Artist Showcase, we have four After Hours showcases and a Rural Rhythm Artist Showcase.

We will be very busy promoting our new project with Rural Rhythm Records! We also look forward to visiting with our sponsors, Mike Long, Collings, BlueChip Picks, and GHS Strings and let folks know that we truly think their products are great.

We hope to see some old friends, like you John, and make some new ones as well.

We always enjoy IBMA. We’re completely worn out at the end of the week but it’s a ‘good’ worn out. We work our tails off! This music business keeps our whole family going at an intense pace.”

Gold Heart is made up of sisters Analise, Jocelyn and Shelby Gold along with papa Trent Gold and banjo picker Russ Carson. Dad plays bass, Analise mandolin, Jocelyn guitar, and Shelby fiddle. All three sisters sing.

The single is Sister, a song by Nora Jane Struthers – an appropriate choice, don’t you think?

Sister is included in Rural Rhythm’s Fresh Cuts & Key Tracks #5, sent to bluegrass radio in early June.

A series of rambles about CDs by bluegrassmercury, part 2…

A big bundle of CDs has landed on my desk in the recent past. They include those by Danny Paisley, the Infamous Stringdusters, Williams & Clark Expedition, Kenny & Amanda Smith Band, Daughters Of Bluegrass, High Windy, Gold Heart, Cherryholmes, Earl Scruggs, The Mashville Brigade, Crowe Brothers, Ralph Stanley II, Longview, Big Country Bluegrass.

The Daughters Of Bluegrass Bluegrass Bouquet (Blue Circle BCR 017) is an epic collection of some considerable magnitude, comprising 17 cuts and featuring over 50 ‚Äòdaughters.’ The first track, Proud To Be A Daughter of Bluegrass alone there are 20 ladies singing, 4 shouters and 6 pickers.

Those familiar with the Blue Circle label and the Good Home Grown Music group will recognise that this album is the product of Tom T Hall and our own Miss Dixie Hall. She’s a Boldmere, Birmingham girl! The duo penned all songs and most of the recording was done at the Hall’s home studio in Franklyn, Tennessee.

The quality of songs and singers is remarkably and consistently high, with many stand-out tracks (There Ought to Be) More to Love than This [sung by Lisa Ray]; I’m Gonna Love You Now [Frances Mooney]; Nobody Home [Lorraine Jordan]; the a cappella Go Up on the Mountain and Wait [with five-part harmonies]; I Made of a Flower Today and Scenes from an Old Country Graveyard, both with an old-time country feel; another with a gospel edge Take Me With You [Beth Lawrence]; Desmoranda [Valerie Smith]; Carolina State of Mind [Gina Britt]; and Everybody Got a Light [Beth Stevens]. In addition to the opening song, three others feature multiple lead vocalists. Overall, the ladies have produced an excellent album.

The latest album from Ralph Stanley II This One Is II (Lonesome Day Records 013) sees him striking out for a wider market than that which encapsulates the strict bluegrass fan. Stanley has a deeper voice than the late lamented Keith Whitley, but the similarities are very definitely there, just as they are with his uncle, Carter Stanley.

II, as he is known, has gathered together a bunch of top studio buddies; Tim Crouch (fiddle and guitar), Cody Kilby (guitar), Randy Kohrs (resophonic guitar), Harold Nixon (bass), Adam Steffey (mandolin) and Ron Stewart (banjo, utilised sparingly). Jim Lauderdale, Steve Gulley, Darrin Vincent, Marty Raybon and Dale Ann Bradley all provide some harmonic assistance.

Beginning with a Garth Brooks song, Cold Shoulder, II has included a Elton John song (Georgia) and one by Townes van Zandt (the beautifully melodious "Loretta") and another by Lyle Lovett (a driving bluegrass treatment of "L A County"). Also, in the ‚Äòcountry’ pigeon-hole are They Say I’ll Never Go Home, Honky Tonk Way and If This Old Guitar Could Talk. Train Songs is up-tempo offering from the pen of the ubiquitous Tom T Hall. Saving the very best for comment to the last there is the killer Moms Are the Reason Wild Flowers Grow and the equally heart-rendering Carter, the Fred Eaglesmith tribute to Carter Stanley. File under ‚ÄòGreat Music.’

Junior Sisk has had chequered career in bluegrass, writing for the Lonesome River Band in the early 1990s, working with Wyatt Rice & Santa Cruz, Lost & Found and BlueRidge have bracketed an earlier incarnation of the band he now fronts, Ramblers Choice.

Blue Side Of The Blue Ridge (Rebel 1825) fills a void that spans too many years. Sisk, now based in Ferrum, Virginia, has lived most of his life in the Blue Ridge Mountains and it colours his music. Accompanying him here is Sisk’s cousin Tim Massey (bass, vocals), Chris Harris (mandolin, harmony vocals), Billy Hawks (fiddle) and Darrell Wilkerson (banjo), while guest Wyatt Rice brought along his guitar for the sessions.

Sisk is steeped in traditional bluegrass, so much so that How Could I Explain was very nearly on Danny Paisley’s recent album. From the banjo kick-off on the first cut, The Wolf Is At The Door the music drives along at a fair lick. Other highlights are the title track, You Let the Dog off the Chain, Leaving Baker County, Dust On the Bible, I Did The Leaving For You and The Man In The Moon. Massey is the perfect foil for Sisk’s high lonesome, bluesy vocals. Massey sings lead on the two songs that he wrote without diluting the intensity of the rest of the album.

Cherryholmes have continued with the numbering system for their latest album; number III in this instance, with a subtitle Don’t Believe (Skaggs Family 6989020202). I have to admit to be slow getting into Cherryholmes, but that was my loss, although I have caught up with them now.

The family band is growing and developing further with each CD, not surprisingly as four of the members mature as people as well as musicians and, as usual, there is a lot of original material from them. Cia Cherryholmes provided seven of the 11 songs in this collection. The Sailing Man is exceptional with the up-tempo Don’t Believe, I Can Only Love You (So Much), with Cia herself singing lead vocals, and My Love For You Grows, sung by Skip, not far behind. Mum Sandy’s King As A Babe Comes Down is given an otherworldly sound with droning fiddle, whistle and accordion to accompany her vocals. BJ provided a couple of instrumentals; the hot Sumatra and the lovely medley Mansker Spree/O’Coughlin’s Reel, with its twin fiddles, and exercises his vocal chops on Bleeding. Molly, the youngest at 15, wrote and sang the funky Goodbye. The odd one out, so to speak, is Devil In Disguise, penned by Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman. It is easy to appreciate why this group won the IBMA Entertainer of the Year award in 2005.

Mountain Roads Recordings is a new label – founded in Bristol, Virginia, at the beginning of 2008. Big Country Bluegrass, so called after the Jimmy Martin instrumental, was the first band to sign up with them, having previously been part of the Hay Holler stable.

Mention of Jimmy Martin and Hay Holler will immediately give two good clues as to what listeners to Open For Business (MRR-BC-001) can expect; authentic hard-driving bluegrass. Big Country Bluegrass are Tommy Sells (mandolin), Teresa Sells (guitar and vocals), Jeff Michael (fiddle, lead guitar and vocals), Johnny Williams (rhythm guitar and vocals), Lynwood Lunsford (banjo and vocals) and Alan Mastin (bass).

The first track, High Alleghenies, has Jeff Michael singing lead along with Teresa Sells (high baritone) and Johnny Williams (tenor), thus showcasing the beautiful harmonies and drive of this group. Michael’s unique lead vocals can be heard also on Ghost Of A Love, Weary Traveler, I’ll Never Dream No More My Darling and Old Time Preacher Man, among others. Williams assumes the role of lead vocalist on Nashville Jail and Just Another Broken Heart, while Teresa Sells does likewise on I’ve Lost You and I Guess I’ll Go On Dreaming.

Open For Business is a combination of old standards, traditional favourites and two new songs, one by that prolific song-writing couple Tom T. and Miss Dixie Hall.

One CD that has been getting regular play in this household is Signs (Pinecastle 1169) from Special Consensus.

Signs consists of a dozen very impressive songs in all, including some of the best love songs collected on one album in a long time. Ashby Franks’ title song cleverly alludes to the interpretations of messages from the opposite gender. A timeless issue. Franks also penned My Heart Breaks Again. While Justin Carbone’s collaboration with Becky Buller, the excellent mid-tempo Gone To Carolina and his Lonesome Lesson Learned also demonstrate that Special Consensus has two excellent songwriters in its midst.

Franks sings lead on six songs, his voice being equally well suited to Jake Landers’ Mountain Girl, a song from the Statler Brothers’ repertoire, I’ll Go To My Grave Lovin’ You, and another country-style song Footprints. Carbone sings lead on four, both those noted as penned by him plus Leaving This Old Town, and the traditional sacred song What A Beautiful Day. David Thomas, the third lead vocalist heard here, does a fine job on the funky, swinging Talkin’ About It Just Don’t Get It Done. Cahill helped to pen the topically titled Snowball Breakdown. The CD, which is due for general release on 24 March, is a cert for lots of airplay and perhaps some recognition by those that decide to whom the industry’s awards go.

Gold Heart will be touring the UK shortly and, even though they are predominantly very young , they have already released two CDs. Never Let Go is their latest. On this album the band comprises the three Gold sister, Analise, Jocelyn and Shelby, plus studio guests Alan Bartram (bass), Thomas Wywrot (banjo), Andy Hall (Dobro®), Brandon Godman (second fiddle) and producer Justin Carbone.

Typical of this day and age, most of the songs are written by the band members, with Jocelyn Gold providing the bulk of them; writing seven on her own and collaborating on three others. Back To Virginia, Lonely Rain, the a cappella trio Walk On The Water and Hear Me Cry are outstanding compositions. The latter was a finalist in the Chris Austin Songwriting Competition at MerleFest last year.

The depth of maturity in those songs is quite staggering. What is more, it extends to Shelby’s Forever Tennessee and Thank You Darlin’. She wasn’t even a teenager when she penned either song. Not to be outdone, eldest sister Analise contributes the reflective Memories Of My Past and has co-writer credit for Walk On The Water. Most arrangements are up-tempo, but for a change of pace the slower Daylight Breaks and the afore-mentioned Hear Me Cry offer a change from the norm.

All the girls share the vocal responsibilities and solo or in harmony they excel. The performances on Never Let Go are polished with traditional grounding overlaid with youthful vigour and sensibilities.

The Dry Branch Fire Squad’s Echoes Of The Mountains (Rounder 0574) is the first studio recordings in about eight years and it is most welcome. The current line-up comprises Brian Aldridge (guitar, mandolin and vocals), Tom Boyd (banjo, Dobro ¬Æ and vocals), Dan Russell (bass, banjo and vocals) and Ron Thomason (mandolin, guitar, claw hammer banjo, percussion and vocals).

The opening Dixie Cowboy starts up-tempo with Michael Cleveland prominent, before the tempo slows at the end. It is the first of three western songs, the others being Rider On A Orphan Train and Seven Spanish Angels. They reflect delightfully the life style that Colorado resident Thomason enjoys at the moment. His rendition of Echo Mountain achieves his aim of presenting it as a metaphor for all folks who have friends of a different species with a subtle shift of emphasis from the babe to the faithful hound.

Aldridge and Boyd share the vocal responsibilities on Stormy Waters as they reprise the Jimmy Martin duet with Paul Williams in great fashion. Boyd’s other showcase is a solo rendition of Little Joe. Elsewhere there is an a cappella quartet – Power In The Blood; old-time – O Captain! My Captain, a Thomason solo with just clawhammer banjo for accompaniment; soul – Sam Cooke‚Äòs Bring It Home To Me with Thomason’s rustic voice accompanied by a doo-wop style vocal backing; and a touch of dry humour – (You Got To Pray To The Lord) When You See Those Flying Saucers.

How can one objectively review The Hangman (Pinecastle 1167) by Ernie Thacker when, by all accounts, he is extremely fortunate to be alive after a horrendous road accident in April 2006 and a series of critical surgical operations and needs the use of a wheelchair?

Thacker is possibly best known for a brief spell with the Clinch Mountain Boys, although he has had a stop-start career as leader of his own band Route 23 for some years. In addition to Thacker (guitar and vocals) is his brother Matt (bass guitar and tenor vocals), Dick Roach (banjo and baritone vocals) and Brandon Shupping (mandolin) along with guest fiddle player John Rigsby.

Fast tempos dominate for the first three songs, and indeed throughout. The slower Friday Once Again prompts comparison with Keith Whitley’s country offerings. The evocative Keith How Many, written by Melvin Burns and Ernie Thacker, is as powerful a tribute as Fred Eaglesmith’s Carter (mentioned earlier).

There aren’t as many songs from the band members as is normal these days – excellent exceptions are the title song and the Gospel Church Upon The Hill. All the Thacker brothers have a hand in writing these. However, is a good sprinkling of fresh songs with Bill Castle’s The Ballad Of Charlie Dill, Dave Carroll’s Detroit City Chill, and Word Of Mouth from Salvatore Guido and Paul Kelly. Covers include This Drinkin’ Will Kill Me from Dwight Yoakam, I Wish You Knew, Sunday Morning Coming Down and the traditional Rollin’ On These Rubber Wheels. Thacker’s past defines his future.

A variation of this edition of ‘Light In The Window" has been published in British Bluegrass News.

More next time
…………………

Gold Heart, a primarily family venture, is recently signed to Rural Rhythm Records. At the heart of the group are three singing sisters, Analise (mandolin), Jocelyn (guitar) and Shelby Gold (fiddle), with dad Trent on bass.

The girls sent along this report with the video…

We have returned home from our tour of the UNITED KINGDOM! What a lovely and beautiful part of God’s wonderful creation! We’re happy to report that we had an awesome tour. It was a true learning experience for all of us! The band definitely had a good two-week workout while on this trip. Sorry, about not being able to keep our UK tour blog up and running. Telephone & internet services were extremely limited and we didn’t have a moment to spare anyway.

We managed to squeeze in quick visits to the Edinburgh Castle, The Royal Mile, Mary Queen of Scots Palace, Stonehenge, Sherwood Forrest, the Scottish Highlands & others. We saw thousands of miles worth of heavenly countryside. We ate Scottish Haggis and English Pasties. Delicious! We stayed extremely busy and didn’t waste a second. Our shows all went exceptionally well and attendance was very high.

We met tons of really great people who just loved our music. It’s amazing how many bluegrass fans there are in England & Scotland. It was so nice sharing stories and getting to know these fine people. We would like to thank John Sheldon and the Scottish Bluegrass Association for their input and help with Gold Heart’s UK Tour, along with the promoters and event organizers and everyone else who worked so hard to make this tour such a success. Great work! We truly appreciate those of you who were so very kind and hospitable to us! Thank you to our fans & friends who came from far and near to enjoy our shows!

We invited Mr. Jens Koch to jump on board as banjo player for Gold Heart during our UK Tour. Getting to know Jens better and playing a ton of bluegrass with him was sure a highlight of the trip! Jens is from Stockholm, Sweden. They call him Mr. Banjo of Stockholm and he plays banjo with the band G2. G2 was voted Europe’s #1 Bluegrass Band!

Jens is a fine person who is so much fun to be with. He is a true banjo genius & his playing style was the frosting on the cake! His style meshed perfectly with our music and we truly appreciate the excellent job that he did for us. We had a blast playing with Jens!

He’s an incredible player! WE SMASHED IT COMPLETELY!!!!!
~Analise, Jocelyn & Shelby

This trio of young siblings – Analise (19), Jocelyn (16) and Shelby (13) Gold – has been turning heads and pricking up ears this past two years on the festival circuit, starting with appearances near their home in Northern Virginia.

They caused quite a stir at this past fall’s IBMA convention in Nashville, where they requested a meeting with Sam Passamano of Rural Rhythm Records. Passamano was impressed immediately with the band’s originality, poise and musicianship, but also with the aura of professionalism and seriousness from such young and relatively inexperienced performers.

Gold Heart has just signed a record deal with Rural Rhythm, and are currently in Nashville working in Brent Truitt’s studio to complete their first project for their new label. Justin Carbone (of Special Consensus) is producing, as he did for their previous CD, Never Let Go, released in the fall of 2008.

Nine of the twelve songs for this new album were written by Jocelyn Gold, who plays guitar with the group. Sister Analise plays mandolin, and Shelby is on fiddle. All three contribute vocally and are assisted by their dad, Trent Gold on bass, and Owen Piatt on banjo.

Truitt and Carbone are very pleased with the tracking so far, and the band is excited by this opportunity to share their music with a wider audience.

“Gold Heart is thrilled to have recently signed on with Rural Rhythm Records. Less than 4 years ago, we were just dreaming up how cool it would be to ‘be a band’ and knew nothing about the instruments we now love to play. Little did we know that our dream would so soon come true with a record deal to top it off!!”

Their sound is fresh and very much shaped by the “Virginia style” of contemporary bluegrass. I would be very surprised if Gold Heart doesn’t create a buzz as soon as these tracks hit the airwaves and the digital streams later this year.

No release date has been announced, but should be determined soon.

Though BBN has been published continuously each quarter for many years by the British Bluegrass Music Association (BBMA), this (#47) will be the first issue of the revised, newly-refocused magazine. Declining membership in the organization in recent years had led to a decline in the quality of British Bluegrass News, with only a sole staff member responsible for each issue’s content.

With new leadership in the person of BBMA chairman John Wirtz, a new team has been assembled to create the magazine, with an eye towards returning it to the standards that existed during the mid-1990s. That team includes Dave Bresnen (Editor In Chief), Richard Partridge (Sub Editor), Richard F. Thompson (Features Editor) and Pat Francis (Production Manager).

The BBMA web site is also being upgraded, and is expected to be up in its new form within a few days.

In the meantime, anyone interested in joining BBMA to support them as they support bluegrass music in Great Britain can contact Membership Secretary Trish Hockley by email.

Gold Heart is dominated by the three very talented Gold sisters, Analise (mandolin) 18; the songwriter in the band Jocelyn (guitar) 16; and fiddle player Shelby only just turned 13. Supporting them on upright bass is their father Trent and the very latest recruit on banjo is award-winning 17 year old Owen Piatt from Nashville, Tennessee.

There were obviously several people impressed with this band’s musical maturity demonstrated during recent showcases at the IBMA WoB Convention earlier this fall.

The UK tour will take at the end of April/beginning of May 2009.

Full details are as follows …..

• Friday, April 24 Heart of England Bluegrass Venue, Kenilworth, 02476 312258
• Saturday, April 25 Jumpin Hot Club, Live Theatre, Newcastle, 0191 2321232
• Sunday, April 26 Comfort Hotel, Nottingham, 01159 120080
• Monday, April 27 Zebra Club, Maidstone, 01622 744481
• Tuesday, April 28 Montrose Folk Club, Links Hotel, Montrose, 01674 830658
• Wednesday, April 29 SBA, Regal Theatre, Bathgate 01506 433634
• Thursday, April 30 Wildwood Flower Mountain Music, South Molton 01237 472083
• Friday, May 1 Tacchi Morris Arts Centre, Taunton, 01823 414141
• Saturday, May 2 Bluegrass Plus Club, Croydon, 01737 551191
• Sunday, May 3 University Arms, Sheffield, 01298 871645

Those interested in learning more about Gold Heart can find information on their website.

Today’s show (9/3) features Gold Heart a terrific young family bluegrass group from northern Virginia. The band is made up of the singing Gold sisters, Analise, Jocelyn and Shelby, and their dad Trent along with Zach Gilmer. Their harmony is emblematic of why family singing groups have had such an exalted place in the history of bluegrass, and they play with intensity and passion.

On Thursday (9/4) the raucous, jam-grass Hackensaw Boys will perform, followed by bluegrass bad boys Cadillac Sky on Friday. Expect C-Sky to preview material from their new CD, Gravity’s Our Enemy, released in August on Skaggs Family Records.

Blue Plate Special originates from Knoxville, TN, where it airs weekdays at noon (ET) on 102.9 and 105.9 FM, and via the WDVX streaming broadcast over the Internet. No audio archives, so be sure to listen live.