The Grascals will have two spots in the national media this weekend.

Tonight (1/9), they will appear on the Friday Grand Ole Opry during the 10:00-10:30 p.m. segment.

The Friday Opry show is available over the air on WSM AM 650, on XM channel 11 (XM Nashville), and simulcast worldwide via online streaming at wsmonline.com.

On Saturday (1/10), look for them again on CMT. They will be featured on the CMT Insider show at 1:30 p.m. to talk about their recording session with Hank Williams Jr.

CMT sent their cameras into the studio and caught interviews with Hank Jr. and the Grascals. From what we have learned, those sessions went quite well and there is some talk about future collaboration between the two.

This edition of Insider will also air on Sunday (1/11) at 11:00 a.m. (EST).

Our own intrepid correspondent, Richard Thompson [bluegrassmercury], has arrived in Nashville from the UK to attend the IBMA convention next week. This is his first trip to IBMA in 20 years, and we thought that his impressions and considerations would be of interest both to others who are likewise preparing to attend, and our many readers who would love be there but are unable to do so.

bluegrassmercury - Travelogue #2
by Richard F Thompson

We had the pleasure of attending the Grand Ole Opry last night (9/27). I say we, my wife Karen will probably get many mentions over the next week or so; she’s my trusty photographer.

It was my third visit to the Opry, if my memory serves me correctly and Karen’s second experience of the show.

The format never changes; it’s an institution and it works, so why fix it! It is a superb variety show with entertainment for very nearly all tastes. For those that don’t know, each artist is limited to one or two songs on his or her portion of the show, which for this particular evening, was split into four parts, each half an hour long.

There was a good mix of ladies of country music - I mean real country music.

The still beautiful Connie Smith demonstrated why Dolly Parton rates her among the top three female singers in any genre, telling me that she Never Once Stopped Loving You. The feeling’s mutual Connie! Marty, you are one very fortunate fellow.

Canadian Terri Clarke has a rare empathy with an audience and won more favor with a very good version of Loretta Lynn’s first recorded song Honky Tonk Girl. Karen was thrilled by that. And Suzy Bogguss reminded us that the art of yodeling is still alive and well.

Little Jimmy Dickens was in good wise-cracking form and reminded us of his abilities as great ballad singer, even at 87 years of age or thereabouts. In contrast the portly Jack Greene looked as though age had caught up with him a few years ago.

There were four bluegrass acts this evening; Jesse McReynolds and the Virginia Boys, who performed just one song; I’ll Love Nobody But You. He was accompanied by his granddaughter, Amanda Lynne and grandson Garrett (guitar), both singing harmony, and an ever-smiling legend, Jim Buchanan on fiddle, Terry Lease (banjo) and Matthew Madden (upright bass). Jesse still has nimble fingers. (more…)

The Grand Ole Opry is taking on a bluegrass flavor this weekend as the World Of Bluegrass prepares to descend on Nashville.

Tonight’s Friday Opry (9/26) will feature Del McCoury, Ricky Skaggs, The Whites, Grascals and Jesse McReynolds.

On Saturday night, they’ll have Del, Ricky and The Whites again along with Bobby Osborne and The Carolina Chocolate Drops.

The Friday Opry is broadcast from 9:00 to 11:00 p.m. (EST) and the Saturday show runs from 8:30 p.m. until 12:30 a.m. Both shows are available over the air in the Nashville market on WSM AM 650, on XM channel 11 (XM Nashville), and simulcast worldwide via online streaming at wsmonline.com.

Our Richard Thompson will be at The Opry tonight, so perhaps we will have a report from him tomorrow.

Some of bluegrass music’s top present-day stars will honor Bill Monroe on September 30 in the annual Bill Monroe Bluegrass Celebration, which will take place on Tuesday, September 30 at the Opry House in Nashville.

The Bill Monroe Bluegrass Celebration, presented by Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and staged at the Grand Ole Opry will include The Del McCoury Band, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, The Grascals, and Daily & Vincent. Each is among the final nominees for this year’s IBMA Entertainer of the Year award.

Daily & Vincent who burst onto the scene just last year have been nominated for a staggering 10 awards in total, including Vocal Group, Male Vocalist (Dailey), Emerging Artist, Bass Player (Vincent) and Album of the Year for their self-titled debut on Rounder Records.

The Del McCoury Band and Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver have both received four award nominations each.

Also making an appearance are the Infamous Stringdusters, The SteelDrivers, Jesse McReynolds & the Virginia Boys, and James Monroe.

The Infamous Stringdusters have nominations for Instrumental Group while The SteelDrivers are finalists for Album of the Year and Emerging Artist, with band members Mike Henderson and Chris Stapleton in with a chance of taking the Song of the Year title with Drinkin’ Dark Whiskey.

It should be a superb show!

The Opry’s long-standing fall bluegrass show was re-named the Bill Monroe Bluegrass Celebration after Monroe’s death in September 1996.

The event, which starts at 7:00 p.m. (CDT), takes place during the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) World Of Bluegrass event held in Nashville from September 29 to October 5, when, of course, there will be many bluegrass industry people in the city.

Information regarding this and other concerts at the Grand Ole Opry House and ticket arrangements can be found at the Grand Ole Opry website.

Already a Grand Ole Opry veteran as a high school senior, bluegrass prodigy Sierra Hull has a very special appearance scheduled for tonight’s Friday Opry (9/19).

Sierra has a dozen or more Opry appearances under her belt, but those were all ones where she sat in or appeared alongside some other artist or Opry member. Now, with her debut Rounder CD, Secrets, doing well and her performance schedule staying full, her Opry spot tonight is all about Sierra.

“I’ve played the Opry usually a couple times a year since I’ve been about 10, but it’s always been with other people. It’s been about a year since I played last, and that was with Alison Krauss, Dan Tyminski, Ron Block, and Dennis Crouch. It’s always a big honor to get to play there for sure!

I’ve played one other time under my own name along with my brother when I was about 14 or so, but I kinda feel like this is really the first time. It will be the first time doing my own songs since having a record come out, so it’s very exciting!”

She will be performing with members of her road band, with a couple of special guests - Cory Walker on banjo, Jacob Eller on bass, Shane Blackwell on guitar, Cody Hull on guitar, Rob Ickes on resonator guitar and Sierra on mandolin and lead vocals.

“My brother and I hardly get to play together anymore, so I’m thrilled he can be part of this. We’re also so happy to have Rob come out and play with us. He’s amazing and a joy to get to pick with too!”

The Friday Opry can be heard from 9:00-11:00 p.m. (EDT) over the air at WSM 650 AM, broadcasting from Nashville, on XM channel 11 (XM Nashville), or via live streaming at wsmonline.com.

Sierra’s set is scheduled in the 10:30-11:00 segment.

If it seems like The Grascals are everywhere these days… well maybe it’s because they are. They are showing up TV and radio every few days, and there are two more chances to catch them coming up.

The guys will be on tonight’s Tuesday Opry (9/2), performing in the 8:30-9:00 segment along with Jean Shepard. The Opry show is broadcast over the air on WSM AM-650 from Nashville from 8:00-10:00 p.m., and via live streaming at wsmonline.com. The show is also carried live on on XM channel 11 (XM Nashville).

Then tomorrow morning (9/3) Friday morning (9/5), they will be the guests on Studio Special, which runs on XM Satellite Radio’s Bluegrass Junction (XM 14). The show debuts at 8:00 a.m. (EDT) with a number of rebroadcasts over the next week or so.

• Saturday, September 6 at 11:00 a.m
• Sunday, September 7 at 6:00 p.m.
• Monday, September 8 at 8:00 p.m.
• Tuesday, September 9 at midnight
• Thursday, September 11 at 3:00 p.m.

The show features a live, in-studio performance from The Grascals, along with interviews and discussion with Studio Special host Kyle Cantrell - who tells us that this show was one the final appearances of former fiddler Jimmy Mattingly with the group. Kyle also mentioned that when they recorded this show back in March, the band had not yet publicly performed a number of the songs from their newest CD, Keep On Walkin’, which serves as the focus of this program.

Like most bands, Cadillac Sky has some special events lined up today to commemorate the release of their new CD, Gravity’s Our Enemy. Unlike most bands, however, they will perform on The Grand Ole Opry, and then host a CD release party live online.

Tonight (8/19) at 8:00 p.m. (EDT) the guys will be on the Tuesday Opry which airs in the Nashville market on WSM AM 650, on XM channel 11 (XM Nashville), and simulcast worldwide via online streaming at wsmonline.com.

Then, at 10:00, their official CD release party begins at The Rutledge, hosted by XM Satellite Radio’s Kyle Cantrell. Everyone in attendance will get a free copy of Gravity’s Our Enemy, and C-Sky fans outside of the Nashville area can watch the proceedings live online at skaggsfamilyrecords.com.

Sounds like a big day in store.

The July 26 edition of The Tennessean, Nashville’s hometown paper, has a story sure to be of interest to the many fans of Dave Akeman, a.k.a. Stringbean, one of the most beloved entertainers in the history of traditional string music.

He was senselessly murdered on Nov. 10, 1973 along with his wife, Estelle, when they returned from a Grand Ole Opry show to find intruders lying in wait for them in their home. The bodies were discovered by close friend and fellow Opry star, Grandpa Jones.

John A. Brown and his cousin, the late Doug Marvin Brown, were convicted of their murders and sentenced to 198 years in prison, but it seems Brown may be on his way home from prison in the near future.

The piece in The Tenessean by Kate Howard tells the tale…

As country music changed and Nashville generations passed, the fame of slain Hee Haw star Dave “Stringbean” Akeman faded.

This week, the state parole board heard all the reasons why the man who shot Akeman and his wife deserves a second chance, 34 years later. About a half-dozen spoke on behalf of convicted killer John A. Brown.

But the killer’s name didn’t ring a bell with anyone in the district attorney’s office when the possibility of Brown’s freedom came up. Most of the loved ones who spoke up in the past, Opry legends Roy Acuff and Porter Wagoner among them, have passed on. They had no children. And the friends who remain were never told a hearing was coming.

So, nobody stood to talk about the lasting impact of the day an unassuming country star named Stringbean was killed for his money, and his wife was silenced with a bullet while she begged for her life.

According to Howard, there are two parole board members who have yet to vote on this matter, and Brown will be freed should they vote in favor. You can read the full piece on the Tennessean site.

Here is a YouTube clip of String (as he was known to his many friends) appearing on television in 1971 on the Del Reeves Country Carnival show.

Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper will appear on tonight’s (7/25) Grand Ole Opry broadcast, surely sporting tunes from their upcoming Rounder CD, Leavin’ Town, due for release on July 29.

They are scheduled during the 9:00-9:30 p.m. segment (EDT).

Michael will also appear this morning with Katy Daley on WAMU’s Bluegrass Country online at 9:45 a.m. to talk about the new CD.

Catch tonight’s Friday Opry over the air at WSM 650 AM, broadcasting from Nashville, on XM channel 11 (XM Nashville), or via live streaming at wsmonline.com.

Randy Kohrs sent along a few photos from his appearance on The Grand Ole Opry last weekend.

Joining him were the members of The Randy Kohrs Band, Ashley Brown on fiddle and vocals, Mike Sumner on banjo, Elio Giordano on bass, Chris Wood on drums, with Jody Hughes filling in on guitar for the Friday show, and Josh Williams for Saturday’s.

Ashley also sent along this report about the impression Randy’s new signature model Amistar resonator guitar made on the Opry stage.

“For our set in the second show last Saturday at the Opry, we started with If All Those Trains Were Still Around (I’d be an ol’ hobo), which went over great. Randy did a very respectful intro to the song, saying we were doing it in the spirit of Mr. Acuff and his love for train songs.

For the second song, we did She Ain’t Comin’ Back. Randy had to switch to his signature Amistar metal body tri-cone guitar, and just as he was about to say something into the mic, the strap came off the pin and it went crashing down to the floor of the Opry stage, right in the middle of the circle - the guitar and the floor now have matching dents!

The audience let out a gasp in unison (it seemed). We just stared to see what Randy would do next. He just picked it up, strummed it once to see if it was still in tune – it was – and announced over the mic that it was a good thing it’s made out of metal. Randy then proceeded to sing the ever-loving daylights out of that song and the audience loved it!

Technically, he could get the dent out, but he’s not going to. It’s the best souvenir from the Opry he could ever have!”

She tells us that Randy made a strong showing with his voice in their first set as well.

“He started out the night with Shallow Grave, a solo with just him and the resonator, though the band comes in softly at the chorus and at the end. The audience went nuts before the song was even over. I’d be willing to bet he’s the first dobro/vocal soloist on the Opry in a long time - if ever - to get that sort of Opry response!”

Dan Tyminski will celebrate today’s (6/17) release of Wheels, his new Rounder CD, with an appearance on the Tuesday Opry in Nashville. Their set will be during the show’s first segment, between 8:00-8:30 p.m. (EDT).

The Tuesday Opry broadcast is available over the air in the Nashville market on WSM AM 650, and simulcast worldwide via online streaming at wsmonline.com. It can also be heard live on XM channel 11 (XM Nashville).

The new CD is in stores today, and available from online resellers. There are still no audio samples on the Rounder site, but two clips can be heard on Dan’s MySpace page, or samples from all 12 tracks in iTunes.

Once again, The Grand Ole Opry has some bluegrass to offer in this weekend’s broadcasts.

Friday night’s Opry (6/13) will feature performances from Mountain Heart, The Whites and Bobby Osborne & Rocky Top X-Press while Saturday (6/14) night has 3 Fox Drive and the Carolina Chocolate Drops on tap.

Kim Fox of 3 Fox Drive tells us that they will also be performing Saturday evening at the Opry Plaza Party, a free event just outside the Opry House that starts at 5:30 p.m.

“We’re really looking forward to the weekend as we’re flying our dad in for Father’s Day. Crossing our fingers that the weather holds out!!”

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, on XM channel 11 (XM Nashville), and simulcast worldwide via online streaming at wsmonline.com.

2008 is shaping up to be a nice year for Randy Kohrs. He won a Grammy this year as a producer of Jim Lauderdale’s latest bluegrass recording. In February he was a featured guest with cooking star Rachael Ray. His music video for the single Who’s Goin’ With Me reached #1 on CMTPure’s fan-voted countdown.

Tomorrow, Friday May 30, 2008, the Randy Kohrs Band will make its debut on the Grand Ole Opry.

Randy, and several members of his band, have performed on the Opry stage before as sidemen with other acts, but this will be Randy’s first appearance fronting his own band.

The band will perform at 8 PM Central Time.

Congrats Randy! Show em how it’s done.

Cherryholmes will be appearing on tonight’s Tuesday Grand Ole Opry, in the initial segment that airs from 8:00-8:30 p.m.

The Opry broadcast is available over the air in the Nashville market on WSM AM 650, and simulcast worldwide via online streaming at wsmonline.com. It can also be heard live on XM channel 11 (XM Nashville).

The band has continued to offer some sneak peeks from their next CD on YouTube. Throughout the video clips posted so far, they have refered to the project as Cherryholmes III, but that may just be the working title for this next Skaggs Family project.

In this clip, we see guest artist Rob Ickes preparing to track his part on the uptempo bluegrass song, Traveler.

And this latest clip is of Cia Cherryholmes recording vocals for the song, This Is My Son.

You can see all of the video clips on the Skaggs Family YouTube channel.

Cherryholmes also has a UK tour scheduled for this summer, doing shows in both Wales and England prior to their big show at the Cambridge Folk Festival at the end of July. You can see a list of their UK dates at ukbluegrass.com.

This weekend’s Grand Ole Opry broadcasts once again has something for bluegrass fans - both on radio and TV.

The Friday Opry (5/2) will include a show from Mountain Heart, in the 10:00-10:30 p.m. segment, and the guys will be back on Saturday evening as well.

Joining them on Saturday will be The SteelDrivers, who are stoked about their Opry night.

“The SteelDrivers are excited and especially looking forward to this Saturday night’s Grand Ole Orpy performance because it will be on the TV segment of the show. The televised portion of the Opry is on the GAC channel and airs from 7:00pm to 8:00pm. We are schedule to perform two songs starting around 8:45 (EDT). Needless to say, The SteelDrivers wish to thank the Opry for affording us this wonderful opportunity. Hope you can tune in.

After the Opry, we hit the Briley Parkway expressway and head to downtown Nashville to play our home away from home, the world famous Station Inn. Two sets of hard chargin’ bluegrass are on tap starting around 9:00pm.

One footnote, Richard Bailey, the SteelDriver’s banjo player, was recently married to Ms. Mandy Haynes on April 23rd. It was reported that instead of the traditional marriage vows, the couple just said, ‘If you can’t be good, be gone.’ Congratulations.”

This weekend’s Grand Ole Opry features a number of bluegrass acts.

Tonight’s (4/25) Friday Opry will include performances from Bobby Osborne, The Whites, Dailey & Vincent and Jesse McReynolds.

Saturday’s (4/26) show offers even more bluegrass, including a live television appearance by The Infamous Stringdusters on GAC TV. Look for them on Opry Live, which airs from 8:00-9:00 p.m. (EDT). The ‘Dusters’ set is scheduled about 15 minutes into the show.

It will re-air on GAC again at midnight Saturday (technically Sunday at 12:00 a.m.), at noon and 7:00 p.m. on Sunday (4/27), Wednesday (4/29) at 8:00 p.m., and at 12:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Friday (4/30).

The Whites and The Grascals will also be appearing on Saturday’s Opry radio show.

Both the Friday and Saturday Opry broadcasts are available over the air in the Nashville market on WSM AM 650, and simulcast worldwide via online streaming at wsmonline.com. They can also be heard live on XM channel 11 (XM Nashville), replayed on XM 10 (XM America) on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

In a final Opry note, The Del McCoury Band is scheduled for Tuesday’s Opry show on April 29, which airs from 8:00-10:00 p.m.

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.

The Dan Tyminski Band will appear on Saturday night’s (2/23) edition of The Grand Ole Opry.

This widely-heralded new group, whose debut release is expected on Rounder this spring, is headed by former Alison Krauss & Union Station and Lonesome River band stalwart Tyminski on guitar and lead vocals, along with Barry Bales on bass, Adam Steffey on mandolin, Justin Moses on fiddle and Ron Stewart on banjo.

It has been suggested that this bunch might be described as The Bluegrass Album Band of their generation, and that may well be true. With the exception of Moses, whose relative unknown status is about to be shattered by his association with this group, all the members hold the rank of player’s player on their respective instruments, and Dan’s is among the most recognizable male voices in and around bluegrass.

Brance and I expect to see them live here in Roanoke next week, and will post with our impressions after that show.

Look for Dan & Co. during the 7:30-8:00 and 10:30-11:00 p.m. Opry segments on Saturday. The show is available over the air in the Nashville market on WSM AM 650, and simulcast worldwide via online streaming at wsmonline.com.

Should you miss it live, highlights from the show will be available in the WSM audio archives next week.

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).

This weekend’s two Grand Ole Opry broadcasts have much to recommend them to bluegrass fans.

Tonight’s show (12/28) will feature performances by The Grascals, Bradley Walker and Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press. The show is broadcast on WSM AM-650 from 9:00-11:00 p.m. (EST).

On Saturday (12/29), you’ll have a chance to hear the Opry debut of Dailey & Vincent, of whom we have spoken so highly of late here on The Bluegrass Blog. The band is fronted by former Quicksilver vocalist/guitarist Jamie Dailey and former Kentucky Thunder singer/guitarist Darrin Vincent, along with former Lonesome River band mandolinist/vocalist Jeff Parker, banjo picker Joe Dean and fiddler Adam Haynes.

Their first recording is due for a Rounder release on January 29, and unless you were lucky enough to catch the band at IBMA’s Fan Fest in October or hear one of the tracks from the new CD on the radio, this Opry show will mark the first time most bluegrass fans will have a chance to hear them perform.

Look for Dailey & Vincent in the 7:30-8:00 and 10:30-11:00 p.m. segments on Saturday’s show (all times Eastern). The Grascals, Bobby Osborne and Jesse McReynolds will all appear on the 12/29 show as well.

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.