Tennessee Shines is a new live music radio show which debuts tonight (8/27) on WDVX, broadcasting at 89.9 FM in Knoxville, TN and via live audio streaming at wdvx.xom. The two hour show will be hosted by Jim Lauderdale and broadcast live on the last Wednesday of each month from Knoxville’s historic Bijou Theater.

Tonight’s guests will be The SteelDrivers, Darrell Scott, Shawn Camp and the everybodyfields.

In addition to live performances from each of the musical guests, Jim will be chatting with the bands, finding out what they have been doing, and what they have on the horizon. He will also participating in a songwriters session with Shawn Camp and both Mike Henderson and Chris Stapleton from The SteelDrivers.

WDVX will be the base radio home for Tennessee Shines, and discussions are now underway to bring the show into wider syndication, and hopefully satellite radio as well.

Guests have been booked for the September edition of Tennessee Shines, and the lineup will be announced during this evening’s program. Tonight’s show is sold out, but tickets to attend future shows can be obtained through the Tennessee Theater box office, and as available, at the door.

Tune in from 7:00-9:30 p.m. to catch the debut program tonight.

Grammy winning singer/songwriter, Jim Lauderdale is currently in the studio finishing up the vocals on a new bluegrass recording. I’m told the recording is shaping up even stronger than his last outing, The Bluegrass Diaries.

Lauderdale’s approach to songwriting and recording appears to be somewhat unique.

In typical Lauderdale style, he’s writing the lyrics after the instrumentation has been tracked, so he comes in to sing whenever he finishes a song.

It’s worked for him in the past…

It’s being recorded at Randy Kohrs’ Slack Key Studio in Nashville. The recording began back in March, and is nearing completion now. Jim’s goal is to finish the recording by Sept 1, 2008, though I don’t yet have any info as to a release date, or even a title.

I enjoy Lauderdale’s singing, and his songwriting. I thought Diaries was a great recording, and I’m looking forward to hearing this latest CD. We’ll bring you updates as we get them.

After winning a Grammy this year for The Bluegrass Diaries, Jim Lauderdale has once again tapped the multi-talented Randy Kohrs to produce his next bluegrass effort.

Lauderdale is currently touring in support of his newest CD Honey Songs (a more-or-less country record), but he’s not going to let that slow down production on a new bluegrass CD. Every free moment in Nashville is being spent in Kohrs’ Slack Key Studio working on the new CD.

Randy shared a few thoughts at the outset of this recording effort.

We were both thrilled with the way “The Bluegrass Diaries” came out sonically, and my studio has been upgraded even more since then. Thanks to companies such as Stage Ninja, Great River Electronics, Violet Microphones, new Lauten Audio Microphones, and Forssell Electronics, along with the top-of-the-line equipment I already had, we’re confident this next project will sound even better. Jim’s songs and vocals, combined with the talents of the other musicians, insure that the CD will be great no matter what, but recording them in a way that will do them justice is always the biggest goal.

As much as we enjoyed the last CD, we’ll wait anxiously for this one. We’ll be sure to bring you more updates as they become available.

The 2008 Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album goes to Jim Lauderdale for The Bluegrass Diaries.

Jim introduced his producer, Randy Kohrs, as he was accepting the award, and recognized all the pickers on the album by name. He also referenced each of the other nominees (Seldom Scene, Cherryholmes, JD Crowe & The New South and Tony Trischka), and paid his respects for their contributions.

Congrats, Jim.