The next recording project by Kenny & Amanda Smith, Live And Learn, is due from Rebel Records on September 9. This will be their fourth CD with Rebel, the fifth since Kenny left Lonesome River Band in 2001 to launch this new venture with his wife, Amanda.

Students and fans of flatpicking guitar have followed Kenny from the time he first placed in the National Guitar Flat Pick Championship at Winfield in 1992, and followed him through stints with Claire Lynch and his two Guitar Player of the Year Awards from IBMA while working with LRB.

For most bluegrass fans, their first taste of Amanda’s singing was a single track she sang on Kenny’s Studebaker CD, released in 1997, or her debut release with Kenny, Slowly But Surely.

I had a chance to sit down with both of them recently to listen through the entire CD, after which they answered a few questions about the music and the songs included on Live And Learn, which also features regular band members Zach McLamb on bass and Aaron Williams on mandolin.

Kenny was especially enthusiastic about this project…

“I couldn’t ask for a better CD. This one just captured the sound we were after, and I’m delighted with the result.

At the beginning of this project, we had still not hired a full time banjo player. This had gone on for a year with different players filling in. Terry Baucom and Ron Stewart had filled in with us during the summer, and we just didn’t get in a hurry finding someone with these guys filling in. Plus, we were having a blast with them picking with us.

We were going to cut the project regardless and leave the banjo spot open and deal with it later when we called Ron about overdubbing fiddle later on. He told us he was available the week were laying down the rhythm tracks. So Ron showed up with banjo and fiddle in hand and we cut some of the best music the band has recorded to date.”

The first single from the album, Randall Collins, has been released to radio and is starting to get airplay. It’s a re-cut of a great Norman Blake song from the 1970s, one of Kenny’s favorite guitarists while he was learning to play.

“When I was growing up in Nine Mile, Indiana I used to mow yards in the summer for $3.50 a yard. I did that all summer and it was my first real job. It was enough to keep gas in my minibike and buy records. (more…)

Kenny Smith just called with some news. They have hired Trent Callicutt to play banjo with The Kenny & Amanda Smith Band.

Trent is an 18 year old picker from Asheboro, NC. He has been doing shows with the band this past two weeks.

Kenny said that when Joey Cox left them to go to work with Doyle Lawson, he didn’t really look very hard for a replacement.

“Baucom was filling in with us, and we were liking that so much that it didn’t seem like we were in a hurry to find someone. We ended up just using Terry all of last year, with Ron Stewart doing a few shows when Bauc couldn’t be there.

Trent had actually given us a cassette tape some time ago, and I had literally forgotten about it. Aaron - our mandolin player - asked me one day if I had ever listened to it, and I had to dig around for both that tape and something to listen to it on!

When I called to see if he wanted to try out, I think we really shocked him since he never heard anything when he gave us the tape.”

In addition to the new banjo player, Kenny and Amanda will also have a new CD shortly. Their latest project, the fourth for Rebel, is completed with art design just underway.

Kenny told me that they felt like the pressure was on after the success of their Tell Someone CD, which has received both Grammy and Dove award nominations, but said that this was the most painless album they have recorded to date.

“I think this new one has a little more fire in it. We do have three Gospel numbers, and we hope they will get the same sort of attention as the all-Gospel CD did.”

He and Amanda are very excited about the material as well. He said that he co-wrote one with Wayne Winkle, and also included a classic country song, I Jumped The Mississippi. They also have one written by Artie Hill, Drive That Fast, which he wrote especially for them.

The one he spoke about most pointedly is a new song from Brandi Hart of The Dixie Bee-Liners.

“Brandi sent us this song, Changing, which is a really different song. It’s a mining song that we really like and hope will end up as the title track.”

Rebel has just received the finished master and a release date has not yet been set. We’ll be sure to update everyone when more details emerge.

The Gospel Music Association has announced the nominees for the 2008 Dove Awards, and their bluegrass categories are chock full of familiar names.

The awards will be announced at the 39th Annual Dove Awards on April 23 in Nashville, TN.

The Bluegrass Recorded Song of the Year nominees are:

• He’s In Control from Austins Bridge by Austins Bridge; Justin Rivers, Mike Kofahl, John Ramsey (writers); Daywind Records
• I Will Find You Again from Lifetimes by Little Roy Lewis, Earl Scruggs, Lizzy Long; Wayne Haun, Joel Lindsey, Cindi Ballard (writers); Vine Records
• Love Will Be Enough from Salt of the Earth by Ricky Skaggs & The Whites; Janis Ian, Paul Overstreet (writers); Skaggs Family Records
• Salt of the Earth from Salt of the Earth by Ricky Skaggs & The Whites; Jim Rushing, Ronald Scaife (writers); Skaggs Family Records
• The Key To Heaven from Flyin’ High by The Lewis Family; Caleb Collins, Lyn Rowell (writers); Vine Records

In the Bluegrass Album of the Year category, we have:

• God’s Masterpiece - The Marksmen; Mark Wheeler (producer); Rural Rhythm Records
• Lifetimes - Little Roy Lewis, Earl Scruggs, Lizzy Long; Wayne Haun, Kevin Ward (producer); Vine Records
• Salt Of The Earth - Ricky Skaggs & The Whites; Ricky Skaggs & The Whites (producer); Skaggs Family Records
• Tell Someone - Kenny & Amanda Smith Band; Kenny & Amanda Smith Band (producer); Rebel Records
• Where No One Stands Alone - Paul Williams & The Victory Trio; Paul Williams (producer); Rebel Records

Congratulations and best of luck to them all!

Our Grasstowne buddies, Alan Bibey and Phil Leadbetter, both contacted us earlier this week mentioning the big doin’s in Bristol, TN on Saturday (1/26).

It’s the 3rd annual Pickin’ at the Paramount all star show where top bluegrass artists get together for two shows, performing together in round robin-type groupings quite different from the way fans are used to seeing them.

Artists involved in this year’s show include Mike Bub, Tim Laughlin, Ron Stewart, Adam Steffey, Jim Hurst, Dale Ann Bradley, Bradley Walker, Alecia Nugent, Terry Baucom, Phil Leadbetter, Alan Bibey, David Talbot, Missy Raines, Ricky Wasson, Kenny & Amanda Smith and Josh Williams. Cindy Baucom will be the emcee.

If you live within a comfortable drive’s distance of Bristol, this show would be well worth the trip. Shows are at 3:00 and 7:30 p.m. at the Paramount Center for the Arts, a restored art deco movie house from the 1920’s.

More details about online ticket purchasing can be found on The Paraount site.

Our friend Cindy Baucom wrote in to tell us about a new festival she’s a part of this year. The 1st Annual FarmFest will be held at the Farmington Dragway in Farmington, NC. The dates set for the festival are April 11-12.

The festival is more than just bluegrass music, it’s a celebration of traditions of the Carolinas. In addition to some great bluegrass music, there will be food, displays, a children’s area, craft show, merchandise vendors, open mic, jam sessions, camping and more.

The line up of bluegrass acts for the festival are:

• Steep Canyon Rangers
• Cadillac Sky
• Lou Reid and Carolina
• Kenny and Amanda Smith Band
• Carrie Hassler and Hard Rain

Besides all these great bluegrass groups, there will also be a special Allstar Bluegrass Super Jam featuring Terry Baucom and Special Guests-including Wes Golding, Josh Williams, Lou Reid, Wayne Winkle and more.

Tickets for the weekend, if purchased in advance, are $40.00. At the gate, the tickets will be $25.00 per day. Children 10 and under will be admitted FREE. Rough camping is available for $5.00 per day.

Tickets will be available at ETIX.com (not yet listed) and a number of businesses across the region

Vendor spaces cost $20.00 per day until 3/31/08, after 3/31/08 they will be $25. Vendor space includes one comp admission.

For additional information, call 1-800-891-0350, or visit farmfestnc.com

The Transatlantic Bluegrass School, scheduled for May 7-11, 2008 in the Welsh town of Pembrokeshire, has announced the formation of a  scholarship program for young students, aged 16-25, based on financial need.

The scholarship awards will cover the full tuition costs, and are available for banjo, guitar, fiddle, mandolin or vocal. Applicants must submit essays describing their musical background, financial situation and their interests and aspirations in bluegrass music.

The management of the school describes the program as follows:

The purpose of these scholarships is to encourage the development and appreciation of bluegrass music and musicianship in the 16 to 25 year age group, and especially to facilitate participation in learning activities by those who without benefit of a scholarship would find it difficult to fund attendance personally.

Instructors at the ‘08 school will include Bobby Hicks on fiddle, Kenny Smith on guitar, Amanda Smith on vocals, Emory Lester on mandolin, Ross Nickerson on banjo, and Mike Bub on bass.

Applications must be received by March 21, 2008. Full details and necessary forms can be found online.

Over the weekend my wife and I had the good fortune to attend the Kenny & Amanda Smith Band concert at New River Community College in Dublin, VA. The show was presented by the college’s Fiddle, Banjo and Dance Club free of charge as part of their Christmas program.

I’ve got to give credit to all the band members for being such professionals. The sound was something less than desirable in the front of house, and I understand it was the same way in the monitors. The band pressed on though, and played a great set in spite of the poor environment they found themselves in. I know just how hard it is to play, let alone entertain, under such circumstances, but Kenny and Amanda delivered as fine a performance as one could hope for.

Their recent gospel album was just nominated for a Grammy and they performed a number of songs from that recording, along with some material from previous CDs.

And what a treat it is to see this band with Terry Baucom driving the 5! Cindy Baucom was also present for the evening and I enjoyed getting to visit with her.

My only complaint is that their set was to short, but what can you say when it’s free? As we were leaving though, the band treated us to an impromptu a cappella performance the entry way of the building. WOW!

This band is always entertaining, and getting to see them live just reinforces what you know after listening to their CD, these guys are good!

Here are a few more photos I took at the show.

Kenny & Amanda Smith will join Mike Kelly this morning on A Cumberland Sunday Morning, broadcast on WDVX in Knoxville, TN from 8:00 a.m. until noon (ET). Mike will be playing fine bluegrass Gospel music all morning, and talking with Kenny and Amanda in between songs.

Mike said that we are sure to hear some of Kenny’s tall tales, and that he was planning to cajole them into singing a few as well. Listeners are invited to email questions or comments for Kenny and Amanda from the WDVX web site.

WDVX broadcasts at 89.9 FM in Knoxville, and listeners worldwide can catch the show via live streaming from the WDVX site. The station does not archive these live shows, so be sure to tune in between 8:00 and noon.

And don’t forget to switch back from Daylight Savings Time if you are in the US!

Spring 2008 will find a bevy of top American bluegrass musicians heading to Wales to serve as instructors at the Transatlantic Bluegrass School. The school will be held starting on May 7 in the scenic coastal village of Newport, Pembrokeshire and are designed for students who have passed the most beginning stages of learning to play their instruments.

The faculty includes Ross Nickerson on banjo, Mike Bub on bass, Bobby Hicks on fiddle, Kenny Smith on guitar, Emory Lester on mandolin and Amanda Smith on vocals.

Class sessions will be held both morning and afternoon from May 8-11. Only 20 students will be enrolled for each class, so anyone interested in participating is encouraged to register right away.

As the festival season roars into full throttle, a few band members are changing hands as bands reshuffle once again. Kenny & Amanda Smith have brought on one new full time team member, and one temporary member.

First let’s talk banjo. With Joey Cox leaving the band at the end of June, banjo legend Terry Baucom, the legendary The Duke of Drive, will be stepping up to the mic for the remainder of the summer. Recognized for his hard driving, traditionally-styled banjo playing, Terry brings a depth of experience to the stage. I spoke with Terry on the phone earlier today and he told me he was excited about the chance to pick with Kenny and Amanda for the rest of the year.

Kenny’s got the drive to his guitar playing that just makes it fun to pick the five over it! It’s gonna be a jamming good time and I can’t wait to get started.

Terry did say however, that he was already committed to a number of shows with The Mark Newton Band prior to Kenny’s call, and will be honoring that commitment. Kenny has yet to announce who will be filling those dates in Baucom’s absence. Due to his renewed dedication to teaching, recording his own solo CD, and a series of instructional DVDs, Terry will only be filling in with Kenny and Amanda for this season, and not on a permanent basis.

The Red White & Bluegrass Festival in Morganton, NC will be Terry’s first gig with the band, on July 3, 2007.

Now on to the mandolin… With the departure of Jason Robertson from the band, Kenny & Amanda called up a young local mandolin picker they thought was ready for the gig. Enter Aaron Williams. At the age of 15, Aaron is a force to be reckoned with on the mandolin, having recently won the 2007 Merlefest mandolin contest. Kenny produced a solo album for Aaron not that long ago and was so impressed at the time with Aaron’s musicianship, he Aaron that if they ever needed a mandolin player, they’d give him a call. He never expected it would be this soon.

Kenny and Amanda have been heroes of mine since I started playing, and I have long admired their music and musicianship. Amanda’s voice is just so clear and sincere, you can’t help but to believe every word. And Kenny has such a taste to what he does; everything he plays sounds perfect, like it was made for the song. They are the coolest people you could ever want to meet, and have been so good to me. I’m absolutely thrilled to be able to play in such a creative band with such great people. It’s a dream come true.

I’ve known Aaron, and picked with him on occasion, for several years here in the Southwest Virginia area. He’s a disciplined young picker whose future in bluegrass is bright. His parents home school him and have said that he will be allowed to keep playing even during the school year as long as he keeps up with his school work. Of course that means working extra hours, but I’m sure he’s up to the challenge.

Be sure to visit Kenny & Amanda Smith’s tour schedule to find a show near you where you can hear the band with the new additions.

Blue Plate Special has a special 90 minute edition of the program on tap for Friday (3/30) on WDVX.

It’s a triple bill featuring live (in studio) performances from The Jerry Douglas Band, Kenny & Amanda Smith and Missy Raines and the New Hip. Each will get a 30 minute spot, and it’s not clear in which order they will appear.

WDVX broadcasts at 89.9 FM from Knoxville, TN and the station’s feed is streamed live online, so you can hear the show from anywhere. Listen in on Friday, eastern US time, from noon to 1:30 p.m.

Kenny & Amanda Smith recently released a new gospel CD that we told you about here. They took the band to Nashville not long ago and recorded a a special for XM Radio.

This feature will be running this morning as part of the Studio Special series on Bluegrass Junction with Kyle Cantrell. It airs at 8AM EST this morning, so if you’re up this early, be sure to tune it in.

If you’ve already missed it, the show will be rebroadcast each day for the next week at the following times.

• 2/17 11:00 AM ET
• 2/18 6:00 PM ET
• 2/19 8:00 PM ET
• 2/20 Midnight ET
• 2/22 3:00 PM ET

The show features the group playing live in-studio and spotlights background stories about each song from Kenny & Amanda Smith Band’s new CD, “Tell Someone.” Also featured on the broadcast are group members Zachary McLamb (bass), Jason Robertson (mandolin), and Joey Cox (banjo).

This is one of the best bluegrass gospel CDs you’re likely to hear anytime soon, so if you have the chance I highly encourage you to tune in and check out.

California photographer Tom Tworek has recently posted a gallery of images he shot at SuperGrass, the California Bluegrass Association’s annual indoor winter festival, which ran February 1-4.

These were taken from the stage, and are mostly close up, portrait shots of bluegrass artists like JD Crowe & The New South, Kenny & Amanda Smith, The Grascals, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, The Isaacs and others.

You can find these images on Tom’s site, Gold Coast galleries, where he has also posted photos taken at a number of bluegrass events, and where you can purchase his portraits online.

Today, January 30, is the official street release date for the Kenny & Amanda Smith CD Tell Someone, which we have been telling you about for some time. It’s their first all-Gospel bluegrass release, and it is generating a lot of attention outside of the expected bluegrass circles.

They have posted a couple of early reviews on their site, from Strictly Country, Country Standard Time and from Christian Music Central.

If you want to hear the CD, it can be found at CMT.com, where you can listen to the entire CD online. It is now avaialble for sale from most online and store front retailers, and in the iTunes Music Store. It can also be ordered directly from the band.

Kenny and Amanda also recently shot music videos for two songs on Tell Someone: I Know Why and Stepping On The Clouds. As soon as they are posted online, we’ll be sure to let you know.

The Kenny & Amanda Smith Band recently recorded a track by track interview with XM Radio’s Kyle Cantrell. During the interview they discuss each track on their new gospel CD Tell Someone. The interview portions will be edited together with the tracks from the CD and the segment will be aired tomorrow, Sunday January 28th, on XM’s bluegrass channel.

I talked to Kenny and Amanda yesterday and they tell me the program will air at 10 AM ET with an repeat airing on Wednesday the 31st at 9PM ET.

We’ve told you about this fantastic CD before and here’s your chance to hear the whole thing with commentary by the band.

After you’ve heard it maybe you’ll be inspired to Tell Someone!

The long awaited new release from Kenny & Amanda Smith on Rebel Records is due to hit the street on January 30, and radio promos are being shipped this week. Titled Tell Someone, it is the first all-Gospel project from this husband and wife team from southwest Virginia, featuring their band with a guest appearance by Rhonda Vincent.

We first mentioned this project back in August when Kenny and Amanda started making it available at their shows, which unfortunately created some confusion as Rebel was not officially releasing the CD until 2007. Mark Freeman with Rebel tells us that they wanted to take some extra time preparing for this project’s street date to give it the sort of pre-release attention they felt it deserved.

Freeman said that they have brought on a publicist for Tell Someone who specializes in Christian music, and will jointly distribute the CD with Crossroads Music, a label with deep penetration in that market.

The CD is available now from Kenny and Amanda’s web site. Radio hosts who get promo service from Rebel can expect a copy this week, and retailers will have it by the end of January 2007.

Last January, both Brance and I had the chance to attend the Pickin’ at the Paramount all star concert in Bristol, TN. The show was an offshoot of one that I helped organize in 2000 (reprised in 2001) to celebrate the release of Knee Deep In Bluegrass - The AcuTab Sessions. You can read my report on last year’s show here.

The show has been scheduled again this year, and will be held next weekend (1/20/07) at The Paramount Center on historic State Street in Bristol.

The format of the current show is similar to the one we started in 2000, and reminiscent of the old “package tour” shows popular in the 1950s and 60s. An all star cast of prominent bluegrass pickers and singers will rotate on and off the stage in a variety of configurations, generally performing material outside of what you might normally hear them doing.

This year’s lineup includes Bobby Hicks, Ronnie Bowman, Mike Bub, David Talbot, Larry Cordle, Rob McCoury, Don Rigsby, Kim Fox, Darrell Webb, Steve Gulley, Jason Carter, Barry Bales, Paul Williams, Kenny & Amanda Smith and David Grier.

There will be two shows on January 20, at 3:00 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets and show details can be found at the Pickin’ at the Paramount site, or the Paramount Center site.

It seems that we created a bit of confusion when we posted about the new Kenny & Amanda Smith Gospel CD, Tell Someone, a few weeks ago. We passed along the news that the CD was available from Kenny & Amanda’s web site, which is true, but that left the impression that a release was imminent, and a number of radio hosts became concerned that they had not received the CD.

I caught up with Kenny & Amanda over the weekend, and they indicated that Tell Someone will not be officially released (on Rebel Records) until January 2007, and that radio service will take place just prior to the release date. Until that time, the CD will only be available directly from the band, or from their web site.

Read the original post: Kenny and Amanda Smith - Tell Someone

The Kenny and Amanda Smith Band has announced the availability of their latest recording, an all gospel project entitled Tell Someone. It is available online at their website or in person at their shows. There are also audio clips for several songs available on the merchandise page of their site. This is the third band project although Kenny and Amanda did have one CD previous to the incarnation of the band. This newest recording also comes out at a time when they have a couple new band members.

I had the opportunity to discuss the new recording with Kenny recently and asked him a couple questions about it. Here’s what he had to say.

Brance: I don’t recognize the bass player pictured on the new site, who is he?

Kenny: Our bass player is Zachary McLamb. Zak is from Four Oaks, NC. He is the best Bassist I have ever worked with. We’re really glad to have him in the band. (more…)

Just ahead of the July trading deadline, Kenny & Amanda Smith have acquired Joey Cox from BlueRidge for Jason Davis, and a song to be named later. The trade was announced over the weekend by the Bluegrass Commissioner’s office.

OK… there was no trade. I made that part up. The baseball metaphor was just too delicious to resist.

But Joey Cox is headed for The Kenny & Amanda Smith Band, starting July 28 for their show in Columbus, OH at the Musician’s Against Childhood Cancer Festival. This young banjo picker first attracted attention with Lou Reid & Carolina in 2003 on their Carolina I’m Coming Home CD, but left shortly after its release to join Blue Ridge when Terry Baucom returned to Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver that summer.

Joey is featured on the current BlueRidge CD, Gettin’ Ready, and on the second Huber Banjos release, Cuppa ‘Jo.

Jason Davis, who is leaving Kenny & Amanda next week, will be filling in with BlueRidge for the short term. It is possible that he could end up with the gig full time, but Alan Bibey is still auditioning banjo pickers for the next few weeks.

Jason’s banjo will be featured on the upcoming Kenny & Amanda Smith CD on Rebel, their first all-Gospel project entitled Tell Someone. It is due for a late September release, and Tom Garber at Rebel tells us that it is “fine, fine, fine!”

He also contributes two tracks to the Cuppa ‘Jo CD from Huber.