This particular video features Doug McKelway interviewing Larry Stephenson.

Click here to view the embedded video.

We expect bluegrass artists to be generous with their time where devoted fans are concerned, but this weekend we’ll see an especially high level of dedication from a number of acts, all for a special fan beloved for the joy she brings to her favorite performers.

Mary Ennis is a familiar sight to show and festival goers in central Virginia. She won the nickname “Dancin’ Mary” for her spontaneous, free-form reaction to her favorite music, and has been befriended by a number of top bluegrass artists.

One such friend is Larry Stephenson, who when he found out that Mary had been diagnosed with lung cancer, responded by organizing a benefit concert in Lovingston, between Lynchburg and Charlottesville, VA. Rhonda Vincent is also a Ennis fan, and is interrupting her tour schedule to be available for the show next Thursday (8/6). Nothin’ Fancy, The Little Mountain Band, In the Tradition, Plain and Simple, the James River Cutups and popular radio host Brenda Lawson will also appear.

Larry Stephenson explained what got him involved in this endeavor…

“Fans like Mary Ennis are why we do what we do. I’ve traveled all over the world in the last 35 years and I’ve never met a better bluegrass fan then Mary.

The second Friday of January each year we play a date at the Bingo Hall in Madison Heights, VA for the James River Bluegrass Association, and that’s where I met Mary. She has made that date the most fun date we play all year. It’s always a joy to see her and her family at shows in and around central Virginia.

I put this concert together in a little over an hour from my home in Tennessee, and no one said no. Bluegrass fans, bluegrass artists… it’s a wonderful community, and I’m so proud to be a part of it. It will be a special night in Lovingston, VA and I thank everyone involved.”

Rhonda Vincent is also a big supporter of Mary Ennis, who she counts among her friends. Rhonda will not only appear on the August 6 benefit show, she has also come up with a couple of other ways to give for Dancin’ Mary.

“I met Mary Ennis the first time she rushed to the stage, and started making eyes at my guitar player, during our show. She just wouldn’t sit down. She kept dancing, smiling, winking, and was so excited listening to the music. We all started laughing.

She would come right up to the edge of the stage, dancing by with such excitement.

So it became an expectation at any Virginia show, to see Dancin’ Mary run up to the stage during the songs she loved.

She seemed to have a thing for guitar players. But when I called her last week, the first thing she said was, ‘I LOVE your banjo player… I love Mickey, and I love Hunter, I love your whole bunch, but I LOVE your banjo player.’ She has a very special place in her heart for Aaron McDaris.

A couple days ago, Aaron called Mary at home. She was thrilled, and told him how much she loved him, and how handsome he is. She said, ‘You just can’t help how good you look.’

During the Rhonda Vincent Chat last Monday, I was sharing with all the chatters, that I was trying to think of something special to do for Mary. One of our Ragers suggested I write a song. The next morning, as I was washing dishes, a song came to me, and I started singing about Dancin’ Mary. I already have 2 verses and a chorus, and I hope to have it finished by August 6th, to sing at the benefit. It’s a fun happy song, and it makes special mention of Aaron and his five.

I knew I had started the song, but I still wanted to do more. I recently found these awesome Nine West red shoes. (Size 7 1/2). They are now my favorites. As I packed them for our current trip, I threw them on, took a photo, and posted on our web site, with a message that I would wear them on August 6th, and auction them off on our web site. Even before the official bidding has started, we are up to $200.

It’s all for Mary. A lady who is the perfect example of the passionate bluegrass enthusiast. And the best part, she’s not afraid to show it!”

Concert details are posted on the Larry Stephenson web site. Any of Mary’s friends who can’t make the show – or anyone moved to be of assistance – can send contributions for her to:

Sterling has been hosting the Bluegrass In The Pines Festival near Rocky Mount, VA for the past 29 years, and has hordes of friends and business acquaintances in the bluegrass world. He turned 70 on June 14th and, just this week, it was discovered that he has bone cancer.

Belcher is a cancer survivor already, having seemingly beaten prostate cancer several years ago. But it seems that the disease is back, and has spread throughout his body.

Cards and well-wishes can be sent to:

Dreama and her husband, Larry Stephenson, ask that anyone who might be willing to lift Sterling up in prayer, please do so. As we can all imagine, she isn’t ready to lose him just yet.

I’m sorry to report that Bill Harrell passed away this afternoon at 4:10 p.m. at his home in Davidisonville, MD.

Viewing with be Sunday evening (6/28) from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Chesapeake Christian Fellowship Church, Central Ave, Davidisonville, MD. The funeral will be at 10:00 a.m. Monday morning at the same church.

Condolences may be sent to:

938 St. George Barber Road
Davidisonville, MD 21035

Bill suffered a stroke on June 12 and had returned home after a week in the hospital.

After leaving Reno’s group, Bill performed for 10 more years with his own group, Bill Harrell & The Virginians – which included a young Larry Stephenson on mandolin in the early 1980s.

Here’s Larry’s report…

Bill Harrell had a stroke last Friday and has been in the hospital in Annapolis, MD all week. The family found out around the middle of May he has prostate cancer (his PSA was 24) and then they found out this week he has an enlarged heart and fluid on the lungs. To make matters worse it was hard to do many of the tests because of the pins in his body from the car wrecks he’s had. They are going to try and get him home on Friday and it looks like hospice will be called. I have spoke with him twice this week and he’s very weak but he still has that sense of humor. He was talking about going out on a date with one of the nurse’s. Some things never change.

I was just at his home in Davidsonville, MD on May 12 to interview him for the Bluegrass Museum’s video oral history program. I hadn’t been to his home in 26 years. I’m glad I got to spend the day with him….it was a wonderful. I’m also very happy IBMA honored Bill this past year with a Distinguished Achievement Award. Bill and his two son’s Mitch and John were there and Bill has not stopped talking about it.

Let’s all hope that Bill can recover fully from his stroke.

Here’s a clip of he and Don Reno from the Porter Wagoner show back in 1968.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The primary tracking started in late October of ‘08 at Ben Surratt’s Rec Room Studio in Nashville, featuring Larry’s touring band at that time. Kyle Perkins is on bass, Kevin Richardson on guitar, Jason Barie on fiddle, Kristen Scott Benson on banjo and Larry on mandolin. Kenny Ingram is now on banjo with LSB, and Mike Feagan on fiddle.

Larry tells us that the overall concept for this album is a new one for him.

“This will be the first CD I’ve recorded with multiple guests. I’ve never recorded an album like this in the twenty some albums I have out and Pinecastle has been wanting me to do this for some time now.

The guests I have are some of my best friends and people I admire and respect in the music business. Dudley Connell, Sonny Osborne, Ronnie Reno, David Parmley, Dale Ann Bradley, Del McCoury, Dailey & Vincent, Connie Smith, Marty Stuart, Ricky Skaggs, Aubrey Haynie, Ben Surratt, and Kenny Ingram who has been with me since January.

We recorded new songs and old songs that are favorites of mine that I’ve always wanted to record. All the guests were awesome and I can’t wait for everyone to hear what we have.”

With so many guest artists, scheduling has been tricky getting all the vocals wrapped up – not to mention Larry and his wife Dreama welcoming their first child earlier this Spring! He expects to finish up the last few details in the next couple of weeks, and start mixing shortly thereafter.

“I hope to have the CD on my table by mid-summer but not sure of a release date at this time. The July copy of Prime-Cuts of Bluegrass will feature Give This Message To Your Heart which includes Jamie Dailey and Darren Vincent. That’s the old Louvin Brothers song that the Osborne Brothers also recorded.”

Speaking of having a baby, Larry told us about how the birth and the vocals tracking sessions coincided…

“Most everyone knows Dreama and I just had a little girl, Falon Whysper. Falon was born on Saturday morning April 25th. We had Connie Smith and Marty Stuart scheduled to record on Monday evening April 27th at 7 pm. We were scheduled to come home with Falon on Monday morning but we didn’t leave the hospital until 7 that evening…..just as the session was to start.

We were driving home from the hospital when my cell phone rang and it was Ben Surratt. Connie wasn’t sure how to sing one line so I sang it to her over the phone. We had talked that morning and she understood and was very nice about mine and Dreama’s situation. As we were driving on I wanted to be there so bad and watch Connie and Marty sing but I had to get my girls home for our first night.

Then Dreama started telling me to drop them off and go on to the studio, her mother was at the house so she wouldn’t be alone. I kept saying no but she insisted. I arrived at the studio around 8:30 and Connie had finished and I got to watch Marty sing his baritone part. Connie, Marty and Ben are the best and it was a perfect end to a long and wonderful weekend.

By the way the song they sang  was the old George Jones song Talk To Me Lonesome Heart. I sang lead, Connie sang tenor and Marty sang the baritone part and they did a great job. It may be the highlight of my recording career.

Dreama and I would like take this time to thank all the Bluegrass Blog readers for their prayers, cards, letters and gifts with the birth of our daughter Falon Whysper Sidney Stephenson. Dreama and Falon Whysper are doing great and I can’t wait for everyone to meet her.”

Falon Whysper Sidney Stephenson was born on the morning of April 25, weighing in at 6 lbs, and standing 18” tall.

Hearty congratulations to Larry and Dreama, who had been praying for this day for several years.

The 60 minute DVD contains live performances from some of the top names on the label, including The Osborne Brothers, Reno & Smiley, Jim & Jesse, Larry Stephenson, Chubby Wise, Special Consensus and Dale Ann Bradley.

18 songs are presented, among them some of the biggest hits in the history of bluegrass music.

• How Many Biscuits Can You Eat – Coon Creek Girls
• How Many Biscuits Can You Eat – New Coon Creek Girls
• Using My Bible For A Road Map – Don Reno And Red Smiley
• Kentucky Gold – The Reno Brothers
• Lee Highway Blues – Chubby Wise
• Orange Blossom Special – Chubby Wise
• Freight Train – Jim And Jesse McReynolds
• Dixie In The Dawn – Larry Stephenson
• Rain Please Go Away – Larry Stephenson
• You Were Born To Sing – Larry Stephenson
• Country In My Genes – New Coon Creek Girls
• Silver Dew On The Bluegrass Tonight – Special Consensus
• Listening To The Rain – Special Consensus
• Irish Medley – Special Consensus
• Foggy Mountain Rock – Gene Wooten
• One Tear – Terry Eldredge
• Fastest Grass Alive – The Osborne Brothers
• Rocky Top – The Osborne Brothers

The DVD is available for $17.99 from Music Shed, and wherever bluegrass performance DVDs are sold.

Needless to say, Larry is stoked to bring such a stellar picker into the band.

“I am so honored to have Kenny on board. And there are really no words to express what a great player he is, other than, this will be the best addition to the band we’ve ever seen. I’m fortunate to have him and I’m looking forward to a powerful 2009 with solid Kenny Ingram beside me.”

Fans of Kenny’s hard driving style can catch him at any of Larry’s shows, starting with the New Year’s Day show at Jekyll Island.

Aaron McDaris is leaving The Grascals, and Kristin Scott Benson will be leaving Larry Stephenson’s band to accept the job. She will start with The Grascals in two weeks.

The guys are stoked to have Kristin on board…

“The Grascals are VERY PLEASED that the 2008 IBMA Banjo Player of Year, Kristin Scott Benson, will be their new banjo player!  This is a very exciting time and the guys are truly thrilled that Kristin will be the newest Grascal.”

Vicki was a founding member of The New Coon Creek Girls and worked for years with Dale Ann Bradley. She has recently been a featured performer at Renfro Valley, where the concert will be held next week to help defray her substantial medical expenses.

The show will run from 1:00 to 9:00 p.m., with performances from Steve Gulley, Wildfire, Randy Graham, Cumberland Gap Connection, and a special Bluegrass All-Star Band including J. D. Crowe, Larry Stephenson, David Parmley, Curt Chapman, Michael Cleveland and more.

Ticket information can be obtained by calling 800-765-7464, or on the Renfro Valley web site.

A fund has been established for Vicki’s many friends and fans who would like to make a contribution.

Vicki Simmons Medical Fund
c/o Renfro Valley Entertainment Center
P.O. Box 19
Renfro Valley, KY 40473

Dreama has been an active participant in the family business, doing the majority of Larry’s photography, plus graphic and web design since before they were married.

Congratulations to them both from The Bluegrass Blog!

Larry’s show will run several times over the next week, starting with the debut airing at 8:00 a.m. on Friday morning (5/9).

Here’s the full schedule (all times EDT).

Bluegrass Junction can be found on XM 14 where they play bluegrass 24/7.

The Infamous Stringdusters got the nod in the Americana category for Fork In The Road, and Larry Cordle (I’m A Lie) and Dwight McCall (Time Of Our Lives) were chosen in the list of Ten Of The Best Songs of 2007.

Congratulations guys!

Pinecastle is currently offering a free download of one track from the CD. This is part of a campaign they are operating called Pass The Grass in which they are making downloads available as a means of increasing interest in a project.

To obtain the free track you’ll need to provide Pinecastle with a minimum of your zip code and email address. They ask for voluntary submission of your name and address as well, though these are not required.

The track they are giving away is Press On O’Pilgrim. It’s an up tempo gospel tune driven by Larry’s high lonesome singing.

Get your own copy by visiting Pinecastle.com and clicking on the “Giveaway” link in the top navigation.

You’ll be able to hear the WSM debut of the music from Larry’s new release, and hear him discuss the songs with Eddie on the air. WSM’s signal reaches a large portion of the central US, and is also cybercast online at wsmonline.com.

Our review of Thankful was posted over the weekend, and can be read online.

Thankful is Larry Stephenson’s fourth bluegrass Gospel release and his second for his current label, Pinecastle Records.

In addition to Stephenson, playing mandolin, there are contributions from his then band members Dustin Benson (guitar, and lead and harmony vocals), Aaron McDarris (banjo, and lead and harmony vocals), with guest appearances by Sonya Isaacs (harmony vocals), Warren Goad (bass vocals), Ben Surratt (harmony vocals), Missy Raines (acoustic bass) and Shad Cobb (fiddles).

Stephenson picked the songs on Thankful, using his collection of about 3000 LPs as a source for a good few of the great songs among the round dozen in this collection. Old or new, the songs fit together well, thematically following the message of the title track.

Stephenson’s voice soars really high, pitch perfect, in the opening few bars of the first track, How High Is That Mountain, a new Jerry Salley song, and he sustains that elevated standard as the banjo and guitar push it on. Salley and Stephenson co-wrote the inspirational Open Up The Window. It relates the experience of some children terminally with cancer, who touchingly share their story of visions of the Angels that will come soon to take them away. Sonya Isaacs’ harmonizing helps add to the emotiveness, as does the deft fiddle playing. It’s soul searching stuff!

The title track is a little-known Louvin Brothers song, not surprisingly accompanied by guitar and mandolin supporting sibling-like harmonies.

A couple of songs are from the home of Good Home Grown Music, in other words, Dixie and Tom T. Hall. Lord It’s a Hard Road Home has Surratt and Goad harmonizing on the chorus and some with background humming. The second is specially written by the couple, with assistance from Stephenson, in memory of Larry’s recently departed mother, a happy mother’s day tribute, Every Day Is Mother’s Day.

When I Get Home and Weary Pilgrim Welcome Home are both new songs, the latter written by Barry Clevenger, the banjo player in the West Virginia band 2nd Generation. It is performed in a traditional Gospel quartet style. The former, by Tonya Lowman, a talented songwriter from North Carolina, bears all the hallmarks of a great old sacred song, although done in a contemporary style. Both are notable for the deep and resonant bass singing.

Stephenson mixes it up very well with Press On O’ Pilgrim, from Jim & Jesse, and Washed In The Blood Of The Lamb, right out of the Baptist Hymnal, showing that he recognizes good older material. I Need The Prayers “of those I love” is an old country song that Stephenson has been listening to for many years. Fiddles are prominent here, along with very tasteful banjo work and great harmonies on the choruses. Set Another Place At The Table “the rest of the family’s coming home” is an old Lewis Family song, with banjo well to the fore and a need lead guitar break. It provokes images of The Last Supper.

The sedate closing song, May The Good Lord Bless and Keep You, is an old Eddy Arnold song that Larry sings solo with a minimum of instrumental accompaniment.

Thankful is a thought-provoking collection of sacred songs done mainly in the traditional mode. Stephenson sings effortlessly and smoothly throughout. The ‘band’ is solid and the arrangements are interesting and variable. Stephenson demonstrates his deep affinity with sacred material and this CD confirms his status alongside the best of bluegrass Gospel singers.

I spoke to Larry about this CD and enquired what religion means to him. Here is his response…..

“Religion is very important to my wife and I. We attend a small Baptist church here in Cottontown, Tennessee, and enjoy it very much. Gospel music has always been a part of my life, in and out of bluegrass. It’s such a big part of bluegrass music and think that’s why all four of our gospel CDs are still in print.”

The album hits the streets on Tuesday [March 18], and audio samples can be found on the Pinecastle site.

For the next two weekends, Josh will be performing with the Alecia Nugent Band. He’ll do shows with her on February 9, 10, 15 and 16.

Josh’s band will then debut at the Station Inn in Nashville, TN on February 23, 2008. Josh’s management team will begin considering booking offers for festivals and shows during the 2008 and 2009 seasons, at that time.

But if you want to see Josh play, you’ll have plenty of opportunities, as he will be filling in with the Larry Stephenson Band through the remainder of the 2008 season. Josh said he anticipates very few scheduling conflicts between the Larry Stephenson Band and his own band.

In the early 60’s my dad bought me my first mandolin. It was a Gibson A-50, a little round bodied mandolin which I still have.

My dad and I played a lot of music around the Fredericksburg, Virginia area through the 60’s and into the 70’s. My mom and dad always told me if I ever learned how to play the Bill Monroe instrumental Rawhide they would buy me a Gibson F-5 model mandolin.

Well of course I worked hard to learn that song…everyday after school in front of that old record player. Well they kept their word and what a surprise it was. Christmas of 1974 with the help of our neighbor, they wrote little poems and wrapped them and had me running all over the neighborhood looking for clues and more wrapped boxes.

When I finally returned to our house there it was…a brand new Gibson F-5 mandolin. We always had great Christmases but that was one I’ll never forget. I’m sorry to say I don’t have that mandolin anymore, but I sure wish I did. What a great Christmas.

Let me also take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Thank you so much for allowing me to do what I love and that’s to play the best music in the world….Bluegrass Music.

Despite his youth, Ben has been performing in bluegrass and country bands for many years, most recently as a part of the bluegrass band at Bethel College, where he is finishing a degree in Music Business. He did his first shows with Larry last month at the IBMA convention in Nashville.

You can find audio samples from Larry’s next CD, Thankful, on his web site. It is due on Pinecastle Records on March 4, 2008.