McCoury Music has announced the formation of a Board of Directors who will oversee the management of the company going forward. The board will include Del, his wife Jean, his two sons Rob and Ronnie McCoury, and Chris Harris, formerly of Rainmaker Management, who has handled publicity and marketing for the company this past few years.

A new Nashville office will open within a month to handle all aspects of the business, which involves recordings for The Del McCoury Band and other artists (like Merle Haggard), publishing for Del’s original music, and the popular DelFest which is held each summer in Cumberland, MD. They will also manage The Travelin’ McCourys, which is made up of Del’s band, minus Del.

Harris expressed gratitude at being chosen to head this new expansion, and has high hopes for the future of McCoury Music.

“I think we’ve assembled the proper team, and taken the right steps over the past couple of years to allow McCoury Music to not only thrive during a difficult period for the music industry, but help others succeed as well. There are at least two more generations of McCoury pickers after Del, so I’m excited to be involved in something that can be around for a long time.”

Stan Strickland of Rainmaker will continue to handle touring for The Del McCoury Band but all other aspects of the “family business” will be run from McCoury Music.

We expect to speak with Del later today and hope to get some more details.

Want to study bluegrass music with The Del McCoury Band?

Well, that opportunity will be afforded to participants at the DelFest Academy, which debuts the week before the main festival this May in Cumberland, MD. Members of Del’s band, along with Ronnie Bowman and Steep Canyon Rangers will provide workshops and classes from May 19-21, just ahead of DelFest proper, which runs May 22-24.

Students will be segmented according to skill level with classes provided for guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, and bass. If sufficient interest is expressed by those registering in advance, instruction will also be offered in singing and songwriting.

Registration will be limited to ensure that everyone gets direct attention from each instructor. RV and rough camping is available on site, and a number of off site lodging options are available close by.

You can find further details and full regsitration details at the DelFest Academy web site.

The Pick One concert tour we told you about in December has largely come and gone, taking a star-studded bluegrass package show to Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Georgia in early January.

Instead of presenting bands that perform together normally, artists as varied as Ronnie Bowman, Mike Bub, Missy Raines, Terry Baucom, Rob McCoury, Alan Bibey, Mike Compton, Phil Leadbetter, Rob Ickes, Kenny Smith, Tim Stafford, Jason Carter, Steve Gulley, Kim Fox, Dale Ann Bradley, Amanda Smith and Josh Williams were assembled into different groups throughout each show.

Tour organizer Larry Gorley shared a number of photos from shows in Bristol, VA and Kurtztown, PA. They offer a nice flavor of the way these many pickers and singers were staged in various groupings for these concerts, as well as the giant throng on stage for the finales.

Gorley says that the tour has gone well…

“It has been one of the most fun things that I’ve ever been involved in. The crowds have been extremely appreciative of what we’ve done and all the musicians have enjoyed their response and the chance to play with their own. Some great stories have been shared and hopefully new ones will be told after these dates.

We have one more date to do in Stillwater, OK and the tour has been going well. We’ve had 21 musicans on it so far and will likely finish with 25 musicians by tour’s end. Interest has been shown for maybe more of these shows, and hopefully that will happen.

We want to thank all the venues for having us and to all that have come out to see the show, it is much appreciated.”

Perhaps we’ll see an even bigger all-star tour in ‘10.

            

The package show was a staple of the early rock and roll, and rhythm and blues scenes. These were touring shows where a number of popular artists would appear on the same bill – often sponsored by a record label – each performing just a few numbers, typically their current singles.

This type of show has not been a common thing in the bluegrass world, but the folks at Pick One Jams are giving it a go during the month of January, 2009. They have five shows scheduled in the eastern and central US with a bevy of bluegrass stars in tow.

Artists appearing on these shows include Ronnie Bowman, Mike Bub, Missy Raines, Terry Baucom, Rob McCoury, Alan Bibey, Mike Compton, Phil Leadbetter, Rob Ickes, Kenny Smith, Tim Stafford, Jason Carter, Steve Gulley, Kim Fox, Dale Ann Bradley, Amanda Smith and Josh Williams.

Each concert will showcase these top artists in a jam-like setting with the performers rotating on and off the stage as the various pickers and singers are featured. The lineup may vary slightly from one show to the next, but each one is chock full of top bluegrass stars.

Shows on the schedule include:

• 1/08/09 – Raleigh, NC
• 1/09/09 – Bristol, VA
• 1/15/09 – Kutztown, PA
• 1/17/09 – Athens, GA
• 1/24/09 – Stillwater, OK

Ticket and lineup details for the several shows can be found on the Pick One web site.