Alison Krauss & Union Station got started on their next studio recording this past weekend, tracking at Sound Emporium in Nashville.

Steve Huber visited the studio on Monday (8/3) to tweak a couple of banjos for Ron Block, and sent us a few photos. Ron plays a signature model Huber Banjo, and Steve had recently installed a prototype of his new HR-30 tone ring in two of Ron’s banjos. Huber was on hand Monday to help dial them in before the tracking got underway.

Talk about service!

Steve tells us that Ron expects to have prominent banjo on four or five of the tracks, and an understated banjo part on one other. He wasn’t able to hear any of the recording, but says that Ron suggested to him that the material was different from the sort of songs they have recorded in the past. They also plan to record differently this time, sticking to a more rigid schedule than they have for recent previous projects.

The CD will be released on Rounder, probably in early 2010.

One More For The Road, the new Adam Steffey CD isn’t due until September 22, but the good folks at Sugar Hill have agreed to let us offer a few sneak peeks here on The Bluegrass Blog.

The album showcases Adam as both a vocalist and a fiery mandolinist, accompanied by an all-star cast of pickers and singers with whom he has toured and recorded over the years.

Maybe you’ve heard of some of these folks: Ron Stewart and Ron Block on banjo, Clay Hess, Bryan Sutton and Dan Tymisnki on guitar, Stuart Duncan and Ron Stewart on fiddle, Randy Kohrs on slide guitars, and Barry Bales on bass.

He found a couple of singers too… Alison Krauss, Dan Tyminski, Ronnie Bowman and Chris Stapleton.

The CD will soon ship to radio so you’ll be hearing a lot of it shortly, but in the meantime, here are bits of three tracks to show what is contained therein.

First up, the title track (from Josh Shilling and Craig Market) with Adam on lead vocal, and Chris Stapleton providing harmonies.

Next, a spicy Scotty Stoneman number, with Dan Tyminski on vocals.

And lastly, Half Past Four a great old time fiddle tune given the modern grass treatment by Adam and company.

That is some mighty powerful pickin’ and singin’!

You can read more about One More For The Road, including some comments from Adam, in our earlier post about the project.

Randy Kohrs is in the process of finishing up a new acoustic CD. We don’t have a title yet for the CD, but we’re told an early fall release on Rural Rhythm Records is the plan.

A single has just been sent to radio on the new Rural Rhythm Fresh Tracks CD. The title of the single is Devil of the Trail. The song is based on a true story and written by Randy, Dennis Goodwin, and Ashley Brown.

The players on this particular cut are Ron Block on banjo, Adam Steffey on mandolin, Randy on resonator guitar, Clay Hess on acoustic guitar, Tim Crouch on fiddle, and Aaron Ramsey on bass.

The tenor singer on the new Randy Kohrs single is Shannon Lawson. Lawson was a co-writer on the song “Who’s Goin’ With Me” from the last album.

Other special guests on the upcoming CD include Ronnie and Garnet Bowman, the McCrary Sisters, and more!

Here’s a sample of the song through the first chorus. Email your local bluegrass radio show and request the single if you want to hear the whole thing.

Devil of the Trail:   

We heard earlier this week from Josh Williams, who is fresh off the Pick One all-star tour, and headed back into the studio to finish mixing his next CD. This will be his third Pinecastle release, which is expected in the latter half of 2009.

Josh will also start work soon on the debut album from The Josh Williams Band, and is currently selecting the material. His booking agent, Jim Roe, said that Josh is accepting song submissions, so all you writers out there, if you have something you would like him to hear, it can be sent to:

Josh also sent along a photo of a very special show he did back in early December. He had been invited to perform as a trio with Alison Krauss and Ron Block at the Successful Christian Living Ministries retreat in Talladega, AL.

“I have admired both of these people for years, as great musicians, singers, and writers, but getting to work closely with them was quite a thrill for me. I had admired Ron for his musicianship, and song writing, but this past weekend I also realized that he is one of the finest Christian gentlemen I’ve ever met. Where Alison is concerned, I’ve loved her playing and singing for years, and have always agreed with the many writers and commentators when they referred to her beautiful voice as angelic. But I don’t think I really ever understood the full depth of that statement until I was standing next to her singing the hymns we sang in Alabama. I actually felt like I was singing with a genuine Angel.”

You can follow Josh’s tour schedule on his web site.