Del McCoury’s web folks have posted a clever and humorous video to promote the now annual New Year’s Eve Party at The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.

Joining Del and the boys will be Ronnie Bowman, Drew Emmitt, Jon Fishman, Vince Herman and Steep Canyon Rangers starting at 8:00 p.m. (CST) on 12/31/07.

The brief video does a great job of explaining what sort of show this is by playing on the stereotype of the cranky bluegrass fan.

Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster, or from The Ryman box office.

Rural Rhythm Records has just released the first single from their upcoming Tim Hensley project, Long Monday. Bluegrass radio hosts and stations should be receiving their copy today (11/15), Tim’s rendition of the Rodney Crowell song, Ridin’ Out The Storm.

Tim has spent time with Ricky Skaggs, as well as country artists Patty Loveless and Kenny Chesney, and has put together a bluegrass-tinged acoustic album with songs drawn from some of today’s top writers. In addition to the Crowell song, there are songs from Tim Stafford, Ronnie Bowman, Carl Jackson and Larry Cordle.

Joining Tim in the studio were super-pickers Rob Ickes, Aubrey Haynie, Wyatt Rice, Tim Stafford, Adam Steffey and David Talbot, with vocal assistance from Ronnie Bowman, Melonie Cannon, Vince Gill, Sonya Isaacs and Patty Loveless.

The Hensley CD is due on January 29, 2008. More details and a clip from Ridin’ Out The Storm can be found online.

Wednesday morning at 8:00 a.m. marks the official radio premiere of the new Rebel Records CD from The Steep Canyon Rangers on XM Satellite Radio’s Bluegrass Junction. Host Kyle Cantrell will play each of the tracks from Lovin’ Pretty Women, and discuss them one at a time both with band members, and producer Ronnie Bowman.

The show will be repeated several more times over the next two weeks (all times eastern).

• Wednesday (8/1) at 8:00 a.m.
• Saturday (8/4) at 4:00 p.m.
• Wednesday (8/8) at 9:00 p.m.
• Sunday (8/12) at noon
• Tuesday (8/15) at 3:00 p.m.

I’ve been listening to this CD for the past two weeks, enjoying it very much. The songwriting is clever and the performances are lively with instrumental work that is solidly traditional, and vocals that reflect the non-southern background of many so younger bands in today’s market. Look for the title track to become a radio and festival favorite.

There are a few tracks accessible on the band’s MySpace page if you want an immediate taste of the new material. Lovin’ Pretty Women hits the street on August 14.

Country music superstar Kenny Chesney is climbing the charts right now with a song written by bluegrass favorite Ronnie Bowman.

Never Wanted Nothing More was written during a marathon writing session that took place between Ronnie Bowman and proven country writer Chris Stapleton. The two wrote a number of songs together during one extended informal writing session. The thing is, it was the first time the two had ever worked together. Ronnie remembers it this way.

Chris came over to the house and we started writing. A day later we had a handful of good songs, but this one just really stood out. We went right in and recorded a demo!

Ronnie tells me the demo was just the basics, the two songwriters with their guitars, that’s it. No frills, no fancy arrangement, just the song.

Ronnie writes for Sony Music Publishing and they took the song and started pitching it. It was just a short time later that Ronnie discovered Chesney was interested in the song. Then Chesney’s producer, Buddy Cannon, called and asked if Ronnie would like to stop by the studio and hear the track as they worked on it.

After I got off the phone, I just asked myself “Am I dreaming or is Kenny Chesney recording my song today?” As soon as I came back to my senses, I headed right over to the studio to check it out.

Once he got in the studio, Ronnie was in for another surprise. (more…)

This Tuesday and Wednesday nights will see quite a gathering of bluegrass talent at Nashville’s legendary Station Inn, assembled to benefit the Autism Society of Middle Tennessee. Their goal is to help raise awareness of this serious neurological condition, as well as donations for the work of the ASMT.

April 10 will feature performances by The Grascals, Ronnie Bowman & Friends, The Infamous Stringdusters, The Steel Drivers, The Roland White Band, and Chris Jones & The Nightdrivers. The following night will see Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time, Jerry Salley & Breakin’ New Ground, The Mark Newton Band, Cordle, Salley and Carl Jackson, The Mashville Brigade and a special surprise appearance by one of bluegrass music’s top acts on stage at The Station Inn.

This benefit was organized by two Nashville veterans, both of whose lives have been touched by youngsters with autism. Journalist and musician Jon Weisberger (who also serves on the IBMA Board) has a son with the disorder, and singer/songwriter Jerry Salley has a neice who suffers from autism.

April is promoted as Autism Awareness Month, and Nashville has long hosted a similar benefit each April at The Bluebird Cafe. Weisberger and Salley approached The Station Inn about hosting a bluegrass event as a benefit, and it was the club that suggested that they take two nights.

Admission is based on a $20 suggested donation, and the shows will begin each night at 8:00 p.m. (CDT).

Readers outside of Nashville can contribute to the Autism Society of Middle Tennessee online.

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.

Our good friend and fellow laborer in this business of blogging, Sharon Smith, has posted some photos and comments from Billy Smith’s 50th birthday party held at the Station Inn on Sunday. Her post includes photos of husband Terry Smith, Del, Ronnie, and Rob McCoury, Earl Scruggs, Ronnie Bowman, and more.

Billy is a great songwriter and the birthday bash looks like it was a lot of fun, sorry I missed it. Happy birthday Billy!

Episode #16 of The GrassCast features an interview with singer/songwriter Ronnie Bowman. John and Ronnie talk about Ronnie’s new CD It’s Gettin’ Better All The Time, having a #1 hit on country radio, and what it’s like living in Nashville.

This GrassCast is 11 minutes in length and the file download size is 11MB.

Listen now:
Direct Download: ep16_ronnie_bowman.mp3
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