Rebel Records has announced the signing of Colorado’s Spring Creek, which they note marks the first time the Virginia label has contracted with a band based west of the Mississippi.

It may also mark the first time a new band hits the national scene composed entirely of players who studied bluegrass music at South Plains College under the tutelage of Alan Munde and Joe Carr.

Spring Creek is made up of Jessica Smith on bass, Chris Elliott on banjo, Alex Johnstone on mandolin and fiddle, and Tyalor Sims on guitar. All four members contribute vocally, trading off on lead and harmony. They write much of the material they record and perform, and feature a good bit of duet singing.

The band will be at IBMA at the end of this month performing on a variety of showcase stages, and will be in the studio later this fall getting started on their debut CD for Rebel. A Spring 2009 release is anticipated.

You can hear hear audio samples from current releases on the band’s web site or MySpace page.

Colorado’s Spring Creek has another trophy for their mantle. On top of winning the band competitions at both the RockyGrass and Telluride festivals in 2007, they have now been named as the winners of the Vox Populi award from online viewers in the 2007 Independent Music Awards.

Their song, High Up in the Mountains, was chosen in the Americana category in this “people’s choice” component of the annual competition, hosted by Music Resource Group. More than 37,000 votes were cast online, and the band tells us that they were the only bluegrass band in this voting category.

The band consists of Chris Elliott on banjo, Alex Johnstone on fiddle and mandolin, Taylor Sims on guitar and Jessica Smith on bass. All four band members sing.

You can hear their winning song on the band’s web site or MySpace page.

Congratulations Spring Creekers!