The songs include early classics from Boone Creek (One Way Track), Sam Bush (Sailin’ Shoes), Lonesome River Band (Highway Paved With Pain), Tony Rice (Church Street Blues), Hot Rize (Colleen Malone), plus tracks from newer artists including Nickel Creek (When You Come Back Down and The Smoothie Song), The Infamous Stringdusters (Fork In The Road) and Sarah Jarosz (Song Up In Her Head).

There is a track from Ricky Skaggs’ initial traditional country album, Sweet Temptation (I’ll Take The Blame) and one from his memorable duo project with Tony Rice, Skaggs & Rice (Bury Me Beneath The Willow). Other artists featured include Dolly Parton, Ronnie Bowman, Jim Mills, Aubrey Haynie, Darrell Scott, Jerry Douglas and many more.

You can see the complete track list, hear audio samples, and buy it as a digital download in iTunes.

Our good friend Doug McKelway conducted the interview. He and Sam spoke at length about Sam’s new CD, Circles Around Me. The CD is due to be released on October 20, on Sugar Hill Records. They also spoke about the digital age of music, recording a duet with Del McCoury, Sam’s place in the mandolin world, and more.

Thanks to Donica and all the folks at Sugar Hill Records for making this interview possible.

The interview lasted close to 15 minutes, and we’re bringing it to you in full. Enjoy…

Click here to view the embedded video.

We have video interviews set up with Del McCoury and Sam Bush to talk about their upcoming CDs.

The Grascals have scheduled a major announcement for Monday afternoon. No leaks about what they are up to, but we’ll have something on it as soon as possible.

Mountain Heart has a very ambitious schedule for the week. On Tuesday evening they have a private showcase set up that is expected to draw a great deal of attention. The band has written and worked up some new material that they will be performing before an invitation-only group of label folks on Tuesday, and we’ll be there to report on the show.

If you have seen Mountain Heart of late, you may have noticed that their edgy, in-your-face style has become even more so, with vocalist/guitarist Josh Shilling occasionally slipping behind an electric keyboard for some bluesy, rocking numbers.

Here’s an example…

Click here to view the embedded video.

This event is open to any IBMA registrants. We hope to capture some video of the show, and speak to some of the performers.

Also on Wednesday, Rural Rhythm and Sugar Hill Records are hosting private showcases, and we are planning to spend time there as well. Both will serve to highlight their fine artists, who we hope to interview and shoot – videowise, that is.

Rural Rhythm’s showcase is expected to feature Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain, IIIrd Tyme Out, Audie Blaylock & Redline and Michael Martin Murphey. They will also share details about their involvement with a major east coast festival. Kyle Cantrell will MC.

Those are just a few of the IBMA events we’ll be covering over the next few days. Whew… better bank some sleep!

Here’s the fifth installment of the video content we’re bringing you as part of our Infamous Stringdusters promotion.

The album The Infamous Stringdusters, will be released tomorrow, June 10, 2008. See our original post for information about the pre-order special.

This video is provided in cooperation with The Infamous Stringdusters, Sugar Hill Records, and Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival.

Each episode (5 in total) will be accompanied by either a streaming track or an mp3 download from the new CD. Access to the tracks will be limited to registered users of The Bluegrass Blog, and accessing the track will enter you in a promotional giveaway to win one of three autographed copies of the CD.

We also have one other contest for you – there will only be one winner in this contest, but it’s big. We’re giving away a pair of tickets to this year’s Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, a meet and greet with the band at the festival, and some merchandise the guys will autograph just for you on site.

Enjoy the video, listen to this week’s track, and enter to win free festival tickets!

This fifth installment of the video is a look inside the production of the CD. The tune is Get It While You Can.

Enter to win an autographed CD (and listen to the streaming track)

Enter to win a pair of tickets to the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival

Here’s the fourth installment of the video content we’re bringing you as part of our Infamous Stringdusters promotion.

The album The Infamous Stringdusters, will be released on June 10, 2008. See our original post for information about the pre-order special.

This video is provided in cooperation with The Infamous Stringdusters, Sugar Hill Records, and Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival.

Each episode (5 in total) will be accompanied by either a streaming track or an mp3 download from the new CD. Access to the tracks will be limited to registered users of The Bluegrass Blog, and accessing the track will enter you in a promotional giveaway to win one of three autographed copies of the CD.

We also have one other contest for you – there will only be one winner in this contest, but it’s big. We’re giving away a pair of tickets to this year’s Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, a meet and greet with the band at the festival, and some merchandise the guys will autograph just for you on site.

Enjoy the video, download this week’s track, and enter to win free festival tickets!

This fourth installment of the video is a live performance at the 2008 Merlefest. The tune is Lovin’ You, written by Sarah Siskind who wrote Simple Love from Allison Krauss’ A Hundred Miles Or More CD and Goodbye Is All We Have from the last AKUS CD, Lonely Runs Both Ways – and is also engaged to Travis Book of the ‘Dusters. Tim O’Brien joins the guys onstage for the performance.

The free mp3 download this week is the live version of Lovin’ You from the live CD download available only when you pre-order the new CD. This version is over 8 minutes long, featuring extended instrumental sections.

Enter to win an autographed CD (and listen to the streaming track)

Enter to win a pair of tickets to the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival

Here’s the third installment of the video content we’re bringing you as part of our Infamous Stringdusters promotion.

The album The Infamous Stringdusters, will be released on June 10, 2008. See our original post for information about the pre-order special.

This video is provided in cooperation with The Infamous Stringdusters, Sugar Hill Records, and Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival.

Each episode (5 in total) will be accompanied by either a streaming track or an mp3 download from the new CD. Access to the tracks will be limited to registered users of The Bluegrass Blog, and accessing the track will enter you in a promotional giveaway to win one of three autographed copies of the CD.

We also have one other contest for you – there will only be one winner in this contest, but it’s big. We’re giving away a pair of tickets to this year’s Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, a meet and greet with the band at the festival, and some merchandise the guys will autograph just for you on site.

Enjoy the video, download this week’s track, and enter to win free festival tickets!

This third installment of the video focuses on the addition of guitar player Andy Falco to the band. This week we also have a free mp3 download from the new CD.

Enter to win an autographed CD (and listen to the streaming track)

Enter to win a pair of tickets to the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival

Here’s the second installment of the video content we’re bringing you as part of our Infamous Stringdusters promotion.

The album The Infamous Stringdusters, will be released on June 10, 2008. See our original post for information about the pre-order special.

This video is provided in cooperation with The Infamous Stringdusters, Sugar Hill Records, and Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival.

Each episode (5 in total) will be accompanied by either a streaming track or an mp3 download from the new CD. Access to the tracks will be limited to registered users of The Bluegrass Blog, and accessing the track will enter you in a promotional giveaway to win one of three autographed copies of the CD.

We also have one other contest for you – there will only be one winner in this contest, but it’s big. We’re giving away a pair of tickets to this year’s Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, a meet and greet with the band at the festival, and some merchandise the guys will autograph just for you on site.

Enjoy the video, download this week’s track, and enter to win free festival tickets!

This second installment includes episode two of the video, and a streaming mp3 of a track from the new CD, .

Click here to view the embedded video.

Enter to win an autographed CD (and listen to the streaming track)

Enter to win a pair of tickets to the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival

The CD is available for pre-order now, directly from the band, and those who do so will receive a signed copy of the CD along with immediate access to download a live recording of the April 15, 2008 show the guys put on at the Fox Theater in Boulder, CO. This live recording features 11 tracks, two of which are over 10 minutes in length. It was a great show, the recording is top notch and the music very enjoyable.

So here’s the content we have for you.

Sugar Hill Records has commissioned our friends at String Theory Media to produce a Best of 2007 video about The Infamous Stringdusters. The video will be debuted here on The Bluegrass Blog in 5 episodes, the first of which is embedded below. Each monday for the next four weeks we’ll present another installment. The last episode will be posted on June 9, 2008, the day before the CD hits the streets.

Each episode will be accompanied by either a streaming track or an mp3 download from the new CD. Access to the tracks will be limited to registered users of The Bluegrass Blog, and accessing the track will enter you in a promotional giveaway to win one of three autographed copies of the CD.

We also have one other contest for you – there will only be one winner in this contest, but it’s big. We’re giving away a pair of tickets to this year’s Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, a meet and greet with the band at the festival, and some merchandise the guys will autograph just for you on site.

So enjoy the video, download this week’s track, and enter to win free festival tickets!

This first installment includes episode one of the video, and an mp3 download of the first track from the new CD, Won’t Be Coming Back.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Enter to win an autographed CD (and download a free track)

Enter to win a pair of tickets to the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival

The CD, Iron & Diamonds is released today, April 8, 2008. The guys, along with the folks at Sugar Hill Records, are making these two tracks avalable for free download by our readers here on The Bluegrass Blog

Today’s track offering is the tune Picker’s Blues.

Enjoy the music!

UPDATE: The offer has now ended. Thanks to all who participated, and thanks to The Gibson Brothers and Sugar Hill Records for making this possible.

This first track we offer is the title cut from the CD, Iron & Diamonds.

Don’t forget we’ll be offering another free track download from the CD again tomorrow.

UPDATE: The offer has now ended. Thanks to all who participated, and thanks to The Gibson Brothers and Sugar Hill Records for making this possible.

Molly Nagel, who has been serving as Director of Publicity will assume the duties of Senior Director of Artist Development, offering project and marketing management to Sugar Hill artists. Nagel has been with Sugar Hill for nine years, and has worked with their most prominent artists, such as Nickel Creek, Dolly Parton, Sam Bush and Tim O’Brien.

Donica Christensen, who had been running her own publicity agency, Hollerback PR, will become Sugar Hill’s new Director of Artist & Media Relations. She had served as Director of Publicity at Compass Records, and did artist and tour publicity for Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Mountain Heart and several others with Hollerback.

They are both working at the 2007 Americana Music Association Conference in Nashville the rest of this week, but will be in the office at their new positions on Monday.

This series presents the award-winning music of Sugar Hill’s Americana Masters. Researched and compiled from the artist’s body of work on Sugar Hill Records, these tracks were culled from radio chart toppers, fan mail, downloads, and songs and tunes that are recurrent favorites at live performances. The series is designed to provide longstanding fans with a collection of favourites. For new fans, this series offers concise entry into the artistic output of these seminal artists‚Äîwith liner notes that can help them to discover more and to delve more deeply into the artist’s catalogue.

Not surprisingly, the Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver collection features all Gospel material, 18 songs spread across the many years that the group has been associated with Sugar Hill Records. The opening track is He Put A Rainbow In The Clouds For Me from the eponymous first album released in 1979, followed by On The Sea Of Life from the classic Rock My Soul album. Other highlights include The Little Mountain Church House and Let Us Travel On. Both feature Lawson singing close harmony with the exceptional Russell Moore. Other great vocal partners appearing here include Lou Reid, Steve Gulley, Barry Abernathy, Jimmy Haley, Terry Baucom and Jamie Dailey.

The Lonesome River Band anthology comprises 16 songs, culled from just four albums, the tracks presented in chronological order. The first band here features founder and rhythm guitarist Tim Austin, Dan Tyminski (mandolin), Ronnie Bowman (bass) and Sammy Shelor (banjo). They are heard on four cuts including Old Country Town and Highway Paved With Pain. The second edition of this high-energy group is that comprising Kenny Smith (guitar), Don Rigsby (mandolin) and the aforementioned Ronnie Bowman and Sammy Shelor. Their contributions are taken from two albums, One Step Forward from 1996 and Finding The Way released in 1998. On the last four cuts Rickie Simpkins is included, playing fiddle. Overall there’s some great original material and a superb mix of excellent voices – trademark Lonesome River Band material.

As befits the eclectic character of the music for which Peter Rowan is known, the 15 songs on this first anthology from Rowan come from the various phases of his time on the Sugar Hill roster. There are three songs done in collaboration with the Nashville Bluegrass Band; starting with The High Lonesome Sound followed with Memories of You and Meadow Green. There are a couple with Jerry Douglas; Girl in the Blue Velvet Band and You Taught Me How to Lose. Then there’s the solo effort, Dust Bowl Children, and two career songs, Walls of Time and Hiroshima Mon Amour.

The best of the Sugar Hill years as far as the Nashville Bluegrass Band is concerned stretches from their first album on the label, The Boys Are Back In Town. The song of the same name is the second track of this 16 cut anthology. The set concludes with Rockin’ Chair Money from their 2004 CD release Twenty Year Blues. At the heart of the Nashville Bluegrass Band sound is Pat Enright’s complex voice, a beacon of the blues. His solo take here on Biggest Liars In Town is ripe with tension and pathos. Enright’s vocal collaborations with Alan O’Bryant are equally haunting as can be heard on Waitin’ For The Hard Times To Go. Other equally important participants are Stuart Duncan (fiddle and vocals), Roland White and Mike Compton (both playing mandolin) and Gene Libbea (bass and vocals) and Dennis Crouch (bass). The Nashville Bluegrass Band has taken their music to many parts of the world and won accolades for their work. This set from the twice voted IBMA ‘Entertainer of the Year’ band includes Grammy winning material. Recommendation enough?

The Sugar Hill web site is currently under reconstruction, and links to only two of the compilations mentioned above are showing up as of 9:00 am. on 7/10. I’m sure they will all appear shortly as site revisions are completed.

You can see full track lists for the Peter Rowan and Nashville Bluegrass Band CDs now at SugarHillRecords,com, but no audio samples. They will be available when these new releases show up on iTunes.

The article quotes Durham business leaders on their disappointment in hearing this news, and Molly Nagle of Sugar Hill on the uncertainty that still exists on questions of staffing.

Read the full article online.

UPDATE 9:35 a.m. – There is also an article in yesterday’s edition of the Raleigh News & Observer about the Sugar Hill move.

First, they announced that their main offices would be moved from Durham, NC to Nashville. The company had been headquartered in Durham since they launched in 1978.

In addition, they announced that Gary Paczosa, award-winning engineer and producer (Alison Krauss, Blue Highway, Nickel Creek, Tim O’Brien, Dixie Chicks) would come onboard as vice president of A&R for Sugar Hill.

This morning’s edition of The Tennessean in Nashville has some more details, but no time frame for the move was announced.