During the past few months the quartet – Jack Hicks (banjo), Randy Thomas (acoustic bass guitar), John Rigsby (mandolin and fiddle) and Bo Issac (guitar) – has been working on songs for their first album, which is to be released on the Rounder label within the next couple of months.

This past weekend, they were a huge success with their showcase performances at the SPBGMA Convention, in Nashville.

You can find video clips of 7 songs from their SPBGMA set for the good people at Good Home Grown Music online. Watching these clips allows a close appreciation of their individual and combined talents, and what we have to look forward to on their debut CD.

The songs on video include You’re Not That Easy To Forget, Workin’ Man’s Way, If I Win Or If I Lose, Talk To Your Heart, Fiddlin’ John and the instrumental, Going Home To See My Baby. All are expected to be of the aforementioned CD, as is the Osborne Brothers’ favorite, Rock Of Ages.

Jack Hicks spoke about recent developments ……..

“We have been working on this project ever since we got together. We had a couple of record deals but we just kept waiting on the best deal we could get. We think Rounder is the way to go. We appreciate what Rounder and Ken Irwin have and is going to do for us. Ken is constantly helping us with things that we would have never thought of. We are very humbled to have the experience and knowledge of such a reputable company. This is so much more than we could have ever asked for.

As for the project we have written a lot of the material on it. John wrote one, Bo wrote two (I’m Leaving You and For the Love of the Game), and myself and Shayla Huffman wrote five (including Fiddlin’ John – about John Rigsby – and Too Much Of A Good Thing), Karen Kouns, our booking agent, wrote one song (Winds of Change). We did one song that Tom T Hall wrote for us about Kentucky (That’s Kentucky).

We are nearing the finish of this project and have a big start on the next one with songs we have written. We hope it will be released sometime in early summer. Again we are very thankful for Ken Irwin and Rounder records for giving us this opportunity.”

The tracks were recorded at Hicks’ studio, Jacksplace. Mixing will by Steve Chandler at Hilltop studio in Nashville, Tennessee.

The name, Summertown Road, came from a Marty Raybon song with the same title.

The elder statesman in the quartet is Jack Hicks, innovative banjo player and former Blue Grass Boy (April 1971 – September 1973), who has had a long and varied musical career. He has also been a part of such legendary groups as Jim & Jesse and the Virginia Boys, the Whites, Lester Flatt, Sonny James and Conway Twitty, with whom he worked for about 10 years.

Alongside Hicks is guitarist Bo Isaac, a part of the Kentucky Opry and a member of the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame. Isaacs has played with the Ernie Thacker, Dave Evans and Larry Cordle. He has also made guest appearances with IIIrd Tyme Out and Marty Raybon. As a soloist, Bo’s first single stayed on the bluegrass charts for 10 months. His eponymous solo album has earned rave reviews. He has been nominated for the IBMA Emerging Artist of the Year award.

The other two members are John Rigsby and Randy Thomas.

Rigsby is a Grammy award winner for his talent on the mandolin and fiddle. He started out his musical journey with Dwight Whitley and Sideroads while he was still in high school. Rigsby has played with such notables as Ralph Stanley and Melvin Goins. He is cousin to Don and Ron Rigsby.

Thomas (bass) has made his name working with Dave Evans, Tony Rice, Hylo Brown, Don Reno, the Marshall Family and Bo Isaac and the Wheelwrights.

The foursome has been working together for about four months. Rigsby and Hicks have known each other for many years, but they didn’t get the idea to play together until quite recently while both were working with Melvin Goins. Hicks met Isaac and Thomas not very long ago through Rigsby and was very impressed with their vocal and musical ability. Isaac and Thomas have been playing together in the Bo Isaac Band for a few years.

They have already been in the studio recording, laying down tracks for nine songs, of which seven were written by band members. Jack Hicks and Boyd County Middle School teacher Shayla Huffman wrote three songs, Rosalee, What’s Not To Love, and Dennie Braden, and Bo Isaac wrote I’m Leaving You. These four songs can be heard on a demo CD that Summertown Road is distributing to interested parties.

Jack Hicks tells me that they have three more songs to do; working as they have been doing in his motor- home-converted-to-recording-studio. He adds ….

“We are working on a record deal as we speak, I can’t say for sure yet. The CD should be out after the first of the year.”

Summertown Road signed up with Main Street Entertainment earlier this week and they are already booked at the Bluegrass Hall of Fame & Uncle Pen Days Festival, September 24-27, Bean Blossom, Indiana and a Prince Edward Island festival in Canada (July 4 & 5, 2009). They are also going to be a showcase band at SPBGMA (February 12-15, 2009).

You can hear audio samples on the band’s MySpace page.

For booking information contact Karen Kouns with Main Street Entertainment (606-922-2313).