The Lewis Family has been playing Bluegrass and Gospel music for over half a century, but with family members aging and some experiencing failing health, the group has decided their final show will be on September 5, 2009.

It’s not an easy decision to make, but retirement does have some benefits according to Janis Lewis Phillips.

"I’m going to get the kitchen fixed," Phillips said. "We’re getting all new appliances."

The old Lewis Family home place is currently being restored and converted into a museum. I’m sure the family members won’t entirely disappear from the scene, but I’m sure they will be missed by fans around the country at festivals next year.

They took the honors with They’re Holding Up The Ladder (in the bluegrass recorded song category) and We Are Family (in the bluegrass album category). Both are available on the Daywind label.

The Dove Awards are presented by the Gospel Music Association. Look for a full list of winners on their web site.

Last Monday, a section of State Route 378 in Lincoln County, GA was renamed The James Roy “Pop” Lewis Memorial Highway. It was Pop’s 103rd birthday.

Little Roy Lewis has told reporters that the Lewis family house in Lincolnton, GA will be converted into a museum, which should be opened to the public sometime next year.

The awards will be announced at the 39th Annual Dove Awards on April 23 in Nashville, TN.

The Bluegrass Recorded Song of the Year nominees are:

• He’s In Control from Austins Bridge by Austins Bridge; Justin Rivers, Mike Kofahl, John Ramsey (writers); Daywind Records
• I Will Find You Again from Lifetimes by Little Roy Lewis, Earl Scruggs, Lizzy Long; Wayne Haun, Joel Lindsey, Cindi Ballard (writers); Vine Records
• Love Will Be Enough from Salt of the Earth by Ricky Skaggs & The Whites; Janis Ian, Paul Overstreet (writers); Skaggs Family Records
• Salt of the Earth from Salt of the Earth by Ricky Skaggs & The Whites; Jim Rushing, Ronald Scaife (writers); Skaggs Family Records
• The Key To Heaven from Flyin’ High by The Lewis Family; Caleb Collins, Lyn Rowell (writers); Vine Records

In the Bluegrass Album of the Year category, we have:

• God’s Masterpiece – The Marksmen; Mark Wheeler (producer); Rural Rhythm Records
• Lifetimes – Little Roy Lewis, Earl Scruggs, Lizzy Long; Wayne Haun, Kevin Ward (producer); Vine Records
• Salt Of The Earth - Ricky Skaggs & The Whites; Ricky Skaggs & The Whites (producer); Skaggs Family Records
• Tell Someone - Kenny & Amanda Smith Band; Kenny & Amanda Smith Band (producer); Rebel Records
• Where No One Stands Alone – Paul Williams & The Victory Trio; Paul Williams (producer); Rebel Records

Congratulations and best of luck to them all!

A video preview has been posted on YouTube.

The Andy Griffith Playhouse in Mt. Airy, NC will be the scene for two days of live concerts September 28-29 featuring The Lewis Family, Jeff & Sheri Easter, and The Easter Brothers. Both shows will be recorded on video for a DVD release.

Jeff Easter grew up singing with his family, and Sherri sang with The Lewis Family. The three groups will also collaborate on a joint CD project, We Are Family, due for a fall ‘o7 release.

Find more details on The Lewis Family web site.

The family has posted a lovely remembrance page on their official web site, which includes the text of the eulogy delivered at his funeral, as well as links to his published obituary and an article on his passing in The Augusta Chronicle.

There are a great many photos there as well, including ones taken at the funeral (5/19), and a sampling of pictures of Wallace through the years.

See the Wallace Lewis Remembrance Page online.

He performed with brother Talmadge and Esley as The Lewis Brothers in the 1940s, occasionally including their youngest brother, “Little Roy,” still a young boy, on banjo. Their repertoire included country and square dance favorites.

The Lewis Family debuted in 1951, and included brothers Talmadge, Wallace and Little Roy, along with their sisters Miggie, Janis and Polly – and the patriarch Roy “Pop” Lewis.

Funeral arrangements for Wallace Lewis are expected to be announced shortly. Check The Lewis Family web site for more information.

The CD is entitled Handpicked, and includes their very favorite tracks from previous releases, fourteen in all. The CD booklet also features comments about each song, and why it was selected for this compilation.

The tracks include: A Rose In A Bible, You Can’t Stop Time, He Still Looks Over Me, Walking And Talking, Angels Gathering Flowers, When Our Lord Shall Come Again, Above And Beyond, If We Ever Needed The Lord Before (We Sho Do Need Him Now).

There is no release date shown on the Daywind site, but the CD is available for ordering now from The Lewis Family site.

BLUEGRASS RECORDED SONG OF THE YEAR
(Song, Album, Artist, Writer, Label)

• “Did You Forget God Today”; Long List of Heartaches; Grascals; Aubrey Holt; Rounder Records
• “Bedside Prayer”; Traveling Through; The Churchmen; Steve Martin; Pinecastle Records
• “He Lives In Me”; He Lives In Me; Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver; Frances P. Simpson; Horizon Records
• “If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again”; Bluegrass Gospel Time; Dave Moody; Arr by Dave Moody, Mallie B. Music; Lamon Records
• “My Cross”; Flyin’ High; Lewis Family; Wayne Haun; Vine Records
• “We Know Where He Is”; The Promised Land; Del McCoury Band; Shawn Camp; McCoury Music

BLUEGRASS ALBUM OF THE YEAR
(Album, Artist, Producer(s), Label)

• Acoustic Hymns Volume 1; Cumberland Quartet; Wayne Haun, Depp Britt, Kevin Ward; Vine Records
• Ancient Of Days; Harvest Wind; Dave Moody; Lamon Records
• Flyin’ High; Lewis Family; Wayne Haun; Kevin Ward; Mountain Home
• He Lives In Me; Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver; Doyle Lawson; Horizon Records
• The Promised Land; Del McCoury Band; Del McCoury, Ronnie McCoury; McCoury Music

The 38th Annual Dove Awards will be presented on Wednesday, April 25, 2007. The show will be held at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, TN at 8PM CST. It won’t be broadcast in national syndication until the month of May.

You can find the complete listing of nominees, more info, and show tickets at www.doveawards.com

She asks for prayers as Polly enters treatment.

You can read the letter here.

First to be announced is The Lewis Family, widely described as “America’s First Family of Bluegrass Gospel Music.” It is rare to find a performing outfit such as this, who manage to exist as both pioneers of the genre and an active touring act at the same time. They have been doing shows for 45 years, originally with Roy “Pop” Lewis, and his children Miggie, Polly, Janis and “Little Roy,” and eventually including “Pop’s” grandchildren and sometimes their spouses.

WSM’s Eddie Stubbs pointed out during the announcement what a major contribution The Lewis Family made to both the musical and professional sides of bluegrass entertainment. Through a rigorous schedule of performances, they have brought the music to a great many places where it could be enjoyed and discovered. They also demonstrated the power of marketing and presentation to their fellow bluegrass groups as the festival scene was developing in the 1960s, perhaps even defining the way that artists now sell recordings and merchandise at their shows.

Also being inducted this year is Syd Nathan, founder of King Records, who signed Reno & Smily in 1952 and The Stanley Brothers in 1958. Their King Recordings are almost all legitimate classics, and Stubbs again credited Nathan’s marketing savvy for getting these bluegrass acts into jukeboxes all over the country where new fans could be made.

Both inductions will occur during the International Bluegrass Music Awards show at The Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville on September 28.

That feature is scheduled to be a part of CMT’s Insider program today (7/22) at 1:30 p.m. (ET/PT). The show will re-air on Sunday (7/23) at 11:00 a.m. and again on Monday (7/24) at 11:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

They are raising money now to return the house to its original condition when first built in 1935 by the Lewis patriarch. Contributions are tax deductible, as the restoration project is organized as a non-profit 501c(3).

Details about contributions can be found here.

Sheri Easter is a member of the Lewis family, and a former member of the Lewis Family. Her mom is Polly Lewis (Polly Williamson Copsey), and Sheri performed with the group along with her husband, Jeff, until they struck out on their own in 1988.

Mountain Home Records has just announced the release of a new Lewis Family project, Flyin’ High. This new CD includes a song list gathered from some of today’s best songwriters, and features all the energy and excitement you’ve come to expect from the First Family of Bluegrass Gospel Music.

The street date for this release is set for July 18th, 2006.

In conjunction with this release, CMT filmed the band while they were in Nashville recording the tracks for their new project. The program CMT Insider will feature The Lewis Family on Saturday, July 22, with repeats on Sunday, July 23 and Monday, July 24.

Audio clips from the new CD are available on the band’s website.

The show has been scheduled to air on Saturday, July 22, just following the official release date for Flying High, which is on 7/18. Look for the show at 1:30 p.m. on 7/22, with encore presentations the following Sunday (11:00 a.m.) and Monday (both 2:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.).

Audio samples from the new CD can be found on The Lewis Family website.

The site also mentions that Miggie Lewis is scheduled for knee replacement surgery tomorrow (May 23), and asks her many friends to remember her in their prayers.

The 19th Annual Lewis Family Homecoming and Bluegrass Festival will be held May 4-6 at Elijah Clark State Park in Lincolnton, GA.

If you would like to send a card, the address is: