If you’ve been following Wichita Rutherford’s video podcasts lately, you know that Wichita’s last attempt to impersonate Ricky Skaggs was met with disapproval by his card playing buddies from Three Ring Circle. He said he was done trying and there would be no more videos, but now he’s making one last attempt. He just couldn’t help himself. I guess he wanted to succeed as badly as I wanted him to. Visit his blog to watch it and be sure to let him know how you think he did. Sometimes those guys he plays cards with can be a little over critical.

I posted last week about a video that our pal Wichita Rutherford put up as a podcast (and in his blog). The video was recorded for and played at IBMA last month. In the video Wichita is playing cards with the guys from Three Ring Circle and tries out his Ricky Skaggs impression on them. It was bit to “Kraussy” so the guys said. Well here is a new video in which Wichita makes another attempt at imitating Skaggs. Watch it and see what you think.

For those of you who weren’t there, or those who were and just want to watch it again, Wichita Rutherford has posted one of the video clips he did for IBMA over at his blog. He actually did several and they’ll be made available one each week for the next month.

This first one shows Wichita playing cards with Three Ring Circle and doing impressions of bluegrass stars. If you need a good laugh, check it out.

The bluegrass radio options for the weekend are richer yet than what we already posted this morning. In addition to Cherryholmes on Sirius, Marty Raybon on XM, and Dale Ann Bradley on The Opry, Three Ring Circle is set to perform on tonight’s (9/1) Friday edition on The Grand Ole Opry radio show.

Three Ring Circle is Rob Ickes on resonator guitar, Andy Leftwich on mandolin, and Dave Pomeroy on bass. Their debut, self-titled release is nominated in both the Instrumental Album and Recorded Event categories for 2006.

The Friday Opry broadcast runs from 9:00-11:00 p.m. (EDT), with Three Ring Circle up during the final half hour. Bobby Osborne is also on tonight’s show, appearing in the 9:30-10:00 p.m. segment.

Tune in on WSM 650 AM out of Nashville, catch the live WSM audio stream online, or turn to channel 117 on Sirius Satellite Radio to hear the program.

We posted last month about what is sure to be an exciting new instrumental outfit, composed of dobro wizard Rob Ickes, mandolin/fiddle prodigy Andy Leftwich, and Nashville session bass stalwart Dave Pomeroy. The band, who describe themselves as a “jamgrass acoustic power trio,” is called Three Ring Circle, and their debut, self-titled recording will be released in just a few weeks’ time on Earwave Records.

The new CD contains everything from adventurous improvisation romps written by the three soloists, to a lovely, lyrical retelling of Stevie Wonder’s Isn’t She Lovely as a dobro feature. Audio samples from each of the ten tracks can be found on their web site.

Despite their commitments to busy touring responsibilities - Ickes with Blue Highway, Leftwich with Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, and Pomeroy in the studio - Three Ring Circle will do some live appearances, as scheduling allows. Find more info about shows on their site as well.

The band is offering a pre-release special with orders being received before March 21 being eligible for free shipping to addresses in the US and Canada.

Three Ring Circle is the name of a new CD - and a new trio - featuring dobro wizard Rob Ickes of Blue Highway, mandolin/fiddle wunderkind Andy Leftwich of Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, and Nashville studio stalwart Dave Pomeroy on bass. The CD will be released on Earwave Records in March 2006, and will feature original material written within the group, as well as their reworked arrangements of some classic tunes.

Rob tells us that he is very excited about getting to record and perform with Andy and Dave, and to “stretch out” a bit on some challenging and innovative original instrumental music. They spent a year and a half writing and recording for the new project, as time could be found amidst their busy schedules with their primary performance vehicles.

Look for them in some limited engagements coming up in anticipation of the CD release. They will be at The Station Inn in Nashville on February 23 and March 23, and in Chattanooga, TN on February 17 at the Barking Legs Theater. They expect to add more dates as the CD release draw near, so keep an eye on Rob’s or Dave’s sites for more info.