Rebekah had been performing as a member of The Little Roy & Lizzie Show, along with her twin sister, Lizzie Long, and Little Roy Lewis. She is a recent graduate of Nashville’s School of Audio Engineering, and was featured as a member of the Daughters Of Bluegrass on their Bluegrass Bouquet album.

Long joins Becky Buller and Ernie Evans in Valerie’s band, and as is the custom in Liberty Pike, will do some instrument switching in the stage show.

You can see the Valerie Smith tour schdule on her official web site.

This morning (9/23) at 9:00 a.m. (EDT), Katy will speak with Valerie Smith about her 3rd annual Dare to Be Different Showcase, held in Bell Buckle, TN just prior to the IBMA events in Nashville. It’s a full day of bluegrass entertainment on Sunday (9/27) to benefit the Foundation for Bluegrass Music’s Bluegrass In The Schools program, which funds scholarships for schools that would like to, but can’t afford to bring a bluegrass band in to teach their students about the music.

The show will feature performances from several groups, including the newly-formed Jerry Butler & the Blu-J’s, plus a set from Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike.

Katy will have Missy Raines with her on Thursday morning (9/24) at 9:00 a.m.. Missy has yet another nomination for Bass Player of the Year from IBMA, and will discuss that with Katy, as well as her new band, The New Hip.

On Friday (9/25), Adam Steffey is on at 9:00 to talk about his new CD, One More For the Road, which dropped this week on Sugar Hill. Adam also has a number of IBMA nominations this year, for Mandolin Player of the Year and with the Dan Tyminski Band.

I’m sure that Katy will spin a few tracks from the CD, and hopefully will drag a yarn or two from Adam about the recording of this stellar project. Guests include Alison Krauss, Ron Block, Ron Stewart, Bryan Sutton, Randy Kohrs, Chris Stapleton and producer/bassist Barry Bales.

Bluegrass Country’s 24/7 bluegrass music feed can be heard worldwide on www.bluegrasscountry.org and in the Washington area on HD Radio WAMU-88.5 Channel Two, and on 105FiveFM.

Donna Hughes, Valerie Smith and Donna Ulisse each won in different categories. Hughes took Bluegrass Album for Gaining Wisdom, Ulisse, Bluegrass Song for I’m Calling Heaven Down, and Smith Gospel Album for Wash Away Your Troubles.

Congratulations, ladies!

Just Plain Folks is a web-based community of musicians, songwriters, artists, publishers, producers, labels and other music business folks. They bill their annual awards as the world’s largest independent awards, with over 560,000 songs and  42,000 albums considered for recognition in the 2009 cycle.

They describe their mission as follows:

1. To provide a networking environment of inclusion and cooperation between our members for the benefit of the group and individuals involved.
2. To share wisdom, ideas and experiences with others who have been there, and to help educate those who have yet to make the journey.
3. To form long term relationships with a myriad of other industry professionals whose talents and efforts need a venue to be enjoyed and benefited from.
4. To set the example for the world of the power of the Internet and total freedom of communication, when it is not restricted by the boundaries of the corporate world, or damaged by the adversarial nature of the music industry in general.
5. To show others that deep down, we are all much more alike than different. The thoughts and hopes and dreams we all share are much the same whether we are Grammy Winners, Hit Songwriters, Industry leading Superstars in our fields, or we are an 11 year old kid with a new dream, or a 78 year old who still dares to dream!
6. And the most important goal: To have a lot of fun doing it!

The Awards Show was held on Saturday (August 29) at The Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville. You can see the complete list of winners (including runner ups) at the JPF web site.

Back on solid ground, she and her band, Liberty Pike are in Nashville for a show tonight (1/31) at The Station Inn, and preparing to embark on a busy 2009 tour schedule. Valerie is also looking forward to a cover feature by Chris Stuart in Bluegrass Unlimited later this year.

Here are a few photos from the cruise.

      

The CD will be released September 9, 2008 on Bell Buckle Records. Taking a page from the great brother duets of the past, Smith and Buller have created a “sister duet” sound on this new CD.

We certainly aren’t out to send the Bluegrass world spinning sideways. We just both happen to be big fans of classic duet acts such as the Louvin and Everly Brothers. Our goal was to channel their sound into these new songs with stark arrangements that make the melodies, harmonies and stories the focal points of our presentation.

The sound samples presented on Valerie’s website do showcase the sparse arrangements, which direct your attention to the lyrics. Even so, it’s not as if the two are unaccompanied on the recording. A full band is tastefully present, including a mouth harp on one track.

The accompaniment is provided by an all star cast, including Alan O’Bryant, Mike Compton, Dale Ann Bradley, Wayne Benson, Kristin Scott Benson, Larry Cordle and Lonesome Standard Time, Justin Carbone, and Liberty Pike band mates Chad Graves and Bobby Davis.

A highly esteemed songwriter and fiddle player, Buller took on a new role for Here’s a Little Song, that of producer. Her first effort was not an easy one, considering the health issues that Smith had to deal with during the process.

“In April of ‘06 just after we finished up recording Val’s Bluegrass Gospel album, Wash Away Your Troubles, she had to undergo vocal surgery,” said Becky. “Later that year she was healed up and singing great so we made all our plans to begin the duet record,” she adds.

“Then in February of ‘07, we found out she had to have a second vocal surgery,” she continued. “Our sessions were scheduled for April at Paul Hopkins’ Studio near Shelbyville, Tennessee and Valerie wanted us to go ahead. So, in crazy faith, we did just that, getting most of our music recorded without any idea if Val would ever be able to talk again, let alone sing.”

“But this January, less than a year after that second surgery, we were back in the studio recording our vocals,” said Val. “It was truly a miracle and I can’t begin to thank all the promoters and fans who hung in there with me during the grueling recovery process.”

The hectic tour – with 13 appearances in 16 days – is sponsored in part by British Americana magazine, Maverick, which describes Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike as an “excellent stage act ‚Ķ.. known for their lively and impressive concerts!”

Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike consists of lead singer and band leader Valerie Smith, Becky Buller on vocal, fiddle, clawhammer banjo, guitar and as a principal songwriter in the group, Bobby Davis on bass and fiddle, Chad Graves on resophonic guitar and vocals, and Eric Lambert on guitar and mandolin.

Valerie spoke to me about the trip just as she was making final preparations prior to flying out Friday morning …….

“This tour will represent eight years that I have performed in Europe and am anticipating seeing familiar faces. I welcome the opportunity to develop a wider audience. Bell Buckle Records is especially excited about Maverick magazine supporting my tour for the second time and helping spread the news about the anticipated release ‘Here’s A Little Song’!, a duet project recorded with artist, Becky Buller, who will be joining me on the tour. We plan to perform many new songs from the CD and hope that the audience enjoys our new, fresh, enthusiastic show! The band, Liberty Pike, is so much fun to watch and have a great time playing music together.

I have always loved to perform for the enthusiastic audience in Europe and UK and am excited to be there in July and August! Our first show is on the Isle of Wight, and the show will be filmed and produced by the UK Entertainment channel. What a surprise and great opportunity to share the music and gain more publicity for what we do.”

Here’s a full list of dates and venues for the tour ‚Ķ.

• July 20 – Freshwater Memorial Hall Freshwater, Isle of Wight
• July 21 – Zebra Bar, Maidstone, Kent
• July 23 – St. Bonaventure’s, Bristol
• July 24 – High Barn, Great Bardfield, Essex
• July 25 – Plough Arts Centre, Great Torrington, Devon
• July 26 – Phil Murphy Weekend, Carrig-on-Bannow, Ireland
• July 27 – Phil Murphy Weekend, Carrig-on-Bannow, Ireland
• July 28 – The Queen’s Hall, Narberth, Pembrokeshire, Wales
• July 29 – Comfort Hotel, Nottingham
• August 1 – Sudhaus, Tubingen, Germany
• August 2 – Kulturufer Festival, Friedrichshafen, Germany
• August 3 – Bardentreffen Festival, Nuremburg, Germany
• August 4 – Altes Kaufhaus, Landau, Germany

More information about the tour can be accessed at the band web site.

Valerie Smith and Becky Buller Here’s A Little Song hits the streets on September 9.

Guests on the CD include the multi-Grammy, Dove and IBMA award-winning Alan O’Bryant and Mike Compton from the Nashville Bluegrass Band; the 2007 IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year, Dale Ann Bradley; multi-IBMA award winner Wayne Benson of IIIrd Tyme Out; Kristin Scott Benson of the Larry Stephenson Band and Larry Cordle and Lonesome Standard Time; and Justin Carbone of Special Consensus. They are also joined here by their fellow Liberty Pike members Chad Graves and Bobby Davis.