The following is an account from Wayne Taylor, describing his tour this past September in England and Scotland with his group, Wayne Taylor & Appaloosa.

On September 21, 1995 in Rosine, Kentucky, the US Navy’s Country Current bluegrass group performed for the birthday celebration and plaque dedication ceremony for Bill Monroe, the Father of Bluegrass Music. At that ceremony, as the leader of Country Current, I had a conversation with John Sheldon, the Secretary of the Scottish Bluegrass Association from Penicuik Scotland. As we were talking, John inquired about the possibility of Country Current performing in the United Kingdom but, at that time, the possibility of a performance would not come to fruition.

John spoke face to face with the Father of Bluegrass Music on that day and made a vow that he would do all he could to promote bluegrass music in the United Kingdom. Bill boasted with pride that his music would continue to grow around the globe. Since that ceremony in 1995, John has worked feverishly to fulfill his promise by hosting tours for over 100 USA, Canadian, and European bluegrass bands in the UK.

Upon my retirement from Country Current, I contacted John Sheldon to get the wheels rolling toward getting my new group, Wayne Taylor and Appaloosa to the UK. John arranged a thirteen-day tour, a series of performances ranging from state of the art theaters in Newcastle, England to Moniaive’s first annual bluegrass festival in the south of Scotland. We also did a pair of Music in the Schools performances for 500+ children in grades Kindergarten through 6th grade, which was funded by the International Bluegrass Music Association and the Scottish Bluegrass Association. Our schedule also included group and individual workshops.

Throughout the 13-day tour WT and Appaloosa traveled many miles, performing 18 shows for hundreds of bluegrass enthusiasts as ambassadors of bluegrass music and as US citizens. The tour was highly successful. John continues to fulfill his promise to Bill Monroe with other groups lined up for next year.

I would highly recommend this adventure for any bluegrass group who would like to experience the trip of a life time to see some of the most amazing scenery, landscapes, castles and meet some of the friendliest people anywhere.

Here are a few photos from our trip.

To see more photos and information regarding the tour, visit our web site, or to contact John Sheldon visit www.scottishbluegrass.com.

The debut, self-titled CD from Wayne Taylor & Appaloosa is now available.

Taylor is familiar to bluegrass lovers from his 24 years with Country Current, the US Navy Bluegrass Band, headquartered in Washington, DC. Many of those years of service were pulled alongside banjo legend Bill Emerson, who led the band while he was in the Navy.

This new release features 14 new songs of Wayne’s, performed with his band of crack, DC-area musicians. Emory Lester is on mandolin, Kip Martin on bass, Mark Delaney on banjo and Dave Giegerich on resonator guitar. Taylor plays guitar and handles lead vocals.

Now retired from the Navy himself, Taylor is taking the group out on the road in support of the new CD. They have already scheduled trips to the US west coast and to Scotland in 2009.

You can hear audio from each track on Wayne’s web site.

We heard yesterday from Kenny Ray Horton, guitarist and lead vocalist with the US Navy’s Country Current, who is about to release a new solo project.

A Canary’s Song, which features 7 songs of Horton’s amidst the 11 tracks, will hit on March 11. In addition to Kenny on guitar and vocals, the CD is anchored by Keith Arneson on banjo, Pat White on fiddle and mandolin, Mike Auldridge on resonator guitar and Jeremy Middleton on bass. Darren Beachley and Courtney Williams add harmony vocals.

Kenny stepped in last year to fill the shoes of Wayne Taylor when he retired from the US Navy, and tells us that it was a circuitous path from his childhood home in southern Missouri to Washington, DC to take the spot with Country Current.

As a boy, he was raised on bluegrass and country music, and spent many hours with one of his dad’s best friends, Bob Brumley, son of Albert E. Brumley. The elder Brumley is among the most prolific writers of country Gospel songs, including the classic I’ll Fly Away.

Horton knew from an early age that music was where he wanted to earn his living, and eventually made the trek to Music City where he found some success.

“I made my way to Nashville where I was a staff writer for publishing houses, one of which was Oh Boy Records, John Prine’s label. They picked me up as a full-time staff writer and I ended up co-writing the song A Soldier’s King with John Barlow Jarvis for Kenny Rogers’ Christmas album entitled The Gift.”

After some time singing demos and background vocals in Nashville, he made the decision to look for more secure income, and joined the Navy as an electronics tech.

“Then when I found out that they had bands that did something other than march as a parade band, I switched over and started fronting Navy Band Horizon in Chicago, IL. I spent 5 years there, then moved to Pearl Harbor, HI for two years and finally to Memphis, TN.

All this while I had my eye on this position and kept an ear to the ground on what Wayne Taylor was doing. The group had such a name, not only in the Navy, but in the bluegrass world that it was hard not to pay attention to them.” (more…)

We’ve posted a number of times about US Navy Band, Country Current, which regularly includes professional bluegrass musicians. The band has maintained a bluegrass unit since 1973 when Bill Emerson joined on banjo.

Bill led the band until his retirement in 1993, at which point that leadership fell to Wayne Taylor who held the spot until he retired in March of this year. Wayne performed through 2008 as a member of Bill’s group, Bill Emerson & Sweet Dixie, and has now launched his own band.

Wayne Taylor and Appaloosa includes Emory Lester on mandolin, Dave Giegerich on resonator guitar, Mark Delaney on banjo, Kip Martin on bass, with Wayne on guitar and lead vocals.

They are in the middle of a recording project, which is expected to be completed in January 2009. Three tracks, Bury Me In Dixie, 40 Years and Oh Merrie, can be heard on the band’s web site. Their sound is reminiscent of prominent Washington, DC area bands like The Country Gentlemen and Seldom Scene – though with Wayne’s distinctive voice out front.

You can find their tour schedule – which includes a September trip to Scotland – online.