Western North Carolina-based bluegrass artists High Windy will release their debut project, A Greater Storm, May 20th on the Mountain Home label.

Named for a sweeping ridge line near their home in Asheville, NC, High Windy is one of that area’s fastest rising groups. After four years of regional award-winning performances this original bluegrass unit now moves into the national scene with their first recording effort.

A Greater Storm includes twelve tracks, nine of which were crafted by members of this five-piece group. Recognized bluegrass songwriter, vocalist and banjo player Patrick McDougal, contributes five songs to the project including a new version of his song The County Fool previously recorded by Alan Bibey and Del McCoury. He also wrote Stuck Out In The Rain, Four Winds, and Dance Around the Daisies, each of which helps to give an appropriate “nature” theme to the album. The Richest Man To God is a great gospel flavored tune from the same writer.

Guitarist and vocalist Shane Lail has three original songs Love of a Lifetime, which he frequently dedicates to his wife Stephanie; Good Ole Days, a song about love lost but not forgotten and Coming Home, about getting off the road and back to the ones we love and miss.

Mandolin player Ty Gilpin contributes the story song, Iron Horse, about the ironies of western development and the history of “progress in America.”

A Greater Storm also includes two fiddle-driven instrumentals, Big Scioto and Staten-Isle Joe, both of which are arranged by fiddler Tim Gardner. Each is a mix between bluegrass and old time music.

The fifth member of High Windy is bass player and lead and harmony vocalist Mark V Davis.

Guest musicians include award-winning Dobro® player Rob Ickes, David Johnson, Jeff Taylor and Cody Kilby. (more…)

IIIrd Tyme Out will be stopping by the studios of WNCW in Spindale, NC on Saturday (3/1) for a live performance, plus some discussion with Dennis Jones, host of the popular Goin’ Across The Mountain show.

The guys will be on at 2:00 p.m., and since the show is simulcast online, many folks will have their first chance to catch the most recent IIIrd Tyme Out lineup. Founding member Russel Moore still holds down the guitar and lead vocal chair, with Steve Dilling on banjo, Justen Haynes on fiddle, Edgar Loudermilk on bass, and recently returned former member Wayne Benson on mandolin.

WNCW can be heard in the Charlotte, NC area at 88.7 FM and is streamed live from WNCW’s website.

There are now audio samples on the Rounder Records site from the new Blue Highway CD, Through the Window of a Train.

It isn’t due for release until February 12, but you will have a chance to hear many of the tracks during the Goin’ Across The Mountain show on WNCW this Saturday afternoon (2/2). Host Dennis Jones will be playing one song from the new CD each hour while the show is on the air (11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.), and Tim Stafford will join Dennis for some discussion about the new project in the 2:00 hour.

Dennis expects to play 4 or 5 more songs from Through the Window of a Train while Tim - and perhaps a couple other members of Blue Highway - are in the studio.

WNCW broadcasts in four North Carolina markets, and can also be heard online via live audio streaming.

Claire Lynch will be appearing on WNCW’s Goin’ Across The Mountain program on Saturday (1/12) at 2:00 p.m. (EST).

She and her fine band will perform live in the station’s Studio B, where they will also chat with host Dennis Jones. This show will be among the last before Missy Raines will take her leave, with Mark Schatz set to step in on bass.

The WNCW signal is available as a free online audio feed if you can’t catch their broadcast at 88.7 FM in the Charlotte, NC area.

The Grascals will pay a visit this afternoon (10/26) to the studios of WNCW in Spindale, NC. They will join Dennis Jones, WNCW Technical Director and a host on the station’s popular Saturday bluegrass show, Goin’ Across The Mountain, at 1:00 p.m. for about 45 minutes on the air.

Dennis tells us that he expects the guys to perform a number of songs live in the studio, and chat a bit about what they have been up to of late. This will be their first visit to WNCW, and Dennis is looking forward to having them on the air this afternoon.

The Grascals’ feature may be repeated on tomorrow’s (10/27) edition of Goin’ Across The Mountain, so if you miss them on Friday, tune in Saturday between 11:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. (ET).

WNCW can be heard in the Charlotte, NC area at 88.7 FM and is streamed live from WNCW’s website.

North Carolina public radio station WNCW celebrates its 18th year broadcasting today, having signed on for the first time on October 13, 1989. Popular WNCW bluegrass show Goin’ Across The Mountain will close out their big day, running from 11:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. (ET).

Show host Dennis Jones noted with pride in a recent email that in the most recent ratings period, more than twice as many listeners tuned in during Goin’ Across The Mountain than at any other time during the week. Like so many other FM broadcasters, WNCW also streams their signal live online, so anyone, anywhere with an Internet connection can listen in.

Dennis also asked that everyone who listens to bluegrass programming on public or community-supported radio make a point to indicate their support for the music they love.

“It is important that everyone at this Fall Fundraising season across the US be aware that it’s the support of each person that keeps bluegrass on the air, and will even add hours in some cases. So they should call their local public stations and make their voices heard.”

He also mentioned a premium offering for supporter of WNCW this year - a two CD collection of live recordings made at the station called Crowd Around The Mic. It isn’t all bluegrass, but does include tracks from The Infamous Stringdusters, Randy Kohrs and the Lites, Uncle Earl and Sam Bush.

Randy Kohrs & The Lites will be performing live in studio this afternoon on 88.7 WNCW. Host Dennis Jones will interview Randy and band on his show Goin’ Across The Mountain at 1 PM.

The show can be heard on the internet by visiting WNCW’s website.

And if you’re in the area, Randy Kohrs & The Lites will be performing at The Down Home, in Johnson City, TN later this evening.

We just received a note from Dennis Jones of WNCW, letting us know about their latest efforts in fundraising for the station. They are holding their spring pledge drive this week. With the recently increased royalties for internet broadcasters, supporting the stations you listen to has become more important than ever.

…it’s very important to support those stations that play Bluegrass music at this time. Seeing that they stay healthy and financially stable will help Bluegrass remain alive and growing. It’s critical to let Program Directors, Development Directors and General Managers know that we will support the music we love and will do so even more if given the programming we seek.

For this year’s fundraiser, WNCW will be offering as a thank you gift, to those who pledge support, a copy of the new CD Goin’ Across The Mountain Live Volume 2. The disc features 16 tracks from regional and nationally touring bluegrass artists, including Wildfire, Bryan and Jerry Sutton, The Gibson Brothers, Jesse McReynolds and Charles Whitstein, Nothin’ Fancy, The Kruger Brothers, Mike Compton & David Long, BlueRidge, Whitewater Bluegrass Company, Andy Thorn and Friends, The High Windy Band, Town Mountain, Jussi Syren & The Groundbreakers, Mark Johnson & Emory Lester, New Road, and Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike featuring Becky Buller.

Dennis tells us the disc was a lot of fun in the making. Recorded at the station’s Studio B, the CD is a mixture of traditional, contemporary, and bluegrass gospel, with an old timey tune on the clawhammer banjo thrown in as well.

Dennis wished to express appreciation to all the artists who donated their songs and time to the project in support of the station. He also has a word for the fans out there.

And….if you are in the Spindale area [in North Carolina], stop in on Saturday the 31st and answer some phones, say howdy….have some pie and coffee…or at your own local Public Station, do the same thing. The main goal is to make Bluegrass a strong programming option to those who make the decisions about what goes on air. And remember, as a wise man once said…”Bluegrass Rules!”

Dennis Jones over at WNCW has let us know that the station is running a contest for their Top 100 list of 2006. All you have to do is visit the station’s website and cast your votes for your favorite discs of the year. You can also vote for your favorite five discs in Bluegrass, Blues, Celtic, Reggae, And Regional Artists. One contestant will win the Top 100 CD’s of the year and nine others will win a grab-bag of CDs hand picked by the folks at WNCW.

The deadline for casting your vote is midnight Monday, December 18th 2006.

Editor’s Note: If you host a bluegrass radio show that is available nationwide, either on-air or on-line, be sure to send us your news for publication.

We posted last week that Cherryholmes would be Dennis Jones’ in-studio guest on WNCW this Thursday (12/7), but suggested at the time that the show would not be available on the station’s internet stream.

Dennis now tells us that the show will be offered live on-line, and will begin at noon (EST) tomorrow afternoon. WNCW shows are not archived on the site, so you’ll want to log on (or tune in - 88.7 FM in Charlotte, NC) to catch the show. It will be a mix of live performance and interviews.

BlueRidge will be the guests on WNCW’s Goin’ Across The Mountain show tomorrow afternoon (12/2). They will perform live in the studio, and discuss their plans for 2007 with host Dennis Jones.

The show airs at 1:00 p.m., and can be heard over the air in the Charlotte, NC area at 88.7 FM, or via live online streaming at WNCW.org.

Given the news we see in Brance’s recent post concerning Alan Bibey, I imagine this will be an interesting, newsworthy interview.

Dennis also mentioned that he will have Cherryholmes in the WNCW studios next Thursday (12/7) at 1:00 p.m. for a live show, but his expectation is that their set will not be available on the Internet stream - just over the air.

Legendary dobro flatpicker Tut Taylor will be Dennis Jones’ guest on this week’s edition of Goin’ Across The Mountain on WNCW. The show airs at 1:00 p.m. (EST) on Saturday, November 25, and can be heard over the air in the Charlotte, NC area at 88.7 FM, or via live online streaming at WNCW.org.

Dennis passed along a quick overview of his discussion with Tut.

“He talks about his soon to be released project with Norman and Nancy Blake, Shacktown Road, his days in starting and running the GTR shop, the Crafters Of Tennessee instrument company, working with Roy Acuff at The Opry, and of course the Aero Plane Band and John Hartford. He was funny, insightful and very candid.”

To hear the interview live, just visit the WNCW website and click the Listen Live button in the upper left.

We received this note from Dennis Jones, co-host of the popular Goin’ Across The Mountain program on WNCW-FM in Spindale, North Carolina.

WNCW would like to pass along our best wishes and thoughts for Goin’ Across The Mountain co-host Cort Riggs. Due to family and business obligations he will no longer be a regular part of WNCW????s Saturday afternoon. In his short tenure, Cort added much to our Saturdays and we are very sad to see him go. He has expressed his warmest regards to the many devotees of Traditional and Contemporary Bluegrass music and wants all the fans to know his deep gratitude for their support of Goin’ Across The Mountain.

WNCW is beginning the search for a permanent replacement. We are looking for that very special combination of historical Bluegrass music background, knowledge of today’s Contemporary groups and a strong on-air presence. If you are in the immediate WNCW/Spindale studios area and are interested, contact us at GATM Bluegrass DJ Search PO Box 804 Spindale NC 28160 with a short cover letter and a scoped air check CD.

For information by email, contact us at ele@wncw.org or dennis@wncw.org.

Dennis Jones just wrote in to tell us that Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives are going to be on WNCW FM 88.7 live today at 3:00pm. He will be talking about his “Live At The Ryman” disc, history with Lester Flatt, and tour dates etc. The set up is the same set up as the Ryman/Opry shows.

Be sure to tune in and give it listen. Online just visit the radio station’s website and click the Listen Live button in the upper left.

Bryan Sutton will be the in-studio guest on this week’s Goin’ Across The Mountain show on WNCW 88.7 from Spindale, NC. Bryan and his dad, Jerry, will join host Dennis Jones to pick a few tunes and talk about the newest Sutton release, Not Too Far From The Tree, on Sugar Hill Records. The CD’s format is all duets, putting Bryan together in the studio with some of his favorite guitarists for a flatpick tour de force.

If you live within the WNCW broadcast area (southwestern NC, northwestern SC) you can catch the show over the air on 88.7 FM starting at noon on Saturday, April 8. The show is also simulcast online via streaming audio from the WNCW web site.

Doyle Lawson will be a featured guest on WNCW tomorrow (3/16) at 9:00 a.m. (EST). Doyle will talk with host Dennis Jones of WNCW about the latest DL&Q gospel release, He Lives In Me, and about his storied bluegrass career, including his stint with The Country Gentlemen prior to starting his own band.

WNCW broadcasts on 88.7 FM in Spindale, NC, 97.3 FM in Charlotte, NC and on other frequencies in Boone and Greenville as well. You can also listen online via streaming audio, live during the 9:00 a.m. broadcast. Streaming is available for Windows Media, Real Media or iTunes.

The Gibson Brothers will be featured guests on Goin’ Across The Mountain on North Carolina’s radio powerhouse, WNCW 88.7 FM, on Saturday, February 4. The show runs from noon to 6:00 p.m. (EST) and be heard over the air in much of south western NC, or online via live audio streaming.

The Gibsons’ new CD, Red Letter Day, has just recently been released on Sugar Hill Records.

The Gibson Brothers new CD Red Letter Day is soon to be released. It hits the streets on the 24th of this month. We’ll be bringing you some more information, as well as a GrassCast interview with Eric Gibson, in the next week. But for now we wanted to make you aware of a promotion that is being run by WNCW radio. They are giving away twenty copies of the CD and all you have to do is register. It’s free and simple. You can sign up here. The deadline for the give away is January 18th, 2006 at Noon.

More details about the station:
88.7 FM-Spindale 100.3 FM-Charlotte 97.3 FM-Greenville 92.9 FM-Boone
WNCW is a broadcast service of Isothermal Community College
P.O. Box 804, Spindale, NC 28160