Josh Williams recently appeared at Music from A Front Porch, the annual Murray State University fund raiser concert in support of the college station WKMS. Josh was there to introduce the Peter Rowan/Tony Rice Quartet. With more than 1,000 people in attendance, Josh took the opportunity to make a little announcement of his own, The Josh Williams Band.

After his hasty departure from Rhonda Vincent’s band, The Rage, prior to the IBMA award show last October, speculation swirled as to what Josh would do. Some said he should start his own band, and he took their advice to heart. The Josh Williams Band will begin touring this summer, and Josh has announced the band line-up, short a mandolin player.

Josh is an accomplished player on almost every instrument in the bluegrass line up, but he has chosen to stick with the guitar in his new band. Tim Dishman will be playing bass in the band. Dishman and Williams know each other from their days together as members of the Special Consensus, Greg Cahill’s Chicago based band. Josh is calling on two boyhood friends for the fiddle and banjo slots in the band. Clayton Campbell will play fiddle and Jason McKendree will be picking the banjo. Both of these young men are western Kentucky natives and long time friends of Josh.

The band will make it’s debut appearance at the world famous Station Inn in Nashville, TN next month on February 23, 2008. Josh expects to announce a mandolin player before that show. He tells me he is still actively looking for the right player to fit the band’s style and personality.

I spoke with Tony Williams yesterday, Josh’s dad, who will be booking the band through Awsipro Music. Tony tells me the band is planning to record almost immediately.

This new group is already planning to step into the studio to record an initial project. Josh has been gathering material ranging from seldom done golden oldies of the first generation bluegrass repiture to original material he and others are writing. The band will be working these songs up for performance in addition to the material from Josh’s other projects on Pinecastle records, including the still unreleased third project.

And what about that unreleased CD? Josh says it only lacks a few vocal parts here and there and he plans to have it finished and released sometime early summer of this year.

Keep an eye on Josh’s website, JoshWilliamsMusic.com, for updates about the band and tour schedule information.