Quick Q & A with Tim O’Brien
Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Tim O’Brien has been making waves in bluegrass, country, folk and roots music circles for some time. His latest release, Chicken & Egg, is currently the #1 album on the Roots Music Report Folk Radio Chart (which is posted in the Acoustic Radio Waves section on AcousticMusicScene.com). And O’Brien is among the nominees for International Bluegrass Music Association‘s Male Vocalist of the Year, one of the awards and honors to be presented by the IBMA on Sept. 30 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN. A two-time past recipient of that honor, O’Brien also has previously been recognized by the IBMA for Album of the Year and Song of the Year and received a Grammy Award...
International Bluegrass Music Awards Nominees Named for 2010
Dailey & Vincent, Russell Moore, Sam Bush, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper and The Grascals lead the list of nominees for the 21st Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards that takes place on Thursday, September 30, at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.
{To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
Bluegrass Label Pinecastle Records Reemerges
Pinecastle Records, a major player in bluegrass music for the past two decades, shut down in February. Its owner and president, Orlando, Florida businessman Col. Tom Riggs, was experiencing serious health issues, and his family opted to close the label and focus on his health. This left artists in limbo, with their recordings quickly going out of print. Earlier this month, Dr. Lonnie Lassiter, a bluegrass music lover and friend of the Riggs family, assumed ownership of the label and tapped two of its former executives – Ethan Burkhardt and Matt Hood – to head up the new venture.
[To read the entire, article, click on the headline.]
Mitch Jayne of The Dillards, 1930-2010
Mitch Jayne, bass player and front man for the influential bluegrass band The Dillards, passed away Aug. 2 after being diagnosed with cancer recently.
Although The Dillards toured and recorded for decades, helping to expose the world to the music of the Ozarks, they are best known for their recurring appearances on CBS-TV’s “The Andy Griffith Show,” in which they played The Darling Boys, a family of mountain musicians. The Dillards were inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame last year.
[To read the full article, click on the headline.]
Bluegrass Album by the Late Sen.. Robert C. Byrd to be Reissued
Although he was best known as the longest-serving member of the United States Senate, Robert C. Byrd, who died Monday at 92, also was an old-time and bluegrass fiddler. On July 27, Virginia-based County Records plans to reissue a bluegrass album recorded by Byrd, who represented West Virginia for more than half a century in the Senate and also served as the chamber’s majority leader for 11 years.
[To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
Concord Music Group Acquires Rounder Records
Rounder Records, a leading American roots music label that is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary, has been acquired by the Concord Music Group. The Massachusetts-based independent label has released more than 3,000 albums in such genres as bluegrass, Americana, Cajun & Zydeco, folk, singer-songwriter and children’s music.
[To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
Finalists Named in 2010 Chris Austin Songwriting Contest
Finalists have been named in the 18th annual Chris Austin Songwriting Contest, hosted by MerleFest 2010, the popular roots-oriented music festival that takes place April 29-May 2 on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina.
[To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
MerleFest Lineup Announced; Early-bird Ticket Prices in Effect
Most of the lineup for MerleFest is now set, and early-bird ticket prices for one of America’s most popular roots-oriented music festivals are available through April 6.
Celebrating the music of the late instrumental virtuoso Merle Watson and his father Doc Watson, the “traditional-plus” music festival features sounds of the Appalachian region and beyond -- ranging from bluegrass and Americana to old-time, country and roots music. It takes place April 29 – May 2 on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina.
[To view the entire article, click on the headline.]
Congress Honors the Legacy of Lester Flatt
Bluegrass pioneer Lester Flatt, who died in 1979, is best known for having been a lead singer and guitarist with Bill Monroe back in the 1940s and for the two decades he spent with banjoist and fellow Bluegrass Boys alum Earl Scruggs as Flatt and Scruggs – a partnership that produced such bluegrass classics as “Foggy Mountain Breakdown.” The U.S. House of Representatives, on Jan. 26, agreed to a sense resolution recognizing Flatt’s invaluable contribution to American art and the indelible legacy he left on bluegrass music.
[To see the full text of the resolution, click on the headline.]
Joe Val Bluegrass Festival Near Boston Set for Feb. 12-14
The Boston Bluegrass Union hosts the 25th annual Joe Val Bluegrass Festival, February 12-14, at the Sheraton Framingham in Framingham, Massachusetts. The indoor festival, located 18 miles west of Boston, will feature regional and nationally touring bands, more than 40 master classes and workshops (for which pre-registration is required), directed slow jams and plenty of picking opportunities throughout the weekend.
[To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
Nominees Named for 36th Annual SPBGMA Bluegrass Music Awards
Dailey & Vincent and Rhonda Vincent & The Rage both scored eight nominations in the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America (SPBGMA) 36th Annual Bluegrass Music Awards. Winners will be announced during an awards show on February 7, 2010 at the Sheraton Music City Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. The awards show is a centerpiece of the organization’s annual national convention.
[To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
Initial Artist Lineup Announced for DelFest
The third annual DelFest at the Allegany County Fairgrounds in Cumberland, Maryland does not take place until next Memorial Day Weekend. But bluegrass patriarch and nine-time International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Entertainer of the Year Del McCoury joined IBMA Broadcaster of the Year Katy Daley yesterday on WAMU’s “Bluegrass Country” to announce the initial lineup for the event and take calls from fans.
[To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
Like/Follow Us!