Enter the World of Bluegrass Sweepstakes for a chance to win tickets to Bluegrass Fan Fest, the IBMA Awards Show, accommodations and more. Click on the IBMA Sweepstakes logo below and fill out the official entry form. Entries will be accepted thru August 29.

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JERRY DOUGLAS
His incomparable resume includes 12 Grammy Awards, appearances on more than 2000 albums and a decade as the featured soloist with Alison Krauss & Union Station.  Later this summer, three-time (and reigning) CMA Musician of the Year Jerry Douglas will add a new accolade to the list:  The Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum’s 2008 artist-in-residence. 

DEL MCCOURY
Modern day bluegrass patriarch Del McCoury adds a new dimension to his role as a musical leader on July 8, 2008 when his family owned McCoury Music label, distributed by powerhouse RED Distribution (a division of SonyBMG) releases Moneyland, a timely multi-artist collection that offers a hard-hitting look at today's economic injustice through a thoughtful selection of six new (or newly recorded) songs, mixed with eight neglected gems and classic favorites. Framed by excerpts from two of Franklin Roosevelt's Depression-era "fireside chats," Moneyland revitalizes country and bluegrass music's connections to the lives of hardworking people in ways that honor the past, look to the future and challenge listeners to act in the present.

THE FOLK ALLIANCE
Supporting the classic folk traditions from live performances, guitars, banjos, songs and dances to the new world of podcasts, blogs, Youtube, and VideoRanch, over 2,000 people, both young and old, will gather in Memphis, Tennessee to celebrate the 20th year of the North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance (The Folk Alliance) at the International Folk Alliance Conference February 18 – 22, 2009. Catch up on what's the best – best performances, best events, best technology, best advice.   Roger McGuinn (The Byrds) will be the keynote speaker for the opening session of the conference which is held at the Memphis Marriott Downtown and Cook Convention Center. All showcase entries, early registrations, sales, sponsorships, private showcases, and hotel bookings, begin July 1. Details at www.Folk.org.


MAC WISEMAN
Mac Wiseman has been selected to receive the NEA National Heritage Award. The event will take place in September in Washington, DC.

CROOKED STILL
Signature Sounds recording artist Crooked Still released their third album June 24th, titled Still Crooked.

AMERICANA MUSIC AWARDS
The Americana Music Association announced the nominees for the organization's 2008 Honors and Awards ceremony, slated for September 18 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Esteemed roots music innovators Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn read the list of awards candidates to a crowd of industry executives, artists and tastemakers gathered in BMI's Music Row lobby.

The 2008 Americana Music Association Honors and Awards Nominees include:

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Alison Krauss & Robert Plant   Raising Sand
Hayes Carll   Trouble in Mind
James McMurtry   Just Us Kids
Levon Helm Dirt Farmer

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Steve Earle
Levon Helm
Jim Lauderdale
James McMurtry

INSTUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR
Buddy Miller
Chris Thile
Gurf Morlix
Sam Bush

NEW EMERGING ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Justin Townes Earle
Mike Farris
Ryan Bingham
The Steeldrivers

SONG OF THE YEAR
"Broken"  Tift Merritt
"Cheney's Toy" James McMurtry
"Gone Gone Gone"  Alison Krauss & Robert Plant
"Poor Old Dirt Farmer"  Levon Helm
"She Left Me for Jesus"  Hayes Carll 

DUO/GROUP OF THE YEAR
Alison Krauss & Robert Plant
Drive By Truckers
Kane Welch Kaplin
The Avett Brothers

IBMA MUSIC AWARDS SHOW
The 19^th Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards Show will be held at the historic Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville on Thursday, October 2, at 8:30 p.m. (central). The show will feature a wide variety of performances by the top artists in bluegrass music, along with special guests, and the presentation of the genre’s major awards, including the induction of this year’s IBMA Hall of Fame honorees.

Nominees for the 2008 IBMA Awards will be announced at a press conference at the Ford Theater at the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum on Thursday, August 14, at 10 a.m.

DAVID PARMLEY
David Parmley suffered a mild heart attack June 5th which required a stint put in one artery. He will work all his shows this summer.

BEAN BLOSSOM JAMBOREE FOUNDATION
Dwight Dillman has put the Bean Blossom festival grounds and museum up for sale with the understanding that the bluegrass music and traditions should continue.  The Bean Blossom Jamboree Foundation has now formed to help make that dream happen.  The Foundation’s intent is to purchase the park and save the Mecca of Bluegrass Music for present and future generations.

"The Foundation’s approach creates the opportunity for the festival attendees to get involved and truly play an integral part in the future direction of the music park while assisting to hold on to the traditions of the park,” said Steve Johnson, President of the Foundation Board of Directors.  The Bean Blossom Jamboree Foundation is a nonprofit foundation applying for I.R.C. Section 501(c)(3) status, so contributions may be tax deductible.  “I really think this is a good direction for the music park and creates a way to preserve the festival grounds for many future generations to enjoy the music that has existed for so long on the premises” said Dwight Dillman.

LORRAINE JORDAN AND CAROLINA ROAD
Lorraine Jordan and Carolina Road released an all gospel projec Why Don't You Give Jesus A Try on March 28, 2008.

IBMM
On June 26, The International Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensboro, KY will honor 60 legendary musicians known as "Bluegrass Music's First Generation." These iconic artists are coming from coast to coast, even from Japan. Each will be recognized onstage for their contribution to the genre known as bluegrass music.

MICHAEL CLEVELAND
Rounder Records is proud to announce the release of Leavin’ Town, the debut album by Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper on July 29.

CARRIE HASSLER & HARD RAIN
Rural Rhythm Records is proud to announce the release of Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain’s first single from the group’s upcoming CD titled, CHHR2.  This highly anticipated new album from the group and the second on the Rural Rhythm label, is set for release on July 29, 2008.

BLUEHIGHWAYS TV
BlueHighways TV (BHTV) network that they've reached a multi-year distribution agreement with Comcast Cable. BHTV programming regularly features roots music including bluegrass, gospel, folk, western and traditional country.

FREE DIXIE BEE-LINER MUSIC DOWNLOAD
Virginia's vibrant music scene is front and center in Virginia Tourism Corporation's special Front Row Fanatic Sweepstakes promotion, running now through July 1, 2008. Participants will have a chance to win a Wayne Henderson guitar or a musical trip for two to some of Virginia's most musical destinations by entering the sweepstakes at www.Virginia.org/musicpromo. 

When you enter to win, participants will receive a 2008 Virginia Travel Guide and Map of Virginia and, for a limited time, a FREE Music Download of the hit single "Down on The Crooked Road" by THE DIXIE BEE LINERS.

TONY RICE
No other guitarist in the last thirty years has had a greater impact on acoustic music than Tony Rice. The new Rounder compilation, Night Flyer: The Singer-Songwriter Collection, due August 5, contains a broad selection of the music icon’s engaging vocal tunes taken from several of his albums – as well as three previously unreleased tracks – and demonstrates the wide range of non-bluegrass material that he incorporated into his signature sound.

RICK HAYES
Rick Hayes, mandolinist for The Gibson Brothers, has released his first solo CD “Fly By Night.” Clips from the CD’s 13 tracks can be found on Rick’s website at www.RickeyHayes.com.

BRUCE "UTAH" PHILLIPS PASSES AWAY
Bruce 'U. Utah' Phillips passed away May 23, from congestive heart failure. Bruce was a consummate songwriter, community organizer, anarchist role model, historian, archivist and scholar, and one time presidential candidate on the Utah Freedom and Peace party ticket.  

THE GRASCALS - NEW MEMBER
The Grascals are also proud to welcome and introduce new fiddle player Jeremy Abshire. Abshire burst onto the bluegrass scene as a member of Billie Renee and Cumberland Gap (winners of the 2006 SPBGMA International Bluegrass Band Championship), and came to The Grascals’ attention as a member of IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year Dale Ann Bradley's band.

HIGH WINDY DEBUT ALBUM
Western North Carolina based Bluegrass artists High Windyl released their debut project, A Greater Storm, on the Mountain Home label. 

THE GRASCALS
The Grascals, one of the most critically-acclaimed and dynamic groups in bluegrass music today, and the reigning IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) Entertainers of the Year for the last two years, will release their third studio album for Rounder Records, Keep On Walkin’, on July 15.  The 12-song, self-produced album is the group’s first release in two years. 





THE CHAPMANS
John, Jeremy, Jason and Bill Chapman are excited to announce one of many career enhancements they’ve achieved with the launch of their new website www.chap-tv.com.   This state-of-the-art, fan-interactive website encapsulates all there is to know about The Chapmans along with videos, lessons, behind-the-scenes-features and much, much more. 

The Chapmans remain family-oriented.  Having signed with ardent management and booking companies, this will allow The Chapmans to devote more time to not only their own families, but to their friends and their families out on the road.  They are proud to announce a new affiliation with KOR Artist Management from Nashville.  Keith Roberts proudly states, “I have watched them take control of their career by focusing on the things that will keep them successful.  They each understand the creative side and business side of the industry are inextricably linked.”  

The Chapmans have also aligned themselves with one of the hottest and most sought-after booking agents within the acoustic music circles, Sound Kitchen Productions.

DANNY PAISLEY
The bluegrass world is excited about The Room Over Mine, the forthcoming Rounder album from bluegrass veterans Danny Paisley and the Southern Grass.  Raised to the strains of classic bluegrass, Danny Paisley and The Southern Grass learned the ropes first-hand as the sons (and eventually bandmates) of such beloved figures as Bob Paisley, Ted Lundy, and Donnie Eldreth.  Honed over decades of playing festivals, honky-tonks, Legion halls, and everywhere in between, their sound proudly reflects the timeless bluegrass soul of their fathers – while imparting a razor’s edge intensity all their own.  The Room Over Mine is due in stores June 24.

AMERICAN MADE BANJO COMPANY
(Aaron McDaris pictured left)
The American Made Banjo Company announce the Kel Kroydon Aaron McDaris Signature KK-RB75. Aaron's KK-RB75 is a replica of the famed "75" banjo of the 1930's. The Mahogany 75 with a Rosewood Fingerboard will be equipped with a Full Flathead Dannick Tone Ring.


WILLIAMS & CLARK EXPEDITION
Williams & Clark Expedition is proud to announce their new project, "Brand New Set Of Blues" will be released May 15th.  The CD is the fifth for the band since their inception in 2002.  Consisting of 13 songs, 9 of which are original to the band, and a bonus comedy track, this CD promises to be the best yet from the Expedition.  The CD features Tim Crouch, the band's honorary fifth member, on fiddle and special guests Claire Lynch and Buck White. 


THILO HAIN
Thilo Hain, the leader of Sacred Sounds of Grass and SPGMA’s “Best European Banjo Player,” endorses Recording King banjos.

RHONDA VINCENT
Bluegrass queen Rhonda Vincent has just released her 10^th career video – for the song “I Gotta Start Somewhere” from her latest album, Good Thing Going.  The video, filmed in Bryson City, NC with Los Angeles director Dallas Henry, features Vincent trying to get over a broken relationship by retreating to the mountains. www.rhondavincent.com