» New Releases

Rounder To Release 40th Anniversary DVD

Lori — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 17:09:24 +0000

On May 4^th, Rounder will release the DVD Rounder Records 40^th Anniversary Concert, a celebration of the label’s 40 years in the music industry. Filmed in October, 2009 at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, the concert will also be presented as a PBS® television special that will begin airing on the network in March, 2010. The companion CD will be released on March 2^nd.

The event is a superb exhibition of Rounder’s diverse roster, and features Grammy® winning Rounder artists Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Bela Fleck, and Irma Thomas along with musical host Minnie Driver, and special guests Nathan & The Zydeco Cha Chas and Jazz/R&B pianist, Henry Butler. The DVD will include performances by these artists as well as select performances from Steve Martin’s show at The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, from Alison Krauss and Robert Plant’s 2008 CMT “Crossroads” special, and from Madeleine Peyroux’s 2009 concert in Los Angeles.

The event was filmed by High Five Entertainment. All the artists involved will be donating their royalties and Rounder will be donating a percentage of the profits to NARAS’ Grammy® in the Schools Programs to cultivate the understanding, appreciation and advancement of the contribution of recorded music to American culture. The Grammy® Foundation influences the lives of young people by opening the windows of opportunity that music can provide for their futures.

DVD Performances:

1. Cold Dark River – Minnie Driver

2. Beloved – Minnie Driver *

3. Outside People – Nathan & The Zydeco Cha Chas *

4. Think About the Good Times – Nathan & The Zydeco Cha Chas

5. Rich Woman – Robert Plant | Alison Krauss

6. River Is Waiting – Irma Thomas *

7. Don’t Mess With My Man – Irma Thomas

8. Dance Me to the End of Love – Madeleine Peyroux *

9. Don’t Wait Too Long – Madeleine Peyroux

10. Restless – Alison Krauss and Union Station feat. Jerry Douglas

11. Gravity – Alison Krauss and Union Station feat. Jerry Douglas

12. Pitkin County Turn Around – Steve Martin

13. Daddy Played the Banjo – Steve Martin **

14. Saga of the Old West – Steve Martin

15. Keys to the Kingdom – Béla Fleck *

16. Another Morning – Bela Fleck

17. Why Shouldn’t We – Mary Chapin Carpenter

18. Mrs. Hemingway – Mary Chapin Carpenter **

19. He Thinks He’ll Keep Her – Mary Chapin Carpenter

20. Medley: Angeles Watching Over Me/ I’ll Fly Away/ Down by the Riverside – Grand Finale

* = not in PBS® Broadcast

** = not in PBS® Broadcast or on Rounder Records 40^th Anniversary Concert CD

Darren Beachley & Legends of the Potomac

Lori — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 16:56:39 +0000

Darren Beachley & Legends of the Potomac will celebrate the release of “Takeoff” their much anticipated debut CD release on Saturday March 27, 2010 at the historic Old Schoolhouse in Lucketts, Virginia.

“We wanted to really do it in a place that was legendary for Bluegrass in the Washington DC area and Lucketts certainly qualified. They have had bluegrass here every Saturday night since 1974.” Darren Beachley shared,” It’s like putting on an old pair of jeans, familiar and comfortable”. “ We will have a few surprises up our sleeves for the show and I am sure a special guest or two, with us you never know who is gonna show up”.

“ Seating will be limited, I suggest you get there early as it will fill up fast”. “For folks who don’t make the show we will allow pre-orders via our website on March 14th. Those orders will ship the same day we get the CD’s in the office”.

www.legendsofthepotomac.com

New Releases

Lori — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 03:58:43 +0000

Josh Williams – Down Home

Big River Bluegrass

Larry Stephenson – 20th Anniversary

Patuxent Partners – Seven or Eleven

Randy Kohrs – Quicksand

Bill Emerson & Sweet Dixie – Southern

Mike Jackson – When We Goin’ Back

Tribecastan – 5 Star Cave

Lee Watson – Northern Track

Darin & Brooke Aldridge

Mary Ann taylor-Hall – Come And Go, Molly Snow (Novel)

Thomas Wyrot – Every Time I Walk The Road

The Watkins Family – Heaven’s Worth Waiting For

Zoograss – Hot Day At The Zoo

Jessie Baker – Yessir!

Blue Highway – Some Day: The Fifteenth Anniversary Collection

Chris Warner – Goin’ To The Dance

Dailey & Vincent – Sing The Statler Brothers

The Grascals’ New Release Available March 30th

Lori — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 16:20:12 +0000

The Grascals new album: The Famous Lefty Flynn’s

COMING MARCH 30

Michael Martin Murphy Releases Buckaroo Blue Grass II

Lori — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 01:03:52 +0000

Michael Martin Murphey and his Buckaroo Blue Grass friends ride again on the February 9, 2010 album release of BUCKAROO BLUE GRASS II. The album expands on his passions of his Grammy nominated album, “BUCKAROO BLUE GRASS,” creating fully acoustic bluegrass versions of songs about the region to which Murphey has been deeply connected for a lifetime – the American Southwest.

The high lonesome sound in bluegrass music has always appealed to the cowboy soul. Somehow the acoustic instruments used in bluegrass have a drive, energy and expansive quality – an almost mystical “wide open country” sort of feeling that seems built into the design. You can hear and feel it on Rob Ickes’ country sound in the new version of “Wildfire.” It seems the American West has produced “running-wide-open” acoustic musicians like Pat Flynn, Sam Bush, Rob Ickes and Ryan Murphey who have been key in developing the Buckaroo Blue Grass sound as they blaze a trail connecting Cowboy and Western music to Bluegrass by exploring Wild West sonic spaces.

Murphey has utilized his label’s strong roster of top bluegrass artists to help further define his Buckaroo Blue Grass sound. Included on the new album is a powerful duet performance with bluegrass veteran Audie Blaylock covering the classic Marty Robbins hit “Running Gun.” Also, included is a stunning duet version of his mega hit, “Wildfire” with # 1 hit artist, Carrie Hassler.

Michael Martin Murphey’s songs have been recorded by bluegrass artists such as Flatt and Scruggs, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, Seldom Scene, Country Gentlemen, Bluegrass Cardinals, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and many others. BUCKAROO BLUE GRASS II reprises many of his songs covered by bluegrass bands, performed with a stellar cast of bluegrass players and singers that includes; Carrie Hassler, Audie Blaylock, Sam Bush, Rob Ickes, Andy Hall, Ronnie McCoury, Pat Flynn, Charlie Cushman, Andy Leftwich and more.

For more information on Michael Martin Murphey and his Grammy nominated album, BUCKAROO BLUE GRASS, and next week’s BUCKAROO BLUE GRASS II, please visit his site or Rural Rhythm Records

Pete Wernick’s New DVD

Lori — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 01:58:03 +0000

Pete Wernick (“Dr. Banjo”) announces the release of a two-hour instructional DVD, Make Up Your Own Banjo Solos, Vol. 2, (Homespun). Volume 2 is a follow-up to the acclaimed* Volume 1, released in 2009. This is Wernick’s tenth video for Homespun, all based on his extensive teaching experience starting in 1964. Wernick pioneered bluegrass music camps in 1980 and has hosted over 100 such camps.

The new DVD teaches banjo pickers how to create convincing solos in common but challenging keys such as D, C, and F without a capo, and playing “up the neck” in the key of G. Wernick shows how to combine melodies and banjo roll patterns to apply to any song.

In the video, Wernick explores nine bluegrass standards, taking each song’s melody and showing how to weave it together with rolls for a full arrangement highlighting the recognizable tune. The addition of appealing licks, bluesy variations and other embellishments are demonstrated to give solos polish and interest.

The DVD gives close-ups of both hands, and a printable tablature booklet makes every note clear. Songs include: Roll in My Sweet Baby’s Arms, Colleen Malone, Angeline the Baker, Will the Circle Be Unbroken, New River Train, and others.

Wernick might be the best-known bluegrass teacher on the planet. His instructional materials have sold over half a million copies. Pete has performed and recorded hundreds of solos with Hot Rize, Country Cooking, FLEXIGRASS, Pete & Joan Wernick, Steve Martin, and most recently, Long Road Home, his Colorado bluegrass band whose debut CD Live at eTown Hall was released in January, 2010. His decades of banjo teaching experience inform his ability to show clearly and concisely how players can create their own workable solos, without tablature.

Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road

Lori — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 22:59:36 +0000

Rural Rhythm Records is proud to announce the upcoming April 13, 2010 album release of “CAROLINA HURRICANE” by bluegrass band, Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road. “For several years now I have witnessed the tremendous amount energy and excitement along with a strong sense of confidence and pride Lorraine Jordan has playing her style of hard drivin’ bluegrass. This not only holds true to Lorraine Jordan as an artist, but also carries over into several important industry album projects she has been involved with over the years. Lorraine is such a strong force in the bluegrass community that we wanted her to be a part of our team and Rural Rhythm Family…So, what’s more appropriate for her debut Rural Rhythm album title than ‘Carolina Hurricane’…This title surely says it all,” said Rural Rhythm President, Sam Passamano, Jr.www.carolinaroadband.com. For more information on Rural Rhythm Records, please visit RuralRhythm.com

The music is hard driving bluegrass by the talents of Carolina Road band members, Lorraine Jordan, Josh Goforth, Ben Greene, Dustin Benson and Brad Hudson, along with guests, Kevin Richardson, Jason Moore, Greg Luck, Alan Perdue, Ronnie Stewart, Josh Crowe, and Wayne Crowe. The album was produced by Josh Goforth and Lorraine Jordan and engineered by Greg Luck.

“CAROLINA HURRICANE” is filled with upbeat songs, many written or co-written by Lorraine Jordan. She co-wrote the upcoming single release “Carolina Hurricane” with Louisa Branscomb; penned “Carolina Memories”; plus a song that is sure to be a fan favorite, “Lady of Tradition,” co-written with Dixie Hall and Paula Breedlove. Other songwriters include: Bill Monroe, Ernest Tubb, Lois Snapp, John Scott Sherrill, Thomas G. Caine, Brad Davis, and many more.

“I am honored to be the newest artist to sign with Rural Rhythm Records. I appreciate a label that treats their clients like a team and I already feel part of the Rural Rhythm family. There was a connection there from the first hello. They appreciate my roots and allow me to continue the style of music which I was raised on and have been performing for over a decade. I will work hard to add to their continued success,” said Lorraine Jordan.

Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road kick-off their 2010 Category 5 Hurricane Tour with performances all across the country this year at venues and festivals in Arizona, Tennessee, St. Thomas, New York, Maryland, Ohio, numerous dates in Canada, plus so many more. For more information on this mega tour, please visit the band’s brand new website at:

DAILEY AND VINCENT BRING BLUEGRASS TO CRACKER BARREL

Lori — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 17:39:38 +0000

When a beloved musical group decides it’s time to retire, that doesn’t mean their music becomes a thing of the past. Just ask Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent, who, as the award-winning duo Dailey & Vincent, have recorded a new CD containing 12 of the legendary Statler Brothers’ most-loved songs. This album, Dailey & Vincent Sing The Statler Brothers, features exciting and authentic bluegrass interpretations of songs from the Statlers’ repertoire and will be available exclusively at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store^® on February 1^st.

Dailey & Vincent are uniquely qualified for this project. As the reigning International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Entertainers of the Year, they have previously recorded their versions of some Statler songs and include a few in their live show. In 2008, they performed at the medallion ceremony marking the Statlers’ official induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame^®. Dailey & Vincent’s self-titled debut on Rounder Records included their version of the Statlers’ hit “More Than a Name on a Wall,” which topped the Sirius bluegrass chart in 2008. Their Brothers From Different Mothers CD included “Years Ago” and “There is You” from the Statlers’ catalog, along with a special guest appearance by Statler Harold Reid in his alter ego of Lester “Roadhog” Moran on “Head Hung Down,” which spent two months at #1 on the Bluegrass Unlimited song chart.

“The Statlers have given so much to America through their music,” adds Vincent. “Some of those lyrics are just so powerful, like “The Class of ’57.” It’s all about America. It’s an honor to record these classic songs and share them with Cracker Barrel’s guests.”

In addition to being named Entertainer of the Year, Dailey & Vincent received 2009 IBMA awards for Vocal Group of the Year and Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year, for “On the Other Side.” In 2008 they took home seven IBMA awards, becoming the first act in the history of the IBMA awards to be named Entertainer of the Year and Emerging Artist in the same year. The feat was all the more impressive because they had released their debut album just a few months earlier. The New York Times has called them “the most celebrated new bluegrass act of the last few years.” The Wall Street Journal began a recent feature on Dailey & Vincent (“A Bluegrass Duo Reigns Again”) with, “A new dynasty may be taking shape in bluegrass music.” More information on Dailey & Vincent is available at www.daileyvincent.com.

“Dailey & Vincent Sing The Statler Brothers is a great opportunity for Cracker Barrel’s guests to hear from one of the country’s top bluegrass acts with music that is familiar and loved,” says Cracker Barrel’s Vice President of Marketing, Peter Keiser. “Jamie and Darrin have years of performing and recording experience, and they have earned a great deal of notice as well as a number of significant awards in the short time they have been recording together. This CD will provide Cracker Barrel’s guests with a good taste of nostalgia for the Statler Brothers as well as a sampling of what’s to come with Dailey & Vincent.”

Songs included on Dailey & Vincent Sing The Statler Brothers are:
“Flowers on the Wall”
“The Class of ’57”
“Hello Mary Lou”
“Too Much on My Heart”
“Susan When She Tried”
“I’ll Go To My Grave Loving You”
“Elizabeth”
“Bed of Rose’s”
“Do You Know You Are My Sunshine?”
“Brave Apostles Twelve”
“My Only Love”
“Thank You World”

The Statler Brothers themselves are enthusiastic supporters of Dailey & Vincent and the album. “Jamie and Darrin have used their magic touch to honor us and our music,” says Statler Don Reid. “This CD is one great tribute from two great friends. Dailey and Vincent – they are what good music and friendship is about today.” The Statler Brothers have made an indelible contribution to the American music landscape, from the day they hit the road with Johnny Cash in 1964 until their retirement in 2002. They are one of only six acts to be inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, writing and recording iconic songs about small-town life, love, faith, and days gone by.

Dailey & Vincent have taken the bluegrass world by storm since they launched their career as a duo in 2007. Jamie Dailey was formerly the lead singer and guitarist for Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver; until the end of 2007, Darrin Vincent was guitar and mandolin player and harmony vocalist with Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder.

“The Statler Brothers are my childhood heroes,” says Dailey. “My daddy bought me a Statler Brothers record in 1983, and I went to bed every night listening to that record. I knew every word to every song. We’re delighted to work with Cracker Barrel on this project because we pull our bus into a Cracker Barrel every weekend; that’s where we have breakfast and lunch.”

Rounder Records’ 40th Anniversary Concert

Lori — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 17:24:01 +0000

On March 2, Rounder will release Rounder Records’ 40^th Anniversary Concert, an album of the concert that celebrated the label’s 40 years in the music industry. Recorded in October 2009 at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, the concert will also be presented as a PBS television special that will begin airing on the network in March, 2010 and released on DVD in May.

The event is a superb exhibition of Rounder’s diverse roster, and features Grammy® winning Rounder artists Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Bela Fleck, and Irma Thomas along with musical host Minnie Driver, and special guests Nathan & The Zydeco Cha Chas and Jazz/R&B pianist, Henry Butler. The CD will include performances by these artists as well as select performances from Steve Martin’s show at The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, from Alison Krauss and Robert Plant’s 2008 CMT “Crossroads” special, and from Madeleine Peyroux’s 2009 concert in Los Angeles.

The event was filmed by High Five Entertainment, and a portion of the ticket proceeds were donated to NARAS’ Grammy® in the Schools Programs to cultivate the understanding, appreciation and advancement of the contribution of recorded music to American culture. The Grammy® Foundation influences the lives of young people by opening the windows of opportunity that music can provide for their futures.

CD Track Listing:

1. Cold Dark River – Minnie Driver

2. Beloved – Minnie Driver

3. Outside People – Nathan & The Zydeco Cha Chas

4. Think About the Good Times – Nathan & The Zydeco Cha Chas

5. Rich Woman – Robert Plant and Alison Krauss

6. River Is Waiting – Irma Thomas

7. Don’t Mess With My Man – Irma Thomas

8. Don’t Wait Too Long – Madeleine Peyroux

9. Dance Me to the End of Love – Madeleine Peyroux

10. Restless – Alison Krauss and Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas

11. Gravity – Alison Krauss and Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas

12. Pitkin County Turn Around – Steve Martin

13. Saga of the Old West – Steve Martin

14. Keys to the Kingdom – Bela Fleck

15. Another Morning – Bela Fleck

16. Why Shouldn’t We – Mary Chapin Carpenter

17. He Thinks He’ll Keep Her – Mary Chapin Carpenter

18. Medley: Angeles Watching Over Me/ I’ll Fly Away/ Down by the Riverside

Bill Emerson and Sweet Dixie-New Release

Lori — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 17:19:53 +0000

Rural Rhythm Records is proud to announce the January 12, 2010 new album release, “SOUTHERN” by Bill Emerson and Sweet Dixie. The band kicks off their 2010 tour with an interview on WAMU Radio with host, Katy Daley (2009 IBMA Radio Personality of the Year) on the day of release from 9:00 – 10:00 am; plus an upcoming SIRIUS-XM Track by Track interview with host Kyle Cantrell on his “Bluegrass Junction” radio show.website. For more information on Rural Rhythm Records, please visit RuralRhythm.com

“SOUTHERN” is a mixture of contemporary and traditional bluegrass, modern country, English folk, acoustic instrumental and gospel tunes – many of which are unrecorded originals. The songs were written by highly acclaimed songwriters such as Pete Goble, Vince Gill, Carl Jackson, Chris Hillman, Tim Stafford, Hazel Dickens, Lionel Cartwright and Marty Stuart.

The album also includes numerous highlights: special guest fiddler, Frank Solivan on the newly released single, “I Don’t Care Anymore;” a banjo duet with Bill Emerson and Janet Davis along with acoustic lead guitar by John Miller on “Grandma’s Tattoos;” special guest, world class fiddler and Emmy Lou Harris band member, Rickie Simpkins; and more!

“SOUTHERN” will be available nationally in the physical and digital formats including: iTunes, Rhapsody, Borders, Barnes & Nobel, Amazon, Ernest Tubb Record Shops, County Sales, Music Shed, Elderly Instruments and many more.

For more information on Bill Emerson and Sweet Dixie including their 2010 tour schedule and new album, please visit their