Cybergrass

On Monday, September 6, just one month before the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival takes over Golden Gate Park, Amnesia will host a truly strictly bluegrass night. In honor of the 99th birthday of the man who founded the genre, Bill Monroe, three acts will be performing all Monroe music–from different eras of his career–all night long at this free event. ...

Nashville, TN -- Americana sage Guy Clark leads the latest talent-packed slate of performers added to the 2010 Americana Music Festival September 8-11 in Nashville, Tennessee. Clark’s Wednesday-night live lesson in greatness caps off the first night of the four-night festival schedule that now includes legend and 2010 AMA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Wanda Jackson,www.AmericanaMusic.org soul-shouter Mike Farris, Texas rockabilly cat Dale Watson, acclaimed journeyman Darrell Scott, spoken-word favorite Minton Sparks, a cappella gospel pioneers the Fairfield Four, Americana stalwart and award show host Jim Lauderdale, AmericanaMusic.org picker and songwriter extraordinaire Shawn Camp, tropical trendsetter Courtney Jaye, potent rising star Holly Williams, and roots rockabilly crooner James Intveld, plus more to come. ...

A new collection of live songs from the live music download site FestivaLink.net will benefit the Bluegrass Trust Fund, an emergency financial aid program administered by the International Bluegrass Music Association. The songs were recorded earlier this year at the North Carolina roots music festival MerleFest, and confirmed contributors to the collection include well-known bluegrass, country and folk artists such as Doc Watson, Sam Bush, Travelin' McCourys, Steve Martin, Jim Lauderdale, the Waybacks and Donna the Buffalo. ...

Willis, VA -- Mountain Fever Records is proud to announce the release of Calm Before The Storm, the debut CD from No One You Know. The project officially hit the stores yesterday. No One You Know is a talented and fresh bluegrass band comprised of five seasoned musicians - Rachel Burge; mandolin and vocals, Don Anderson; bass and vocals, Ramie Bennett; banjo and vocals, Bruce Jones; dobro, and Lance Gainer; guitar and vocals. ...

Nashville, TN -- Six years after the chart-topping success of their album Green Day Blue Grass, which spent over a year in the Top 10 of Billboard's Bluegrass Albums chart, the boys from the "newgrass" trio Honeywagon have released a tribute to the King of Pop just in time to celebrate his August 29 birthday. Songs from Neverland - a Bluegrass Tribute to Michael Jackson (Rainfeather Records/N2U), is available now on iTunes. ...

The International Association of Independent Recording Artists, IAIRA, who recognizes and honors artistic achievement, technical proficiency, and overall excellence in sound recording by monitoring chart activity has qualified the song, "Amanda Lynn," written by James Cain and Ronnie Vines and performed by Lou Reid and Carolina, as a Certified International Top 10. The song appears on Lou Reid and Carolina's album, My Own Set of Rules released in July 2009 on Rural Rhythm Records. ...

Burlington, MA -- For forty years, Rounder Records has been on a singular mission, recording a glorious range of American roots music – bluegrass, New Orleans R&B, old time fiddling, singer-songwriter, blues, country, rockabilly, roots rock, Cajun and a few that cross enough boundaries to be genres of their own. On October 12, Rounder Records will release The Rounder Records Story, a 4 CD box set that includes 87 songs (see complete list below) selected to tell the label's 40 year story and show the true breadth of their catalog. ...

Bands with the ETSU Bluegrass and Country Music Program have performed at the Fold since the beginning of the program at ETSU in 1982. Daniel Boner and Roy Andrade now serve as the program's directors. The ETSU program has grown so popular that students travel from all over the world to study there. There are now nearly twenty different bands maintained by the program. ETSU's bands have performed in Japan, Belgium, and Russia. Some of the finest students the Bluegrass and Country Music Program has to offer will be performing with the ETSU Bluegrass Band. Daniel Boner will be heading up the group. The Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, Virginia, will present a concert by the ETSU Bluegrass Band Saturday, September 18th, 2010, at 7:30 p.m. Admission to the concert is $7 for adults, $1 for children 6 to 11, under age 6 free. ...

Moss, TN -- Honest Abe Log Homes, a leading manufacture of log cabins throughout the United States, recently forged a unique and active marketing relationship with Mountain Heart, a well established progressive roots/alt-bluegrass band. As Honest Abe lead a search for talent to appear in a series of new commercials, Mountain Heart leaped from the pool of talent surrounding Nashville, Tennessee and became an obvious choice to partner with. This pairing is a new approach for each organization as they partner to market and expand their target demographics. ...

The International Bluegrass Music Museum (IBMM) be opening their Bill Monroe Centennial Exhibit on September 10, 2010, as part of the worldwide Bill Monroe Centennial Celebration. This event takes place just three days prior to what would have been Big Mon's 99th birthday. This is the second of three exhibits for the Bill Monroe Centennial Celebration. ...

Irvine, KY (Aug. 29, 2010) - Jerry Wayne Chaney Memorial Music Scholarship Fund, Inc. organized to benefit high school students. On June 26, 2010, two weeks after his tragic and senseless auto accident, Jerry Wayne’s family organized the Jerry Wayne Chaney Memorial Music Scholarship Fund, Inc. and www.JerryWayne.org. ...

Nashville, TN -- It seems like a genius premise for a book: singer-songwriter-music journalist Marshall Chapman sits down with a few of the artists she knows and asks them about the first time they came to Nashville-but Chapman says she had no grand plan before writing her new book, They Came to Nashville (to be published October 30, 2010 by Vanderbilt University Press and the Country Music Foundation Press). ...

The Share America Foundation, Inc. announced its 2010 scholarship winner recently at its Sacred Sounds Fridays concert at the Ringgold Depot in Ringgold, Ga. The events help fund the organization's Pearl and Floyd Franks Scholarship. Pearl and Floyd Franks are the late parents and former entertainment managers of actor/entertainer Randall Franks, "Officer Randy Goode" from TV's "In the Heat of the Night." The scholarships honor students excelling in the Appalachian musical arts. Raven Welch, 18, of Mineral Bluff, Ga. was selected as one of the 2010 recipients. She received a $1,000 scholarship. ...

Nashville, TN -- When country star Ken Mellons decided in 2000 to get off the road and devote himself to fatherhood and songwriting, it looked like his performing days were pretty much over. So when he started to record what would become Rural Route back at the end of 2006, it was a labor of love, not a career move—and when he was done, nearly three years later, it took him still longer to decide what to do with it. But once he made the call to release it on his own, what started out as the fulfillment of a long held desire turned into a new calling—and the album serves as the strongest calling card imaginable for an artist who's finally come home to the music that shaped his earliest days. ...

Tucson, AZ -- The Muscular Dystrophy Association announced that plans for its 2010 Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon are almost complete, and the 21-1/2-hour live show is going to be spectacular. From live remotes to amazing dance and production numbers, to sensational music performances (e.g., The Grascals, The Roys, David Archuleta, Enrique Iglesias, Lynyrd Skynryd, WAR, John Ondrasik of Five for Fighting, OneRepublic, and Barry Manilow, etc.), to side-splitting comedy and dramatic appeals by some of America's most popular entertainers, the two-day television event is certain to delight viewers Labor Day weekend. ...

Nashville, TN -- Country music's most famous show is coming home. Grand Ole Opry officials today announced that the show, displaced from its permanent home due to May's historic Nashville flood, will return to the Grand Ole Opry House with a star-packed show Tues., Sept. 28. Among the artists scheduled for the show are Trace Adkins, Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Charlie Daniels Band, Diamond Rio, Jimmy Dickens, Del McCoury Band, Montgomery Gentry, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, Mel Tillis, and Josh Turner. The show will air live on GAC: Great American Country. Special events and artist appearances will follow throughout October in celebration of both the show's return and its 85th Birthday. ...

Nashville, TN -- After a year that has presented multiple challenges and changes to the highly regarded Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, organizers are pleased to announce that they will take the show on the road to exhibit at the internationally famous "Big E Fair" in West Springfield, MA September 17 to October 3, 2010. The fair is the largest of its kind in the northeastern United States and officials expect approximately 1,500,000 visitors during the 17 day event. ...

Steve Wallach announced that this will be the Grand Finale of the ETA Bluegrass Cruise this year. He wrote, "ETA has had a tremendous run for 13 glorious years bringing fans the best in Bluegrass Music on the High Seas. ETA continues with our tradition and look forward to so many of you joining us for this final bluegrass cruise. We have decided to take a break while we're on a high rather than let things get low." ...

We recently reported on Bluegrass bands in the International Top 10. The Grass Cats A Good Way To Get The Blues has joined the bluegrass ranks in the Number 4 position also. The International Association of Independent Recording Artists, IAIRA, recognizes and honors artistic achievement, technical proficiency, and overall excellence in sound recording by monitoring chart activity as published in various reporting charts from around the world. According to the IAIRA's research, on August 13, 2010 A Good Way To Get The Blues, by The Grass Cats, had attained the Number 4 Position on at least one of the charts monitored and verified by IAIRA. On the basis of that research, IAIRA has qualified the A Good Way To Get The Blues as eligible for Certification as an International 'Top 10'. ...

Since his tenure some 45 years ago with Bill Monroe, the Father of Bluegrass, roots music icon Peter Rowan has blazed trails across an unsurpassed range of musical territory. Now, with producer Alison Brown at the helm of his Compass Records debut, Legacy, he revisits the style that launched his career for the first time in more than a dozen years. ...