Cybergrass

The Ralph Stanley Museum & Traditional Mountain Music Center and the Jettie Baker Center will present Larry Sparks & The Lonesome Ramblers on Saturday, March 6th at 7:00 p.m. at the Jettie Baker Center in Clintwood. This event is the latest addition to the Music Along the Crooked Road concert series, which brings together the best in regional old-time, bluegrass, and gospel music to create wonderful evenings of culture and entertainment. ...

DelFest announced their academy will be held May 24 through May 27. The academy consists of a friendly, encouraging, and intensive three-day learning experience with a group of some of the finest musicians in bluegrass. The Academy will offer instruction for guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, and bass for all experience levels. We are excited to have the same great group of instructor back for our second year: Ronnie McCoury on mandolin, Rob McCoury on banjo, Jason Carter on fiddle, Alan Bartram on bass, and Ronnie Bowman on guitar. ...

Nashville, TN -- Becky Schlegel's newest CD, Dandelion (Lilly Ray/IGO Records), is a live-sounding record that is rich with natural nuance, poetic imaginings and magical tone. Co-produced by Schlegel and Brian Fesler and recorded in Minnesota, the project drops April 6, 2010. "We took a more relaxed, spontaneous approach on DANDELION," says Becky, a new Nashville resident. "We let the songs be free to end up where they were destined to be.” ...

I first saw and heard Josh Williams perform as a relatively new band member of Rhonda Vincent and the Rage in the spring of 2004, at a small theatre venue, The Carroll County High School Auditorium, in Hillsville, Virginia. I had been a fan of Audie Blaylock, and went to the show somewhat distressed that Rhonda had fired Audie to hire this new young guitar player. I can't remember if I was more impressed initially by his guitar playing, his vocals or the magic he made when he took the mandolin from Rhonda. By the end of the show, however, I was definitely a Josh Williams fan, and remain a fan today. ...

Clintwood, VA -- The Ralph Stanley Museum & Traditional Mountain Music Center will host Dr. Ralph Stanley's 83rd Birthday Dinner and Fundraiser at the Meadowview Convention Center in Kingsport, TN at 6:00PM on Saturday, February 20, 2010. Celebrate Dr. Stanley's birthday with Dr. Stanley himself, music performances from the ETSU Bluegrass Band, Morehead State University Bluegrass Band with Raymond Mclain, Tim White & VW Boys, Tymes 2 Band with Jason Blankenship, Ben "Cooter" Jones and Del MCCoury and maybe a surprise guest, special presentations, a first-class buffet-style dinner, and much more at this once-in-a-lifetime event! Tickets to the dinner are priced at $100 per plate, and guests may purchase them by calling the Museum & Center at 276-926-8550. ...

Bluegrass in Hawai'i? Why not?!! On April 23-25, 2010, Bluegrass Hawai'i Traditional & Bluegrass Music Society will host a weekend of jamming, workshops, and fun, and the public is welcome to attend. The three-day event will take place at Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden in Kaneohe on the island of O'ahu. Attendance is free, though donations are welcome. ...

Wilkesboro, NC -- The submission deadline for the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest, hosted by MerleFest 2010 presented by Lowe's, is fast approaching. All entries must be received by February 18, 2010. Now in its 18th year, the contest is an extraordinary opportunity for aspiring writers to have their original songs heard and judged by a panel of Nashville music industry professionals, under the direction of this year's volunteer contest chairperson, Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Jim Lauderdale. ...

The Del McCoury Band has some good news for you. For the month of February, their latest release, Family Circle is available for download for only $5. The album was chosen by the editors of Amazon for a special promotion called 50 albums for $5. McCoury Music thought they would give you a choice of where to shop, so they also lowered the price in their own store on the web. ...

Pagosa Springs, CO -- New Pagosa Folk 'N Bluegrass lineup additions include Darol Anger and the Republic of Strings plus The Belleville Outfit. Somewhere beyond or behind all musical borders lies a creative terrain where bluegrass, jazz, classical, pop, and various world musics mingle, played by musicians who care more for inspiration than they do for genre. If that place has a name, it's surely the Republic of Strings, for no one knows its contours better than veterans Darol Anger, cellist Mike Block, five-string violinist Lauren Rioux and guitarist Scott Law. They have created the visionary musical landscape of the Republic, exemplified by their two recordings, Republic Of Strings and Generation Nation, for Compass Records. The Republic will play Sunday, June 6 at 4:30 PM. ...

The legendary Statler Brothers joined IBMA Entertainers of the Year Dailey & Vincent and an invitation crowd at the release party for Dailey & Vincent Sing The Statler Brothers, which was held at the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum in Nashville last night. The new CD, featuring bluegrass versions of 12 of the Statlers' best-loved songs, is available exclusively at Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores and www.CrackerBarrel.com, since February 1, 2010. ...

Southwest Virginia's "Crooked Road" region has been named one of the 2010 America's Dozen Distinctive Destinations by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. For ten years the National Trust has used the Dozen Distinctive Destinations program to highlight how historic preservation helps communities create a sustainable future and a strong economy through heritage tourism. The Crooked Road features mountain, old-time and bluegrass music from one end to the other. ...

Town Mountain starts their 2010 bluegrass tour next week. I hope that bluegrass fans will check out this band from Asheville, NC that made a huge splash at The IBMA's World of Bluegrass trade show this year. The band is playing Johnny D's in Somerville on Thursday Feb. 11th, so be sure to come out to get prepped for all the bluegrass at Joe Val! ...

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. ...

Nashville, TN -- The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's Ford Community Day, made possible by Ford Motor Company Fund, has been rescheduled for Saturday, February 6, 2010. (Ford Community Day was originally scheduled to take place on Saturday, January 30, but was cancelled due to inclement weather.) As a not-for-profit educational organization, the Museum is pleased to partner with Ford Motor Company Fund for the third consecutive year to say thank you to the Middle Tennessee community (and all lucky out-of-town visitors to the Museum on this day) by offering free Museum admission on this date. The Museum will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ...

Abingdon, Va -- Barter Theatre's 10th Annual Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights (AFPP) will take place July 27 through August 7, 2010. Submissions of new Appalachian-themed plays or plays by an Appalachian author may be submitted until March 31, 2010 for possible inclusion in the festival. ...

/Planet Bluegrass/ Lyons, CO -- Planet Bluegrass is thrilled to welcome Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas to the 37th Telluride Bluegrass Festival to be held in Telluride, Colorado June 17-20, 2010. No modern artist has won more Grammy awards (27!). No band has done more to draw listeners around the world into bluegrass music. No other voice reaches such angelic perfection - with its distinct grounding in grassy soul. ...

/BCMA/ Bristol, VA/TN -- This Saturday's Bluegrass All Star Jam at the Paramount has been rescheduled for February 28. We apologize for any inconvenience; however, given the severity of the impending winter storm, we wanted to insure the safety of the artists and our fans. Tickets purchased for both shows will be honored on this new date. We look forward to seeing you on the 28th of February at 2:30 or 7:30. ...

Jim Hurst announced in December that he was leaving the Claire Lynch Band to focus on solo projects and other creative endeavors. It was a touch decision to make and it was made with a mutual blessing of both. Jim gave the Claire Lynch Band many years of faithful service and left on a favorable note. Yesterday, Claire sent us some letters from herself and Jim and it would be a pleasure to share those with our readers here. This is a pair of class acts all the way around. ...

Grammy winner Kathy Mattea is headlining Colonial Williamsburg's Winter Concert Weekend, February 27th, with two performances in the Virginia Room of the Williamsburg Lodge. There are also tons of other events taking place that weekend as well, from dining, and music. This performance is part of Colonial Williamsburg and the Virginia Arts Festival partnership to bring nationally renowned performers to Williamsburg with a series of concerts throughout the year. ...

About the most important question a young bluegrass band faces right out of the gate is whether they can play. The Infamous Stringdusters wasted no time in providing their answer--an emphatic "yes"--winning IBMA Album, Song and Emerging Artist of the Year the very same year they released their debut, Fork In the Road. On Things That Fly, their third album, due out April 20, 2010 on Sugar Hill, they venture into virtually uncharted territory for an acoustic group: a sonically and thematically expansive album that lends itself to absorbed listening from start to finish, much like the great rock albums do. ...