DARRELL SCOTT is a powerful musical spirit. A Grammy-nominated artist, an award-winning songwriter, and a first-call session musician, living and working (literally and figuratively) on the fringes of Nashville’s Music Row. Scott occupies his own unique half-acre in this city’s crowded musical landscape. In a town that has pigeonholing down to an art, Darrell Scott stands out as a refreshingly mischievous artist.

THE INVISABLE MAN, Scott’s sixth release, finds the artist at the peak of his powers. Darrell’s tune from that release, “Hank Williams’ Ghost” has won Song of the Year at the Americana Honors and Awards Show.

Scott is a master of both the infectious, Appalachian-inflected riff, and of the instruments that bring them to life. His songs are propelled by his knack for blending tradition-soaked hooks with personal, contemporary lyrics. On The Invisible Man, Scott explores themes of love, family, and the joys and pitfalls of the artist’s life. And if the artist sounds a little politicized on songs like “I’m Nobody” and Goodle, USA” (which is covered by Faith Hill on her latest release under the title “We’ve Got Nothing But Love To Prove”), there are good reasons. “There were times when I got up on my soapbox on this record.,” Scott says. “But I think that we’re living in the weirdest time of my lifetime, and I’m going to say something about it.”

“Unless you come to Nashville and start looking around, you could think Nashville is all country radio and Christian music,” Scott says. “Then you realize that Hank Williams, Kris Kristofferson and Mickey Newbury wrote here.”

From his earliest days in Nashville, Scott the instrumentalist gravitated toward the best, with singers like John Cowan, pickers like Sam Bush, and songwriters like Guy Clark, employing his utilitarian string-slinging skills.

“Playing with Sam or trying to sing with Cowan is a really cool thing to do,” Scott says. “And if you’re going to play to support a song, can it get better that supporting a Guy Clark song?” Darrell co-produced two Guy Clark albums Cold Dog Soup and The Dark. Darrell is also currently an active member of Steve Earle’s Bluegrass Dukes.

The Paramount Center and Birthplace of Country Music Alliance are pleased to bring Darrell Scott together on stage with John Cowan for an extraordinary evening of music on Saturday, May 31^st at 8 PM. The Cowan/Scott Band has been put together for a limited tour, pairing these two exceptional musicians together with Reese Wynans (Stevie Ray Vaughn), Billy Thomas (Emmylou Harris) and Tom Britt (Vince Gill)

Bluegrass, Newgrass, Rock N’ Roll. True innovators defy easy categorization and JOHN COWAN is the ultimate innovator. His ability to move easily between music styles and blend and bend genres into creative new forms has made him one of the most significant voices in acoustic music over the past thirty years.

After making a name for himself as one of the most in-demand vocalists in the early 1970s’ music scene in Louisville, KY., Cowan rose to fame when he became the lead singer for New Grass Revival. He and bandmates Sam Bush, Bela Fleck and Pat Flynn introduced a new generation of music fans to an explosive, experimental brand of bluegrass.

After inspiring and entertaining fans for nearly two decades, New Grass disbanded in 1990. Cowan immediately gave chase to his creative muse following it all over the musical landscape with a series of critically acclaimed albums. The Evansville, Indiana native wrapped his expansive voice around tunes that ran the gamut from rock to soul to blues to acoustic music that he knew so well. He began to surround himself with some of the finest acoustic musicians working. The music began to take a natural, organic turn back to Cowan’s acoustic roots. True art takes courage and requires the artist being willing to break open his heart and share the pieces with the world. John Cowan is, in every sense of the word, an artist.

Paramount in Partnership with

Birthplace of Country Music Alliance

Tickets:

Reserved $20

Paramount Box Office 423-274-8920

Or on-line at www.etix.com