Washington, DC -- President Barack Obama named sixteen recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the Nation’s highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors. The awards will be presented at the White House later this year. Among this year's recipients will be Country Music Icon, Loretta Lynn.

This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the Executive Order signed by President John F. Kennedy establishing the Presidential Medal of Freedom, as well as the first ceremony bestowing the honor on an inaugural class of 31 recipients. Since that time, more than 500 exceptional individuals from all corners of society have been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

President Obama said, “The Presidential Medal of Freedom goes to men and women who have dedicated their own lives to enriching ours. This year's honorees have been blessed with extraordinary talent, but what sets them apart is their gift for sharing that talent with the world. It will be my honor to present them with a token of our nation's gratitude."

Loretta Lynn is a country music legend. Raised in rural Kentucky, she emerged as one of the first successful female country music vocalists in the early 1960s, courageously breaking barriers in an industry long dominated by men. Ms. Lynn’s numerous accolades include the Kennedy Center Honors in 2003 and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010.

Others to be recognized with this honor include:

• Ernie Banks (baseball player)
• Ben Bradlee (newsman)
• Bill Clinton (founder of Clinton Foundation to improve global health, strengthen economies, promote health and wellness, and protect the environment)
• Daniel Inouye– now deceased (Senator and lifelong public servant)
• Daniel Kahneman (pioneering scholar of psychology and professor at Princeton University)
• Richard Lugar (internationally respected statesman and former Senator)
• Mario Molina (visionary chemist and environmental scientist)
• Sally Ride– now deceased (first American female astronaut to travel to space, and a role model to generations of young women)
• Bayard Rustin– now deceased (unyielding activist for civil rights, dignity, and equality for all)
• Arturo Sandoval (celebrated jazz trumpeter, pianist, and composer)
• Dean Smith (college basketball Coach and dedicated civil rights advocate)
• Gloria Steinem (renowned writer and activist for women’s equality)
• Cordy Tindell “C.T.” Vivian (distinguished minister, author, and organizer)
• Patricia Wald (one of the most respected appellate judges of her generation)
• Oprah Winfrey (active in philanthropic causes and expanding opportunities for young women)

The awards will be presented at the White House later this year.

Nashville, TN -- Kim Robins is proud to announce the hiring of Josh Woods as the new banjo player for the 40 Years Late band. Josh currently lives in Indianapolis, Indiana with his wife Katie and is employed by SafeCare. Josh was first exposed to bluegrass music after hearing Tom Holt and the Boys from Indiana as a young boy. He explains “the music made my hairs stand up.” Josh immediately began playing bass then quickly switched to guitar. Because the chord changes and playing lead came so natural, he also began playing mandolin and banjo. Josh states “it is such an honor to be a member of 40 Years Late. Kim’s music is a breath of fresh air and I am excited to be a part of it.”

Kim Robins adds “I am so happy to have Josh Woods joining the 40 Years Late band! Josh is a great player and a really great person. He felt like family the first moment we met. I think he will be a great addition in helping the band develop a sound that is unique to us.” The 40 Years Late band plans to head into the studio in the next few months to begin work on their first CD.

Kim Robins released her debut CD on February 5, 2013 and has consistently remained on the Airplay Direct and American Roots charts. Robins managed to assemble a team for 40 Years Late to produce a sound that is both impeccable and ingenious --  legendary musicians included Butch Robins on banjo; Michael Cleveland, International Bluegrass Music Association’s nine-time Fiddle Performer of the Year; Jeff Guernsey, former fiddle player for Vince Gill, on guitar; and Lynn Manzenberger, formerly with The Wildwood Valley Boys, on bass. Cleveland’s mandolin player, Nathan Livers, also played on several tracks. 

Kim Robins and 40 Years Late consist of: Matt Phelps on guitar and vocals, Caleb Edwards on mandolin and vocals, Holden Stephens on bass and Josh Woods on banjo. They are currently booking for the remainder of 2013 and 2014. Please visit www.kimrobins.com for more information.

Appropriately named, Scene 35, chronicles the 35 year history of the group. The documentary will include film footage, recordings, many photographs and live performances as the story of this highly influential band comes to life.

G.T. Keplinger, the historian behind the project, is also the filmmaker and has been a fan and friend of the band. He has collected works, documentation and archives of the band which he is compiling to put the story of the band into a documentary. Scene 35 is a project that G.T. says is a commercial cut of his M.F.A. thesis project. A final production date has not been announced.

Bluegrass reached a second peak in popularity in the early 1970s, and the progressive bluegrass style played by The Seldom Scene was particularly popular. Original Seldom Scene mandolin player John Duffey's stratospheric tenor anchored the group, but the vocal blend of The Scene set a new standard that attracted new audiences to what had been a niche music.

The Seldom Scene's weekly shows included bluegrass versions of country music, rock, and even classical pop. The band's popularity soon forced them to play more than once a week—but they continued to maintain their image as being seldom seen, and on several of their early album covers were photographed with the stage lights on only their feet, or with their backs to the camera.

Seldom Scene continues to excel in the bluegrass scene and has received critical acclaim for their work. Their latest CD, Scenechronized, recorded in 2007, was nominated for a Grammy award. The Seldom Scene has performed at the White House many times, and continues to tour the world, garnering the monikor: "America's Bluegrass Band". The band consists of Dudley Connell (guitar/lead and baritone vocals), Ben Eldridge (banjo and scatt singing), Lou Reid (mandolin/lead and tenor vocals), Fred Travers (dobro/lead and tenor vocals), and Ronnie Simpkins (bass/baritone vocals).

One of the greatest vocalists in bluegrass was John Duffey, a founding member of the Seldom Scene and the band's mandolin musician. When it came to the "High Lonesome" sound of bluegrass, Duffy had both. His tenor voice was instantly recognizable and almost a trademark of the Seldom Scene. His passing in 1996 was a big loss for the band.

The Scene never quit however. They filled the void with a new artist and carried on the Scene's tradition of providing a bluegrass sound in a non-bluegrass tradition. A recipe that has served millions of satisfied fans over three and a half decades of the Seldom Scene.

Indianapolis, IN - The 39th Annual Bluegrass Hall of Fame & Uncle Pen Days Festival will be held September 18-21, 2013 at the Bill Monroe Memorial Bluegrass Music Park & Campground in Brown County, Indiana. The 4-day event includes a stellar line-up of over 30 bluegrass bands, instrument and vocal workshops, jam sessions, camping, food, vendors, and fellowship. Tickets can be purchased by phone (800) 414-4677 or at www.beanblossom.US.

On Saturday, September 21, George Shuffler will be inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame. George grew up in Burke County, NC where he taught himself to play on a mail-order guitar. He made his Grand Ole Opry debut at the age of 17 performing with The Bailey Brothers.

George toured 20 years with the Stanley Brothers where he developed his unique cross picking guitar style that has been a big influence to many musicians. He was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Hall of Fame in 2011 and was a recipient of the North Carolina Heritage Award in 2007. For more information on George Shuffler, please visit Blueridgeheritage.com.

In 2011, Shuffler was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Association's Hall of Fame along with Del McCoury. George Shuffler’s influences in bluegrass are as an innovative bass player, guitar stylist and featured vocalist and humorist, primarily as a sideman in some of the most important bands in the music’s history.

The IBMA noted...

"Shuffler grew up in a large family near Valdese, North Carolina, learning his first guitar chords at age 10. Young George listened to many of the groups performing live on various 50,000-watt radio stations around the country, and Merle Travis was his idol. In the early 1940s Shuffler was working in a local string band with a regular $20-a-week job at a bakery. Filling in as bass player with Charlie & Danny Bailey and the Happy Valley Boys at a theatre and several other venues in Granite Falls, N.C., Shuffler accepted a $60 a week job with the Baileys and left with them for Nashville and The Grand Ole Opry, his first professional job.

After the Baileys quit the business, Shuffler worked with a comedy team for a while, returned to Valdese and got married and worked with several bands playing guitar and singing. Carter Stanley called Shuffler on December 28, 1950 and said he and Ralph were leaving Bristol to move to WVLK in Versailles, Kentucky, and he asked Shuffler to join the Stanley Brothers to play bass—an offer George accepted. Following WVLK, Shuffler worked with The Stanley Brothers in numerous markets. His “walking style” of bass playing, introduced on the Stanley Brothers’ 1953 Mercury Recordings, would imprint itself on a number of younger players, including Hall of Fame member Tom Gray. Primarily a bass player, Shuffler was in and out of the Stanley group many times until the early 1960s, when it got down to just Carter, Ralph and George.

Inspired by Bill Napier, Shuffler perfected his signature style of cross-picking that would be widely emulated. Following Carter Stanley’s death December 1, 1966, Shuffler stayed on with Ralph for several months. He then worked with Don Reno and Bill Harrell until 1969, recording several albums with them on bass. For a number of years he also led The Shuffler Family gospel group, which recorded more than a half dozen albums.

Another highlight of the festival will be the CD Release Party by the James King Band to be held on Saturday, September 21. The band will be providing free biscuits and gravy for the fans.

“So excited to play Gettysburg again! I've been there many times with my family in years gone by, and I know that Sideline will add their part to the highly entertaining variety of musical prowess Gettysburg brings with every festival,” said Skip Cherryholmes.

Sideline just release their first recording project SIDELINE Session 1 on Mountain Fever Records in July 2013.The album features each player’s talents on songs such as “Loneliness & Desperation,” “Little Willie,” “What Made Milwaukee Famous,” “Goodbye To The Blues,” “Old Joe Clark Blues,” “Girl At The Crossroads Bar” and “Sophronie.” This group of all-star artists each tour with their own primary bands and decided to record together in the same manner as Mashville Brigade and the Bluegrass Album Band.

Members of Sideline will travel to Nashville, Tennessee, to the Sirius XM studios to record a Track by Track show with Kyle Cantrell on Bluegrass Junction, Track 61, August 21.

Sideline is a high-energy all-star bluegrass band. Members of the band each tour with their primary groups and record and tour with Sideline on the side. Visit Sideline online for more tour dates. www.Facebook.com/SidelineBluegrass Watch Sideline YouTube video.

Sideline Members:

• Steve Dilling--banjo (tours with IIIrd Tyme Out)
• Skip Cherryholmes--guitar (tours with The Skip Cherryholmes Quintet and Lou Reid and Carolina)
• Darrell Webb--mandolin (tours with the Darrell Webb Band)
• Justen Haynes--fiddle (tours with IIIrd Tyme Out)
• Jason Moore--bass (tours with Mountain Heart)

Doors will open for Pickin’ in the Park at 3:00 pm and the show will start at 3:30 pm with performances by: Newton & Thomas (6:45 pm), Jackass Flats (8:30 pm), Brokedown Boys (6:00 pm), Blue Dogs (4:45 pm), and Love Canon (3:30 pm). For more information, please visit www.celebratevirginialive.com or like them on Facebook.

Mark Newton is originally from Fredericksburg, but now makes his home in the Nashville, TN area. “I always look forward to performing in my hometown and it is always a pleasure to see friends and family,” said Mark. “This is a coming home of sorts for me as I only perform in the area a couple of times a year, so I am really looking forward to this event.”

Newton & Thomas are celebrating their new album, REBORN on Pinecastle Records that includes the hit single, “Old McDonald Sold The Farm.” This popular tune is currently on Sirius XM Radio’s Bluegrass Junction Most Played Tracks chart and on this week's Bluegrass Today Top 20 song chart where it has reached the #1 spot four times since the single was released.

“Old McDonald Sold The Farm” has also been released as a music video. Fans can view the video below, on youtube, yallwire.com, the band’s website and many other locations.

For a complete tour schedule and more information on REBORN, please visit www.NewtonAndThomas.com.

Nashville, TN -- Widely known for his work in cutting-edge string band music as a founding member of Punch Brothers, Grammy-nominated Noam Pikelny has emerged as the preeminent banjoist among a new generation of acoustic musicians. Already praised as “a player of unlimited range and astonishing precision” by comedian/banjoist Steve Martin, Pikelny now presents his new concept album, Noam Pikelny Plays Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe (October 1st), a unique interpretation of traditional Bluegrass through a bold, complete adaptation of one of the most influential instrumental bluegrass music records of all-time. Joining Pikelny on this tour de force project are the finest instrumentalists in bluegrass: Stuart Duncan (fiddle), Bryan Sutton (guitar), Ronnie McCoury (mandolin), and Mike Bub (bass). Listen to the track "Big Sandy River" here.

Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe, recorded in 1976, five years before Pikelny was even born, features twelve classic tunes written by the father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe (1911-1996), and performed by his longtime fiddler Kenny Baker (1926-2012). While many fine musicians worked for Bill Monroe, Monroe would introduce Kenny Baker to audiences as "the best in bluegrass." Baker’s fiddle brought an elegant and refined voice to Monroe's music and Pikelny precisely transposes Baker’s versions to the banjo, note-for-note, track-by-track. It is the first bluegrass record that remakes an entire album in sequence, though never drifting into an exercise in musical impersonation; instead Pikelny uses the Monroe instrumentals as blueprints and springboards for his own improvisations and those of his band.

The album’s concept first came about when Pikelny jokingly texted McCoury, asking, “Could I get away with calling an album Noam Pikelny Plays Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe?” It was over a year later that, upon reflecting on the joke, he began listening anew to Baker's album, and saw that it offered him an opportunity to develop a unique banjoistic voice for that particular set of bluegrass standards. The end result, Noam Pikelny Plays Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe, shows Pikelny at a new pinnacle of maturation as a banjo player and musician, redefining the role of the banjo in his own way with an unprecedented approach to melodic playing and thereby setting a new standard in bluegrass for years to come.

Pikelny will showcase the album on tour this October and November with a band that includes Bryan Sutton (guitar), Jesse Cobb (mandolin), Barry Bales (bass), and Luke Bulla (fiddle).

Hailed by the Chicago Tribune as the “pros’ top banjo picker," Pikelny released his solo debut, In the Maze, in 2004. In 2010, he was awarded the first annual Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass earning him an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman. In 2011, Pikelny’s style and solo approach continued to crystallize with the release of his second album, Beat The Devil and Carry A Rail. The album hit both the Billboard Top Heatseekers and Bluegrass album charts and was the focus of a Funny or Die parody video starring Pikelny with appearances from Steve Martin, Ed Helms, Earl Scruggs, Chris Thile, Gillian Welch, and others. Beat The Devil and Carry A Rail went on to garner a Grammy nomination for Best Bluegrass Album. Noam Pikelny continues to broaden the awareness of the banjo in the mainstream through his work with Punch Brothers, collaborating with Wilco, Fiona Apple, Norah Jones, & Jon Brion for the soundtrack to This is 40, a feature song on The Hunger Games soundtrack, and a collaboration with Marcus Mumford for the upcoming Coen Brothers’ film, Inside Llewyn Davis.

Awards are voted on by the professional membership of the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), the trade association for the bluegrass music industry. Results of the balloting will be revealed at the International Bluegrass Music Awards on Thursday, September 26, hosted by the Steep Canyon Rangers. The Awards Show is the centerpiece of World of Bluegrass Week (#WOB13), to be held September 24 – 28 in Raleigh, NC.

Balsam Range, The Boxcars, Alison Krauss & Union Station and Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out round out top nominees for this year’s IBMA Awards in Raleigh, North Carolina on September 26

Individually and as an ensemble, members of The Gibson Brothers received eight nominations, including Entertainer of the Year, Vocal Group, Album of the Year (They Called It Music), Song of the Year (“They Called It Music”) and Gospel Recorded Event. Eric Gibson received two nominations, as songwriter for Song of the Year “They Called It Music” (along with co-writer Joe Newberry) and in the Bluegrass Songwriter category. Band member Jesse Brock also earned a nomination for Mandolin Player of the Year

Balsam Range captured seven nominations, including Entertainer of the Year, Vocal Group, two Song of the Year nods – “Any Old Road (Will Take You There)” and “Papertown” – Album of the Year (Papertown), Gospel Recorded Event and Recorded Event (band member Buddy Melton for “What’ll I Do” with Terry Baucom).

The IBMA Awards Show will be broadcast live on Sirius XM Satellite Radio (Bluegrass Junction) and syndicated to more than 300 U.S. markets and 14 foreign networks, thanks to the sponsorship of John Pearse Strings, Compass Records, Deering Banjos, the International Bluegrass Music Museum, BluegrassToday.com and Music City Roots. Program directors and station managers may sign up to be affiliates online at www.ibma.org.

IBMA – the International Bluegrass Music Association – is the professional trade organization for the global bluegrass music community. The organization’s three-year stay in Raleigh is the result of a partnership with The Greater Raleigh Convention & Visitors Bureau, PineCone—The Piedmont Council of Traditional Music, the City of Raleigh and a local organizing committee.

For more details and to purchase tickets/register for World of Bluegrass 2013, IBMA Awards, Wide Open Bluegrass weekend festival and the Bluegrass Ramble showcase series, lodging and camping options, and more, visit www.ibma.org or call 1-888-GET-IBMA. To purchase festival tickets, go to ETix.com or call 8888-GET-IBMA.

A complete list of nominees, this year’s Hall of Fame inductees, and the recipients of the Distinguished Achievement Award are listed below.

2013 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

• Tony Rice
• Paul Warren

2013 DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD RECIPIENTS

2013 International Bluegrass Music Award Nominations

Announced August 14, 2013

2013 International Bluegrass Music Special Award Nominations

Announced August 14, 2013

• BLUEGRASS BROADCASTER OF THE YEAR
  • Joe Mullins, WBZI, Xenia, Ohio
  • Ronnie Reno, Reno’s Old Time Music Festival, BlueHighways TV and RFD
  • Wayne Rice, KSON, San Diego, California
  • David Smith, North Dakota’s Prairie Public Radio
  • Tim White, Song of the Mountains, PBS
• BLUEGRASS EVENT OF THE YEAR
  • The 2013 Bluegrass First Class, Asheville, North Carolina
  • The 2012 Father’s Day Festival, Grass Valley, California
  • The 2012 Huck Finn Jubilee, Ontario, California
  • The 2012 Jenny Brook Bluegrass Festival, Tunbridge, Vermont
  • Bill Monroe Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival, Bean Blossom, Indiana
• BEST GRAPHIC DESIGN FOR A RECORDED PROJECT
  • Dak Alley, Carl Jackson & Jimmy Metts (designers); Grace Notes; Carl Jackson; Voxhall Records
  • Erick Anderson (designer), Music To My Ears, Ricky Skaggs, Skaggs Family Records
  • Sue Meyer (designer), Doctor’s Orders, Don Rigsby, Rebel Records
  • Pharis Romero (designer), In Good Company, Bill Evans, Native & Fine Records.
  • Tom Rozum, Catherine Manning & Dave Weiland (designers); Chicken on a Rocketship; Chad Manning; Manning Music and Arts label
• BEST LINER NOTES FOR A RECORDED PROJECT
  • Tom Adams; Foggy Mountain Special; Tom Adams, Ron Block, J.D. Crowe, Charlie Cushman, Kenny Ingram, Jim Mills, Joe Mullins, Larry Perkins, Craig Smith, Ron Stewart, David Talbot & Tony Trischka; Rounder Records
  • Fred Bartenstein, They’re Playing My Song, Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers, Rebel Records
  • Jamie Lynn Brinkman, God Didn’t Choose Sides, Various Artists, Rural Rhythm Records
  • Carl Jackson, Grace Notes, Carl Jackson, Voxhall Records
  • Don Rigsby, Doctor’s Orders, Don Rigsby, Rebel Records.
• BLUEGRASS PRINT/MEDIA PERSON OF THE YEAR
  • Fred Bartenstein, editor, Bluegrass Bluesman: A Memoir by Uncle Josh Graves (book)
  • Derek Halsey, writer for the Herald Dispatch in Huntington, West Virginia and Bluegrass Unlimited magazine
  • Chris Jones, writer for Bluegrass Today
  • Ted Lehman, blogger for Ted Lehmann’s Bluegrass, Books & Brainstorms
  • Amy Reitnouer, editor of The Bluegrass Situation
• BLUEGRASS SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
  • Louisa Branscomb
  • Paula Breedlove
  • Mark “Brink” Brinkman
  • Eric Gibson
  • Donna Ulisse
• MOMENTUM AWARDS
  • INDUSTRY, NEW PROFESSIONAL
    • Danny Clark, The Bluegrass Bus & LeRoy Troy PR
    • Martha Dantzic, Quicksilver Productions
    • Amy Reitnouer, The Bluegrass Situation
  • INDUSTRY, NEW FESTIVAL OR VENUE
    • Bluegrass on the Plains, Auburn, AL
    • The Festy, Roseland, VA
    • The Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival, Roanoke Island, NC
  • INDUSTRY, MENTOR
    • Stephen Mougin
    • Denise Stiff
    • Jon Weisberger
  • PERFORMANCE, VOCALIST
    • Amber Collins, Amber Collins & Turning Point
    • Robert Greer, Town Mountain
    • Sarah Harris, Trinity River Band
    • Isaac Moore, The Moore Brothers
    • Celia Woodsmith, Della Mae
  • PERFORMANCE, BAND
    • The Bankesters
    • Cumberland River
    • Front Country
    • Snyder Family Band
    • Town Mountain
  • PERFORMANCE, INSTRUMENTALIST
    • Bobby Britt, Town Mountain
    • Kimber Ludiker, Della Mae
    • Chris Luquette, Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen
    • Bryan McDowell, Claire Lynch Band
    • Zeb Snyder, Snyder Family Band

Special Awards and Distinguished Achievement Awards will be presented at a luncheon on Thursday, September 26 from 10:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m.at the World of Bluegrass Business Conference in Raleigh, NC. The Momentum Awards will be presented at the Showcase Luncheon on Wednesday, September 25. For information and tickets, visit www.ibma.org. li

Marion, VA- A very diversified lineup of musicians will take the stage at the Lincoln Theatre in Marion, Virginia on Saturday, September 7th at 7:00 pm for another public television taping of the award winning “Song of the Mountains” concert series.

Bluegrass enthusiasts will enjoy the music of Lorraine Jordan and Carolina Road as well as the music of Randy Waller. Randy is the son of the late and legendary Charlie Waller who was an icon in bluegrass music for decades with the Country Gentlemen band. Randy continues his father’s legacy with his own unique style and voice. Randy himself is a veteran in the bluegrass world.

Lorraine Jordan and Carolina Road are favorites on the national bluegrass circuit also and will provide traditional as well as original tunes at the Song of the Mountains taping on September 7th.

The concert will also feature some Americana artists also. Clinton Collins and the Creekboys present a unique blend of Americana music, using traditional musical instruments, along with original, creative songwriting. Their musical journey guides us through places and to people that seem familiar and stories that resonate with us all. >From the rural backroads, to the places of the heart; melodies are filled with humor about relationships, faith and everyday living.

Young “rootsgrass” band Lindsay Lou & The Flatbellys has jumped into the forefront of today’s progressive roots music movement. Distinct vocals, tight harmonies, instrumental expertise, and creative arrangements are all essential characteristics of their unique sound. Instrumentally, they can turn on a dime, their arrangements showing a well-developed taste in music - based on bluegrass traditions but frequently dipping into swing jazz and popular song craft – and their sound is deftly guided by the clarion vocals of lead singer Lindsay Lou.

The Swing Sheiks will also provide some “swing-Americana” sounds to round out this wonderful concert for Song of the Mountains on September 7th.

This Song of the Mountains concert on September 7th begins at 7:00 pm. Tickets and information is available at www.songofthemountains.org or by calling 276-783-6093.

Song of the Mountains is underwritten for public television by TEDS, the General Francis Marion Hotel in Marion, VA, The Appalachian Cultural Music Association and the Mountain Music Museum in Bristol, TN, Blue Ridge Country 98.1 fm, The Bank of Marion, Morehead State University, Bryant Label Co. of Blountville, TN. Special support from the Town of Marion, VA. Also Song of the Mountains appreciates all the support received from their faithful supporters who contribute dollars to keep this concert series funded and on public television across America.

Memberships and Song of the Mountains merchandise are available at the website and your purchases help support the concert series. Donations are accepted at the website as well. Underwriting opportunities are available by contacting Song of the Mountains through our website. Song of the Mountains/The Lincoln Theatre is a non-profit organization.

The young bluegrass band making headlines everywhere they go, The Sleep Man Banjo Boys, have announced that Cory Piatt will be joing the group as their permanent mandolin player. The band's announcement says, "He is an amazing addition to the band, and we’re so excited. Please give him a warm welcome!"

In June, the band also made welcome to Blake Pitney on Bass which was also a welcome addition. As the band is growing and evolving, it is also maturing in its music and style. These young musicians are a welcome addition to the Mizzone brothers bluegrass style.

Inspired by the 1950’s music of Flatt & Scruggs & The Stanley Brothers, the Sleepy Man Banjo Boys are passionate about sharing their God-given musical gifts and invite you to watch them grow. The Sleepy Man Banjo Boys gained fame when their practice sessions went viral on YouTube. Since then, the young bluegrass musicians have been featured on national television, performed at major music festivals, and have released another album, The Farthest Horion (October 2012).

Inspired by the 1950’s music of Flatt & Scruggs & The Stanley Brothers, the Sleepy Man Banjo Boys are passionate about sharing their God-given musical gifts and invite you to watch them grow. The amazing story of the Sleepy Man Banjo Boys is a great testament to the continuous evolution of the music business. . Comprised of brothers Tommy, Robbie, and Jonny, they have quickly made a name for themselves as one of the quickest rising acts in Bluegrass or Roots music.

Ralph Stanley, and Clarence White. They also – just like countless others before them – became influenced by the revolutionary five-string banjo playing of Earl Scruggs. However, going back to the evolution of music, they weren’t listening to Grandpa’s 78 RPM collection. They picked up the music of Scruggs the way that many others their age are discovering the classics. “We discovered Earl Scruggs through YouTube and fell in love with the music,” said Tommy.

YouTube has been very instrumental in getting the name of the Sleepy Man Banjo Boys out to the public. They have accounted for over 17 million views on their YouTube channel (YouTube.com/sleepymanbanjoboys). In addition, their Facebook page has an impressive 40,000 likes – and is growing at the astonishing rate of 1,000 fans per week. In fact, the Internet is where they made their initial splash.

“That’s one of the coolest parts about everything,” said Robbie. “We have had several of our bedroom practice jam videos go viral and that’s what really kind of took off and helped get us out there.”

Where would the band like the future to take them? “We continue to grow as a band and are settling in to our own sound,” said Tommy. “Somewhere between pure traditional Bluegrass and Mumford & Sons. Our title track ‘The Farthest Horizon’ from our last release represents that well. ’ As we add vocals, we want to continue to grow our fan base and hopefully attract more young people to this type of music.”

It’s a safe assumption that they are on their way to do just that! The latest additions to The Sleepy Man Banjo Boys will certainly help them achieve their goal.

Bloomington, IL -- “The picture on the cover, that’s Broadway in Baltimore, maybe back around the time I started playing in the clubs,” Del McCoury says with a smile. Then he adds, just before breaking into his signature, eyebrow-wiggling laugh, “Back then, you could get anything you needed down there—and a lot of things you didn’t need, too!”

It’s a long way from his apprenticeship in those Baltimore honky tonks in the late 1950s to his stature as the ultimate bluegrass ambassador today, but Del McCoury’s negotiated the path with enough perseverance, humility, good humor, adventurousness—not to mention talent and enthusiasm—to last a lifetime. Along the way, he’s earned not just the applause, but the passionate devotion of fans ranging from old-timers who remember those early days to country aficionados drawn in by his collaborations with Dierks Bentley, Charlie Daniels and Vince Gill to tie-dye-clad youngsters who’ve just learned about him from hearing artists like Phish and the Yonder Mountain String Band rave about—and perform—his music.

And lest you think that the open-mindedness that’s led McCoury into so many surprising collaborations and contexts comes from the younger generation, heed the words of Ronnie McCoury, who says of The Streets of Baltimore, “That one’s all Dad’s!” And indeed, with sons Ronnie and Rob and their Del McCoury Band colleagues Jason Carter and Alan Bartram spending more time touring as The Travelin’ McCourys, the job of choosing songs for the album fell squarely on Del’s shoulders—and judging by the results, it’s clear that Del McCoury’s as creatively inspired as ever.

Where the Del McCoury Band’s last two projects—2012’s tribute to Bill Monroe (Old Memories) and 2011’s collaboration with the Preservation Hall Band, American Legacies —were built around themes, The Streets of Baltimore shows McCoury and his award-winning band at their most relaxed and free-form. “I just put together a group of songs that I liked,” says Del. “And then we got into the studio and tried to make them sound good!”

Still, it’s not hard to see how the new album is shaped by the musical memories acquired and lessons learned starting back in McCoury’s Baltimore days. For one thing, as a reminder of how tightly entwined bluegrass and country music were at the time, there’s a healthy dose of songs from the country repertoire, including the title track (a 1966 country hit for Bobby Bare), “Too Many Rivers” (a crossover hit for Brenda Lee in 1965 and recorded by dozens of country singers at the time) and “Once More With Feeling,” a massive hit for Jerry Lee Lewis that reminds us that McCoury and his band were called on to perform when "The Killer" was honored in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's American Music Masters series a few years ago. And while pop and jazz fans know “Misty” as an entry in the “Great American Songbook,” Del and the boys give an affectionate nod here to country singer and humorist Ray Stevens, whose banjo-driven version of the song scraped the top of the country charts nearly 40 years ago.

But while there’s a lot of looking back on The Streets of Baltimore, McCoury turned to some favorite contemporary writers, too, to keep things grounded in the here and now. Long-time song supplier Mike O’Reilly is accounted for with the album’s opener, Shawn Camp and friends sent in the timeless waltz, “I Wanna Go Where You Go,” occasional co-writer Jerry Salley teamed up with Donna Ulisse for a gripping Civil War story and Verlon Thompson contributed the pensive meditation, “I Need More Time.” Del expands the circle, too, giving hit artists and songwriters Larry Cordle and Steve Wariner, along with Country Hall of Famer Bill Anderson, their first McCoury cuts. There’s even room for a McCoury original that sports a characteristically generous, upbeat take on a fundamental gospel message.

Yet if McCoury cast a wide net to haul in the songs for this album, the performances are as distinctive, and as tightly focused as ever. Years of constant musical companionship have made the Del McCoury Band among the most renowned ensembles in any kind of music, and every number on the album shows off their unmatched precision and empathy for the material. Meanwhile, Del’s magnificent voice soars, whispers, pleads and rings out with just the right feeling for each song, recalling Jerry Lee Lewis’s slippery ways on “Once More With Feeling,” coloring the opening lines of “Butler Brothers” with foreboding and injecting the slightest tinge of nostalgia in tackling a bluegrass reworking of a doo-wop classic from his youth.

All in all, then, The Streets of Baltimore is a masterful performance—exactly what one would expect from a close-knit, supremely talented group led by a man universally acknowledged as a national treasure. It’s a long way from the streets of Baltimore to where Del McCoury’s music has taken him these days, but today, just as he was then, Del McCoury is right where he needs—and wants—to be.

Nashville, TN -- Each year, the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) honors five individuals for their pioneering contributions to bluegrass music. The IBMA’s Distinguished Achievement Awards will be presented at a Special Awards Luncheon on Thursday, September 26 during IBMA’s World of Bluegrass events. This year’s recipients of IBMA’s Distinguished Achievement Awards include:

Keith Cas has presented some of the finest acts in bluegrass and roots music for over 30 years, with a professional career that began in Denver, Colorado in 1970. As a talent agent, manager and promoter, he has represented legendary singer songwriters and musicians like John Hartford, Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, Tony Rice, and the Nashville Bluegrass Band. He has been instrumental in breaking notable new acts that went on to amass both popular and critical acclaim—like Alison Krauss & Union Station, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and Robert Earl Keen. In addition to leading the premiere traditional music agency in Nashville, Case is also a founding member of IBMA.

The East Mountain Boys are known as the “fathers of bluegrass music” in Japan. Organized and managed by Mr. Tatsuo Arita in 1958, the East Mountain Boys featured Yasushi Ozaki (guitar), Hisashi Ozaki (mandolin), the late Don Sano (banjo), Yoshinobu Kakegawa (fiddle), Hirokazu Uneno (accordion) and Shozo Nakamura (bass). They learned to play by listening to US Armed Forces radio during World War II. As Japan’s first bluegrass band, they influenced later important Japanese groups like the Bluegrass 45, The Nakashima Sisters, and many others.

Vic Jordan, an influential banjo player who toured and recorded with Jimmy Martin, Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys, Lester Flatt & the Nashville Grass, Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper & the Clinch Mountain Clan, Jim & Jesse, James Monroe and the Midnight Ramblers, and The Wayne Newton Orchestra—along with decades of television and studio work. That’s Vic’s banjo you hear on Monroe’s recordings of “Gold Rush,” “Sally Goodin,” Virginia Darlin’,” “Is the Blue Moon Still Shinin’,” “Train 45,” “Kentucky Mandolin,” “I Want to Go with You,” “Crossing the Cumberland,” and “Walls of Time.” He also played banjo on the soundtracks for Coal Miner’s Daughter and Smoky & the Bandit II, and he was in the 1992 Hee Haw band.

The McLain Family Band, of Berea, Kentucky, began performing in 1972. One of the first bluegrass bands to perform with symphony orchestras, the group performed in more than 80 countries for the U.S. government as “America’s Ambassadors of Traditional Music.” They hosted their own festival in Berea for 13 years, and they recorded more than a dozen albums on their own Country Life Records label. Fans will remember Raymond W. McLain as a banjo player with Jim & Jesse and mandolin player with Reno and Harrell, and Michael McLain on guitar and banjo with the Claire Lynch Band. The entire family has been involved in teaching bluegrass music for decades, beginning with the elder Raymond K. McLain, who was a professor of musicology at Berea College in Kentucky, and continuing with Raymond W. McLain’s work at East Tennessee State University and Morehead State University in Kentucky, Michael McLain’s work with the bluegrass program at Belmont University in Nashville, Ruth McLain Smith’s teaching at Berea College Morehead State University, and Al White's (husband of Alice McLain and a former member of the McLain Family Band) teaching at Berea College.

Charley Pennell, a library cataloger by trade at the D. H. Hill Library at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, has quietly and professionally documented an online list of every known bluegrass music recording in existence. His “Bluegrass Discography” site includes info on hundreds—maybe tens of thousands—of bluegrass recordings, including singles, LPs, tapes and CDs.

World of Bluegrass 2013 is a five-day event that consists of three main parts: the IBMA Business Conference, which runs Tuesday through Thursday, Sept. 24-26, the 24th Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards, scheduled for Thursday evening, Sept. 26, and the music festival – newly re-named Wide Open Bluegrass – which takes place Friday and Saturday, Sept. 27-28.

IBMA – the International Bluegrass Music Association – is the professional trade organization for the global bluegrass music community. The organization’s three-year stay in Raleigh is the result of a partnership with The Greater Raleigh Convention & Visitors Bureau, PineCone—The Piedmont Council of Traditional Music, the City of Raleigh and a local organizing committee.

For more details and to purchase tickets/register for World of Bluegrass 2013, IBMA Awards, Wide Open Bluegrass weekend festival and Bluegrass Ramble showcase passes, lodging and camping options, and more, visit www.ibma.org or call 1-888-GET-IBMA. To purchase festival tickets, go to ETix.com or call 8888-GET-IBMA.

Nashville, TN -- The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) announced yesterday that bandleader/singer/guitar innovator Tony Rice and fiddler Paul Warren will be inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame at its Awards Show in Raleigh, North Carolina on Thursday, September 26, 2013.

Tony Rice is an American master of the acoustic guitar whose music has provided inspiration and a benchmark of excellence for musicians from a variety of genres and across a variety of instruments, and enchanted countless listeners around the globe.

Over a career that has spanned more than 40 years, Tony Rice has recorded and performed with a list of legends that includes Dolly Parton, Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, Emmylou Harris, Ricky Skaggs, Stéphane Grappelli, Doc Watson, Norman Blake, and Peter Rowan. The roster of artists who have been influenced by Rice expands constantly as new generations and players of all ages and from a wide range of styles discover his music. Artists from other genres (Zac Brown, Vince Gill, Mary Chapin Carpenter) and artists known for brilliance on instruments other than guitar (fiddlers Alison Krauss and Mark O’Connor, banjoists Béla Fleck and Mark Johnson) count themselves as Rice scholars and friends. Guitarists around the globe have studied Rice’s impeccable technique, tone, and timing as they worked to discover their own styles.

Known as much for his gorgeously warm, expressive vocals as for his guitar virtuosity, Rice sadly lost his voice to a condition called muscle tension dysphonia, singing live for the final time at a festival in May 1994. He simply channeled that expression into his playing. Rice won the first award for Instrumental Performer of the Year—Guitar from the International Bluegrass Music Association in 1990, and has been nominated in this category every year since, winning it again in 1991, 1994, 1996, 1997, and 2007.

It is difficult to overstate the value of Tony Rice’s contribution to guitar music, the bluegrass and acoustic jazz songbooks, and the fundamentals of tone, taste, and timing. He transformed the way guitar is played in bluegrass music, an American art form that has built cultural bridges and captured the hearts of listeners around the world.

Regarding inductee Paul Warren, music historian/musician Eddie Stubbs said, “I think it’s important to recognize that Paul is being honored by the IBMA for his bluegrass contributions as a musician and bass vocalist, but his role with the fiddle went beyond bluegrass. The majority of his career occurred when the lines of country and bluegrass weren't really as rigid. After rock and roll emerged in the middle 1950s, the fiddle went on life-support, and has really been there ever since. There were only a handful of bands that consistently kept a fiddle on board. The instrument became a luxury and not a necessity--even in bluegrass. Because of Paul's visibility with Flatt & Scruggs, and later Lester by himself, the instrument remained present to a wider audience that was not exclusively bluegrass from the late 1950s through Paul's retirement in 1977.”

In 1954, Warren began his long association with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs when he replaced Benny Martin in their Foggy Mountain Boys; he appeared on all of their recordings between 1954 and 1969. When Flatt and Scruggs broke up in the late '60s, Warren played in Flatt's Nashville Grass through early 1977. In an interview, Lester Flatt stated, “Paul Warren is one of the solidest, most dependable musicians that ever played.”

Before Flatt & Scruggs, Warren participated in many recording sessions with Johnnie & Jack, appearing on just under one-half of the duo's entire recorded output. Warren also helped define Kitty Wells’ instrumental sound on record. His numerous sessions with her included the classic "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels."

Founded in 1991, the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, housed in the International Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensboro, KY, is an institution devoted to the recognition of noteworthy individuals for outstanding contributions to bluegrass music. Each year a nominating committee, consisting of music industry leaders, creates a slate of 10-15 candidates. From these names, a panel of more than 200 electors in the music industry cast ballots to narrow the nominees to five finalists. The panel votes a final time to select the inductee(s) for that year.

The IBMA Awards Show will be broadcast live on Sirius XM Satellite Radio (Bluegrass Junction, Channel 14) and syndicated to more than 300 U.S. markets and 14 foreign networks, thanks to the sponsorship of Compass Records, John Pearse Strings, Bluegrass Today, Deering Banjos, BMI, the International Bluegrass Music Museum and Music City Roots. For information visit www.ibma.org.

Nashville, TN -- Nominees for the 2013 International Bluegrass Music Awards were announced at the Loveless Barn in Nashville, where Compass Records bluegrass bands and their respective members received the most nominations out of any label with 22 total nominations. Reigning Entertainers of the Year The Gibson Brothers topped the list with a collective eight nominations, Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen received five total nominations and Claire Lynch and her band garnered four. A full list of nominations can be read here.

“We are honored and humbled by the nominations we have received,” says Eric Gibson, “Thank you to the IBMA voters for this incredible honor and congratulations to all of the nominees.” Individually and as an ensemble, members of the Gibson Brothers received nominations for Entertainer of the Year, Vocal Group, Album of the Year for their new project They Called It Music, Song of the Year for “They Called It Music,” and Gospel Recorded Event for “Home on the River.” Eric Gibson was also nominated in the Bluegrass Songwriter category along with Louisa Branscomb. Gibson Brothers mandolinist Jesse Brock also earned a nomination for Mandolin Player of the Year.

Compass claimed three of the five coveted Album of the Year spots with Peter Rowan’s The Old School, Claire Lynch’s Dear Sister, and The Gibson Brothers'They Called It Music. Fast rising Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen were nominated for Emerging Artist of the Year, Instrumental Group of the Year, and Recorded Event of the Year for their collaboration with Tim O’Brien and Rob Ickes for “On The Edge of Letting Go” from On The Edge. Banjoist Mike Munford was also nominated for Banjo Player of the Year.

Additional nominees in the vocalist and instrumental categories include Dale Ann Bradley and Claire Lynch for Female Vocalist of the Year, Mark Schatz and Missy Raines for Bass Player of the Year, and Compass newcomer Michael Cleveland for Fiddle Player of the Year. Two artists were recognized in the Momentum Awards categories this year as well: guitarist Chris Luquette of Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen for Instrumental Performer and The Bankesters, who welcome a Band nomination in anticipation of their upcoming September 24th release Love Has Wheels.

Awards are voted on by the professional membership of the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), the trade association for the bluegrass music industry. Results of the balloting will be revealed at the International Bluegrass Music Awards on Thursday, September 26 as the centerpiece of the World of Bluegrass Week, held September 24-28 in Raleigh, North Carolina at which Compass artist Noam Pikelny will be the Keynote Speaker. The IBMA Awards Show will also be broadcast live on SiriusXM Satellite Radio (Bluegrass Junction).

Wrapping up a busy summer touring the country with Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, the Steep Canyon Rangers are getting ready to release a new album on Rounder Records September 10th, and host the Mountain Song Festival in Brevard. The new album, Tell The Ones I Love finds the Steep Canyon Rangers in a unique situation, and one they don’t take lightly: “It took a lot of work for us to nose our way into the bluegrass world and become a de facto representative,” Sharp acknowledges, “and we think it’s a real responsibility.” With this new record, “we can be a bridge between the bluegrass crowd and a wider audience that may not be die-hard bluegrass fans.” Yet.

The band wanted Tell The Ones I Love to reflect the spirit of their concerts—an original, freewheeling, high-energy approach to bluegrass that rests mainly on the songwriting of Graham Sharp and Charles Humphrey. They recorded the album almost entirely live. “We wanted it to be different from our last album,” explained banjo player Graham Sharp, “and create something more raw and immediate.” Guitarist Woody Platt added that they headed into recording with “more confidence and momentum” from both their Grammy win and their unrelenting touring schedule.

While the Steep Canyon Rangers were certainly open to recording songs by other composers, or to dip into traditional material, Campbell ultimately had them record all original tunes, based both on the strength of the songs and the band’s arrangements.

Campbell, a highly sought after musician and producer (Bob Dylan, Levon Helm), was often down on the floor with the band so he could feel what was being performed. His strategy, to have the music sound organic – “where you can hear the environment of the barn” – fit well with the band’s performances. He also admired that they “held on to the essence of what makes bluegrass viable, and subtly reinvented it to make their thing unique.”

One way that the band stretched bluegrass boundaries was with their use of drums and percussion on Tell The Ones I Love. “We didn’t want something that was just a bluegrass track with drums laid on it like an afterthought,” said Sharp. “We wanted something that was really integrated.” They enlisted Jeff Sipe ( Leftover Salmon, Susan Tedeschi, Aquarium Rescue Unit), whom Sharp described as “one of the best drummers around.”

Tell The Ones I Love showcases the Steep Canyon Rangers’ myriad talents— nimble instrumental agility, tight harmony vocals, and inventive songwriting. The 12-song set ranges from full-band workouts like the title track to the haunting, vocally tight “Hunger.” On “Las Vegas,” the band displays jazzy touches while Mike Guggino’s instrumental “Graveyard Fields” is a bluegrass tour de force.

Tell The Ones I Love, in fact, affords each Ranger opportunities to shine, whether it’s Graham Sharp’s expressive banjo intro on Charles Humphrey/Jonathan Byrd’s plaintive “Bluer Words Were Never Spoken,” Nicky Sanders’ soaring fiddle on “Boomtown” or Humphrey’s walking bass that anchors his “Mendocino County Blue.”

These days, it’s hard to talk about the Steep Canyon Rangers without mentioning Steve Martin. After meeting at a party and clicking immediately, Martin invited the band to tour and record with him. 2011’s collaboration Rare Bird Alert was nominated for a Grammy, and later that year, they won IBMA’s Entertainer of the Year Award. They average about 50 dates a year together, touring as Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers, and most recently with the addition of special guest Edie Brickell.

Napa, CA -- Leading social e-learning platform provider, ArtistWorks today announced that three instructors in their Online Academy of Bluegrass are nominated for International Bluegrass Music Awards. Banjo legend and online instructor Tony Trischka has been nominated for Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year for his contribution to the song "Foggy Mountain Rock" of the album Foggy Mountain Special: A Bluegrass Tribute to Earl Scruggs. Online Bass School instructor Missy Raines is nominated for Instrumental Performer of the Year for Bass and Online Flatpick Guitar instructor Bryan Sutton is nominated for Instrumental Performer of the Year for Guitar.

The 2013 IBMA Award nominations mark another year of recognizing ArtistWorks Academy of Bluegrass instructors to be the world class performers they are. It’s also another reminder to average players everywhere that they can actually get personalized Video Exchange™ Feedback from these and other bluegrass greats for less than the cost of lessons from “the guy down the street”.

Established in 2011, this revolutionary online school gives members access to a comprehensive library of pre-recorded videos online to hone their skills at their own pace.

Unlike traditional one-way video learning where students can become stuck trying to put techniques into practice, members of the Academy of Bluegrass are enabled to submit practice videos for Trischka, Sutton, Raines or the other AOB all-star teachers to review and respond with their own video containing personalized feedback and additional instruction.

None of these world-renowned performers are strangers to IBMA Awards. Raines has won eight, Sutton has won seven and Trischka has won six.

These Video Exchanges are paired together on the site and made available for all members to learn from, creating an ever evolving virtual master class online. With regular expert feedback on their technique, members report significant improvement in a remarkably short time.

ArtistWorks Academy of Bluegrass is designed for absolute beginners to seasoned pros – anyone who has the passion and the desire to play.

The ArtistWorks Academy of Bluegrass also features past IBMA Award winners and nominees, Mike Marshall teaching mandolin, Darol Anger teaching Fiddle, and Andy Hall teaching Dobro.

Membership plans are $90 for three months of unlimited access, $150 for six months and $240 for 12 months. Free sample lessons are available at AcademyofBluegrass.com.

Founded in 2008 by former AOL executive David Butler and former financial executive Patricia Butler, ArtistWorks, Inc. is the leader in a new generation of online learning platforms. Their revolutionary global learning community of world-renowned teaching artists and enthusiastic amateurs is dedicated to unleashing the music that lies within all of us. This “next generation” Video Exchange Feedback Platform enables virtuoso musicians to “teach the world” by presenting their musical legacy in the form of HD video lessons to subscribing members. Utilizing simple web cams, smartphones, tablets or video cameras, members are able to submit practice videos and get individualized video feedback and guidance from their teaching artists - creating a constantly evolving two-way, online learning experience.

ArtistWorks currently offers schools from such world-class artists as: Paul Gilbert (rock guitar lessons), Martin Taylor (fingerstyle guitar lessons), Jason Vieaux (classical guitar lessons), Andreas Oberg (jazz guitar lessons), Jeannie Deva (singing lessons), Nathan Cole (violin lessons), Jeffrey Khaner (flute lessons), William Caballero (French horn lessons), David Bilger (trumpet lessons), Ricardo Morales (clarinet lessons), Nathan East (electric bass lessons), John Patitucci (jazz bass lessons), Howard Levy (harmonica lessons), DJ Qbert (DJ lessons), Christie Peery (piano lessons), Billy Cobham (jazz and fusion drum lessons), Luis Conte (percussion lessons), as well as the ArtistWorks Academy of Bluegrass with Tony Trischka (banjo lessons), Missy Raines (double bass lessons), Bryan Sutton (flatpick guitar lessons), Andy Hall (Dobro lessons), Mike Marshall (mandolin lessons), and Darol Anger (fiddle lessons). For more information, visit http://www.ArtistWorks.com .

Art Stevenson & High Water have released their seventh CD, Twilight. Twilight features 14 new songs by this very entertaining and musical group. The new project is available by mail order from our website at www.highwatermusic.com and also from CDBaby, offering MP3 download as a purchase option. Alternatively you can get Twilight and other CDs at Art Stevenson & High Water's upcoming festival appearances.

Art Stevenson & High Water is Wisconsin's best-known bluegrass show, and has been in demand throughout the Midwest festival circuit since 1993. The band's bluegrass sound comes from the close duet singing of husband and wife team Art and Stephanie Stevenson, along with the spirited banjo and Dobro playing of Dale Reichert, and the hard-driving mandolin picking of Bruce King. Their seventh album, Twilight, has just been released (August 2013). High Water's music is heard on bluegrass radio programs around the USA and has received critical acclaim in the magazines Bluegrass Unlimited and Bluegrass Now. Recording artist James King and country music historian Bill Malone agree that Art and Stephanie Stevenson rank among the best duet singers active today.

High Water's repertoire is taken from many sources: the bluegrass classics of Bill Monroe and the Stanley Brothers, early country music, mountain songs, and new material. Their blend of traditional bluegrass numbers, originals, contemporary songs, and instrumentals satisfies a wide range of music lovers! Art, Stephanie, and Dale have each written songs or instrumentals frequently performed by the band. The band's mission is to preserve the hard-driving traditional bluegrass sound, while including material from other musical styles. Art and Stephanie's singing, Dale's banjo instrumentals, Bruce's tasteful mandolin, and Art's harmonica tunes always bring a rousing response from the audience. Be sure to watch for Art Stevenson & High Water at a festival or venue near you!

Tracks on Twilight include:

1. Me and the Jukebox
2. Dark Hollow
3. Eyes of a Painter
4. California Cottonfields
5. Garvey Hollow
6. I’ll Take The Blame
7. Roll On Buddy
8. Love Is A Stranger
9. It Happens Every Time
10. Hand Me Down My Walking Cane
11. Twilight
12. Way Over Yonder
13. Take This Hammer
14. Northland Breakdown

Diamond Creek plays bluegrass -- traditional bluegrass -- from the music’s pioneers like Bill Monroe, The Stanley Brothers, Flatt and Scruggs, The Osborne Brothers and Mac Wiseman. Mixing in favorites from second generation greats like J.D. Crowe and Del McCoury plus a few originals, a Diamond Creek show starts fast and doesn’t let up till everyone has had a heapin’ helping of North Carolina flavored bluegrass.

The band has been around since 2006 but is coming off a recent hiatus and is back performing with some original and new members. A second band for most of them, it’s still a home for them to come back to and play the traditional bluegrass music they love.

Interestingly enough, the majority of the band is now made up of younger pickers and singers. Though they gravitate to songs from the golden era of bluegrass, the vibrancy and spirit of their youth brings freshness to the arrangements and energy to their performances.

A couple of contributing factors to the excitement of a Diamond Creek show is the banjo playing of eighteen year old Mitch Walker and the singing of seventeen year old Emily Kirsch. Both play and sing with confidence and conviction well beyond their years. At twenty three, self-professed “journeyman” guitarist Spencer Mobley has worked with and filled in with bands on mandolin and guitar at a local and regional level for several years. Completing Diamond Creek is husband and wife Russell and Kandis Johnson. Russell is an old hand at the music having played mandolin the last twenty three years, first with New Vintage and with his current band The Grass Cats. His wife Kandis plays upright bass and recently completed a year stint with The String Machine Bluegrass Band.

From Bluegrass Festivals and corporate outings to "Concerts in the Park", street festivals and county fairs, Diamond Creek is a perfect choice for your next entertainment need. Equally comfortable playing for bluegrass fans, entertaining guests at a company picnic, or performing at your next backyard bar-b-que or party, Diamond Creek is on a mission to share the best traditional bluegrass they can with as many folks that will listen.

Asked what interests the band, they reply "Pile-driving five string banjo, thumping upright bass, boom-chick rythm guitar, mandolin with some soul, searing three part harmonies and lead vocals with power and conviction...that's what interests Diamond Creek." Follow the band and find out where they're playing at https://www.facebook.com/DiamondCreekBluegrassBand

Nashville, TN -- /Opry.com/ Popular modern-day string band Old Crow Medicine Show was invited to join the Grand Ole Opry by Opry member and friend Marty Stuart during the group’s concert at the Ohio Theatre at PlayhouseSquare. The group will formally be inducted into the Opry at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville on Tues., Sept. 17. Among the award-winning group’s first performances in Nashville were on the sidewalks outside the Opry House in Summer 2000, playing for fans entering and exiting Opry performances. The band graduated to the Opry stage for its official Opry debut on Jan. 13, 2001, and has become a fan favorite during dozens of Opry performances since.

Near the end of the concert, Stuart surprised the group on stage, saying, “In 1925, there was a show started in Nashville called the Grand Ole Opry. It was founded on a traditional fiddle tune. It was founded on hard-hitting old-time music. It was founded on being a good-natured riot. And it’s been going on for 88 years. It’s a great American story. Would you all consider becoming a part of this great American story and becoming Grand Ole Opry members?”

Old Crow members answered with a resounding yes and hands in the air while the sold-out crowd responded with a standing ovation. Stuart and the band then combined forces on “We Don’t Grow Tobacco” before the band launched into its signature crowd favorite, “Wagon Wheel.”

“Inviting Old Crow to become our next member is truly exciting for us,” said Pete Fisher, Opry vice president and general manager. “For one, Old Crow has grown before our eyes from entertaining Opry-goers for free in the Opry Plaza a dozen years ago to rank today among the most respected and popular acts in music. The band leaves the audience wanting more every time it takes the Opry stage, or any stage."

“It’s also exciting that in many ways Old Crow looks and sounds a lot like some of the string bands of the 1920s which helped first propel the Opry to national prominence,” Fisher continued. “While recent Opry inductees and contemporary hit-makers such as Darius Rucker, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, and Dierks Bentley, will help shape the Opry in coming years, our future is also in excellent hands with this group which happens to be quite reminiscent of our musical past. It’s an awesome full circle.”

Old Crow Medicine Show got its’ start busking on street corners in New York state and up through Canada, winning audiences along the way with their boundless energy and spirit. The band eventually found themselves in Boone, North Carolina where they caught the attention of legendary folk icon Doc Watson who invited them to play at his Merlefest, helping to launch their career. Shortly after, the band relocated to Nashville for a residency at the Grand Ole Opry, where they entertained the crowd between shows.

Fifteen years later, the band has toured the world, sold over 800,000 albums, and performed at renowned festivals like Bonnaroo, Coachella, and The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. 2013 was a big year for Old Crow Medicine Show.

The band along with Mumford & Sons and Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, won the Grammy Award for "Best Long Form Music Video" for the film Big Easy Expresswhich was shot as they toured from California to New Orleans on a vintage train, playing shows along the way. In May, the band's classic single "Wagon Wheel" received the RIAA's Platinum certification for selling over 1,000,000 copies. On their newest ATO Records release, Carry Me Back, Old Crow continues to craft classic American roots music while pushing themselves in new directions.

Every year about this time, the awards for the previous year's artists come around. We have the International Bluegrass Music Awards, The Inspirational Country Music Awards, The Dove Awards, and a lot more. Everybody has their own awards. In a way, it is like music charts. Everybody wants one and they rarely agree. The same can be said for the various awards. While awards shows and charts are entertaining and everybody wants to see their favorites at the top, do these really reflect who's best? While they have a great entertainment value themselves, do they really mean what we think they do?

Who is the best? Well, that depends on who is doing the voting. Like charts, there are a limited number of voices dictating what we all love. Sometimes they get it right and often times they don't. Like all the individual fans out there, we all have our own ideas too, as we all hopefully have our own tastes. Every voter or station or label has their "favorite" which they promote as the best. That is human nature. What I like isn't necessarily what somebody else likes. That is a good thing! Without that, the music would become pretty boring.

So, what do these awards and charts tell us, if anything? Peer awards tell us what our peers believe to be the best. Fan awards are based only on the votes of those fans who participate. Radio charts are based on what the programmers or DJs play during a given period and sometimes by random sampling by agencies. Sales charts are based on what is selling at any given time provided they are scanned. So, these "winners" are a function of two critical elements: WHO is doing the voting and WHEN those votes are cast.

An album that is released early in the voting cycle, especially for charts, may be extremely popular during the early period and fade as we actually near the award voting cycle. A later album that hits the top of the charts and is still there during the voting cycle will probably have an unfair advantage. The first album may have been #1 on the charts for a few weeks back in January but not during August when award time voting comes around. So, we have very fluid sense of value of "best" when it comes time to vote for that all coveted trophy. Attitudes, sense of novelty and newness always come into play when it comes to voting.

In the case of the International Bluegrass Music Awards, these are awards voted on by the professional members of the International Bluegrass Music Association. These are not fan based votes nor are they sales or radio/media based votes. Basically, these are peer review votes and should be recognized within that context. The IBMA attempts to level the voting by bringing awareness to all the music during the year and even encourages the voting populace to visit the music again, if possible. They are actively doing everything they can to bring greater value to their voting process.

In the case of "who" is doing the voting, in the case of the IBMA, it is the professional members of the organization. The majority of these members have been the same voters for years. They have their own tastes, favorites and who they view as best. While there are always new members joining, we don't know if it is enough to weigh in on the votes to change the repetitive nature of the nominees. In order to make the nominee list more diverse, we need a greater diversity of voters. That isn't happening. As a result, we see mostly the same names year after year.

Like the Grammys, the IBMA awards have new material each year comprising of new songs and albums but the circle of artists really isn't that great to select from. Again, this is reflected in the nominee list. Recognizing that bluegrass is a small genre with a pretty tight following, the results are not too surprising. In the instrumental arena, the list of top pickers is also a small circle so, we expect to see the same names year after year. It isn't every year that a new super picker or vocalist hits the bluegrass world by storm. There have been some memorable times that this has happened. The SteelDrivers, Chris Thile, Alison Krauss, Cherryholmes, and others have made the break but, it certainly doesn't happen every year.

So, we have the annual awards by all kinds of organizations and all celebrate the new winners each year. But, looking back across the domain of decades, are we really seeing what these awards represent? Are some instrumentalists just so far ahead of the rest that there really isn't any competition or, are the voters just repeatedly flagging who they personally like and enjoy the most? Is this a popularity contest, political run or, do the awards really represent what most of us feel? There is no way to know without knowing how every person who listens to the music would vote. That is an impossible situation.

We accept the awards and the charts for what they are. We remain excited to see who comes out on top. We love it when the voters choices reflect our own values. We enjoy the anticipation when they open the mystery envelope. But, when it is all said and over, we return to a world of normalicy and just enjoy the music. The brief interruption was welcomed and enjoyed. Now, we return to our regularly scheduled listening.

Thanks for those who give us the change in our daily pace and present the awards. We enjoy them. But, we also must respect that they also represent a constrained view of the real world of music. A bigger thanks to everybody who contributes to the music -- they are all winners!