News aggregator

Late last year we brought you news of Curly’s 90th birthday celebrations. Following on from his 90th, Curly has no plans to slow down. This year marks Curly Seckler’s 75th Anniversary in music.  He kicks off the celebration playing two concerts with Constant Change, and special guest Dudley Connell. Bluegrass legend Curly Seckler began his musical [...]

News just in from Rural Rhythm Records is that on Friday, 27th March, Bill Emerson will be honored with the very first Washington Monument Award, presented by the DC Bluegrass Union in recognition of this 50 year career in bluegrass music.  The following night, Saturday, 28th March, Bill Emerson & Sweet Dixie will hold their [...]

Once again Steve Martin has secured the award-winning bluegrass group the Steep Canyon Rangers to tour with him in support of his Grammy winning Rounder Records release, The Crow:  New Songs for the Five-String Banjo. The Banjo Tour will begin on 19th April in Detroit and is expected to continue into October, with performances scheduled [...]

Thinking of Going to Merlfest? The deadline for Early Bird ticket prices to MerleFest 2010, presented by Lowe’s, has been extended to Tuesday, April 6, at 5:00 p.m. EDT.  That is the last day to purchase 4-day and 3-day tickets at the Early Bird price, representing an average 10% discount. Ticket purchases can be made on the [...]

Rounder Records has released a series of excerpts from their 40th Anniversary video featuring Alison Krauss and Union Station. Each of the band members providing some insight on the band, their sound and the musicians. Check out the Rounder Records website for the selection of videos.

The Lonesome Road Review – Southern Bill Emerson has a more impressive bluegrass pedigree than most. A founding member of the Country Gentlemen, Emerson has packed on the years playing with Jimmy Martin’s Sunny Mountain Boys, co-leading an influential bluegrass band with Cliff Waldron, spending years fronting Country Current, and now appearing under his own name [...]

Gibson Learn & Master Guitar Application Play guitar? Got and iPhone? Gibson Guitars is known worldwide for producing classic models in every major style of fretted instrument, including acoustic and electric guitars, mandolins, and banjos. Now you can have Gibson on your iPhone with the Gibson Learn & Master Guitar App. Gibson has partnered with Legacy Learning Systems, [...]

Some good news for all you Bluestone Junction fans in Victoria, is that will be playing support for Uncle Earl at the East Brunswick Hotel, next Thursday, 11th March. Pete Fidler tells us that the show kicks off at 8.30pm and that Donal Baylor is coming down from the ACT to join them. They will be [...]

Laura Barton, UK Guardian, Interviews Mumford and Sons The pub is filling up: City boys in pinstriped suits, women clutching dry white wines; candles are lit on upstairs tables, voices rise to fill the room. In a back booth, far away from the clamour of the bar, four fastidiously attired young men nurse pints of ale. [...]

The Latest Edition of Capital News Hits The Newsagents Highlights from another news and feature packed issue of Australia’s country music monthly – Capital News. Produced by Rural Press in Australia’s Country Music Capital, Tamworth, Country Music Capital News is Australia’s longest running monthly Country Music magazine featuring news from all over Australia and from around the [...]

Gibson Contributing Editor Ellen Barnes talks to Randy Scruggs. Randy Scruggs grew up watching wide-eyed as his dad — legendary banjo player Earl Scruggs — took part in jam sessions at the family’s Nashville home with artists like Johnny Cash, Ravi Shankar and Linda Ronstadt. Besides his enviable vantage point, Randy also received personal tutelage from [...]

Rural Rhythm Records has announced the upcoming 23rd March, 2010 release of two CD’s from first generation bluegrass legends. Bluegrass 1963 by Reno & Smiley with special guests Carter and Ralph Stanley, and Bluegrass 1971 by Mac Wiseman with special guest, Lester Flatt & Chubby Wise. These are the first two album projects by a new [...]

Australia’s Hottest Young Bluegrass Group in Melbourne. Back from another successful US tour, Australia’s hottest Bluegrass group, the Davidson Brothers return to Melbourne for a rare performance. Originally from Gippsland, these National Bluegrass Champions recently won their 2nd Golden Guitar Award. Known for converting crowds with their high-energy performances on banjo, fiddle & mandolin; their music has [...]

Here’s an update from Donal Baylor’s fiddle workshop in Melbourne next month. Two space have become available due to a late cancellation.  If you are interested you can contact Sean Kenan on  Phone: (03) 9380 5643  or email: seankenan@hotmail.com. The workshop fee is $60. The workshop is at Fancy Yourself Fiddling located at 316 Park St., [...]

The Tony Rice Story  Released on 12th April. The long awaited release of the biography of one of bluegrass’s most revered guitar players, Tony Rice, is almost upon us. Industry news has the release  scheduled to co-inside with Merlfest on 12th April this year. Tony’s story is told in his own words and features memories and insights [...]

National Folk Festival  1st to 5th April 2010. There is a variety of bluegrass and old time music offerings at this years National Folk Festival. For five days, Exhibition Park in Canberra becomes a venue filled with colour and sound. Hundreds of the world’s best musicians perform each day on more than twenty stages, offering continuous entertainment [...]

From Virginia, USA, The Whitetop Mountaineers are returning to Australia this week for their third Australian tour. They are playing numerous festivals throughout their tour, including Port Fairy, Blue Mountains, Brunswick, Yackandandah, Apollo Bay and the National Folk Festival. For Sydney residents there is only one opportunity to see this world class act – at The [...]

Claire Lynch has announced the newest member of their band, Matt Wingate. Winning Merlefest’s Doc Watson Guitar Championship in 1997 at the age of 15, at a time when he was performing with his family band, Matt later honed his bluegrass chops performing across the U.S. and in Europe as Valerie Smith’s lead guitar player. He began [...]

The American Made Banjo Company has made us aware of a major new television documentary called The Banjo Project. It details the history of America’s quintessential musical instrument, tracing its 250 year path from its African roots to the present day. The documentary is written and produced by Marc Fields and narrated by Steve Martin. [...]

Last month we posted a story on Uncle Earl’s planned tour through New South Wales, ACT and Victoria. The girls from Uncle Earl have reminded us that they are currently on tour Downunder, and have provided a map with stick pins locating their various performance locations.  They are playing a variety of locations during this [...]