North County Bluegrass & Folk Club

/Planet Bluegrass/ -- After the sun has dipped below the Utah horizon and the alpenglow has faded from the summits of the San Juan Mountains, it's time to trade tarps for theaters, the promise of a glowing outdoor moon for the warmth of the Fly Me to the Moon, and maybe even hop a gondola for some music on the mountain. ...

The Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, IBMA Bluegrass Event of the Year, continues to draw fans from across the nation and even the world. Held on the Walsh Farm in Oak Hill, NY, the festival traditionally is one of America's best. This year, the stellar lineup that has been announced proves to be no different. It will be a great show. ...

Don Rigsby is proud to announce that he will be appearing on the historical Wheeling Jamboree this Saturday, April 17, 2010. Having recently celebrated its 77th Anniversary, The Wheeling Jamboree boasts as The World's Original Radio Jamboree and has launched the careers of some of the most iconic figures in country music history. The show will be live and on the air at 6:30 pm. Also scheduled to perform is Stacy Grubb. ...

Bristol VA/TN -- The Birthplace of Country Music Alliance proudly presents Blue Highway and the ETSU Bluegrass Pride Band, Saturday April 24, 2010 at The Paramount Center for the Arts in historic downtown Bristol TN/VA for a concert at 7:30pm. This show is sponsored by Alpha Natural Resources, Virginia Commission for the Arts, Tennessee Arts Commission, and the National Endowment for the Arts. ...

Bluegrass legend Curly Seckler suffered a mild heart attack on April 3 and underwent triple bypass surgery on April 5. His doctors said he was in very good shape for his age (90), and the prognosis is good. The surgery was successful, and Curly went home from the hospital on April 11. ...

Austin, TX -- After tearing it up in the Lone Star State and across the country for nearly two years, Austin's Stone River Boys will issue their recording bow Love on the Dial on June 1 on via Northampton, MA based Cow Island Music. The Texas-based quintet features the talents of two well-traveled roots music practitioners — guitarist Dave Gonzalez, formerly a driving force in the Hacienda Brothers and the Paladins, and vocalist Mike Barfield, "The Tyrant of Texas Funk" and onetime leader of the Hollisters. Together, Barfield and Gonzalez have fashioned a gutsy crossbreed of country and R&B they've labeled "country funk." ...

Los Angeles, CA -- The Concord Music Group today announced the acquisition of storied Massachusetts-based independent music label Rounder Records. Rounder, celebrating its 40th year as the world's leading American roots music label, is a major force in a broad range of musical genres including bluegrass, Americana, singer-songwriter, Cajun & Zydeco and children's music. Rounder possesses an extraordinary recorded catalog and current artist roster including bluegrass superstar Alison Krauss, singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter, banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck, actor/musician Steve Martin, jazz singer Madeleine Peyroux, the iconic Robert Plant, notable children's artist/activist Raffi and country legend Willie Nelson, to name just a few. The acquisition of Rounder and its essential collection of over 3,000 masters combined with Concord Music Group's rich catalog of more than 10,000 master recordings strengthens Concord's status as one of the world's most significant independent record companies, with a leadership position in multiple genres. ...

Junior Sisk made an important announcement regarding Junior Sisk & Rambler's Choice. He informed the bluegrass community of a new band lineup for this season. Junior said, "Just wanted everyone to know Darrell Wilkerson on banjo and Billy Hawks on fiddle have left the band. They were two of the best musicians as well as people I have ever worked with. Darrell and Billy want to take time off to be with their family. Both are new grandparents and I respect that very much as we are going to be away from home allot this year and I'm gonna miss my grandson too!" ...

Rural Rhythm Records is proud to announce today’s album release, Carolina Hurricane by bluegrass band, Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road. The group just announced two upcoming CD release parties: May 1 at the Garner Historic Auditorium, Garner, NC with special guest Dale Ann Bradley; and May 19 at the Six String Café in Raleigh, NC with special guest James King. More information including tickets can be found on the band’s website. ...

Darren Beachley and Legends of the Potomac have released their album, Take Off on Patuxent Music. WAMU's Katy Daley says, "In their first release, Takeoff, the Legends update old favorites like the Louvin's "You'll Never Forget," Hugh Moffatt's "How Could I Love Her" and Wendy Thatcher's "Miss You Mississippi" and present new material "Other Side of Lonely" and "Love You Don't Know" from songwriters Paula Breedlove & Brad Davis, and "Jenny," from Paula Breedlove & Rhonda Gunn." ...

Bobby Osborne will receive an honorary Associate Degree in Humane Letters for his bluegrass music contributions and his work as an adjunct faculty member at Hazard Community and Technical College, since the Kentucky School of Bluegrass and Traditional Music (KSBTM) opened. Osborne will be honored during May 15 graduation ceremonies at The Forum in Hazard at 10 a.m. ...

Sunday, May 2nd, 2010, at 3:00 p.m., the Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, Virginia, will present a concert of gospel music by the Jeanette Williams Band and Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. Admission to the concert is $20 for adults for all seating except floor seating which is $25, $3 for children 11 and under. All seats for this Springtime Gospel Celebration are reserved. This show will mark Doyle’s second appearance at the Carter Fold. Tickets are available at Morrell’s Music in Kingsport, Tennessee, or the Mountain Music Museum in Bristol, Virginia, in the Bristol Mall through Friday, April 30th, 2010. Tickets are available at the Carter Family Fold Saturdays from noon till closing. ...

Nate Grower grew up in Western New York. After hearing a gospel bluegrass band perform at his school, he endeavored to take up the fiddle, taking lessons from the band's fiddler Sarah Kosiorek. In his high school years Nate diversified his talents, taking c1assical lessons from Jennifer Mombrea. Shortly after moving to Delaware in 2006, Nate won first place in the fiddle contest in Westminster Maryland, where Nate met Patuxent Music producer Tom Mindte. It was that meeting that brought us this record. ...

Washington, DC -- SoundExchange, the non-profit performance rights organization appointed by Congress to pay digital royalties to recording artists and sound recording copyright holders, announced today that it has begun sending out checks in its largest-ever quarterly distribution. Indie labels have claimed the largest share to date of funds earned from digital music. A total of $51.7 million in royalties from digital transmissions, including Internet radio, satellite radio, and cable TV music channels, are on their way to recording artists and copyright holders. The unprecedented amount represents a 135% increase over first quarter payments last year, and surpasses the previous record distribution by nearly $10 million. ...

Shel Silverstein, as a writer, poet, and illustrator, has influenced generations upon generations of kids (and kids at heart) with his brilliant, witty, and touching turns of phrase. In Twistable, Turnable Man: A Musical Tribute to the Songs of Shel Silverstein, due out June 8, 2010, Sugar Hill Records shines a light on the lyrical genius's oft-overlooked catalog of classic country songs. ...

Nashville, TN -- The Messina Group/AEG Live and the Ryman Auditorium announced today that Alison Krauss and Big Kenny have joined the lineup for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Music Saves Mountains concert, presented by the Gibson Foundation and set for May 19 at 8 p.m. at Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium. The show will also feature artists Emmylou Harris, Dave Matthews, Patty Griffin, Buddy Miller, Patty Loveless, Kathy Mattea and special guests. ...

If you're looking for a vacation style festival this Father's Day weekend, head over to Mojave Narrows Regional Rark in Victorville, CA for Huck Finn's Jubilee., June 18, 19 and 20. There's pickin' parties, music and dance workshops, and more than 30 hours of bluegrass and country music. Rhonda Vincent and The Rage opens the Jubilee on Friday, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper headlines Saturday, and The Oak Ridge Boys perform on Father's Day. ...

/Randall Franks/ -- Consecutive Dove Award nominations highlight the Marksmen Quartet's latest two Rural Rhythm CDs. Their latest Blue Ridge Mountain Memories is up for Bluegrass Album of the Year sharing the category with Breaking Like Dawn, by Little Roy Lewis and Lizzy Long; I Have Been Blessed by The Far City Boys, I Just Want to Thank You LordL by Larry Sparks; Lord, Bless This House by Nothin' Fancy and The Isaacs...Naturally by The Isaacs. The previous CD God's Masterpiece was also nominated in 2008. ...

Nashville, TN -- Award-winning recording artist, songwriter, and virtuoso guitarist Steve Wariner returns to A Prairie Home Companion this Saturday, April 10, as it airs live from the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville at 5:00 p.m. CDT. The beloved show is heard by more than four million listeners each week on some 590 public radio stations, and abroad on America One and the Armed Forces Networks in Europe and the Far East. For more information on A Prairie Home Companion, including your local station to tune in for the live broadcast and re-airing on Sunday, please visit www.prairiehome.org. ...

Nashville, TN -- Like her counterparts Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette wrote and sang unflinchingly honest and autobiographical songs about suffering and heartbreak, strength and survival. Her powerful yet plaintive voice provided the soundtrack for a generation of American women struggling to reconcile new freedoms and traditional expectations, and her enduring body of work - including 20 #1 hits - continues to resonate with music fans worldwide. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will pay tribute to this indelible artist with the cameo exhibition Tammy Wynette: First Lady of Country Music, Presented by Great American Country Television Network, which opens in the Museum's East Gallery on August 20, 2010, and runs through June 2011. ...