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Musings on folk, Americana, country, bluegrass and newgrass


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CANCELLED Classic Country Throwdown featuring Tracy Lawrence, Phil Vassar and Little Texas set for Booth Amphitheatre Oct. 4

From the good folks over at Cary, North Carolina’s Booth Amphitheatre, this event has been cancelled. If you have tickets contact the Box Office at www.boothamphitheatre.com.

The show announcements just keep coming with a Classic Country Throwdown at Cary’s Booth Amphitheatre on Thursday, Oct. 4, 2018. Continue reading


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Balsam Range, First Ladies of Bluegrass on a roll at 2018 IBMA Awards

If bluegrass music was a sport, the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA)’s annual awards night would be considered the industry’s All-Star game.

Held Thursday, Sept. 27, as part of IBMA’s 2018 annual weeklong business conference and Wide Open Bluegrass, the party celebrating the best in individual and band achievement for the year was hosted by Hot Rize, the first group to ever win the coveted entertainer of the year award. Continue reading


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Kristin Scott Benson of The Grascals only second woman to win Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass

Award-winning banjoist Kristin Scott Benson of The Grascals has won yet another award and this one comes with $50,000 and a piece of original artwork by Eric Fischl!

Benson is the 2018 recipient of the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass, Mountain Home Music Company announced on Monday, Sept. 24, which coincided with the kick off of the International Bluegrass Music Association’s annual Business Conference and World of Bluegrass event in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. Continue reading


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Women poised to dominate 2018 International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) awards

In 2017, Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard were inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Hall of Fame. With the exception of women who were part of a band, and usually a family band, ie. the famous Carter Family, who were inducted in 2001, only one other woman — Louise Scruggs in 2010 — has received solo recognition by the hall of fame organizers since 1991. And this week, songwriter Dixie Hall will be inducted as the fourth.

Let’s face it. Bluegrass has been a good old boys genre since Bill Monroe picked up a mandolin, Louise’s husband Earl Scruggs met Lester Flatt and the Stanley Brothers became the Clinch Mountain Boys. But as Bob Dylan once wrote, “the times they are a changin.'”

Fast forward to 2016, when Sierra Hull and Becky Buller became the first women to win Instrumental Performers of the Year awards for mandolin and fiddle, respectively. Hull came out on top in the same category in 2017, and Molly Tuttle, who appears poised to be among the next female superstars of bluegrass, won Instrumental Performer of the Year for her guitar picking prowess — the first woman to ever top that particular chart. Continue reading


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The Shindig returns to Clayton, N.C., on Nov. 3 featuring Scythian, Yarn

The Shindig, “Music For Your Beers,” returns Nov. 3, 2018, to Clayton, North Carolina. This event always features a great musical lineup and this year is no exception.

More than 25 craft beers will be available along with nine bands, including Scythian, Yarn, Jon Stickley Trio, Fireside Collective, Dangermuffin, and Forlorn Strangers, on two stages.

General admission is free and taster tickets to get beer samples in the VIP tent are available at www.theshindig.net.


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Fourth Groove in the Garden in downtown Raleigh, N.C., to feature Lydia Loveless, New Reveille on Sept. 22, 2018

The fourth annual Groove in the Garden music and arts festival returns on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018, to the Stephenson Amphitheater and Rose Garden, 301 Pogue St., in downtown Raleigh.
The 2018 Groove in the Garden lineup includes: Lydia Loveless, Loamlands, Pie Face Girls, Kate Rhudy, ZenSoFly, Tres Chicas, New Reveille, Reese McHenry, Blue Cactus, Emily Musolino, Kamara Thomas and Luxe Posh.
According to organizers, “The annual music and arts festival shines the spotlight on the incredible talent we have in North Carolina.”
Gates open at 1:30 p.m. music starts at 2:15. Tickets are $10 advance and $15 at the gate.

In addition to live music, local food trucks, vendors and more will all be on hand.  Beer and wine will be available for purchase. Suitable for all ages.

Find more information here: https://raleighlittletheatre.org/events/groove-in-the-garden-18/


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Annual ‘Shout & Shine: A Celebration of Diversity in Bluegrass’ kicks off IBMA on Monday, Sept. 24, at N.C. History Museum

From the good folks over at The Press House:
The third annual “Shout & Shine: A Celebration of Diversity in Bluegrass” will honor the connection and cross-pollination between blues, bluegrass, and their offshoots and will take place on Monday, Sept. 24, at 7 p.m. at the North Carolina Museum of History Daniels Auditorium, at the very beginning of IBMA’s World of Bluegrass events in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina.

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IBMA announces lineup for free Wide Open Bluegrass Streetfest on Sept. 28-29, 2018, in downtown Raleigh, N.C.

8iuiyBluegrass fans listen up: The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA)’s World of Bluegrass announced today an amazing lineup of more than 100 bands that will perform on seven stages set up throughout downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, and inside the Raleigh Convention Center on Sept. 25-29 as part of Wide Open Bluegrass StreetFest. Best of all for music lovers, all the performances are free!

There will also be a dance tent, local artisans, food trucks, youth performances, and the Master’s Workshop Stage inside Raleigh Convention Center.  And there’s always plenty of free jamming to stumble upon for your listening pleasure.

Among just a few of the acts I am looking forward to hearing are Cane Mill Road, Fireside Collective, Frank Solivan and the Dirty Kitchen, Darin and Brooke Aldridge, Alison Brown Band, Hank, Pattie and the Current, the Kruger Brothers, Zoe & Cloyd, Town Mountain, Balsam Range, Front Country, Love Canon, ShadowGrass, Jim Lauderdale, Tim O’Brien, Dori Freeman and Flatt Lonesome.

Who are you looking most forward to seeing?

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Women of bluegrass dominate nominations for International Bluegrass Music Awards in Raleigh, N.C, on Sept. 27

After Molly Tuttle’s impressive win at the 2017 International Bluegrass Music (IBMA) Awards as the first female IBMA guitarist, Becky Buller leads the field for the  2018 International Bluegrass Music Awards with eight nominations followed by Tuttle’s six. Close behind with five nominations each are Special Consensus, and The Del McCoury Band/The Travelin’ McCourys, with strong showings by Rhonda Vincent, The Earls of Leicester, Balsam Range, and Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. Results of the balloting will be revealed at the International Bluegrass Music Awards on Thursday, Sept. 27, at the Duke Energy Performing Arts Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.

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Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion 2018 celebrates 18 years with OCMS, Railroad Earth, The SteelDrivers, Annabelle’s Curse, and many more Sept. 21-23

Some 45,000 music lovers from all over the world will gather on State Street in historic Downtown Bristol, Tennessee-Virginia for the 18th annual Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion music festival on Sept. 21-23. The event honors the twin cities’ unique history as the place where the legendary 1927 Bristol Sessions were recorded.

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