Sadly we learn that South Australian musician John Munro has passed away last week. John was leading figure across the Australian folk music scene for some 40 years. During this time he has worked with Eric Bogle, Colcannon, Gordon McIntyre and Kate Delaney and Denis and Lynne Tracy. Bluegrass fans will remember him in the 70’s and 80 playing in a band called Country Express and the Skillet Lickers.
John Campbell Munro was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1947 and emigrated to Adelaide, Australia in 1965.
In 1990 John wrote a series of 12 songs depicting the events leading up to and culminating in the battle at the Eureka Stockade. The Eureka Suite has been performed all over Australia including at the site of the stockade itself. In 1992 he composed a similar set of musical pieces on the life of Australian bushranger Ned Kelly. This piece has also proved popular in Australia and New Zealand.
John has written many fine songs over the last 12 years such as The Ballad of Charles Devonport, The Border, Listen to the Old Ones and Spirit of the Land and his material has been recorded by artists in Canada, the UK and Australia. He has worked with the Australian band Colcannon [1] and more recently formed a trio with former Colcannon members Mike O’Callaghan and Pete Titchener.
IBMA – the International Bluegrass Music Association – is the nonprofit professional organization for the global bluegrass music community. The organization’s six-year run in Raleigh is the product of their successful partnership with The Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau, The Raleigh Convention Center, PineCone—The Piedmont Council of Traditional Music, the City of Raleigh and a local organizing committee.
Troublesome Hollow Goes Back to ‘Old School’ with New Album
Rising Bluegrass and Americana group Nu-Blu has released their latest single, Gypsies on Parade. The song serves as the band’s debut release to Grassicana radio. The award-winning group partnered with Cowboys & Indians to unveil the official video for the track. The publication is well-known for spotlighting and featuring top entertainers in multiple fields such as Willie Nelson, Matthew McConaughey, Clint Eastwood, and more. Cowboys & Indians describes Nu-Blu as blending their Southern roots into heartfelt all-American music.
MerleFest kicked off its 31st annual homecoming of musicians and music fans with an all-star lineup this week.
Pinecastle Records is releasing a new music video of The Clay Hess Band’s first single for the label Cold and Lonely. The video was filmed and produced by Bonfire Recording Studio. The single is the first to be released from the band’s upcoming album, Just Another Story.
Peter Rowan was just a young bluegrass boy when he caught the attention of Bill Monroe, who made him an actual Blue Grass Boy in 1963, or maybe ’64. Rowan isn’t certain exactly when he became the band’s guitarist and lead singer, but the moment Monroe introduced him to fellow icon Carter Stanley is etched in his memory just as indelibly as the inked entry in his 1966 diary. Within a few months, Stanley would be gone, but the impact he and his brother, Ralph, had on Rowan – and the world – would grow even stronger. He acknowledges their influence, and finally gives the story of that meeting a definitive telling, with his new Rebel Records album, Carter Stanley’s Eyes.
Singer, bassist and songwriter Ray Cardwell’s has released a new single Time to Drive which is now at #1 on Bluegrass Today’s Grassicana Chart for the second week running. A music video for the song is also released today as the song continues its run on the charts. The video was shot driving around the foothills of Western North Carolina by Bonfire Studio’s video production team.