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The King James Boys – Time To Go Home

Critically-Acclaimed Group The King James Boys Release Time To Go Home via Pinecastle Records.

After kicking off the year with a SPBGMA nomination for Bluegrass Gospel Group of the Year,The King James Boys are carrying on that momentum with the release of their new album, Time To Go Home. Released via Pinecastle Records, the project serves as the follow-up to The Little End of Something Big, which spawned multiple hits on the Singing News Music Charts. Time To Go Home is available now, and fans can download or stream the collection here.

The King James Boys are thrilled to be working with Pinecastle Records for this newest project. We want to thank all the songwriters that contributed songs to this CD, we love them all. We hope and pray that this CD brings as much joy and encouragement to the listener as it has for us – Randy Spencer.

Since forming in 1994 with the sole purpose of performing at churches, the group has recently taken a different approach, bringing their invigorating Bluegrass music, combined with Southern Gospel harmonies to newer audiences nationwide. While on the road, The King James Boys perform and minister 90-100 days per year, while also opening shows for Bluegrass, Country and Gospel favorites like T. Graham Brown, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, IIIrd Tyme Out, The McKameys, the Lewis Family and more. They are also nominated for “Song of the Year” at the upcoming Diamond Awards, set to take place in scenic Pigeon Forge in October.

With the latest album, Time To Go Home, the band takes their sound to a whole new level, tackling 11 new songs which were recorded in South Carolina at Bonfire Studios. All influenced by their Gospel background, the project is fuelled by the lead single, Was Nots, which was released earlier this summer. To date, the track has stormed the Bluegrass Today Gospel Weekly Airplay Chart, reaching all the way to No. 2. In addition to the official video slated for release next week, Radio DJs are also raving about the song.

As a Bluegrass programmer, I’m always looking for great BG Gospel to have in the mix. As always, the King James Boys have not disappointed me! This record may just be my favorite from them so far! What a blessing – Joe Greene, WNCW.

Fans who want to catch The King James Boys in concert can stay up-to-date on the band’s future appearances by visiting their official website where they can also buy a physical copy of Time To Go Home.

Time To Go Home Track Listing:

1. The Master’s Standing By
2. He’s Holding On To Me
3. Was Nots
4. Signs Of The Times
5. Superwater
6. Time To Go Home

7. That’s Love
8. Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled
9. He’ll See You Through
10. He Arose
11. Children Of God

2018 IBMA Awards Announced

29 Sep, 18 by Greg McGrath Leave a Comment

The 2018 IBMAAwards have concluded and the winners are no doubt celebrating their achievements along with their band members, record companies and families.

Here are some of the awards from last night’s awards show:

Female Vocalist of the Year: Brooke Aldridge(her second win in this category, previously in 2017)

Male Vocalist of the Year: Buddy Melton (his second win in this category, previously in 2014)

Banjo Player of the Year: Ned Luberecki (his first win in this category)

Bass Player of the Year: Tim Surrett (his second win in this category, previously in 2015)

Dobro Player of the Year: Justin Moses(his first win in this category)

Fiddle Player of the Year: Michael Cleveland (his 11th win in this category, previously in 2015)

Guitar Player of the Year: Molly Tuttle (her second win in this category, previously in 2017)

Mandolin Player of the Year: Sierra Hull (her third win in this category, previously 2016 and 2017)

For a full list of IBMA Awards visit our 2018 IBMA Awards Page.

Steve Martin Banjo Prize Goes to Kristin Scott Benson

27 Sep, 18 by Greg McGrath Leave a Comment

Kristin Scott Benson, of the Grascals, is the 2018 recipient of the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass. The award was founded by actor, comedian, and musician, Steve Martin, and is meant to bring national attention to those who are masters of the banjo. Funded by the Steve Martin Charitable Foundation, the award includes a $50,000 cash prize and an original sculpture from Eric Fischl.

Kristin Scott Benson is a veteran banjo player from South Carolina. She is a four-time International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Banjo Player of the Year, a five-time Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America (SPBGMA) Banjo Player of the Year, and is celebrating ten years as a member of the Grammy-nominated bluegrass band, The Grascals. A graduate of Nashville’s Belmont University, Benson has previously performed with Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time, The Larry Stephenson Band, Petticoat Junction and more.

For over a decade, Kristin has remained one of bluegrass music’s premier banjo players, quickly tossing the ill-advised “pretty good for a girl” caveat aside.

There was one grass ceiling no woman could cut through, until Kristin Scott Benson came along, that is. Almost two years ago, she joined The Grascals. Not to front the band, not to sing, not to be eye candy, but instead to drive the group with her five-string banjo. Until then, no woman had ever been hired to play one of the most defining of the bluegrass instruments in an A-list, festival-headlining, all-male band….It’s a high-profile gig, as Kristin takes the banjo where no woman has taken it before – Larry Nager Bluegrass Unlimited.

A banjo hero to pickers male and female alike, Kristin is known above all as a hard-working, generous, humble and kind human being, whose love for the banjo is only topped by her love for people. She resides in South Carolina with her husband, Wayne, and their son, Hogan.

My family and I are overwhelmed with gratefulness! Getting to know my banjo heroes, many of whom are on the board, is prize enough, but Steve Martin’s graciousness is a huge blessing. We don’t know how to adequately say thank you for something like this – Kristin Scott Benson.

2018 has already been an exciting year for Benson. She served as an instructor Kristin seeks to win her fifth Banjo Player of the Year award from the International Bluegrass Music Association this Thursday, September 27th during the International Bluegrass Music Awards Show in Raleigh, North Carolina. She and The Grascals are also nominated for Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year for their tune, Lynchburg Chicken Run.

The Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass is voted on by a panel of experts in the field, which includes banjo masters J.D. Crowe, Bela Fleck, Tony Trischka, Noam Pikelny, and Steve Martin, among others.

Learn more about Kristin Scott Benson at www.ksbbanjo.com. More information about the Grascals can be found at www.grascals.com.

San Deigo Bluegrass Documentary by Rick Bowman

27 Sep, 18 by Greg McGrath Leave a Comment

Here is news of a documentary filmmaker named Rick Bowman of Backyard Green Films who has completed as new project on the history of bluegrass music in San Diego, California.

In the early 1960’s the “folk music revival” had a very large impact on bluegrass music across the USA including San Diego, California. There a group of young men from different backgrounds gathered to make this traditional music.

Banjos, Bluegrass & Squirrel Barkers, looks specifically at the San Diego, CA bluegrass scene, from its inception in the 1960s on to the present day. This significant work takes a look at a number of prominent artists who got their start there including Chris Hillman, Alison Brown, Ron Block, and Stuart Duncan, plus the grand-daddies of the San Diego set, The Scottsville Squirrel Barkers. That was the group that helped propel the careers of Hillman, along with Bernie Leadon of The Eagles and Kenny Wertz of Country Gazette.

This film is an amazing and nostalgic look at the history of a region that inspired, nurtured and delivered so many great bluegrass musicians that are household names today.

The film is now available on iTunes and Amazon, entitled Banjos, Bluegrass and Squirrel Barkers. The film was accepted into 8 film festivals this past year, screening in London, Wales, Canada, Los Angeles, Miami and New York winning 3 awards.

Missy Raines – Royal Traveller

22 Sep, 18 by Greg McGrath Leave a Comment

With her new studio album, Royal Traveller, award-winning bassist Missy Raines comes into her own as a vocalist and songwriter on a collection of songs that reflect the vast scope of her musical vision.

The album’s title track is a nod to Missy’s many years of dedication to her craft and the challenges she’s encountered pursuing an itinerant musician’s life. Co-written with Ed Snodderly, the idea for the song came to Raines as she was driving alone through a snowstorm. She reached for her trusty travel tote, a vintage makeup case with the words Royal Traveller engraved on the handle, and felt the power — and irony — of those words speaking directly to her. Over the years and miles, Raines has become a true icon in bluegrass music. But her solo projects have found her exploring other musical avenues, delving into indie folk, jam grass and jazz-leaning material. With Royal Traveller, Raines corrals these influences into a project that illustrates the full range of her musicality.

The album’s first single, Swept Away, is a neo-bluegrass affair written by Laurie Lewis that features the “First Ladies of Bluegrass” – Missy, Molly Tuttle, Sierra Hull, Becky Buller, and the album’s producer, Alison Brown. All four women were the first in the history of the International Bluegrass Music Association to win “Instrumentalist of the Year” awards on their respective instruments.

Other stand-out tracks include a cover of Bonnie Raitt’s song Fearless Love featuring Tim O’Brien on lead and harmony vocals and the legendary Dan Dugmore on lap steel, and Goodbye Virginia penned by Missy’s occasional tour mate Robbie Fulks, which features lead and harmony vocals from The Steel Wheels’ Trent Wagler. The iconic bassist’s instrumental chops are highlighted on the album’s sole instrumental track, a re-working of the classic Flatt and Scruggs-era bass and banjo duet, Little Darlin, Pal of Mine featuring fellow upright bass legends Todd Phillips and Mike Bub. Other guests on the album include Claire Lynch, Amy Ray (Indigo Girls), 10 String Symphony, Stuart Duncan, Ethan Ballinger, Bryan McDowell and many more.

Swept Away also earned two IBMA Award nominations for “Recorded Event of the Year” and “Song of the Year.” The awards take place in Raleigh, NC on September 27th, 2018.

Bluegrass Parkway to Play Kiwigrass

1 Sep, 18 by Greg McGrath Leave a Comment

Bluegrass Parkway will be appearing at Kiwigrass in February. Now in their 30th year, Bluegrass Parkway are the longest continuously performing bluegrass band in Australia. They have played at dozens of folk and country music festivals throughout Australia, New Zealand and the United States. The band has been past favourites on the Australian-based Bluegrass Cruise.

Bluegrass Parkway band members place a great deal of importance on presenting Bluegrass music authentically; performing around a single on-stage microphone. Indeed this was the norm for the pioneers of the genre during the 1940s.

Band members are frequent presenters of harmony workshops, as their skill in this area is beyond compare, and each band member is a skilled harmony singer and teacher. The Band features Paul Duff on mandolin, Maria Duff on bass, Wayne Perry on guitar, Mick O’Neill on banjo and Donal Baylor on fiddle.

New Town Releases New Album – Old World

24 Aug, 18 by Greg McGrath Leave a Comment

After the release of two successful singles — Naomi Wise, and Heart of Stone — Lexington, Kentucky progressive acoustic outfit NewTown releases their full album, Old World, August 17 on Mountain Home.

The new album is produced by Barry Bales of Alison Krauss and Union Station. NewTown’s Old World is a selection of material that shows how this band is transforming and rejuvenating traditional Southern music for the modern age. It’s a skilled blending of the conventional and the current.

The music is made dynamic by the shared vocals of Kati Penn Williams and husband Jr. Williams each of whom chose material for the release. Kati’s haunting lead vocals on the majority of the tracks are of the same ilk as Krauss,’ as she embodies the style of the modern female Bluegrass lead that is more an update to the genre than a sheer departure.

With songs like Heart of Stone and Long Hard Road from acclaimed Roots/Country/Americana songwriter Tyler Childers, the material of Old World makes a statement about the band’s urgency to push boundaries beyond the expected conventions of Bluegrass.

Upbeat songs like Evangeline and Laura Lee showcase Jr. Williams’ powerful blues-tinged lead and The Harvest, also written by Childers, is delivered low, growly, lonesome and desperate in the most effective way.

Sharing the lead vocal work on Naomi Wise, the two capture the heart of the album with its lean on current material that harkens back to British Isles music where the roots genre finds its undeniable origins.

With their band, ace mandolin player Mitchell Cannon and bass aficionado Travis Anderson, Kati and Jr. are joined on vocals by each of the members and masterfully perform on fiddle and banjo/guitar. Acclaimed guitarist Aaron Ramsey also plays on the album.

About NewTown:

Fronted by award-winning vocalist/fiddler Kati Penn Williams and her singer/banjo-picker husband, Jr. Williams, NewTown is one of the most exciting acts in contemporary Bluegrass. Formed in 2009, the Lexington, Kentucky-based group features first-rate vocal and instrumental work of musicians who combine individual virtuosity with a background of formal training.

While Kati’s singing brings to mind Dale Ann Bradley, Alison Krauss or Lee Ann Womack, her voice is all her own, with a power that challenges the band to keep up with her and a passionate subtlety that breathes emotion into the quietest passages. Meanwhile, Jr. has the similar vocal phrasing of Chris Stapleton with a more “rough around the edges” Dan Tyminski, or maybe a grittier version of Larry Sparks.

They are joined by mandolinist Mitchell Cannon and bassist/vocalist Travis Anderson who have college backgrounds in music and collective decades of performing experience. NewTown has gained a strong following by playing at festivals throughout the U.S., sharing bills with such acts as Lonesome River Band, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage and Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver.

The ensemble has also opened shows for the John Cowan Band, whose namesake leader says, “Bands like NewTown are not by any means common; they’re not made every day. It takes sweat equity, passion, patience and vision.”

The 17th Dorrigo Folk and Bluegrass Festival

23 Aug, 18 by Greg McGrath Leave a Comment

Doing what Dorrigo does best.

Dorrigo Festival – 26^th 27^th and 28th October 2018.

Organisers are well on the way to finalising yet another wonderful weekend of acoustic music, concerts, workshops, jamming, dancing and more. Sourcing some of the finest musicians to contribute to the overall feel of the festival, whilst keeping the familiarity of what folks have come to expect is what we do best at Dorrigo.

It’s a family festival with something for everyone and participation from all ages is encouraged.

The line-up this year includes Folk, Bluegrass and Old-Time artists from around Australia and overseas. This year also sees the second Old Time Music School, taking place from October 24 and offering three days of learning and playing alongside award-winning old-time musicians. This year, Bryant and Brown will present old-time music traditions from North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, West Virginia and other Southern states, reflecting their depth of experience. Ashlee Watkins, Andrew Small, Hoot and Holler, Mike Compton and the Blueridge Broadcasters will also be presenting workshops during the school.

Also taking the stage is multi award-winning Bluegrass powerhouse Jeff Scroggins and Colorado. Now based in Nashville, they have perfected a blend of deep tradition whilst also trailblazing progressive influences. The line-up continues with South Australia’s premier Bluegrass band Bluegrass Junction which includes SA royalty Trev Warner, Nick Cawthorne, the Bridgeland brothers and Stephen Loss; mandolin players Mike Compton and John Reischman and Eli West; and from Scotland the energetic Dosca. Hear the superb guitar skills of Guy Ghouse together with the Bulladong songbird, Australia’s Gina Williams, will leave you breathless.

This year’s talent is endless with Luke Plumb and The Circuit, Georgia State Line, Liam Gerner with Luke Moller, John Flanagan Trio, Rhodeworks (NZ), Willing Ponies, The String Contingent, Lucy Wise, The Knott Family Band, Cat and Clint, The Blueridge Broadcasters and Anna Smyrk who are all just a taste of what to expect. The full line-up is on the website as well as links to ticket sales for the festival and the Old Time School. The program is fabulous and there will be plenty of workshops and favourite Old Time Dance and Ceilidh. Find all the information you need at the Dorrigo Festival Website and plan a visit to Dorrigo in Springtime and experience a little Bluegrass and Old-Time music Heaven.

Bluegrass Junction to Play Emily’s Bistro, Quorn.

16 Aug, 18 by Greg McGrath Leave a Comment

One of Australia’s best bluegrass bands Bluegrass Junction will be performing in Quorn South Australia at the famous Emilys’ Bistro, next month.

Sat Sept 8th 6:00pm start
Tickets $40 includes spit lamb roast dinner.
Book early as tickets are limited
Ring Sally at Emilys’ Bistro ph 86486940 Email: admin@greatnorthernlodge.com.au

Bluegrass Junction formed in 1997, and has a focus on the traditional old-time country music that pre-dates bluegrass music.

This will be a feature of the 2018 Quorn Bluegrass Jam Camp held from 7th to 9th September. Anyone wanting to join the jam camp and learn how to play and sing in a group using no music are welcome.

For more details contact: Sue Tulloch on 08 86486117 or visit the Jam Camps Australia website.

Bluegrass Music Now Eligible in TSA Competition

16 Aug, 18 by Greg McGrath Leave a Comment

We have just been advised that the Tamworth Songwriters Association songwriting competition is now open for entries and will close on 7th October 2018.

This year organisers have restructured the various categories and given Bluegrass Music its own section. It no longer matters whether songs entered in the competition have been released or not all are eligible.

Visit www.songcentral.net.au/tsa for more information and to enter.

Lyrics Only- open section
Traditional – Bev Daniel Commemorative Award- open section
Bluegrass – open section
Gospel/Spiritual – open section
Country Rock – open section
Country Ballad – open section
Country Blues -open section
Alt. Country – open section
Novice – only unreleased material from a writer/team of which all the members have never won a songwriting contest and are not released/published writers.

ANZAC – open section
Youth – John P Toomey Commemorative Award for under 18 entrants. U18 as at close of competition date.
Comedy/Novelty- The Geoff Mack Commemorative Award – open section
APRA AMCOS/ TSA New Songwriter of the Year- date restricted for first ever commercial release.
Country Song of The Year of the YEAR – No entries are received for this section. The winner is selected from any section by a panel appointed by the TSA.

Also TSA newsletter is on the TSA website www.tsaonline.com.au.
Any questions on anything email tamsongwriters@gmail.com.