australianbluegrass.com

News from the folk in Melbourne is that this year’s Australian International Music Show is scheduled for 2nd and 3rd October.

Three Halls of Music Gear
At AIMS 2010, you can see, touch, hear and play hundreds if not thousands of different instruments. With three halls of music gear, if you can’t find it here, they probably don’t make it.

Free Advice From the Experts
Many of the big brands are sending their product experts, so you can ask all your questions and get free advice from the people who use the gear day-in, day-out.

Performances
Expect to see world-class international and Australian artists on some of the stands and performances by some of the best musicians on the planet.

Workshops and Masterclasses
Get up close and personal with intimate masterclasses.

Thinking of Getting Started?
Always wanted to play, but haven’t known where to start? This is the place and the time! Coaching is by industry professionals who get you started and share some tips to help you keep going. It’s all about playing for fun. You won’t have to learn to read the dots before they’ll let you touch the instrument. No experience necessary.

This year’s event also features performances and workshops from Redd Volkaert whose resumé is impressive to say the least. His current gig includes lead guitar duties for Merle Haggard, Lucky Tomblin, Heybale and Brad Paisley. He won a Grammy in 2009 for best country instrumental performance and was a Grammy nominee in 2003.

Check out the Australian International Music Show website for all the details.

Sydney 14 – 15th August 2010.

Mark Simos will be conducting workshops in Sydney this coming weekend.

Mark Simos, songwriter, composer and tune-smith is respected as both innovator and neo-traditionalist, a ‘musician’s musician’ and a master at avoiding clichés in genres built on them. Drawing on deep knowledge of varied traditional music sources, Mark’s signature style combines finely crafted lyrics with surprising twists of melody, harmony and phrasing.

This is great opportunity for any bluegrass folks in Australia even though the class gives a broad spectrum of Music writing skills not focused on bluegrass. He displays his folk influences and it was very enjoyable all round – Lachlan Davidson.

Mark has had four songs recorded by Americana super-group Alison Krauss and Union Station, and more than 100 song and instrumental cuts overall with artists including Del McCoury, The Infamous Stringdusters, Laurie Lewis, and Doyle Lawson.

Mark is a remarkable songwriter, one of those rare people who knows what words sound good together, his lyrics just as unique as his melodies. I never stop being amazed at his songs; I’m never surprised that I love another one – Alison Krauss.

Also a respected guitar accompanist for traditional music and a prize-winning fiddler, Mark is featured on over a dozen albums and has appeared in concerts and at festivals throughout the US and Europe. Mark has released an acclaimed solo album of songs, Crazy Faith, and four albums of original and traditional fiddle music.

Mark is an artist who has spent enough time with traditional music to learn its spiritual as well as its musical lessons, and to use that learning to forge an art at once timeless and utterly contemporary – Fellow songwriter Bob Franke.

For more than three decades Mark has been staff musician, teacher and workshop leader at summer music and dance camps including Pinewoods, Ashokan, Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, Puget Sound Guitar Workshop (PSGW), California Coast Music Camp (CCMC), Summer Acoustic Music Week (SAMW), Augusta Old-Time Week, NewSongs Festival. As Assistant Professor in the Songwriting Department at Berklee College of Music, Mark has developed new curriculum in areas including guitar techniques for songwriters, songwriting collaboration, and traditional and contemporary fiddle ensembles.

Register here.

Recently news came through of Dierks Bently about to release a bluegrass album called Up on the Ridge. Guests on the album include the Del McCoury Band, Sam Bush, Tim O’Brien, Chris Thile, Alison Krauss, Miranda Lambert,and the Punch Brothers. Bentley teamed up with singer-songwriter-producer Jon Randall Stewart and award winning  engineer Gary Paczosa for the album.

More recently we hear of country music star Alan Jackson being inspired to name his new album, Freight Train, after a fast-paced bluegrass tune by Fred Eaglesmith that he heard on satellite radio.

Bean Blossom Memorial Brick Wall Project Unveiling

The Bean Blossom Jamboree Foundation has announced the Bean Blossom Memorial Brick Wall Project located at the Bill Monroe Music Park & Campground in Bean Blossom, Indiana.

In keeping with the goal of the Foundation, they are offering bricks for adoption to fans of the numerous Bean Blossom music festivals and the Father of Bluegrass Music, Bill Monroe. For those who are familiar with the area, the memorial wall will be located near the famous Bean Blossom sign at the fork in the road near the music stage.

The Foundation has already received huge interest in the Bean Blossom Brick Wall project during the planning time and feels like fans and patrons of the park could also purchase these as for birthday, Christmas, Anniversary or other gifts.

Known as the Mecca of Bluegrass, the Bill Monroe Music Park & Campground hosts the oldest, continuous running bluegrass festival in the world. The Bill Monroe Music Park & Campground hosts approximately eight music events throughout the year. Including this year’s 43rd Annual Bill Monroe Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival that was featured in the May 2009 issue of “Our Brown County” magazine. That one event included 50 performing bands, instrument workshops, a bluegrass camp for kids and much more.

Please visit the Bean Blossom website for more information.

Reports in the Australian Press today reveal Keith Urban and several other musicians have lost equipment in the recent Nashville floods.

Urban says the Nashville floods may have ruined his guitar collection and concert equipment, but that’s nothing compared with the devastation suffered by others.

Read the full story in The Australian

Recent flooding in Tennessee has brought havoc to the community, destroyed many houses and businesses and taken lives.  In Nashville flooding has also delivered a blow to the Grand Ole Opry which has had to relocate many scheduled performances to other venues around the Music City.

Damage from the flooding is estimated to be around $1 billion and rising. Damage to some buildings is still unknown until flood waters recede.

Cindy Baucom has advised that she has posted up some pics of this year’s Merlfest on her blog  - www.kneedeepinbluegrass.blogspot.com.

Cindy has a radio show called Knee Deep In Bluegrass and her own facebook site.

News from Apogee Electronics on their latest products, One and Gio.

One is Apogee’s USB-powered, premier microphone and audio interface, and GiO, a guitar interface and foot controller for the Mac. Both products aimed at recording musicians from beginner to pro.

Apogee GiO

GiO allows you to plug your guitar straight into your Mac, and provides foot pedal access to the presets, guitar amps and stomp effects in GarageBand, Logic and MainStage, while giving you hands-free recording with the full range of transport control.

Everything you need to know about GiO: apogeedigital.com

Apogee ONE

One is a pocket-sized microphone and interface featuring the award-winning sound quality that made Apogee famous with a single channel of legendary Apogee analog to digital conversion. It features a world-class instrument/mic preamp with optional phantom power, a built-in condenser microphone with Tuned Aperture Technology™ and works seamlessly with Apple’s GarageBand, Logic and MainStage

You can hear a presentation of ONEʼs capabilities with recordings from world-class musicians, all captured with ONE at apogeedigital.com