Greg McGrath

The HillBenders Release Self Titled Album

19 Nov, 18 by Greg McGrath Leave a Comment

The HillBenders are celebrating their 10 year anniversary as a band with the release of an eponymous new album and an anniversary tour. The Hillbenders is the follow-up to Missouri quintet’s critically acclaimed 2015 release, Tommy: A Bluegrass Opry, an acoustic interpretation of The Who’s legendary rock opera of the same name. Rolling Stone said the album turned “that pivotal moment in rock history upside down but still retained its stunning creative juice.”

Coming off of a high-profile album devoted to another band’s music, The HillBenders allows the band members to all contribute songs and vocals.

This album was a great chance for us to rekindle the love of our own music, track these tunes, and begin to look in new directions without regret.

There are many ups in downs in show business but with bandmates like these, great fans, and meaningful relationships, I feel lucky to be able to do what we do. Cheers to 10 more years of the HillBenders – – Jim Rea, The HillBenders.

After careful thought and some good fortune, the HillBenders were able to recruit Eric Uglum (Ralph Stanley, Alison Krauss, Sara Watkins, Rob Ickes) to produce The Hillbenders at his studio, New Wine Studios, in Apple Valley, California. Long nights of Chinese food and libations fuelled the sessions; all 11 tracks were cut live with the entire band, with the only overdubs being additional harmony vocals. As usual with this band, they all write and sing. The HillBenders also came across some interesting cover selections to help tell their story, pulling from the electro-pop world with a grassy version of MGMT’s Kids. There’s also a “co-write” with the late, great John Hartford that came from guitarist Rea, who crafted the music and melody to lyrics found in Hartford’s book, Word Movies.

“Another cover selection is a song given to us backstage at a festival by Randle Chowning, founder of The Ozark Mountain Daredevils,” Rea recounts. “‘Hey Boys’ speaks of a working man’s well-deserved night out with friends.”

The band also pays homage to a true country music icon from their Ozarks home, Johnny Mullins. Mullins wrote for Loretta Lynn, Emmylou Harris, Porter Wagoner and many others and his daughter, Melinda Mullins, continues his musical legacy. Chad “Gravy” Graves, the band’s dapper Dobro player, adopted the sing-a-long Don’t Look at Me from Johnny’s catalog.

Graves also introduces lap steel to the HillBenders’ sound on two of the songs, one of which is bassist Gary Rea’s tender ballad, Daisy Chain. Nolan Lawrence flexes his robust voice telling the story of a heist gone sour in the murderous tune, Wishing Well. Departing from the Scruggs-style banjo he’s known for, Mark Cassidy’s acoustic-indie track, Lost Your Way, builds from the softest whisper to an aural climax of strings and voice.
From the deepest roots in bluegrass as the 2010 National Single Microphone Champions to the far left of progressive acoustic music, The HillBenders have played the most elite stages in both the festival circuit and the performing arts world. High energy performances, a diverse catalog, and a slice of humour make way for what appears to be more of a brotherhood than a business, and each audience they play for becomes a part of that family.

The HillBenders is out today on Compass Records. Preview the Album here.

Track Listing:

1. Hey Boys
2. Go Away
3. Kids
4. Wrong Way
5. Don’t Look At Me
6. Lost Your Way

7. I’ve Got A Mind
8. Sod Buster
9. Wishing Well
10. Planes, Trains & Automobiles
11. Daisy Chain

Galyean & Cullen’s Bridge – Songs From The Blue Ridge

18 Nov, 18 by Greg McGrath Leave a Comment

Rebel Records has announced the release of Mickey Galyean & Cullen’s Bridge’s second Rebel recording, Songs From The Blue Ridge. Hot on the heels of their Rebel debut My Daddy’s Grass – which topped Bluegrass Unlimited’s National Survey Chart. Songs From The Blue Ridge gives every indication of being a radio/fan favourite.

The album has received high-praise from a number of publications including music blog Fervor Coulee, which calls Songs From The Blue Ridge “an intriguing, lasting bluegrass recording.”

Unapologetic bluegrass is what Mickey Galyean & Cullen’s Bridge deliver. Pounding rhythms, searing vocals, strong melodies and just the right mix of deft originals and ripened treasures; that’s the formula that works for this group. Emanating from the bluegrass heartland between Galax, Virginia, and Mt. Airy, North Carolina – Round Peak to “those in the know” – they are bearers of a tradition that has thrived there for generations.

Band leader Mickey Galyean grew up in bluegrass. His late father Cullen (hence the name, Cullen’s Bridge) was a lifelong picker. The band’s name is a perpetual tribute to him as well as a statement on its musical philosophy. Mickey is a strong singer who sports a driving rhythm guitar; he sets the tone for the band. Holding forth on banjo is Rick Pardue, a North Carolinian with a penchant for songwriting; he had the 2012 IBMA Song of the Year and is a past winner of the MerleFest/Chris Austin Songwriting Contest. Bass player Brad Hiatt sets the tempo the band’s performances; his instrument of choice once belonged to famed Flatt & Scruggs picker Cousin Jake Tullock. Billy Hawks adds soulful melodies with his flowing fiddle; he’s logged time with Doyle Lawson and Rebel artists Big Country Bluegrass and Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice.

The disc is evenly divided between band originals and bluegrass fare. Dixieland For Me first saw the light of day in the middle 1960s on a bluegrass album by George Jones and Melba Montgomery. The Country Gentlemen had recordings of The Convict and the Rose and Wear a Red Rose. Larry Sparks made popular Harold Russell’s These Old Prison Bars nearly 50 years ago. Of more recent vintage is Dudley Connell’s (Seldom Scene/ex-Johnson Mountain Boy) Too Late to Say Goodbye.

The pleading Now I’m Losing You was penned by Mickey, who also offers a thoughtful reworking to a song recorded in the 1960s by the Stanley Brothers, Drunkard’s Dream. Cullen Galyean’s The Blue Ridge Mountains is an autobiographical account of his life in the hills. Pardue takes a strong stand about the purity of his music with No Candy in My Bluegrass. Hawks’ Outback is an original fiddle tune that sounds like one you’ve heard all your life – it’s that good. Despite the pensive sound of its title, Hiatt’s She’s Gone is barn-burning up-tempo bluegrass. As with all good bluegrass albums, you need a gospel song; Pardue’s You Can Go to Heaven, complete with the assurance that “You don’t have to have a PhD… heaven is waiting for the ones who believe,” fills the bill.

Mickey Galyean & Cullen’s Bridge have produced an outstanding album that will delight young and old fans of mountain music alike.

Click here to stream, download or buy Songs From The Blue Ridge.

Track List:

1. Dixieland For Me
2. The Convict and the Rose
3. No Candy in My Bluegrass
4. Now I’m Losing You
5. Outback
6. Too Late to Say Goodbye

7. These Old Prison Bars
8. Wear a Red Rose
9. The Drunkard’s Dream
10. The Blue Ridge Mountains
11. She’s Gone
12. You Can Go to Heaven

For more information visit:

Tim Raybon and Daniel Grindstaff – Oh The Joy Of Christmas

17 Nov, 18 by Greg McGrath Leave a Comment

Combining the musical styles of the Father of Bluegrass with the Okie from Muskogee is an exciting proposition. Feeling that “Bluegrass and Traditional Country music is America’s music, the stories of the common man and the sounds of the mountains,” Tim Raybon and Daniel Grindstaff have formed the new band MerleMonroe. A new album is in the works for release in the spring of 2019. A preview of the group’s sound can be heard on the new Christmas release A Very Acoustic Christmas. Raybon penned the nostalgic Oh The Joy Of Christmas for the album.

With the goal of choosing songs that relate to everyday life and go “back to the country,” they, along with bandmates Jayd Raines and Josh Doss, hope to take your mind away from today’s current distractions on their new self-titled project for Pinecastle Records. They have worked extremely hard looking for and writing songs they feel will be different, yet still reflect their heroes’ music from years past.

Tim and Daniel first met in the mid 2000’s when Daniel was performing with Marty Raybon at IBMA Fan Fest. They had only a short time to rehearse before they performed their set, but Tim will always remember his first impression of Daniel: ”He was the best banjo player I had ever heard and an adamant professional.” Daniel recalls that since first hearing Tim Raybon, “I have held his vocal abilities as being one of the best-kept secrets in the music business.” From the beginning they held a common bond in their love of the Osborne Brothers, Jim and Jesse, and Bill Monroe; they hit it off and have remained friends ever since.

Tim Raybon has a natural vocal ability that has been described as “real” – so real that it needs no electronic masking of any sort. His musical trek began with his dad and brothers in the family band The American Bluegrass Express when Tim was only eleven. Based in Florida, the band met with great success throughout the South and afforded Tim the opportunity to sharpen his skills by playing festivals and concerts that were shared by some of the greatest legends in Bluegrass music. Tim will forever be grateful for the opportunity to have played with the likes of Bill Monroe, the McReynolds, and the Osbornes.

Tim’s talent would soon be recognized far beyond his Florida home as the lead singer for one of the hottest nightclubs in the country, The Barn. Tim fronted many shows that featured the premier acts in Country music. From there he moved on to Nashville and began a career as a demo singer singing newly written songs many of which would eventually become the latest hit for the biggest stars in Nashville. 1997 brought a musical reunion to Tim and his brother Marty that produced the certified gold hit “Butterfly Kisses.” That same year the Raybon Brothers were nominated for the CMA Duo of the Year.

Daniel Grindstaff, born and raised in Elizabethton, Tennessee, is considered to be among the elite of banjo players. Beginning his musical career at the age of 18, he played the Grand Ole Opry with Jim and Jesse McReynolds; by the time he was 21, he was also joining the Osborne brothers on stage. In the fall of 2006, Daniel was touring with Marty Raybon and remained a significant contributor to Raybon’s studio recordings and concerts for the next five years. “April’s Fool,” released in 2007, was a well-received studio album from Grindstaff that included a plethora of well-respected contributing musicians.

Supported by career experiences that range from various TV and festival appearances to studio recordings to the stage of the Opry, Daniel Grindstaff and Tim Raybon have teamed up to create one of the best sounds to emerge on the bluegrass and country scene in years as the band MerleMonroe. Watch for their self-titled recording, “Merle Monroe,” on Pinecastle Records.

615 Hideaway to Present Live Bluegrass Music Online

17 Nov, 18 by Greg McGrath Leave a Comment

Multi music genre Live Streaming show The 615 Hideaway is creating a new weekly Bluegrass Live Streaming show dedicated to Bluegrass music that will post on the RFD-TV and Bluegrass Live Facebook page which combined will garner over 600,000 likes. The show will debut in early January 2019 and The 615 Hideaway is now lining up bluegrass artists for the first quarter to appear on the new show, Bluegrass Fridays’ live streaming show.

Bluegrass Fridays falls on the music Industries official new release day of the week, Friday, and goes live on the artists’ Facebook page giving the artist a great place to showcase and premier new singles and albums.

For over 18 years I have been actively involved in bringing wonderful Bluegrass music to Bluegrass fans all over the world. It is only natural and right that we dedicate a new weekly show to Bluegrass Music from The 615 Hideaway. Bluegrass Fridays will be a great way for emerging artists and established artists to introduce new music and beloved fan favorites to their audience base and hundreds of thousands other highly targeted listeners – Sammy Passamano, 3 – President, The 615 Hideaway.

Below is a recent video on The 615 Hideaway from Bluegrass artist Eddie Sanders performing his hit song A Train Can Run Two Ways.

Online live streaming has become a tremendous vehicle to connect music performers with their core fan base in ways never before achieved. Live stream providers like The 615 Hideaway facilitate the elements needed by artists to perform live music online, talk to their fan base and engage in real time live chat conversations. Fans of the artists can request songs during the episode, as well as, ask questions about the artist’s music and other related topics.

Third generation music veteran, Sammy Passamano, 3 has been developing and creating the live stream platform since 2014 and aired the first live stream 615 Hideaway episode with American Idol star Alex Preston in early 2017. The 615 Hideaway produces approximately 2-3 live streaming shows per week ranging in a variety of formats including Pop, Country, Rock, Blues, Folk, Bluegrass, etc. Recent performers at The 615 Hideaway include Gretchen Wilson, John Berry, T.G. Shepard, Kelly Lang, Ken Mellons, Bradley Walker, Uncle Si, 2Steele Girls, Steve Gulley, Frank Foster, The Young Fables, Craig Wayne Boyd ….and Bluegrass Legends Mac Wiseman, Jesse McReynolds, Ronnie Reno.

Utilizing the artists’s Facebook page and our live stream partner RFD-TV’s facebook page the live stream viewership has reached over three quarters of a million views. In addition, each live stream, which is hosted on the facebook pages, is permanently posted so fans can go back and view the episode at any time, or watch the new episode at their convenience.

Weekly sponsors on The 615 Hideaway have included Durango Boots, Deering Banjos and D’Addario Strings. Sponsorship opportunities are available including 30 second and 60 second video ads, on-screen branding logo display and on-screen product display during the live stream.

Balsam Range – Aeonic

16 Nov, 18 by Greg McGrath Leave a Comment

In just over a decade, Balsam Range has collected armfuls of industry awards, held multiple months at the top of radio charts, recorded and performed with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra, and headlined an array of eclectic music festivals, all the while maintaining their identity and refining their craft to become one of the most vital artists in the roots genre.

On the heels of their second International Bluegrass Music Association Entertainer of the Year award, this eminent band continues to be a tour de force in Bluegrass with their album, Aeonic, to be released January 4, 2019 from Mountain Home Music Company. The album is now available for pre-order here and available for radio play through AirPlay Direct here.

With this music, Balsam Range continues to grow the magic that has mesmerized audiences and expanded their fandom — arresting songs full of humanity, dynamic performances graced with subtleties, and material that is both personal and profound. Music that would be powerful in any genre but is made all the more compelling through this Western North Carolina band’s acoustic music mastery.

The album kicks off with a song that has already spent weeks at the #1 spot in Bluegrass Radio, The Girl Who Invented the Wheel. With the lead vocal by Buddy Melton, 2-time IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year, it’s an out-of-the-box anecdote about a man left impressed albeit rejected by an independent woman: “I’ve been left before, this was a different deal / I think I just met the girl who invented the wheel.”

Several of the songs share a prevailing theme of searching for meaning. They may reveal where Balsam Range finds itself as an artist, evaluating the past, looking toward what’s next. Tumbleweed Town with lead vocal delivered by guitarist Caleb Smith, is a mid-tempo stroll through a town that lives inside a mind tortured with regret. The Rambler, with vocal rendered by mandolin player Darren Nicholson, is a dirge into the dark night of the soul, a story about life on the road and the road of life.

Get Me Gone, the most recent single from Aeonic, continues this theme of looking back, moving forward. It’s a catchy version of an otherwise sad story of love lost and soon to be forgotten. “Gone like whiskey gone like broke / Straight outta here like wind-blown smoke / Won’t you give me some light good Lord, and get me gone.”

Hobo Blues showcases instrumental minimalism in order to pull you into the sadness of the character. A Ray LaMontagne cover with lead vocal by Smith, it creates a quiet interval on the album that adds to its thoughtful effect.

Help Me To Hold On is a song about desperation, and it’s performed that way, with an arrangement that portrays a profound sincerity. Melton’s vocal range and controlled power result in a performance that highlights a singer at the top of his game and illustrates why he has been awarded as such.

Let My Life Be a Light harkens back to the foundation of this band. Driving traditional Bluegrass Gospel powered by the band’s most seasoned and awarded performer, Grammy-winning banjoist, Dr. Marc Pruett. Pruett’s perfect timing and syncopation here showcase why he has been so celebrated, performing with greats like Ricky Skaggs before bringing his prowess to Balsam Range. With lead singing from Smith, the chorus sounds off the rich 3-part harmonies of him, Melton, and Tim Surrett.

My Cross to Bear is a murder ballad, purposefully written from an ambiguous first-person perspective who is constantly tortured with the guilt of their crime.

Graveyard Blues continues on dark themes common to Bluegrass storytelling, illustrating the harshness of life in another era where hard labor, tragedy and death were commonplace.

Angel Too Soon challenges listeners’ hearts. A hauntingly beautiful performance matched with an equally haunting lyric about the death of a child, it is the hardest of subjects and surely meant to be cathartic.

Bookending the collection of songs on this album with uniqueness, Balsam Range shows yet another dimension of their talent with a cover of The Beatles’ If I Needed Someone. With lead vocal by IBMA Bass Player of the Year Tim Surrett, the song features Beatles-styled stacked harmonies, along with impeccable timing and instrumental wizardry, that are unlike any arrangement the band — or arguably anyone in Bluegrass — has attempted. The result is a look at how adept Balsam Range is at merging genres. Both styles become enriched by the influence of the other.

It has been said that great songs are timeless. But they also organise time into attractive human pieces while their lyrics manage their way into our hearts and minds with lasting meaning. Great music has no expiration date, it is Aeonic.

About Balsam Range:

The 2018 International Bluegrass Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year, Balsam Range, has become one of the genre’s most award-winning acts. Since forming in 2007, the group has garnered 13 IBMA awards on the heels of 8 critically acclaimed albums. Balsam Range has left audiences spellbound while headlining major festivals from coast-to-coast, selling out venues across the nation and in multiple appearances at the Grand Ole Opry. The band collaborated with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra Ensemble to record 2 albums, the second of which, Mountain Overture, debuted on the Billboard Bluegrass Chart at #5 and the Classical Crossover Chart at #6. Their previous outing, Mountain Voodoo, debuted at #4 on the Billboard Bluegrass Albums Chart and remained on that chart for 45 weeks. Three singles from that album reached #1 on the Bluegrass Today Chart, including Blue Collar Dreams, which spent three consecutive months at the top. The band most recently claimed the #1 radio chart spot with their single The Girl Who Invented The Wheel. In addition to winning Entertainer of the Year, Balsam Range vocalist Buddy Melton won IBMA’s Male Vocalist of the Year and bass player Tim Surrett won IBMA’s Bass Player of the Year in 2018.

Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen – If You Can’t Stand The Heat

16 Nov, 18 by Greg McGrath Leave a Comment

Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen are at the forefront of the current wave of artists defining what bluegrass means in the 21st century. Their new album If You Can’t Stand The Heat is set to release January 25th, 2019 on Compass Records.

Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen are true innovators with some of the best chops in the business and a band sound that is finely honed from years of touring. Lead vocalist and mandolinist Frank Solivan has a talent for finding songs that expand the parameters of the genre and, together with his band mates, brings the technical dexterity that makes their forays beyond traditional bluegrass so successful.

The band delivers its third and most impressive releaseIf You Can’t Stand The Heat on the heels of a Grammy nomination and multiple IBMA awards including 2016’s Instrumental Group of the Year.

The new 10-song collection, co-produced by Grammy-winning banjoist and Compass co-founder Alison Brown offers a vibrant mix of songs, from the traditional Lena featuring the mid-Atlantic bluegrass vocals of Danny Paisley and Dudley Connell to the neo-old-time Crooked Eye John, written by Cris Jacobs and featuring the inimitable fiddling of label mate Michael Cleveland to the compelling lead-off track Crave co-written by Frank and Becky Buller and showcasing the guitar prowess of Chris Luquette. Crave will have an exclusive radio premiere this Friday, November 16th at 11am EST on SiriusXM’s Bluegrass Junction. The band also delivers a compelling rendition of Steely Dan’s Rikki featuring the lead vocals of Jeremy Middleton, the catchy Be Sure written by Frank Solivan and the red-hot instrumental Crack of Noon penned by banjoist Mike Munford.

Taken as a whole, If You Can’t Stand The Heat is an album with legs and one that is bound to influence the future evolution of bluegrass music.

Track Listing:

1. Crave
2. Crooked Eyed John
3. My Own Way
4. Crack of Noon
5. Set in Stone

6. Lena
7. Wild Mustang
8. Rikki Don’t Lose That Number
9. Shiver
10. Be Sure

You can pre-order the new CD here.

Tour Dates 2018:

Nov 16 | Asheville, NC | Isis Music Hall w/ Lovers Leap
Nov 17 | Charlottesville, VA | The Prism Coffeehouse

Tour Dates 2019:

The Grascals – Heartbreak Hall of Fame

12 Nov, 18 by Greg McGrath Leave a Comment

Smooth but driving with a classic sound, Heartbreak Hall of Fame merges vintage Country with modern Bluegrass in just the right way, a combination the Grascals do so well. Written by Larry Joe Cox, Ray Edwards and Dicky Minor, it tells the story of unrequited love and a man whose suffering is endured through this bitter lament.

Lead vocals are performed by the band’s young, talked-about singer John Bryan with sterling Grascals harmonies by the recognised voice of Terry Eldredge and the resonant baritone of Terry Smith. Heartbreak Hall of Fame is the most recent single from this band’s upcoming release that follows the success of their 2017 release, Before Breakfast.

“Somewhere in the record books, There will be your name, and a list of all the hearts you broke while you played your cheatin’ game”

Take a listen to Heartbreak Hall of Fame.

About The Grascals:

Great musicians will always find a way to make good music, but for great musicians to make great music, they must form a bond – one that, more often than not, goes beyond the purely musical to the personal. For The Grascals, that bond has been forged at the intersection of personal friendships, shared professional resumes and an appreciation for the innovative mingling of bluegrass and country music that has been a hallmark of the Nashville scene for more than forty years.

Their cutting-edge modern bluegrass is delivered with a deep knowledge of, and admiration for, the work of the music’s founding fathers. Timely yet timeless, The Grascals make music that is entirely relevant to the here and now, yet immersed in traditional values of soul and musicianship. It’s a unique sound that has earned three Grammy® nominations and two Entertainer of the Year awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association, as well as national media attention that seems to perpetually elude acts entrenched in niche genres. Such appearances include The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Fox & Friends, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and CBS’ The Talk. All the while, stages that represent the strongest bastions of tradition continually welcome them, as evidenced by the over 150 performances on the Grand Ole Opry. Honours also include performing twice for President George W. Bush and at President Barack Obama’s inaugural ball at the Smithsonian.

As their records prove, The Grascals’ rare musical empathy gives them an unerring ear for just the right touch to illuminate each offering’s deepest spirit – whether they’re digging into one of their original songs or reworking a bluegrass classic or a pop standard. Take for instance, fan favorite, “Last Train to Clarksville.” Non-bluegrass listeners enjoy a new take on a familiar song, while diehard bluegrass audiences who may have never heard the Monkees classic, respond in-kind, not even realising that the song has been Grascalized.

Appalachian Road Show Barry Abernathy and Darrell Webb

12 Nov, 18 by Greg McGrath Leave a Comment

Barry Abernathy and Darrell Webb have teamed up for a new musical venture, called the Appalachian Road Show. The first album is has been released on Billy Blue Records.

Barry Abernathy was a founding member of the vocal and instrumental powerhouse band, Mountain Heart. The group or its members have won or been nominated for multiple Grammys, ACM, CMA, and IBMA Awards. Abernathy is also known for his contributions to both Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver and IIIrd Tyme Out. The most unlikely thing about Barry’s story is his having been born with just a thumb and part of an index finger on his left hand. Still, in addition to his truly great voice, Abernathy plays a blistering banjo. Because of his hand, he approaches the fingerboard from the top and does the fretting with his thumb and the end of his single-knuckled index finger. The Georgia-born Abernathy was named Banjo Player of the Year in 1997 by the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America (SPBGMA).

Darrell Webb is a Grammy nominated session musician as well as an International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) and SPBGMA award winner. The mandolin master with the soaring tenor previously headed up his own eponymous band and before that, worked with some of the top acts in acoustic music, including Lonesome River Band, J.D. Crowe & The New South, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, Wildfire, and Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper.

With Appalachian Road Show, Abernathy, Webb and their talented compadres (including fiddle beast, Jim VanCleve, and upright bassist, Todd Phillips) seek to honour the music, traditions and history of the great Appalachian people and region. Additionally, the group takes influences from other sources and applies that Appalachian style, as they’ve done with their first radio single, a grassy version of the Steve Miller Band’s “Dance, Dance, Dance.”

Gibson Brothers Go Country with Mockingbird

10 Nov, 18 by Greg McGrath Leave a Comment

Leigh and Eric Gibson step into what some might at first see as uncharted territory on their country-soul breakout Mockingbird, the new album produced by Grammy Award winners Dan Auerbach and Fergie Ferguson.

The celebrated bluegrass duo, The Gibson Brothers, have been named back-to-back Entertainers of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association in 2012 and 2013. They have played the Nashville game two decades ago, while in their early 20s, and were offered a major label deal, only to be told at the last-minute that they were too “retro” for modern country music. Today, such characterisations, along with their authenticity, set them apart and describes the Mockingbird.

The Gibson Brothers say Mockingbird, their 14th album, and has been some 20 years in the making, though all songs except the R.E.M. tune are new ones.

By ‘20 years in the making,’ we are referring to the fact that we made a country-sounding record nearly 20 years ago, but it never came out. We had a major label deal that fell through at the last minute, and it has always felt like unfinished business – Eric Gibson.

Fans can preview the new album here.

The Banjo Pilot by Barry R Willis

8 Nov, 18 by Greg McGrath Leave a Comment

The Banjo Pilot is the story of Duke Steel, a North Carolina bluegrass banjo player who played banjo with Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys in 1949. He then goes on to start his own band. After a personal tragedy involving a plane accident with his wife on board, he later joins a major airline as a pilot in 1958. After twenty years, he re-acquaints himself with the bluegrass community when his daughter brings him back into the world of bluegrass. He teaches a new band how to play the style of bluegrass he learned from Bill Monroe and helps them learn enough to possibly win the band contest. The next week he takes the entire band to an important festival in a private plane. He has another flying incident coming home.

The novel features extensive coverage of flying, bluegrass music and its pioneers, Christianity, tension and excitement, even a love story. This is for the bluegrass music newbie, as well as the veteran historian. It also features loads of excitement for the bush pilot as well as the airline pilot.