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Merle Monroe

Merle Monroe – Back To The Country

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Merle MonroeThe newly formed Bluegrass band Merle Monroe has announced the release of their debut project, Back To The Country. It will be available from 21st June. Back To The Country will be released via Pinecastle Records.

Merle Monroe was created by members Tim Raybon and Daniel Grindstaff. On the 12-song collection, the dynamic group show exactly why Country legend Merle Haggard and Bluegrass icon Bill Monroe are the inspirations behind both their band name and signature sound.

Fans can pre-order the new project here, where they’ll also be able to download and stream the lead single, This Town now.

American Music- the Carter Family, Bill Monroe, the Osborne Brothers, Jim and Jesse, Merle Haggard, Roger Miller, Flatt & Scruggs, and many others. The sounds of the great pioneers was our inspiration to record this album and form this band. Respectfully, we do our part to create something new, yet reflective of our hero’s influences and carry the torch with every song we write and sing” – Tim Raybon & Daniel Grindstaff.

The first single from Back To The Country is This Town. The upbeat track is a remake of classic Country artist Roger Miller’s song recorded for the 1965 album, The 3rd Time Around. Merle Monroe brings a new and invigorating sound, showcasing both Tim and Daniel’s hard-driving Bluegrass style. From start to finish the group trades notes and harmonies, giving genre enthusiasts a taste of what’s to come on the full LP. With years of experience, Daniel’s frequent performances at the legendary Grand Ole Opry serves as the guiding inspiration behind This Town. The song and video made its premiere earlier today on Vents Magazine.

Back To The Country consists of 12 tracks, including a combination of covers, along with all-new music written by the band. Band member Tim is no stranger to success, having previously released a Gold-certified single in the 90s of Butterfly Kisses. One standout song on the project is the first track, Movin’ On, a chart-topper previously released by Merle Haggard. Another key moment occurs on the feel-good Tim Raybon written Singing Crazy (Like Patsy Cline), which drops a line about the late great Patsy Cline. Perhaps the most heartfelt song is Dad, written by Skip Ewing. As a special treat for fans, the track will be officially available ahead of the album’s release, before the Father’s Day weekend.

Merle Monroe is pushing their promotional efforts into high gear as the album approaches. They will appear at The Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol, Tenn. on Saturday, April 27, where they will premiere new music. On May 8, Nashville fans will be able to attend a very special album release show at The Station Inn. During the event, concert attendees will hear new music performed for the very first time. With the recent addition of Derek Deakins to the band (worked with Blake Shelton and the Osborne Brothers for five and three years respectively), Merle Monroe is more determined than ever to make 2019 their breakout year. To celebrate, they will also appear on the legendary WSM’s All Nighter With Marcia Campbell. Fans can listen in locally on 650-AM (broadcasting from Nashville to 38 states, plus part of Canada), or stream online at wsmonline.com.

To learn more on all things Merle Monroe visit the group’s official website.

Back To The Country Track Listing:

1. Movin’ On
2. Back Where It’s At
3. Whippoorwill
4. Beautiful Kentucky
5. Blessed City
6. Hungry Eyes		 7. Singing Crazy (Like Patsy Cline)
8. Dad
9. I’ll Follow You1
0. He Will Roll You Over The Tide
11. The Kindest Man
12. This Town

Merle MonroeAbout Merle Monroe:

Pinecastle Recording artists Merle Monroe is a band created by musicians Tim Raybon and Daniel Grindstaff. Basing their sound from collective experiences as professionals in the music business, which essentially is a mix of vocally centered, hard-driving Bluegrass, all along tearing at listeners’ heartstrings like a Merle Haggard style ballad. Merle Monroe believes Bluegrass, Gospel and traditional Country music are America’s music, the stories of the common man and the sounds of the mountains. Adding the superb talents of Jayd Raines, Josh Doss and Derek Deakins, the goal is to choose songs that relate to everyday life and go Back To The Country, be that with heartfelt vocals, a ballad, a hard-driving banjo, or an upbeat song that takes your mind away from today’s current distractions.

Tim Raybon and Daniel Grindstaff – Oh The Joy Of Christmas

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Joy of Christmas 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.