Volume Five at Mountain View Bluegrass Festival

When we were at the Mountain View Bluegrass Festival a couple of weeks ago, we got to play before and after some amazing bands. Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, of course, gave a demonstration of the perfect gospel night performance. IIIrd Tyme Out and Grasstowne were just as phenomenal live as on their recordings (the cool thing about IIIrd Tyme Out's last show was that people would start clapping during the intro or after Russell Moore sang the first few words because they knew the songs).

But the band that really caught our attention was Volume Five. They're relatively unknown (not as unknown as The Hartley Family but when compared to DL&Q or IIIrd Tyme Out . . .), so the high quality of their music came as a surprise.

Even though IIIrd Tyme Out was my favorite band, partly because I've loved them for a long time, I felt that Volume Five had the best song choices for their sets. They told stories in their songs--stories that actually felt like they mattered. I have their CD, Children of the Mountains, and I keep listening to one song in particular over and over. (I've listened to the whole CD over and over, but this one gets repeated more than the others.) It's "The Rabbit Song," which tells the story of a man who's growing older in perhaps the most touching and gracious manner I've ever heard. The lyrics are perfect, never overdone or underdone, and Glen Harrell sings them with an equally sensitive touch.

This post turned into part festival review, part CD review, part band review! In conclusion . . . go see Volume Five or buy one of their CDs! Go to www.volumefivebg.com to listen to their music.

January 2011 bluegrass festivals

I couldn't find many upcoming festivals for this month, but here's a list of the ones I did find!

7-9: River City Bluegrass Festival Portland, OR

14-16: Blythe Bluegrass Festival Blythe, CA

21-23: Florence Winter Folk Festival; Florence, OR

22: Bluegrass in the Park; Yuma, AZ

28-30: Winter Village Bluegrass Festival; Ithaca, NY

Also, I've found another festival finder, now that my previous sources seem to have dried out. Here's a link: Festival Finder.

If You Like Blue Highway . . .

Happy Thanksgiving! This is the next installment in my series of matching bands with listeners!

If you like the band Blue Highway, one of the so-called supergroups of bluegrass, you might also enjoy music by the following bands:

1) The Chapmans (This band of brothers, their father, and an extra fiddle player is making bluegrass sound like something from fifty years ago that just got polished to a high shine and moved up the block.)

2) Dailey and Vincent (This duo of "brothers from different mothers"--and different fathers!--and their supporting band members are as accomplished and focused as Blue Highway, if slightly more traditional-sounding. They have been a favorite at the IBMA awards show, scooping up half [well, it seemed like half!] the available awards already in the past couple of years. Jamie Dailey is former lead singer for Doyle Lawson; Darrin Vincent backed up Ricky Skaggs for years and co-produces much of his sister Rhonda's music.)

3) Infamous Stringdusters (Their CD, "Fork in the Road," was produced by Tim Stafford, the guitarist for Blue Highway, and their band has been influenced by Blue Highway.)

4) Balsam Range (This band is coming up with some great ways to play old songs and make them new! They also have some refreshingly original songs.)

5) Grasstowne (Made up of members from other more well-known groups [Steve Gulley from Mountain Heart, Alan Bibey once of IIIrd Tyme Out, Phil Leadbetter, etc.], this group's debut was of course professional-level.)

6) Kenny & Amanda Smith (This is one of my favorite groups. They've got it all--great songs, gifted singers and players, a drive and polish that's there as much when you hear them live as on CD. . . Some of their songs were actually written by Tim Stafford of Blue Highway!)

Modern Bluegrass Bands

Listening to Nickel Creek's debut album (from back in their more identifiably bluegrass days!) made me change my mind about not liking bluegrass seven years ago. Now I like almost all bluegrass (including the old recordings), but I still am especially excited by the bands who are bringing new life into the genre! Here's a list of some bands, all composed of top-of-the-line musicians and singers, who make the term bluegrass synonymous with energy and excitement.

1) Mountain Heart (They belong first on this list, in my opinion, because they have done so much to ramp up the energy level in bluegrass, as well as try out some things that haven't been done before! Jim VanCleve, the fiddle player in the band, has had a lot of influence in the past few years, not only through Mountain Heart but as the producer of several young bands' CDs.)

2) Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain (Ms. Hassler has a truly great voice, and her band has incredible drive. You can hear the Jim VanCleve producer's touch in her music!)

3) The Infamous Stringdusters (These guys have paid their dues on the bluegrass circuit, and now they've really been making waves with their unique, experimental style. If you lean more to the traditional side, start with their first CD, Fork in the Road.)

4) Cadillac Sky (As with the Stringdusters, you may want to start with CD #1 by this group, Blind Man Walking. These guys are so talented and are willing to try just about anything.)

5) Cherryholmes (This family group has worked hard to get to its current almost-supergroup status. They have developed a unique and passionate style of music.)

6) Keith Sewell (This guy doesn't really fit in with the rest of this list of bands, but his Love is A Journey is so cool I couldn't leave him out of it! You won't be able to stop listening!)

7) NewFound Road (They just get more polished with each new recording. These guys have it down in their Life in a Song.)

8) Nickel Creek (Even though they're not really in existence as a band currently, I need to have them on this list. Their music doesn't have the intense energy of Mountain Heart's, but it definitely belongs in any collection of modern bluegrass recordings. Buy their first CD, produced by Alison Krauss.)

9) Alison Krauss and Union Station (I know, everyone already knows about them. But she has to be one of the biggest influences around for many of the new, rising bands! You need to have their So Long, So Wrong.)

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but if you're looking for music that drives and pulses and changes, you'll find it in the work these bands have produced.

If You Like Dan Tyminski . . .

This is the first of what I hope to make into a series of lists of similar artists. I'm always looking for new bands to inspire me, and it helps me to know a little about their sound before I buy their CDs! I hope this helps you find some bands that you might not otherwise hear about.

If you like Dan Tyminski (he's the guitarist/mandolin player and a lead/harmony singer in Alison Krauss & Union Station), you might like:

1) Blue Highway (They set the standard in polished modern bluegrass that doesn't offend traditionalists. Most bluegrassers who know anything about the "supergroups" have heard--or heard of--Blue Highway, but I had to add them anyway! I recommend all of their CDs, but if you're wanting to just try them out, start with Still Climbing Mountains.)

2) Dwight McCall (Former lead singer for J.D. Crowe & the New South, his voice has a forceful tenor sound that occasionally recalls Tyminski's voice.)

3) Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen (We just found out about his music, and are excited by his voice, his excellent song selection and the sound of the whole band.)

4) Cody Shuler & Pine Mountain Railroad (Traditional band of great guys that have really drawn attention with their gospel CD. They're professionals and sound like professionals.)

5) Alex Hibbitts (His new CD, The Chronicles of Depression, is way beyond the production level of most solo projects by newcomers. Guest artists like Jim VanCleve, Josh Swift and Clay Hess mean this is no amateur attempt.)

6) The Lonesome River Band (A very well-known band. Dan Tyminski used to share with Ronnie Bowman the lead singing duties for this band, and together they worked on LRB's milestone CD, Carrying the Tradition.)

I may add more bands to this later, but these are the main ones I can think of right now.

September 2010 Bluegrass Festivals

Autumn is on its way . . . during the next couple of months, we need to make it to as many festivals as we can before winter hits.

1: Blue Mountain Gospel Music Festival; Lebanon, PA

2: Lil John’s Mountain Music Festival; Snow Camp, NC

Tri-State Bluegrass Festival; Kendallville, Indiana

3: Barnes Family Bluegrass Festival; Aledo, Illinois

Four Corners Folk Festival; Pagosa Springs, Colorado

4: Taste of the Mountains Main Street Festival; Madison, Virginia

RedBone Willy’s Blue Grass & Peddler’s; Lawndale, NC

Wm. Dively Memorial Bluegrass Festival; Berlin, PA

5: Grascals Bluegrass Homecoming; Milan, Indiana

7: Fraley Mountain Music Festival; Olive Hill, KY

9: Grottoes Family Bluegrass Festival; Grottoes, Virginia

10: Mountain Song Festival; Brevard, NC

WV State BBQ & Bluegrass Festival; Hedgesville, WV

11: East Troy Bluegrass Festival; East Troy, Wisconsin

First Annual Hardy Bluegrass Festival; Hardy, AR (The Hartley Family will be performing here!)

12: Cypress Creek Park Bluegrass Festival; Adona, Arkansas

14: The Poppy Mountain Bluegrass Festival; Morehead, Kentucky

15: Walnut Valley Festival; Winfield, Kansas

16: Duplin Valley Bluegrass Festival; Kodak, Tennessee

Starvy Creek Fall Bluegrass Festival; Conway, Missouri

17: Bristol Rhythm and Roots; Bristol, Tennessee

West Michigan Fall Bluegrass Festival; Lowell, Michigan

18: Julian Bluegrass Festival; Julian, California

19: Southern Coastal Bluegrass Festival; Fort Fisher Military Recreation Area, NC

Lyons Fiddle Festival; Lyons, PA

22: Watermelon Park Fest; Berryville, Virginia

23: Nothin Fancy Bluegrass Festival; Buena Vista, Virginia

Vine Grove Bluegrass Festival; Vine Grove, Kentucky

24: White Oak Shores Bluegrass Festival; Stella, NC

Foggy Hollow Bluegrass Gatherin’; Wellington, Alabama

25: Mountain Heritage Day; Cullowhee, NC

Haynes Bluegrass Festival; Leesville, SC

27: World of Bluegrass Business Conference; Nashville, Tennessee

30: Jerusalem Ridge Bluegrass Music Festival; Rosine, Kentucky