A Great Night of Music!

It was a fun night Friday, as Mountain Heart took the stage at the CoMMA (City of Morganton Municipal Auditorium) in North Carolina with Tony Rice on guitar and Terry Baucom on banjo.

The first half of the show was all Mountain Heart. This talented group of musicians and singers entertained the audience in a big way. They are known for their on-stage energy and artistic rendering of a varied set list. Josh Shilling is an amazing singer (I also enjoyed him very much on the piano---especially his solo on 'Me & My Guitar'!) Aaron Ramsey is a mando-monster, who also handled the lead vocals on 'Little Sadie'. I understand that song will be included on the next Mountain Heart studio recording. Terry said of Aaron, "I like him a lot. He's quiet and does a lot of listening...I like that". Barry Abernathy handled the majority of the band's MC work and kept the audience laughing a lot of the time. His north Georgia personality goes over well to the crowd every time. I enjoyed his vocals, too. Clay Jones is a hoss on guitar. I have known this for more than 25 years. We got aquainted at Fiddlers Conventions years ago and did quite a bit of jamming as teenagers. Clay and Terry had worked together in the 90's when Lou Reid Terry Baucom & Carolina formed. They recorded two projects together, 'Carolina Blue' and 'Carolina Moon', which are two of my favorites! Terry really enjoyed getting to pick with Jones again. Jim Van Cleve is another one I met years ago while jamming at Fiddlers Conventions around the region. It was clear early on, that Van Cleve had a bright future in the music field. When he takes a break, everyone sits up and takes notice. His delivery is so tasteful. A critical position in any band is the bass player...and Mountain Heart has one of the finest in Jason Moore. Whether he is front and center on a solo or just holding down the rhythm section, he cuts his gig!

After Mountain Heart spent a few minutes meeting fans and friends at the merchandise table during the intermission, the second half got underway with Tony and Terry coming on stage with the band for a hard driving set of music that included many tunes that Tony had recorded over the years: Blue Ridge Cabin Home, Cold On The Shoulder, Me & My Guitar, Salt Creek, Ginseng Sullivan, etc. It was like an on-stage jam with the band consulting with Tony on which tune to present next. Tony and Terry were playing the same Fiddlers Conventions around North Carolina as teenagers, so their history goes way back. They have also recorded quite a bit over the years, too. In the 80's, during the tour of The Bluegrass Album Band, Terry traveled with the band to play fiddle, when Bobby Hicks would have to leave the tour because of his busy performing schedule with Ricky Skaggs at the time. So those two enjoyed jamming together again on some great 'Grass' with Mountain Heart. At the end of the evening, they received a nice encore and came back to the stage with Your Love Is Like A Flower.

Thanks to The Men's Club of Morganton for presenting this show, along with the Red White & Bluegrass Festival. A couple of video clips and more photos coming soon.~CB

Knee-Deep PLAYLIST

Drivin' My Life Away---Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top Xpress

Restless---Alison Krauss & Union Station

Rose of Old Kentucky---Byron Berline with Vince Gill

Hillbilly Goddess---Alecia Nugent

Tin Roof---Steve Martin

Green Light On The Southern---Tony Rice

In Despair---Spring Creek

Air Mail Special---Kenny Smith

Red Bandana---McPeak Brothers

Years Ago---Dailey & Vincent

Vintage Vault: JIMMY MARTIN & The Sunny Mountain Boys

You Don't Know My Mind / Sunny Side of the Mountain

Endless Train---Blue Highway

Trail of Tears---Darin & Brooke Aldridge

Spotlight Artist: ERIC GIBSON (The Gibson Brothers)

Ring The Bell / I Can't Like Myself / Jericho

If Here Is Where You Are---Del McCoury Band

Taking The Crooked Road Home---Linda Lay & Sammy Shelor

Don't Believe---Cherryholmes

I Want To Be Wanted---Lost & Found

Concert: SELDOM SCENE

Breakin' New Ground / Old Train

Cold Virginia Rain---Josh Williams

THANKS for listening!~CB

BLUEGRASS CONCERT, Morganton, NC, This Coming Friday

Mountain Heart, Tony Rice and Terry Baucom

This Coming Friday, May 29, 2009 @ 7 PM

The COMMA in Morganton, North Carolina

401 S. College Street, Morganton, NC

Tickets $25 in advance $30 at the door -12 & under $15.00

ALL seats reserved

To order tickets, call:(800) 939-SHOW or (828) 433-SHOW

Box Office Hours: 10 AM – 5 PM (Mon-Fri eastern time)

All major credit cards accepted. Tickets can be picked up at box office during regular business hours.

A $2.00 charge (per order, not ticket) will be added to mailed ticket orders.)

The first half of the show will be the high energy performance of one of the most dynamic bands on the circuit, MOUNTAIN HEART. After an intermission, Tony Rice joins Mountain Heart on stage with Terry Baucom on banjo! Don't Miss It!

Knee-Deep In Bluegrass Playlist

Hour One:

My Love Is Way Up On A Mountain---Spring Creek

Is The Grass Any Bluer---Rhonda Vincent

Who's Gonna Love You Tonight---McPeak Brothers

Never Meant To Be---Tony Rice

Two Dimes & A Nickel---David Davis & The Warrior River Boys

I Won't Back Down---Dale Ann Bradley

Georgia Peaches---Larry Sparks with Andy Griggs

2 in 24---Randy Kohrs & Sally Van Meter

Hard Rock Mountain Prison (Til I Die)---Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out

Lonely Street---Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver

Vintage Vault: OSBORNE BROTHERS WITH RED ALLEN

Once More / Ruby, Are You Mad

Hour Two:

Like A Train Needs A Track---Lonesome River Band

Big, Big Heartaches---Grasstowne

Spotlight: MIKE MICKELSON (Bearfoot)

Before I Go / Don't Let Me Down

Love Like A Flower---Dailey & Vincent

Honey Hurry Home---Jim Lauderdale

That's What I Get For Lovin' You---Gibson Brothers

I Knew You Would Love Me---Jeremy Garrett

Concert: INFAMOUS STRINGDUSTERS

Won't Be Coming Back / You Can't Handle The Truth

Why Don't You Tell Me So---Richard Bennett

Thanks for listening!~CB

'Don't Turn Your Back'-Dale Ann Bradley-Released TODAY

Dale Ann Bradley is nothing if not a great storyteller, but her ability to step into someone else's shoes and make their story her own for a few minutes, that is what allows every note sung and played on Don't Turn Your Back to be believable. In the company of some of best bluegrass pickers and singers including Stuart Duncan (fiddle/banjo), Deanie Richardson (fiddle), Alison Brown (banjo), Gena Britt (banjo), Steve Gulley (vocals), and Mike Bub (bass), Bradley explores Don't Turn Your Back's undeniable themes of bravery and hope through the eyes of mothers, lovers, trains, and one shiny, soon-to-be-lucky penny. Staying true to her daughter-of-a-preacher roots, Don't Turn Your Back includes three bluegrass gospel numbers: the humorous "Rusty Old Halo", The Carter Family's "Fifty Miles of Elbow Room", and the traditional "Heaven", which features reigning IBMA Entertainers of the Year Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent. Sharing her love of classic rock and its influence on her music and voice, Bradley includes bluegrass versions of Fleetwood Mac's "Over My Head" and Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down", yet stays close to tradition with the Kentucky mountain ballad "Blue Eyed Boy". Courage is the silver thread running through all twelve tracks of Don't Turn Your Back, and it is in these songs that Bradley lays out all she's got: "Anybody Else"s Heart But Mine" teaches us how to push through a broken heart, "Will I Be Good Enough" (Branscomb, Claire Lynch on guest vocals) whispers hope to uncertain parents, and "Music City Queen" (Bradley/Branscomb) documents the dauntlessness of those who come to Nashville seeking stardom. The title track calls for giving life's highway one more chance. Dale Ann Bradley's mountain soprano has been called "shimmering" (The Washington Post), "angelic" (Billboard), and "exceptional" (Bluegrass Unlimited). An acclaimed musician and currently living in Nashville, TN, Bradley fills every stage and studio with humor, grace, and integrity.

Knee-Deep In Bluegrass Playlist

Don't Turn Your Back---Dale Ann Bradley

I'm Just Here To Ride The Train---Mountain Heart

Walls of Time---Ricky Skaggs

Time To Say Goodbye---Cody Kilby w/Dailey & Vincent

Hard Rock Mountain Prison---Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out

Smashville---Sierra Hull

Big Wind---Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver

Lover's Lane---Darrell Webb

Could We Get Any Closer---Jim Lauderdale

Leaving Baker County---Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice

Vintage Vault: FLATT & SCRUGGS

Earl's Breakdown (1951) / Don't Get Above Your Raisin' (1951)

I Can't Like Myself---Gibson Brothers

Daddy Played The Banjo---Steve Martin

Spotlight Artist: MIKE WITCHER

Stop Drop & Wiggle---Missy Raines & The New Hip

Angeline The Baker---Missy Raines & The New Hip

Rusty Ole Halo---Dale Ann Bradley

What's Good For You---Jeremy Garrett

Six White Horses---Jeff White

Carolina Rain---David Parmley & Continental Divide

Concert: MARTY STUART Live at the Ryman

Mr. John Henry, The Steel Drivin' Man

Train 45 (featuring Uncle Josh Graves)

Carter---Ralph Stanley II

THANKS for listening!~CB

"Don't Turn Your Back"

Dale Ann Bradley, two-time and current International Bluegrass Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year, to release new album, Don't Turn Your Back, on May 19th   Special guests include Dailey and Vincent, Claire Lynch, and Steve Gulley   Nashville CD Release Party at The Station Inn Sat, May 16 @ 9pm / $10  **Featuring new band member Terry Baucom on banjo**   Click here to listen to the title track   Click here to sample more cuts from Don't Turn Your Back

"I think Dale Ann Bradley is an awesome singer. It's heart and soul with her." - Ricky Skaggs   "Ms. Bradley is a soulful, stunning, full-voiced vocalist..." - Barry Mazor, The Wall Street Journal

It's 9 a.m. on a rainy January day in Nashville, five days into 2009.  Dale Ann Bradley is coming up the studio steps without a raincoat, carrying a guitar and a folder full of lyrics.  She's been on the road for 14 straight days, it's 25 degrees and pouring, but never mind all that.  She's been shaping the concept of her new project, the follow-up to her Compass Records debut Catch Tomorrow, for months, and she can't wait to kick off the first song. She's let her heart guide her way through stacks of songs, looking for those that capture something beyond great music, something that gives voice to what she's been living and breathing in her own life for the last year.  So take a seat around the coffee table at the Compass Sound Studio--where Dale Ann Bradley sits with an old D-28 and producer and banjoist Alison Brown puts her gentle mark of genius on arrangements--and let Dale Ann tell you about Don't Turn Your Back in her own words: "It needs to be more than a record," she's says. "This is my dream album. I want it to inspire people to hang in with whatever they're facing--to find the hope and inspiration to keep going. I want to share the music that's touched me and I want to put everything into it that has been given to me over the past year." This is Dale Ann Bradley. She's the 2007 & 2008 IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year and has been hailed by Alison Krauss and Ricky Skaggs as one of the greatest vocalists in country and bluegrass music. A former Coon Creek Girl and mainstay at Kentucky's Renfro Valley Barn Dance, Bradley commands a list of awards as long as Highway 40, yet a few minutes with her tells you she is something even more than extraordinarily gifted--she's extraordinarily human. A Primitive Baptist preacher's daughter out of the hills of Kentucky where no musical instruments were allowed, Bradley grew up in a self-described "backwoods holler" down a rural road where electricity and running water weren't available until she was in high school--something she has more in common with the first generation of bluegrass than her contemporaries in today's scene.  Dale Ann Bradley is nothing if not a great storyteller, but her ability to step into someone else's shoes and make their story her own for a few minutes, that is what allows every note sung and played on Don't Turn Your Back to be believable. In the company of some of best bluegrass pickers and singers including Stuart Duncan (fiddle/banjo), Deanie Richardson (fiddle), Alison Brown (banjo), Gena Britt (banjo), Steve Gulley (vocals), and Mike Bub (bass), Bradley explores Don't Turn Your Back's undeniable themes of bravery and hope through the eyes of mothers, lovers, trains, and one shiny, soon-to-be-lucky penny.  Staying true to her daughter-of-a-preacher roots, Don't Turn Your Back includes three bluegrass gospel numbers: the humorous "Rusty Old Halo", The Carter Family's "Fifty Miles of Elbow Room",  and the traditional "Heaven", which features reigning IBMA Entertainers of the Year Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent. Sharing her love of classic rock and its influence on her music and voice, Bradley includes bluegrass versions of Fleetwood Mac's "Over My Head"and Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down", yet stays close to tradition with the Kentucky mountain ballad "Blue Eyed Boy". Courage is the silver thread running through all twelve tracks of Don't Turn Your Back, and it is in these songs that Bradley lays out all she's got: "Anybody Else's Heart But Mine" teaches us how to push through a broken heart, "Will I Be Good Enough" (Branscomb, Claire Lynch on guest vocals) whispers hope to uncertain parents, and "Music City Queen" (Bradley/Branscomb) documents the dauntlessness of those who come to Nashville seeking stardom. The title track calls for giving life's highway one more chance. Dale Ann Bradley's mountain soprano has been called "shimmering" (The Washington Post), "angelic" (Billboard), and "exceptional" (Bluegrass Unlimited). An acclaimed musician and currently living in Nashville, TN, Bradley fills every stage and studio with humor, grace, and integrity. Don't Turn Your Back will be available on Compass Records May 19, 2009.

Remembering Lester Flatt

LESTER RAYMOND FLATT passed away 30 years ago today, 5/11/79

Larry McPeak Needs Our Help

One of my favorites in the music world-Larry McPeak...please help. Thanks.~CB

Larry McPeak is fighting for his life.

This Virginia resident has battled health problems for years and received a lifesaving liver transplant in 2001. Since his transplant, Larry requires a number of expensive medications to keep his body from rejecting his new liver. Due to the combination of these medications and his diabetes, Larry now suffers from end-stage kidney failure. Doctors say a kidney transplant is his only hope for a second chance at life. Larry will undergo dialysis several times a week until he can receive a transplant.

Larry is an excellent musician and a well-known songwriter. He has played bluegrass professionally for more than 30 years. As a member of the McPeak Brothers and the VW Boys, Larry has spent much of his life performing. He has toured all over the world and gotten to work with many revered musicians, such as Tom T. Hall, the Lonesome River Band and Tim White. For Larry, music isn’t just something to listen to, it is truly a way of life.

Despite his struggles, Larry remains positive about the future. He would like nothing more than to have his health restored so he can continue to share his musical talent with others.

Unfortunately, Larry’s hope for a new life comes at a very high price.

A kidney transplant costs approximately $250,000. And that’s only the beginning. Even with health coverage, Larry faces significant medical expenses. For the rest of his life, he will need follow-up care and daily anti-rejection medications. The cost of post-transplant medications can range from $2,000 to $5,000 per month—and they are as critical to his survival as the transplant itself. It is estimated that in the short term, Larry needs at least $25,000 to cover his medical expenses.

What if your life depended on the compassion and generosity of others?

The National Foundation for Transplants (NFT) is working with volunteers and supporters to help relieve the growing burden of expenses for Larry and his family. NFT has been assisting transplant patients with advocacy and fundraising support for more than 25 years. Your gift—of $25, $50, $100 or more—will enable NFT to provide Larry with the financial support he needs.

You can help by visiting www.transplants.org/donate/larrymcpeak to make a secure online donation.

Knee-Deep In Bluegrass PLAYLIST

(Hour One)

My Love Is Way Up On A Mountain---Spring Creek

My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains---Stephen Mougin

(Bluegrass News)

God and Everybody---Mountain Heart

I Can't Like Myself---Gibson Brothers

I Don't Think I'm Going Back To Harlan---Daughters of Bluegrass

I Am A Stranger---Jeremy Garrett

I Call It Gone---Melonie Cannon

Try To Be---Newfound Road

When The Last Of Our Days Shall Come---Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver

Lock Stock and Barrel---Tom Adams

Vintage Vault:

BAILES BROTHERS

Searching For A Soldiers Grave/Dust On The Bible---Bailes Brothers

(Hour Two)

Crooked Man---Chris Stuart & Backcountry

Everyday Is Mother's Day---Larry Stephenson

Spotlight Artist: SPRING CREEK

Try And Catch The Wind / Lonesome Town-Spring Creek

I'd Worship You---Lonesome River Band

I Can Go Back Anytime---Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain

Rough Around The Edges---Larry Cordle with Travis Tritt

Bitter Green---Tony Rice

Concert: HARLEY ALLEN (at the Bluebird Cafe)

Stray Dogs and Alley Cats / That's Another Good Reason Not To Drink

A Ramblin' Man Is A Ramblin' Man---Steep Canyon Rangers

Thanks for listening!~CB

DALE ANN BRADLEY CD Release Party

Dale Ann Bradley, two-time and current International Bluegrass Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year, to release new album, Don't Turn Your Back, on May 19th

Special guests include Dailey and Vincent,
Claire Lynch, and Steve Gulley

Nashville CD Release Party at The Station Inn
Sat, May 16 @ 9pm / $10

**Featuring new band member
Terry Baucom on banjo**

Come join us!~CB

More From Merlefest 2009

(above) Terry Baucom & Jason Burleson

(below) George Shuffler & Peter Rowan

This Week's Playlist

Pain In My Heart---Bluegrass Album Band

My Poor Heart---Alison Krauss + Union Station

Dollar Bill Blues---Chris Stuart & Backcountry

Longing For The Old Days---Ronnie Bowman

That's Not What Ships Are For---Grasstowne

Julie's Train---Balsam Range

This Morning At Nine---Seldom Scene

I'll Always Be Glad To Take You Back---Lost & Found

Take A Moment and Live---Barry Scott & Second Wind

Wheel Hoss---Rob Ickes

Vintage Vault: original BLUEGRASS CARDINALS

Are You Missing Me / Never Ending Sea of Love

It's A Long, Long Road---Blue Highway

Eight More Miles---Laurie Lewis, Claire Lynch, Lynn Morris, Rhonda Vincent

Spotlight Artist: RUSSELL MOORE

Hard Rock Mountain Prison (Til I Die)-Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out

Erase The Miles-IIIrd Tyme Out

Ridin' That Bluegrass Train---Sam Bush

New Camptown Races---Randy Howard

Who Showed Who---Dan Tyminski

You Must Be Born Again---Dailey & Vincent

Concert: Augusta Bluegrass Week Instructors Performance

Old Joe Clark---Clayton Campbell

Your Love Is Like A Flower---Leigh Gibson & Terry Baucom

Price of Admission---Bradley Walker

THANKS for listening!~CB