THE ROYS Wrap Labor Day Weekend With SiriusXM's Bluegrass Junction & Special CD Release Party For THE VIEW

Nashville, TN (August 11, 2014) -THE ROYS wrap the long Labor Day weekend with SiriusXM as the media giant hosts a special-format release party on its Bluegrass Junction channel for the duo's new CD, THE VIEW.  The celebration, which will air Monday, September 1 at 6:00 pm EST., will feature THE ROYS performing their full album for an audience at the SiriusXM Music City Theatre.  The CD hits stores on Tuesday, September 2 fans in a hurry for the award-winning Bluegrass/Country duo's new music can pre-order THE VIEW now from Amazon.

Fans won't be disappointed with this much-anticipated 11-track offering, which is full of surprises, including guest artists.  In addition to the unique talents that Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry icon Whisperin' Bill Anderson brings to THE VIEW as co-writer of the title track, Bluegrass superstar Doyle Lawson (reigning SPBGMA Mandolin Player of the Year and International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame inductee) plays and sings on the Lee Roy/Larry Alderman co-write, "Mandolin Man."  This ode to Bill Monroe highlights lightning-fast pickin' that's sure to bring devotees to their feet. 

THE VIEW is filled with the organic, soulful music that has propelled Lee and Elaine to the forefront of the Bluegrass stage.  The disc's first single, "No More Lonely," currently sits at #10 on the Bluegrass Today Weekly Chart, while additional tracks continue the listener's musical journey through a wide array of scenarios and emotions.  This is THE ROYS' fourth studio album for Rural Rhythm Records and the label is pulling out all the stops, implementing various marketing strategies, including an upcoming video of track-by-track descriptions that will be available to fans in the near future.  Additionally, Lee and Elaine are hitting the road in support of the new release, with upcoming dates that include:

August 16 Gettysburg, PA - Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival

August 20 Staunton, VA - Bluegrass in the Park

August 22-23 Rogersville, NB, Canada - Rogersville Bluegrass Festival


August 25-26 New Richmond, Quebec, Canada - N.R. Bluegrass Festival


August 28-29 New Richmond, Quebec, Canada - N.R. Bluegrass Festival


August 31 York, ME - Foster's Down East Clambake

September 6 Cherryville, NC - Catawba Valley Music Revival


September 20 Morehead, KY - Poppy Mountain Bluegrass Festival


September 21 Lyons, PA - 31st Annual Lyons Fiddle Festival

September 27 Manteo, NC - Outer Banks Island Bluegrass Festival


October 1-4 Raleigh, NC - IBMA Convention


October 10 Rio Grande, OH - Bob Evans Bluegrass Festival


October 18 Titusville, FL - Faith City Church


October 19 Orange Park, FL - Orange Park Fall Festival


THE ROYS' full itinerary is available on their website. Stay social with Lee and Elaine: theroysonline.com

 

Melody Walker Releases 'Gold Rush Goddess' & Announces National Tour

BAY AREA TALENT MELODY WALKER RELEASES ‘GOLD RUSH GODDESS,’
ANNOUNCES COAST-TO-COAST TOUR WITH JACOB GROOPMAN

Aug. 28 release follows RockyGrass festival band competition win

AUSTIN, Texas — Melody Walker’s debut album, GOLD RUSH GODDESS, will be released nationally Aug. 28, but she and partner Jacob Groopman already have reason to celebrate: With their band Front Country, they won the band competition at RockyGrass, the July festival founded 40 years ago by bluegrass icon Bill Monroe.

Walker and Groopman are now spreading the sound they like to call “Americali” on a nationwide tour that includes stops at Aug. 22’s Jerry Garcia Tribute Concert in Berkeley and in Nashville for September’s Americana Music Festival & Conference. (See below for a list of tour dates, or check melodywalkermusic.com.)

Walker, a Bay Area native, and Groopman, raised in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, describe “Americali” as Americana with a California twist, but just as Americana melds many influences, their music draws from diverse genres including bluegrass, rock, jazz, classical, Afrobeat, samba and even Balkan folk. They never stray too far from their American folk roots, however, preferring to create literate music that honors tradition, yet sounds completely of the moment.

Led by the title track and “Family Band,” GOLD RUSH GODDESS is already drawing high praise. The Turnstyled Junkpiled blog calls it “easily one of the strongest Americana releases of 2012.” No Depression claims, “Melody Walker has created an album of exceptional tunes.” And influential Bay Area radio station KPFA-FM raves, “She kicked it out of the ballpark on this album!”

Walker and Groopman co-produced the album, recorded in a historic former general store on a remote cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. But now, they’re ready to spread Americali from sea to shining sea. And this is one gold rush you’re gonna want to get in on right now.

Upcoming tour dates include:
Aug. 14 – Park Chalet, San Francisco
Aug. 18 – El Sobrante Stomp house concert, El Sobrante, Calif.
Aug. 19 – Art in the Park, Martinez, Calif.
Aug. 21 – Hotel Utah, San Francisco
Aug. 22 – Jerry Garcia Tribute Concert Ashkenaz, Berkeley, Calif.
Aug. 23 – Hideout Saloon, Mariposa, Calif.
Aug. 24 – Cozmic Café, Placerville, Calif.
Aug. 25 – Concerts in the Plaza, Mill Valley, Calif.
Sept. 5 – Firefly Bistro, Pasadena, Calif.
Sept. 6 – The Raven Café, Prescott, Ariz.
Sept. 7 – Plush, Tucson, Ariz.
Sept. 8 – Cowgirl BBQ, Santa Fe, N.M.
Sept. 11 – The Five Spot, Nashville
Sept. 12 – Americana Music Conference, Nashville
Sept. 18 – Acoustic Coffeehouse, Johnson City, Tenn.
Sept. 19 – Preservation Pub, Knoxville, Tenn.
Sept. 20 – High Rock Outfitters, Lexington, N.C.
Sept. 21 – The Bywater, Asheville, N.C.
Sept. 22 – Ashland Coffee & Tea, Ashland, Va.
Sept. 26 – Baine’s Books, Appomattox, Va.
Oct. 2 – The Purple Fiddle, Thomas, W.Va.
Oct. 3 – The Corner Store, Washington, D.C.
Oct. 4 – Rockwood Music Hall, New York
Oct. 5 – Cyber Café West, Binghamton, N.Y.
Oct. 6 – Brooklyn Rod & Gun Club, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Oct. 7 – Outer Space, Hamden, Conn.
Oct. 8 – Cantab Lounge, Cambridge, Mass.
Oct. 10 – The Middle East Corner, Cambridge, Mass.
Oct. 11 – Slainte Wine Bar, Portland, Maine
Oct. 12 – She Doesn’t Like Guthries, Lewiston, Maine
Oct. 13 – MindFull Books & Ephemera, Jaffrey, N.H.
Oct. 14 – Club Passim, Boston,
Oct. 15 – Cat in the Cream, Oberlin, Ohio
Oct. 17 – Natasha’s Bistro & Bar, Lexington, Ky.
Oct. 21 – Woodsongs Coffeehouse, Milwaukee
Oct. 23 – The Mill, Iowa City, Iowa
Oct. 25 – Avogadro’s Number, Fort Collins, Colo.
Oct. 26 – Highlands Church (Strings & Wood Concert Series), Denver
Nov. 16 – Freight & Salvage, Berkeley, Calif. (live concert recording)

For more information: melodywalkermusic.com, mcguckinpr.com

For album review copies or interview requests, contact Heidi Labensart,
McGuckin Entertainment PR, 512.478.0578; heidi@mcguckinpr.com

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LIVE AT BEAN BLOSSOM album releasing November 22, 2011

Rural Rhythm Records is proud to announce the November 22, 2011 album release of LIVE AT BEAN BLOSSOM, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe.  The album will no doubt be high on the wish list of not only Monroe fans, but the thousands of visitors that attend the numerous festivals held at the Bill Monroe Music Park in Bean Blossom, Indiana every year.

“Given the influence of Bill Monroe on the musicians in each band, and the depth of their appreciation for him and his art the results of these sessions are truly extraordinary.  Even the most familiar of Monroe’s well-known compositions comes across in this tribute with palpable freshness and excitement, and the on-stage comments of the musicians and the audible audience response reveal their mutual delight at taking part in this commemoration,” wrote Tom Adler who provided the extensive liner notes for the album and is the author of the 2011 publication of Bean Blossom: The Brown County Jamboree and Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Festivals.

LIVE AT BEAN BLOSSOM includes performances by:  Russell Moore & III Tyme Out; Lonesome River Band; Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press; Audie Blaylock & Redline; Lou Reid and Carolina; Blue Moon Rising; Grasstowne; Brand New Strings; Carolina Road; Wasson & McCall (Rickey Wasson and Dwight McCall) featuring J. D. Crowe; Ronnie Reno and The Reno Tradition; and The Bartley Brothers.

Laurie Lewis to Release New Album in Tribute to Bill Monroe

BLUEGRASS FIDDLER-VOCALIST
LAURIE LEWIS
TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM OCTOBER 18

Her New Album, SKIPPIN’ AND FLYIN,’
a ‘Lively ... Deep’ Personal Tribute to Father of Bluegrass

Austin, TX — Bay Area fiddler extraordinaire Laurie Lewis, called a “bluegrass/folk star” by the San Francisco Chronicle, will release her latest album, a heartfelt tribute to Bill Monroe, SKIPPIN’ AND FLYIN’ (Spruce and Maple Music), on October 18.

Lewis, twice named IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year and a GRAMMY Award winner and nominee, is also a singer, songwriter, bandleader, guitarist, bass player and record producer. It all comes together on SKIPPIN’ AND FLYIN,’ which mixes Lewis’ originals and songs from the bluegrass repertoire and contemporary writers and features her expressive vocals; instrumentation by award-winning, legendary and longtime players; and special guest vocalists such as Linda Ronstadt.

“I realize, looking back, that my path as a musician and songwriter, and my whole approach to making music, were influenced in various ways by what I found in Bill Monroe’s music,” says Lewis.

SKIPPIN’ AND FLYIN’ brings together a fine mix of songs by Monroe himself, Jimmie Rodgers, Maybelle Carter, Del McCoury and other writers and new tunes written and/or arranged by Lewis — each perfectly suited for a Monroe tribute.

Lewis’ album release show is set for November 26, at Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, California.

On September 28, she and longtime musical partner Tom Rozum will be hosting World of Bluegrass attendees at the Nashville Convention Center for mentoring sessions on harmony singing. http://worldofbluegrass.org/node/247

Her upcoming tour behind SKIPPIN’ AND FLYIN’ includes stops at festivals and venues in Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, New York, Massachusetts, Oregon and across California.

Laurie Lewis’s Upcoming Performances include:
Sept. 24, Fortune-Williams Festival, Staunton, Va.
Sept. 25, Cataloochee Ranch, near Maggie Valley, N.C.
Sept. 30, Three Sisters Bluegrass Festival, Chattanooga, Tenn.
Oct. 2, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, San Francisco
Oct. 9, Santa Barbara Old-Time Fiddlers Convention, Santa Barbara, Calif.
Oct. 15, Bluegrass Benefits Mount Diablo Music Education Foundation, Concord, Calif.
Oct. 22, FAR-West “Best of the West” Awards, Eugene, Ore.
Oct. 29, Bluegrass for the Moke, Mokelumne Hill, Calif.
Nov. 17, Hampshire College, Amherst, Mass.
Nov. 18, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Nov. 19, Museum of Our National Heritage, Lexington, Mass.
Nov. 26, CD Release Show, Freight & Salvage, Berkeley, Calif.
Dec. 3, Monterey Cowboy Poetry and Music Festival, Monterey, Calif.

For more information, visit http://www.mcguckinpr.com and www.laurielewis.com

Media Contact: Heidi Labensart, McGuckin Entertainment PR, 512.478.0578; heidi@mcguckinpr.com

IBMA Fan Fest Celebrates Bill Monroe and Bluegrass Music!

Nashville, TN….Bluegrass music’s premier indoor festival is just around the corner, and this year’s event celebrating the 100th birthday of the late Bill Monroe, the Father of Bluegrass Music, will definitely be one you don’t want to miss! Reserve your tickets now for IBMA’s Bluegrass Fan Fest, scheduled for Sept. 30 – October 2, 2011, at the Nashville Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

The star-studded grand finale of World of Bluegrass Week (Sept. 26 – Oct. 2) will present the talents of more than 60 headline acts on the Main Stage, the Masters Workshop Stage and at the Grand Master Fiddler Championship—thanks to the sponsorship of L.R. Baggs, Martin Guitars, Martha White, Knee Deep in Bluegrass and WSM-AM 650.

Performing artists confirmed at press time include Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas, The Grascals, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, Dale Ann Bradley, J.D. Crowe & The New South, Larry Sparks & The Lonesome Ramblers, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, The Isaacs, Jesse McReynolds & The McReynolds Tradition, Lonesome River Band, Josh Williams Band, Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time, Steep Canyon Rangers, Don Rigsby & Midnight Call, Jim Lauderdale, Joey + Rory, Ronnie Bowman, Sierra Hull & Highway 111, Marty Raybon & Full Circle, The Chapmans, Special Consensus, Balsam Range, Audie Blaylock & Redline, Grasstowne, The Boxcars, The Cleverlys, 18 South, The Expedition Show, Wayne Taylor & Appaloosa, Darrell Webb Band, Mike Scott, America’s Bluegrass Gospel Show, The Spinney Brothers, The Cherryholmes Brothers, NewTown, Mark Johnson & Emory Lester, Wil Maring & Robert Bowlin, Tiller’s Folly, Kids on Bluegrass… and many more!

In addition to the “cool factor” of breathing in some of the best live bluegrass music on the planet and meeting artists after their sets at their merch tables, Fan Fest attendees will enjoy visiting a bluegrass music-themed exhibit hall with more than 100 booths, taking part in a number of special promotions and giveaways, and of course there will be plenty of space for picking on all three levels of the Nashville Convention Center.

The music is amazing enough on its own, but along with that we’re also planning Celebrity Jams on Friday and Saturday mornings Sept. 30 and Oct. 1; a “Name that Blue Grass Boy” trivia competition for fans Saturday morning, Oct. 1 at 10:30 a.m.; and a slate of discussion groups and workshops on everything from sharing festival memories and photos, music licensing for events and pre-war banjos to a “Going on the Road without Letting Yourself Go” exercise session, strings and instrument set-up with break-out groups for individual instruments, recording acoustic instruments, the crosspicking guitar style of George Shuffler, how to start an instrument lending library, a session on what songwriters and writers can learn from the music of The Beatles, and a thought-provoking discussion led by The Infamous Stringduster’s Chris Pandolfi and Emilee Warner of Crash-Media on “big tent bluegrass”—the concept of welcoming bands and fans across the bluegrass-influenced spectrum from old-time music to jam grass.

On Friday, Sept. 30 at 3 p.m. former Blue Grass Boy Blake Williams, of The Expedition Show will host a special event called “Tell Us Your Bill Monroe Story.” Friends and colleagues of Monroe will be invited to get things rolling, and then we’ll open the mic to anyone in the room with a story or memory to share. We’ll be videotaping, with participant’s permission, for future use on Bluegrass Nation and the International Bluegrass Music Museum archives.
Proceeds from Fan Fest ticket sales benefit the Bluegrass Trust Fund, established to help bluegrass professionals during times of emergency need, as well as support IBMA’s educational and marketing efforts during the rest of the year. All artists appearing at Fan Fest donate their time and talents for the cause.

Advance tickets are on sale now, with discounts on three-day passes for members and non-members. Single day tickets and student tickets (with an ID) will be available at the gate, and children under 16 are admitted free with an adult.

Fans who want to get closest to the action are also encouraged to make hotel reservations early to get big discounts. One call to 877-256-4716 gets you access to the best rates and a variety of hotels near the festival, including the Renaissance Hotel attached to the convention center.

For more information on World of Bluegrass, including tickets to the International Bluegrass Music Awards, go to www.worldofbluegrass.org, join us on Facebook, or call 615-256-3222 (888-GET-IBMA). Tickets are on sale now at the website. For a video preview of World of Bluegrass, click here.

The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) serves as the trade association for the bluegrass music industry, with members in all 50 states and 30 countries.