Mountain Home Music Company Artists Receive Award Nominations

Annual SPBGMA Awards to Honor Bluegrass Best and Beloved

Nashville, TN --- Mountain Home Music Company congratulates label artists who received award nominations this week for the 41st annual Bluegrass Music Awards by the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America, (SPBGMA).

SPBGMA awards will be selected by a vote by attendees during the SPBGMA convention, slated for February 5-8 at the Sheraton Music City in Nashville. Winners will be announced during an awards show starting at 6:30 p.m. on February 8th.

Balsam Range, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, The Grascals and Flatt Lonesome picked up a dozen nominations in the SPBGMA awards, with individual band members named for achievement in several of the categories.

Mountain Home Music Co. nominees for Bluegrass Album of the Year are Balsam Range for FIVE and The Grascals for WHEN I GET MY PAY. Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver is nominated for both Gospel Group of the Year (Contemporary) and Entertaining Group of the Year. The Grascals received a nomination for Instrumental Group of the Year.

Instrumentalists who received nominations are Tim Surrett of Balsam Range for Bass Fiddle Performer of the Year, Jamie Johnson of The Grascals for Guitar Performer of the Year and Danny Roberts of The Grascals for Mandolin Performer of the Year. Sisters, Charli Robertson and Kelsi Robertson-Harrigill of Flatt Lonesome are nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year, Contemporary and Traditional, respectively. Buddy Melton of Balsam Range received the nod for Male Vocalist of the Year.

In the Song of the Year category, “So Far” by Flatt Lonesome is nominated.

So far, so good for Mountain Home Music Company and its gifted artists. The label is based in Arden, NC and boasts many award nominated and winning artists in Bluegrass, Americana and Southern Gospel Music.


ABOUT SPBGMA
The Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America is a not-for-profit corporation incorporated since 1974. The organization aims to preserve the traditional spirit and art form of Bluegrass music through a variety of activities including competitions, festivals and consultation.

PICTURED (Clockwise from top left): Balsam Range, Doyle Lawson, Flatt Lonesome, The Grascals

Beyond the Recognition: The Effect of Awards on Music Careers

Pictured at an IBMA Awards after-party are Mickey Gamble (left), president ofCrossroads/Mountain Home Music Company of Arden NC, and Tim Surrett of the multi-award winning band Balsam Range. Surrett is the original founder of the Mountain Home label.

A Label Exec, Artist and Agent Weigh In Nashville, TN --- Artists on the Mountain Home Music Company label garnered the greatest number of nominations of any record label in the recent 2014 IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) Awards. When the awards were handed out, Mountain Home artists walked away with six impressive honors. Balsam Range was named both Vocal Group and Entertainer of the Year with singer/fiddler Buddy Melton named Male Vocalist of the Year and Tim Surretthonored with the Mentor Award. Adam Steffey of The Boxcars won the Mandolin Player award. With its second album released earlier this year, the vibrant young group, Flatt Lonesome was named Emerging Artist of the Year. All in all, a very good day for the ambitious record label based in North Carolina’s unassuming community of Arden. So, aside from the recognition and a moment in the spotlight, what can awards mean to an artist’s career or to a record label? What is the effect on the business of the music business? “First, I’ve got to say that any nomination or award is an honor. Just think of the number of people out there making music, and then to be selected for any kind of recognition, well, that’s pretty special,” says Tim Surrett of Balsam Range and Mountain Home Music Company. “Beyond that, awards can enhance an artist’s image and raise awareness both within and outside of the genre. That kind of recognition provides talking points for managers, agents and publicists who represent the artist. Additionally, songwriters and publishers are eager to pitch great songs to award-winning artists.” Mountain Home Music Company counts among its artists multiple nominees and winners in the Grammys, Dove, IBMA, SPBGMA, ICM (Inspirational Country Music) Awards and more. President, Mickey Gamble, shares his thoughts. “The result is multi-tiered. Awards can have a positive effect on the way everyone connected with the winner conducts business: artists, songwriters, publishers, labels and agents. A high profile nomination or award, especially something that is widely covered by the media, can boost sales and increase tour dates for the artist,” Gamble says. “There is a level of credibility that comes with having award winners on the label that enhances the overall reputation of the label, making it easier to attract other promising or very accomplished artists to the roster, and that means we get to do more of what we love most: working with talented artists and supporting their creation of great music,” Gamble notes. Many great bands are competing for a finite number of quality tour dates. Award recognition can pave the way to the stage of venues that might have previously been a tough sell. From the agent’s perspective, Mike Drudge of Class Act Entertainment, (pictured, Drudge books acts including Balsam Range and The Boxcars), adds his thoughts of the effect of awards on the business of music. “Awards are always great talking points, and the more high profile the award is, the more it adds to the ‘marquee value’ of an act. A major award, like Balsam Range’s 2014 Entertainer of the Year nod, adds a layer of legitimacy, if you will, particularly to those outside of Bluegrass. Similarly, when The Boxcars were nominated for a Grammy, it was an instant door opener to presenters and venues that may have limited familiarity with Bluegrass artists, as if to say, ‘Well, if they were nominated for a Grammy, they must be good!’”  “In my experience,” Drudge adds, “awards that result from a vote by peers carry more weight than fan-voted awards. Both the Grammys and IBMA Awards are voted on by peers in the industry – folks ‘in the know’ – so when someone from the outside looking in sees an act recognized by peers, it means a lot.” Mountain Home Music Company, a division of Crossroads Entertainment and Marketing, Inc., has earned a reputation as a premiere Bluegrass label with global distribution. The label boasts elite artists including Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, The Boxcars, Lonesome River Band, Balsam Range, The Grascals, Snyder Family, Darin & Brooke Aldridge, Danny Roberts, Crowe Lawson Williams, Flatt Lonesome and in a new signing at IBMA’s World of Bluegrass, Chris Jones and The Night Drivers. Established in 1993, Crossroads is a market leader in the Bluegrass, Americana, and Christian Music fields. FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.mountainhomemusiccompany.com www.balsamrange.com www.classactentertainment.com MEDIA CONTACT Claire Ratliff Laughing Penguin Publicity claire@penguinpublicity.com 615.476.3200

With Mountain Home and Organic Records, Crossroads Label Group Artists Lead with 22 Nominations across 12 Categories for 2014 International Bluegrass Music Awards

Nashville, TN – Nominees for the 2014 International Bluegrass Music Awards were announced at a press conference in Franklin, TN with artists from the Crossroads Label Group (Mountain Home and Organic Records) receiving 22 nominations across 12 Award Categories.   The Boxcars [pictured at top] received ten nominations, including Instrumental Group, Album of the Year (It’s Just A Road), two for Song of the Year (“It’s Just A Road” and “You Took All the Ramblin’ Out of Me”), Gospel Recorded Performance (“When Sorrows Encompass Me Around”) and Instrumental Recorded Performance (“Skillet Head Derailed”). Ron Stewart received two nominations, one as Banjo Player of the Year and one as Fiddle Player of the Year. For his work with the Boxcars, band member Adam Steffey earned a nomination for Mandolin Player of the Year; as a solo artist, Steffey received a nomination for Instrumental Recorded Performance (“Johnny Don’t Get Drunk”).   Balsam Range was nominated in the prestigious Entertainer of the Year, Vocal Group and Instrumental Group categories. Band member Buddy Melton received a nomination for Male Vocalist, as well. Additionally, Melton appears as a guest artist with Terry Baucom and Marty Raybon on “Martha White, Lester & Earl,” nominated for Recorded Event of the Year. The band, [pictured], has the current IBMA Album of the Year with its previous release, PAPERTOWN. Balsam Range recently released FIVE, the band's appropriately titled fifth album. The Grascals received two nominations; Instrumental Recorded Performance (“Five Miles to Milan”), and Recorded Event (“American Pickers” with Dierks Bentley).   Flatt Lonesome is named in the Emerging Artist category. Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver is nominated in the Vocal Group category. Sammy Shelor of Lonesome River Band, is nominated for Banjo as an Instrumental Performer.Darin & Brooke Aldridge received a nomination for Gospel Recorded Project for “Love Does” which appears on the album FLYING, nominated for Best Graphic Design for a Recorded Project (Lynn Weathers, designer).   A complete list of nominations is available here.   Nominations are decided by a vote of the professional membership of the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), the trade association for the bluegrass music industry. Results of the balloting will be revealed at the International Bluegrass Music Awards on Thursday, October 4 during World of Bluegrass Week, held September 30 - October 4 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The IBMA Awards Show will also be broadcast live on SiriusXM Satellite Radio (Bluegrass Junction).

Mountain Home Music Company Congratulates Artists on Top 20

Three Artists Top the Billboard Bluegrass Album Charts (NASHVILLE, TENN) - Mountain Home Music Company, a division of Crossroads Entertainment & Marketing of Arden, NC, has developed a reputation for presenting the finest in Bluegrass and Acoustic music. For the first time, the label boasts three albums in the Top 20 on the Billboard Bluegrass Charts. Flatt Lonesome's Too landed at #5, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver's Open Carefully, Message Inside is at #10, and Balsam Range's Five at #15. The Billboard Bluegrass Charts are determined by the week's top-selling bluegrass albums, ranked by sales data as complied by Nielsen SoundScan. For more information on Mountain Home Music and their artists visit: http://crossroadsmusic.com/bluegrass   In case you missed it... Click on the album covers to access review materials for each artists' new release.  MEDIA CONTACTS Ty Gilpin Director of Marketing Crossroads/Organic Records 828.684.3066 ext. 320 ty.gilpin@crossroadsmusic.com Claire Ratliff Laughing Penguin Publicity 615.476.3200 claire@penguinpublicity.com Suggested Tweets:  .@MtnHomeMusic congratulates their artists @FlattLonesome  @DLQuicksilver  @BalsamRange for breaking #Top20 @billboard  #Bluegrass charts. Suggested Twitter Handles & Hashtags @MtnHomeMusic @FlattLonesome @DLQuicksilver @BalsamRange @Billboard #Bluegrass Copyright © 2014 Laughing Penguin Publicity & Consulting, All rights reserved.  You are receiving this message because you requested news updates and because you're a savvy member of the media who demands to be in the know!  Our mailing address is:  Laughing Penguin Publicity & Consulting PO Box 140396 Nashville, TN 37214