Cherryholmes Named IBMA Entertainer of the Year
October 31, 2005
Family bluegrass act Cherryholmes picked up their first Entertainer of the Year at the International Bluegrass Music Awards Thursday, held for the first time in Nashville during the IBMA's annual conference. The event was hosted by multiple IBMA winners Alison Krauss and Ricky Skaggs at the historic Ryman Auditorium.
Other winners included Rhonda Vincent (awarded an unprecedented 6th consecutive Female Vocalist of the Year prize), Larry Sparks (winning for Male Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year and Recorded Event of the Year for 40), Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (for Vocal Group of the Year and Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year), and Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder (Instrumental Group of the Year).
Phil Leadbetter was honored for Instrumental Album of the Year for Slide Effects and was named Dobro Player of the Year, beating out Jerry Douglas and Rob Ickes who have dominated the category for years. Fiddle Player of the Year went to Stuart Duncan, Guitar Player of the Year to Bryan Sutton, Mandolin Player of the Year to Adam Steffey, Bass Player of the Year to Mike Bub, and Banjo Player of the Year to Jim Mills. The Grascals were recognized as Emerging Artists of the Year and in the Song of the Year category for "Me and John and Paul."
Posted by Ann VerWiebe at 9:44 AM
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Arias Handed out in Sydney
October 25, 2005
The 19th Aria Awards were passed out by the Australian Record Industry Association Sunday night at the Sydney SuperDome. Singer/songwriter Missy Higgins picked up five prizes - including best new artist, album of the year and highest selling album - for The Sound of White. The Roots/Blues award went to Mia Dyson, who is way pumped up.
Posted by Ann VerWiebe at 4:55 PM
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Festival! on DVD
October 24, 2005
Festival!, Murray Lerner's ground-breaking 1967 documentary of the four pivotal Newport Folk Festivals, has just been released on DVD (it has not been previously available on VHS). The Oscar-nominated film combines interview and performance footage from all four years to paint a picture of the folk music revival at its most volatile - as the commercial popularity of Bob Dylan and Joan Baez (and other younger artists) clashed with the earnest, political lifestyle of Pete Seeger and the traditionalists. A snapshot of a moment in time, Festival! presents Newport as a contemporary event. Martin Scorsese used parts of the doc in his recent Dylan bio-pic. Lerner also directed and produced A Message to Love: The Isle of Wight Fest, a documentary from 1970 (which didn't see release until 1995) that goes behind the scenes of a Woodstock-like music festival.
Posted by Ann VerWiebe at 2:27 PM
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Happy Birthday Opry!
October 14, 2005
The Grand Ole Opry concludes a year of celebrations with a final week of partying to mark its 80th anniversary of radio broadcasts. In October, 1925 (only a few years after the birth of commercial radio in America), WSM first went on the air with real country music. George D. Hay began hosting a weekly program the next month, which formally became the Grand Ole Opry two years later. When audiences for the live broadcasts kept growing, the Opry moved to the Ryman Auditorium (a former tabernacle) in 1943. Home to most of the influential country artists - Patsy Cline, Hank Williams, Bill Monroe and more recent musicians, such as Alison Krauss and Vince Gill, built international reputations from the Opry stage. In 1974, the Opry christened its current home, an extensive entertainment complex outside of Nashville.
This weekend, there will be additional shows (with artists including Krauss, Ralph Stanley, The Whites and Little Jimmy Dickens), a dedication of a statue of Minnie Pearl, and a celebrity pie auction. There are still two days left in the Opry's 80-day-long auction of random donations from the many musicians that have stood in the famous circle center stage.
Posted by Ann VerWiebe at 3:13 PM
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John Gorka and Willy Porter take the Holiday Train
October 13, 2005
John Gorka and Willy Porter will be the headliners on Canadian Pacific Railway's seventh annual Holiday Train through the northern U.S. and Canada on Dec. 9-16. The train, 13 cars done-up in lights, includes a freight car that converts to a stage for outdoor concerts running around a half-hour. Although the concerts are free, guests are asked to bring food donations or make a financial contribution to local foodbanks. The project uses CPR's role in transporting grain across the continent to raise awareness and funds for hunger relief.
The train will make 30 stops, starting in Gurnee, IL and continuing through St. Paul, MN and Minot, ND, ending its journey in Weyburn, SK. Other folks scheduled to appear include the Ennis Sisters, Tracey Brown and Santa Claus. There will also be a Holiday Train traveling from Montreal to Vancouver. And, a word to the wise, if you are taking Amtrak's Empire Builder (like I did last week - I wondered why I saw a CPR truck doing track repair) during this time, expect delays.
Posted by Ann VerWiebe at 11:33 AM
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Kent State Folk Fest Announces Line-up
October 12, 2005
The 39th Kent State Folk Festival has announced that tickets for the following concerts are now on sale. All shows take place in Kent, Ohio:
Donovan - Nov. 19 at the Kent State Student Center (Ticketmaster)
The Horse Flies - Nov. 18, late show at the Kent Stage (Ticketweb.com)
Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer - Nov. 18, family show at the Kent Stage (Ticketweb.com)
Over the Rhine - Nov. 17 at the Kent Stage (Ticketweb.com)
Blues Night featuring the Holmes Brothers - Nov. 12 at the Kent Stage (Ticketweb.com)
John Gorka with David Francey - Nov. 11 at the Kent Stage (Ticketweb.com)
Also, on Nov. 18 - Folk Alley 'Round Town with free concerts throughout the city and, on Nov. 19 - Free workshops from noon to 5 at the Kent State Student Center. For details visit www.kentstatefolkfestival.org.
Posted by Ann VerWiebe at 4:24 PM
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Kent State Folk Festival Tickets Now On Sale
Tickets for the 39th Kent State Folk Festival - with events to be held Nov. 11, 12, 17, 18 & 19 - are now on sale. The festival kicks off with John Gorka and David Francey at the Kent Stage in downtown Kent, OH and continues with the Holmes Brothers (11/11 - Kent Stage), Over the Rhine (11/17 - Kent Stage), Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer (family show, 11/18 - Kent Stage), the Horse Flies (late show, 11/18 - Kent Stage), free Folk Alley 'Round Town concerts (all over town, any place we can stick 'em, 11/18), free workshops (Kent State University Student Center, 11/19), and Donovan - yes that Donovan - in the KSU Ballroom on Nov. 19.
Tickets for all programs at the Kent Stage may be purchased through Ticketweb.com. Donovan tickets are available through Ticketmaster. For more information, visit the Kent State Folk Fest web site at www.kentstatefolkfestival.org.
Posted by Ann VerWiebe at 3:05 PM
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