Bluegrass Virginia: Graves Mountain Festival of Music - June 3rd, 4th & 5th, 2010 - Special Rural Rhythm Recording Event on Friday June 4th!

The spring festival season is in full swing and no spring in Virginia would be complete for any Bluegrass fan without attending Virginia's largest Bluegrass event, The Graves Mountain Festival of Music on June 3rd, 4th & 5th, 2010. The very first piece of business you need to attend to is to be sure you order your weekend tickets by May 24th! Why? Well, there's money to be saved, that's why! After midnight May 24th tickets will be $90, but if you hurry you can save $10 per ticket, and that is nothing to sneeze at! Call Graves Mountain Lodge at 1-540-923-4231 right now to reserve your tickets. Do it now!

Did you order your ticket? If so, continue with me as I try to tell you a little about the special live recording that will take place on Friday, June 4th. Rural Rhythm Records has a long history of preserving Bluegrass music. Most of you aren't old enough to remember Uncle Jim O' Neal. He was the founder of Rural Rhythm out in California. His specialty was to record and pack as many songs as he could onto one LP. Some of those LPs had as many as 24 songs. They way he managed to do it was to have the bands shorten the songs by reducing verses and instrumental breaks and by lowering the quality of the records themselves (smaller grooves, less sound). It was an inexpensive way to have a lot of great music all on one LP. Today, Rural Rhythm has been re-born and produces very well recorded and annotated CDs. Rural Rhythm has signed many artists to exclusive contracts and many of those artists will be part of this very special recorded event at Graves Mountain. Artists that will be included are: Russell Moore, Lou Reid, Carrie Hassler, Audie Blaylock, Sammy Shelor, Wayne Benson, Mike Hartgrove and Mike Anglin along with Carl Jackson and Mark Newton (As performer and producer!). Wow ! What a grouping of talent on one project! Among the songs to be recorded as part of this live event will be "Graves Mountain Memories;" a special song written by Carl Jackson about the history of Graves Mountain (Did you know that Jimmy Graves is the 12th generation of Graves on the mountain?). I am looking forward with great anticipation to this event. The CD should be released by the fall of this year. If my guess is correct this will be a strong contender for recorded project of the year at IBMA this fall. I will include the official press release below:

April 19, 2010

Rural Rhythm Records and Graves Mountain Festival of Music
Upcoming Commemorative Live Recording Album

Rural Rhythm Records and Graves Mountain Festival of Music are finalizing plans for this year’s “Rural Rhythm’s 55 Year Celebration at Graves Mountain” - a commemorative Live Recording taking place Friday, June 4, 2010 during the festival’s three day event (June 3-5, 2010) in Syria, Virginia. The upcoming live album will be released on Rural Rhythm Records in October 2010.
Kyle Cantrell of Sirius-XM Radio’s popular “Bluegrass Junction” will serve as Master of Ceremonies for this all-star recorded event held on June 4, 2010 with performances by: The Lonesome River Band, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, Carrie Hassler, Audie Blaylock & Redline, Lou Reid and Carolina, and The Crowe Brothers. Mark Newton is producing the event with Gene Daniel Sound overseeing the sound. Highlights will be broadcast on Sirius-XM “Bluegrass Junction” soon after the festival.

During last October's International Bluegrass Music Association's (IBMA) World of Bluegrass, Rural Rhythm Records hosted a VIP Showcase that included a special preview of the upcoming Graves Mountain event. Carl Jackson, Mark Newton, Russell Moore, Lou Reid, Audie Blaylock, Carrie Hassler, Wayne Benson, Sammy Shelor, Mike Anglin, and Mike Hartgrove performed Carl Jackson's original song, “Graves Mountain Memories.” The group will perform the song during the Rural Rhythm recorded event next June along with these other special shows:

Crowe Brothers with Russell Moore, and Sammy Shelor
Carrie Hassler and Brandon Rickman
Audie Blaylock & Redline with Carrie Hassler, Russell Moore, and Lou Reid
Graves Mountain Jam: Lou Reid and Carolina, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, Lonesome River Band, Carrie Hassler, Audie Blaylock & Redline, and The Crowe Brothers.
"My Home's Across the Blue Ridge Mountains” – Brandon Rickman, Crowe Brothers, Audie Blaylock, Mike Hartgrove, Wayne Benson, Steve Dilling, Edgar Loudermilk

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I hope I haven't provided you with information overload, but I felt this event was so special I had to tell you everything I could about it.

Now, I want to tell about who will be at Graves on Thursday. First up will be a group consisting of twin sisters (Yes, they are twins!) The Church Sisters. There has been much written about sibling harmony. The Church Sisters do nothing to cancel any of those arguments. Next up on Thursday is Lonesome Highway. I have no photos of this band, but I assure you they are very good. The United States Navy Band "Country Current" is scheduled to play on Thursday, but be aware duty sometimes calls them away from scheduled performances. Many of you will remember Darren Beachley from his stellar performances with Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. Since those days he has re-organized his band and will perform at Graves as Darren Beachley & Legends of The Potomac. Last up will be a Graves Mountain favorite The Seldom Scene. In the past the "Scene" has been a Saturday night closer and those are days I remember well. To hear the mountains echo with "Wait a Minute" and "Muddy Waters" always seemed a fitting close for a great festival. This year, however, they will close out Thursday. Should be just as good AND there'll still be two more days of Bluegrass to follow!

Now, Friday is that big day when the special recording project by Rural Rhythm will occur. Besides that there are a number of groups that will have regular performances. The Crowe Brothers will get things started off on Friday. These guys got their start accompanying Raymond Fairchild back in the early 1980s. You will enjoy them, believe me. Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain will perform Friday. When I first met Carrie at the IBMA World of Bluegrass a few years ago she was still searching for her sound. Well, trust me she has found it! This music is as hard driving and solid as any Bluegrass you will hear anywhere. Another favorite of Bluegrass fans everywhere is Lou Reid & Carolina. Lou currently has the #1 song on the Bluegrass Unlimited chart, entitled "Amanda Lynn." Don't miss his show! The Lonesome River Band will be at Graves on Friday. Sammy Shelor heads up LRB and has kept a fine band together through the years. Thanks, Sammy. Last up, but certainly not least will be Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out. There's not much I can add to the many laurels that have been bestowed upon this group other than to add my agreement to all that has been said.

Mark Templeton & Pocket Change will get Saturday at Graves off to a good start. Mark has been a mainstay at Virginia festivals over the last few years and always entertains. The all girl (or mostly all girl) band The Wells Family consists of a mother and her three daughters. These attractive women sing and perform Bluegrass with that family style harmony. Mark Newton is up next with a new band name; Mark Newton & The Stringtones. Mark is your host band for the Graves Mountain Festival of Music. Junior Sisk & Rambler's Choice also performs on Saturday at Graves. If you like a good traditional sound to your Bluegrass then Junior is your choice. Next up on Saturday is Cherryholmes. I want to try to tell you that Cherryholmes is a family band, but I was roundly corrected by Sandy Cherryholmes back in 2008. She explained that they were a Bluegrass band that just happened to be in the same family. Duh! Anyway, these folks are some of the best in the business. Always great music from Cherryholmes. Rhonda Vincent & The Rage will be at Graves on Saturday as will her brother and part of the great band Dailey & Vincent. These two great groups don't need a lot of boosting from me. If you've heard Bluegrass in the last 5 years you have heard these great groups. I do want to share a rare photo. This picture was taken at the IBMA Awards Show in 2003 in Louisville, Kentucky. At this time Darrin was a member of Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder. There aren't many who have a picture such as this. I was proud to be on hand to snap this photo.