Grand Ole Opry at Bonnaroo 2019 in Photographs

The Grand Ole Opry returned to Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival this year to headline the festival’s opening night. The Opry carried on the festival’s long-standing tradition of representing country, bluegrass, and roots music with performances by Old Crow Medicine Show and fellow Opry members Ricky Skaggs and Riders In The Sky, plus special guests Steve Earle and the Dukes, Morgan Evans, Ashley Monroe, Wendy Moten, Molly Tuttle, and even the Opry Square Dancers and Opry announcer Bill Cody came along for the ride.

BGS handed off the That Tent torch to the Opry in 2018, after five years of the BGS SuperJam. You can revisit our years of BGS x Bonnaroo goodness here: 2017; 2016; 2014.


All photos: Chris Hollo

Crossover Festival Brings Bluegrass, Old-Time Music to Cheshire

Leading up to the Crossover Festival, a group of three formidable women in northwest England are hanging homemade bunting in trees, dangling fairy lights, ribbons and twizzlers in branches. They’re preening and prettifiying Clonter Farm for its weekend destiny, temporarily the bluegrass capital of the UK.

The Crossover festival is now in its third year, as 21 acts gather this bank holiday weekend for a celebration of everything bluegrass and old-time, with a sprinkling of rockabilly for good measure.

Julie Cross, a former primary teacher, set up the festival in 2017 with her daughters Eleanor and Emily, after the closure of a couple of long-running bluegrass festivals that she’d attended for years. A longtime fan, she thought it was time to pick up the mantle – but where? “Then we found Clonter and there was no excuse anymore!” she says.

Clonter is a quirky gem in the lush Cheshire countryside. It started life as a venue in 1974 when Jeffery and Anita Lockett decided to host an “Operatic Picnic” for charity in the barn on their land. The event was a huge success, was repeated, and in time the owners even bought the entire interior of a theatre — from seats to kitchen — and installed it inside the barn. Over the years, the odd room has been built on the side in a suitably organic way, and the result is a perfect festival venue, with a main stage that will seat 400 and other spaces to jam and sing and teach and craft.

The whole is important to Cross, as the festival is as much about free-form playing, open mic sessions and musicians coming together as it is about the main acts. Arts funding has meant that they can bring big-name musicians in to run tuition sessions for every instrument. Want to improve your banjo playing? You’ll be able to get some tips from none other than Ron Block. Alison Krauss & Union Station’s Grammy-award winning banjo player is headlining the festival along with slide guitarist Tony Furtado, who will also be offering a masterclass.

The Crosses are a musical lot themselves. Eleanor is the bassist for Midnight Skyracer, the first British band to be nominated for an IBMA Momentum award last year. They’ll be performing this weekend — as will Eleanor’s daughter 6-year-old daughter Freya, who you can expect to spot carrying her quarter-sized banjo round the site.

Speaking as she dodges the boxes of equipment piling up inside her house, Cross says bluegrass is slowly changing. “It’s not all traditional old men with beards playing the banjo. There’s contemporary stuff too. There are lots of very, very, talented younger musicians coming through in the UK, making a name for themselves internationally,” she observes.

A lot of those younger musicians will have perfected their trade at the Sore Fingers Summer School, now in its 24th year, which brings together musicians from all over Europe to learn and jam together. It’s an exciting time for bluegrass music in the UK – and the Crossover festival is doing its bit to increase female representation. While Eleanor and Midnight Skyracer are breaking ground with their all-female band, solicitor Emily draws up all the contracts with the acts.

“People keep saying to us, ‘Go girls!’ says Cross. “Last year, we had 50 percent female representation at the festival in all its forms, which was half deliberate and half accidental. It’s always been a male-dominated genre but things are happening for women. Molly Tuttle came to Crossover last year. And Tabitha Agnew [Midnight Skyracer’s banjo player] has also been nominated for one of IBMA’s instrumental awards.”

It all seems a long way from the Cross kitchen table three years ago when the mother-and-daughters team were planning the first festival. They had no budget and asked musicians if they would be prepared to come on the off-chance. They were overwhelmed by the support. “We said to them if we can’t pay you we won’t do it again – and then some funding came through on the first day of the festival. We pay our artists the fair rate and that’s something that arts funding allows us, plus getting quality American artists to come over. We’re very frugal!”

But how did they all get into bluegrass? Cross laughs. “We were travelling to Wales and I saw a sign saying ‘Bluegrass’ and went and had a look. But I got into it properly when I saw some local Appalachian dancers, joined a troupe and danced with them for years.”

She adds, “We’re such a big musical community. I don’t know my neighbours very well but in the bluegrass community a lot of us have grown up together and our children have grown up together and formed bands together. It’s wonderful.” And while the UK bluegrass scene is still small, it’s good at spotting and promoting talent. One of this year’s highlights is Breaking Grass, a group over from the States for their first visit to the UK. Cross heard them a couple of times on the Jason Titley radio show. “We search with our ears as well as our eyes,” she says.

This year’s festival will fundraise for Cystic Fibrosis. It’s a condition Freya has, and the Crosses know what a difference research has made to lives like hers. “She’s fine,” says Cross, “because the treatment’s working really well.”

In 2018 Cross got three hours sleep a night during the festival, mostly because of trying not to miss too much. “I like to see it all, I like to be omnipresent. People share videos and then I see them and say, ‘I didn’t see that!’”

MerleFest 2019 in Photographs

MerleFest 2019 is officially in the books. The quintessential bluegrass, roots, and Americana festival — named for Doc Watson’s son, Merle — drew more than 75,000 attendees from around the world to the grounds of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. The four-day event celebrated NC’s “Year of Music” with over 100 bands from all across the state, the country, and the world.

On Saturday night, BGS once again presented the ever-popular Late Night Jam, hosted by Chatham County Line, which featured performances from many of MerleFest’s stellar acts including Ellis Dyson, Jim Avett, Scythian, Molly Tuttle, Shane Hennessy, Donna the Buffalo, Jontavious Willis, Jim Lauderdale, Catfish Keith, Presley Barker, Ana Egge, the Brother Brothers, Steve Poltz, and many more friends and special guests.

Check out MerleFest 2019 in photographs and make plans to join us next year!


Lede photo: Michael Freas

BGS Preview: MerleFest 2019

When it comes to roots music, the MerleFest 2019 lineup is tough to beat. From bluegrass heroes to country legends, along with a number of perennial favorites like the Avett Brothers, this year’s four-day event promises to be one for the record books. Where to begin? Check out the BGS daily preview below.

Editor’s Note: MerleFest 2019 will take place April 25-28 in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. The Bluegrass Situation is proud to present the Late Night Jam on Saturday, April 27. Get tickets.

THURSDAY, APRIL 25

Headliner: Wynonna

No one else on earth has a voice like Wynonna. Of course she got her start in the Judds, which brought an acoustic flavor back to mainstream country music in the 1980s. She’s also frequently cited Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard as among her earliest musical influences. You’ll surely hear the hits, yet a new record deal with Anti- means that more music is on the way.

Don’t miss: Junior Brown can wow a crowd with his “guit-steel” double neck guitar, not to mention wry tunes like “My Wife Thinks You’re Dead.” Dailey & Vincent know a thing or two about quick wit, with their fast-talking banter tying together a repertoire of bluegrass, country, and gospel. Accomplished songwriter Radney Foster issued a new album and a book – both titled For You to See the Stars – in 2017. North Carolina’s own bluegrass combo Chatham County Line kicks off the day, likely with a few familiar tunes from their new album, Sharing the Covers.


FRIDAY, APRIL 26

Headliner: Tyler Childers

With the album Purgatory, Tyler Childers captivated fans who demand authenticity from their favorite artists. The acclaimed project falls in that sweet spot where Americana, bluegrass and country music all merge gracefully. Yet the sonic textures of “Universal Sound” show that he’s not stuck in the past. In a crowded field of newcomers, Childers’ distinctive singing voice and incisive writing set him apart.

Don’t miss: If you’re into guys who write quality songs, then you’re in luck. Leading up to Childers’ set, fans can dig into the likes of Amos Lee, The Milk Carton Kids, The Black Lillies, American Aquarium, and Steve Poltz. If bluegrass is more your style, check out Mile Twelve and Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice in the early afternoon. Before that, make the most of your lunch break with country music from Michaela Anne and Elizabeth Cook. The Chris Austin Songwriting Competition is worth a stop, too.


SATURDAY, APRIL 27

Headliner: Brandi Carlile

Brandi Carlile catapulted into a new phase of her career by singing “The Joke” on the Grammys this year, not to mention winning three awards before the show. However, dedicated fans have followed her ascent since her auspicious 2005 debut album and its exceptional follow-up, The Story. She’s a master at engaging a crowd and a Saturday night headlining slot at MerleFest is yet another feather in her cap.

Don’t miss: Doc Watson himself would have approved of all the bluegrass artists on Saturday, such as Sam Bush Band, The Earls of Leicester, the Gibson Brothers, and Molly Tuttle. Keb’ Mo, Donna the Buffalo, and Webb Wilder converge upon Americana from different originas, yet they are united in their ability to electrify a crowd – even at a mostly acoustic festival. Folk fans should swing by The Brother Brothers, Carolina Blue, Driftwood, Ana Egge, Elephant Sessions, and The Waybacks. The Kruger Brothers always offer a pleasurable listening experience, too. Still not ready for the tent? Drop by the Late Night Jam, hosted by Chatham County Line and presented by yours truly, BGS. You won’t want to miss the set of special collaborations and true, on the spot, one of a kind jams with artists from all across the festival lineup.


SUNDAY, APRIL 28

Headliner: The Avett Brothers

The Avett Brothers elevate the MerleFest experience by bringing together a multitude of influences, from string bands to stadium rock. The charming track “Neopolitan Sky” dropped in February, employing a Tom Petty vibe and a surprisingly scaled-back production, as well as the sibling harmony that’s central to their sound. The North Carolina natives are proud fans of Doc Watson, so here’s hoping for “Shady Grove” to go along with fan faves like “Live and Die,” “Murder in the City,” and “I and Love and You.”

Don’t miss: The Del McCoury Band always brightens a Sunday afternoon with traditional bluegrass and any number of hollered requests. Steep Canyon Rangers will deliver a set inspired by the North Carolina songbook. After that, the ever-prolific Jim Lauderdale will take the stage with a set drawing from his country and bluegrass career. Early risers will be treated to morning music from Lindi Ortega, who hit a career high of creativity with her newest album, Liberty. Also of note: Jeff Little Trio, Andy May, Mark and Maggie O’Connor, Peter Rowan, Scythian, Larry Stephenson Band, Yarn, and all the good vibes that MerleFest has to offer.


Photo credit: Willa Stein
 

Molly Tuttle: Confident and ‘Ready’

Even before releasing her first full-length album, Molly Tuttle made history. She became the first woman to be named IBMA Guitar Player of the Year, a title she’s won twice, in addition to winning Americana Music Association’s Instrumentalist of the Year, all on the strength of her 2017 EP, RISE. But to focus exclusively on Tuttle as a guitarist would be a mistake. She isn’t interpreting others’ songs. She’s writing and singing her own, and as her debut record When You’re Ready proves, she’s doing it not only with classically trained musicianship, but with an exciting willingness to explore and trust her own wide-ranging artistic instincts.

Tuttle talked with BGS about When You’re Ready, feeling optimistic about women in music, and why California’s Bay Area has her heart.

BGS: When You’re Ready is such a confident debut. Were you feeling confident from the jump, or did your confidence grow as you recorded?

Tuttle: I think it grew. As I was writing the songs, I got more and more confident just saying what I felt and what I was thinking in the songs. I remember feeling really confident in the studio in what I was saying and in the parts I was playing. Ryan Hewitt, who produced it, helped me feel confident. He wanted everything to sound really strong – it was a good experience.

A lot of these songs seem to explore relationships and how we interact with each other. Do you feel like there are some currents that run through thematically and connect all of these songs?

I think there’s kind of a theme of longing on the album, and also a theme of just being confident in who you are and what you’re feeling. When I was writing it, it was, “I’m just going to say where I’m at.” The theme on the album for me would be accepting your feelings and embracing them.

You’re from California, then you went to college in Boston, and now you’re living in Nashville. Do you feel like all of that geographic diversity changed the trajectory of your music?

I think so. I got exposed to lots of different kinds of music in California, and then especially when I was at Berklee, there were all sorts of different kinds of music going on all the time at school. Then, obviously, Nashville is one of the most amazing music cities in the world. I think living in California was influential, growing up there. I really relate to the Bay Area and a lot of my songs are still inspired by California. It’s where my soul is, still.

What is it about the Bay Area you love so much?

I really love the ocean. I love the nature there, the scenery. I think people are really open there. Everyone — well, not everyone, but a lot of people in the Bay — are just trying to be good people and trying to be accepting of other people. That was something I was taught in school a lot as a kid: that you should accept everyone as they are. Of course, nobody is perfect at that. But I think people are trying to do that there, and that’s a feeling I’ve tried to carry with me.

When you write, are you focusing on the guitar part first and then the lyrics, or does it vary?

There are times when I do the guitar part first, but for this album, I was really focusing on the lyrics and melodies. The guitar parts were the last parts that came with these songs — and I really wanted to have interesting guitar parts on this album. I thought it’d make it more interesting to have a singer/songwriter record with guitar lines that could weave it all together, so I worked on that after I finished writing the songs.

The guitar playing on “Take the Journey” jumps out: the percussion, the lead, the bass, the counter-melodies — that’s all you on acoustic guitar. How’d you come up with this song?

I wrote that with Sarah Siskind. We wrote it pretty quickly in a couple of hours, which for me is quick for writing a song. We had a song that was in that modal-key feel — you don’t really know if it’s major or minor. When we were writing it, I went into this different tuning: it’s an open G tuning, but you get rid of the third and tune the B up to C, which makes it like a Gsus4.

I like that style of guitar playing. When I was a teenager, I learned clawhammer banjo because I really liked old-time music. Someone showed me that you could move the clawhammer style onto the guitar and play a really percussive-sounding style. I went with that and created different rhythms that I like to use — more syncopated — and really worked on getting the bass notes to pop out, letting my hand hit the guitar so it’s percussive sounding.

Your vocals on “Don’t Let Go” move between smooth and comfortable verses to more of a staccato and breathy chorus. How’d you decide to approach the vocals this way?

Where the melody is in my range, I naturally had to go up to a breathy head voice, so we thought that could be a really cool thing, to make it sound really emotional. And on this one, when I was singing the chorus, I did get really emotional in the studio. That helped me get the quivers in my voice. I think you can hear it in the track. There are little things that came out in my singing that I hadn’t really done before recording this. I had to go to an emotional place to get the take that worked.

Do you have a favorite song on here or is that impossible?

I think my favorite is “Sleepwalking.”

All of that imagery on “Sleepwalking” – and on some other songs too – blurry screens, white noise, and even sleepwalking itself: it’s such a direct contrast to the specific, refined sounds you’re making. What is it about the hazy imagery that you’re drawn to?

Yeah, I think a lot of my songs have themes of trying to make a connection with a person or a place or a feeling. There are a few songs that talk about white noise or static or anything that’s kind of blurring the connection. That’s something I feel — like with technology, sometimes it makes me feel like I’m not actually connected to anything and not connected to myself.

I think that comes through in my songs. “Sleepwalking” is a song I wrote about that specific feeling of being disconnected from the world around you. Maybe you’re relying on one person or one place or feeling to be your connection. It’s kind of a love song, but it’s kind of a cry for help in a way. [Laughs]

Of the women who are widely known first as guitar players – a number that’s still too low – most aren’t acoustic, steel-string players. It’s also a physically demanding instrument, especially the way you play. Why were you drawn to it? Why do you think you’ve succeeded?

I’ve never really seen limitations on guitar for me as a woman. I remember, I was first drawn to it in a really natural way when I was a kid. I just liked the mellow sound of it. So I don’t remember specifically what drew me to it, but I remember seeing guitars around, and I told my parents I wanted a guitar. That was after I’d tried like three different instruments and failed at all of them. [Laughs] I tried to play fiddle, and I think I got tired of just not sounding good on it. Guitar is a lot less abrasive when you’re first starting out. I had a tiny guitar when I started, and my dad showed me some stuff on it.

I really liked that you could play it while you were singing. I never thought about it being a physically demanding instrument, even when I first played and my fingers got really sore. It felt pretty natural to me. Then, when I went to Berklee, I was 19 and all of a sudden there were no other women in any of my guitar classes. [Laughs] That was weird. It was definitely an uncomfortable experience at times.

But it was good because I’d walk into class and be the only one, and because all this attention was instantly on me, I thought, “Oh, I better practice and be good or they’re just going to write me off as some girl trying to play guitar.” It felt like there was some added pressure there, which is not really fair, but at least it made me practice more.

You’re not the “best woman guitar player.” You’re the best guitar player. Do you feel like the industry and culture in general are beginning to consider contributions of women more fairly – that you’re weighed equally?

I think it’s definitely changing at a rapid pace right now, especially with the #MeToo movement. Now that’s starting to affect the music world. I’m seeing so many women coming up and their careers are just exploding in new ways – like at the Grammys. There were so many women winning awards and playing.

I think women are feeling really empowered to just say, “No. I’m not a female musician. I’m just a musician.” Women are fully embracing feminism more and just feeling like we can say what’s on our minds. We don’t have to tiptoe around these issues anymore. I think that’s helping everything change. We are not accepting any crap anymore — like “you’re a female guitar player.” [Laughs] I certainly don’t want to be pegged as a female guitar player. My gender doesn’t have anything to do with my guitar playing. We’re talking about the issues more and that’s helping everything to change.


Photo credit: Alysse Gafkjen

Britain’s Got Bluegrass: April 2019

Get off your couch and go hear some live music with Britain’s Got Bluegrass! Here’s the BGS-UK monthly guide to the best gigs in the UK and Ireland in April.

The Devil Makes Three, April 16-26, nationwide

They’re a bit smart, this band. The roots rockers’ sixth and latest album, Chains Are Broken, draws from authors including Ernest Hemingway and essayist James Baldwin — but hey, that doesn’t mean they don’t still want to give you a rollicking good time. The Devil Makes Three are playing three nights at Vicar Street, Dublin — or join them in Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester or Brixton, and tell them we sent you.


Molly Tuttle, April 10-20, nationwide

Molly Tuttle’s uncanny ability to combine hot-picking guitar with soul-searing songwriting has made her Kind Of A Big Deal in the States, which makes us even more grateful and amazed – gramazed? – to hear that she’s playing no fewer than 10 dates in our humble home. Molly has made no secret of her love of this country — she toured last year with Rachel Baiman, and earlier this year was a featured artist with the Transatlantic Sessions. This month the two-time IBMA Guitarist of the Year launches her debut album, When You’re Ready, and Britain gets to hear her mellifluous melodies hot off the vinyl presses. We are not worthy.


The Hanging Stars, April 6-13, nationwide

The Hanging Stars define their sound as “Cosmic Country”, so if you’re wanting to prep for a summer of love, let us recommend a night out with this bunch. Their recent album Songs for Somewhere Else has the honour of having been recording in LA, Nashville and Walthamstow, which is a sentence you won’t hear often. Their acoustic-psychedelia has a strong ’70s vibe, inspired by the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers, and you can catch it this month in Manchester, Nottingham, Southampton and London, where they’re supporting The Long Ryders.


The Peregrines, April 16-18, London, Ashington and Norwich

You know how some actors just fizz with chemistry when you throw them together? Hepburn and Tracy. Hanks and Ryan. Bullock and Reeves. (OK, Bullock and practically anyone.) Some musical pairings can be just as electric. When Grant Gordy (of the David Grisman Quintet) and Joe K Walsh (of Joy Kills Sorrow) play off against each other, the sparks fly as surely as if one of them was standing on a Van Der Graaf generator. Their trio with bass player Ben Somers, The Peregrines, isn’t just a great showcase for their individual talents but also an excellent introduction to what progressive bluegrass is capable of. You can catch their act for three nights only.


Lake Street Dive, April 20 (Bristol) and 21 (Edinburgh)

Two dates. Two cities. Two chances to get down and funk your ass off, and if you plan to be there for both, hey, we’ll do the drive from Bristol to Edinburgh with you. Lake Street Dive has a groove that just won’t quit, as evidenced by their latest album, Free Yourself Up, and they also just happen to be some of the nicest people you’ll ever come across. If you still haven’t seen their cover of Jackson 5’s “Want You Back,” do yourself a favour and watch it right now. Go on. We’ll wait.


Photo credit for the Devil Makes Three: Jay Westcott

MerleFest Reveals Late Night Jam Lineup

MerleFest is proud to announce the 2019 lineup for their beloved Late Night Jam. Sponsored by The Bluegrass Situation and hosted by Chatham County Line, this year’s Late Night Jam will feature Molly Tuttle, Jim Lauderdale, The Brother Brothers, Donna the Buffalo, Presley Barker, Ana Egge, Steve Poltz, and more. 

The annual homecoming of musicians and music fans returns to the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, April 25-28.

Tickets for this year’s festival, as well as the Late Night Jam sponsored by The Bluegrass Situation, may be purchased at www.MerleFest.org or by calling 1-800-343-7857. MerleFest is presented by Window World.

Roland White: A Tribute to a Bluegrass Hero

To begin, a disclosure: Roland White is kind of a hero of mine for his perseverance, his originality, his sense of humor, his experience and much more. Also, he’s an employer of mine; I’ve been playing in the Roland White Band on most of its dates for close to 15 years now, and I’ve recorded two albums with him, including his new one, which I also co-produced. Lastly, and maybe most importantly, Roland’s a friend of mine. And he has a great story.

Played with Bill Monroe, the Father of Bluegrass? Check. Played with Lester Flatt? Check. Toured around the world as a member of the Country Gazette and then the Nashville Bluegrass Band? Check. Had a band with Béla Fleck? Check. Helped organize and make Jim Lauderdale’s very first album? Check. Fronted his own band since the turn of the century? Check.

That’s a lot of boxes, and any one of them could be turned into a meaty article. Here, though, I’m going to concentrate on the story of the group whose legacy inspired the new album, Roland White & Friends: A Tribute To The Kentucky Colonels; it’s the starting point for the larger Roland White story, illuminating the way it was for young bluegrass musicians in the 1950s and 60s and how Roland, his brother Clarence, and the rest of the Colonels were able to craft an enduring and influential body of music.

Shortly after he turned 16 in 1954, Roland’s family relocated from Maine to Southern California. He was already playing the mandolin by then, and younger brothers Clarence and Eric were playing guitar and banjo (tenor, not the bluegrass 5-string). They joined their sister, JoAnne, who sang, around the house and at local functions. Soon after moving to Burbank, the boys rather casually entered a talent contest, and in short order found themselves dressed in hillbilly clothes and, as The Three Little Country Boys, performing on a variety of local stages and radios shows — even, if briefly, on television. All of this before any of them had heard a lick of what was just beginning to be called bluegrass.

Roland recalls that it was in a comment from a visiting uncle in the middle of 1955 that he first heard Bill Monroe’s name — and naturally, it was in connection with the instrument they shared. “My uncle Armand asked me if I’d ever heard of Bill Monroe. He said, ‘He plays the mandolin, he’s on the Grand Ole Opry and,’” Roland adds with a grin, “‘he is fast!’” Not surprisingly, that piqued his interest — but to actually get hold of a record was, at the time and under the circumstances, something of a project, involving a walk into town to the music store, perusing a catalog, ordering it, waiting, and then picking up the little 45rpm disc of his choice: “Pike County Breakdown.” (It was actually the B-side of “A Mighty Pretty Waltz,” and yes, it was fast.)

What followed was a “conversion” experience of the kind that was happening around the same time to other people his age, give or take a few years — a cohort that includes the slightly older Mike Seeger and Ralph Rinzler; the slightly younger Del McCoury and Neil Rosenberg (like Roland and Clarence White, all members of the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Hall of Fame); and the slightly younger still Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, and Peter Rowan. What most of them had in common was some distance, geographic and sometimes sociological, from the Southeastern epicenter of the emerging bluegrass sound; what all of them had in common was a profound desire to hear and play more of it.

More records soon made their way into the White household, often mail-ordered from Cincinnati’s Jimmie Skinner Music Center, and so did a five-string banjo, which Roland learned to play in the Scruggs style. Eric moved over to bass, and the band, now just The Country Boys, began studying the picking and singing of Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, Reno & Smiley, the Stanley Brothers, Jimmy Martin, and more. While they focused on the whole sound, there was room, too, for Clarence to study the lead guitar stylings of Earl Scruggs, Don Reno, and the Stanley Brothers’ George Shuffler, as well as the rhythm guitar playing of Flatt, Martin, and others. And though skilled banjo players were still rare — especially in California — by 1958, they’d met and recruited Arkansas native Billy Ray Lathum for the job, allowing Roland to devote himself once again exclusively to the mandolin.

1959 was a big year for The Country Boys. For one thing, they were joined by Leroy McNees — Leroy Mack, as he’s still known — whom they met first as a fan, but soon persuaded to take up the Dobro. Mack not only rounded out the band’s sound, but quickly became a valuable asset as a songwriter. For another, the band got its first bookings at the Ash Grove in Los Angeles, a key venue in the emerging folk revival, and one that also booked national bluegrass acts as they made their long journey out to the West Coast.

Indeed, the Ash Grove turned out to be an important place where folk audiences and bluegrass musicians could meet one another; as Roland put it, “Playing the Ash Grove opened the way for us to play to a totally new audience — a folk music audience that we had known nothing about. They dressed differently from the Country-Western audience (they were college students, professors, beatniks, doctors, and lawyers) and they paid close attention to the music.”

Not only did the Ash Grove provide the group a new audience, it gave them a different sound; the less raucous, more attentive audience and more sophisticated sound system allowed Clarence White to hear himself better than ever before. Within a matter of weeks, he began to take solos — plenty of practice time at home had allowed him to explore and build on what he’d been hearing on records — and The Country Boys started to build a unique sound that featured lead acoustic guitar in a way that reached well beyond their influences.

By 1961, The Country Boys — now a five-piece band — had built a good circuit for themselves, playing to folk audiences at the Ash Grove and on college campuses around Southern California while maintaining a foothold in the dynamic country music scene. Their prominence gave them an inside track that landed them an appearance on The Andy Griffith Show — just before Roland got his draft notice, a then-common occurrence. While he served for the next two years, the band continued without him, taking a couple of important steps, including the replacement of bass player Eric White with Roger Bush; a name change to The Kentucky Colonels; and recording their first LP in 1962. The project, which featured some of Leroy Mack’s most enduring originals, also debuted Clarence’s distinctive, increasingly powerful lead guitar work. Over in Germany, where he was stationed, Roland admits that “it floored me.”

By the time Roland was discharged from service in the fall of 1963, Mack had left the band, replaced by transplanted Kentucky fiddler Bobby Slone. With Mike Seeger’s then-wife, Marge, acting as their booking agent, the Colonels were booked for their first East Coast tour, playing folk clubs in the Boston area, New York, Washington D.C., Baltimore and beyond. In each, they made connections with local bluegrass musicians, ranging from melodic banjo pioneer Bill Keith to the members of the Country Gentlemen to David Grisman, and when they came east again in 1964 — a trip anchored by an appearance at the Newport Folk Festival — they did more of the same. Interestingly, though, and a sign of the distance that still separated the folk revival circuit from the country music one, they never got even as far south as Nashville; as Roland says, “there was nothing for us there.”

Sadly, while their focus on folk audiences had served to give them broader appreciation than they might have gotten while working in Southern California’s country music scene, it also meant that, as those audiences began turning their attention to more electrified folk-rock and newly emerging rock artists, the Colonels would see harder times. Though they continued playing into 1966, the group eventually disbanded, with Roland soon taking the guitar/lead singer job with Bill Monroe and moving to Nashville, and Clarence turning first to studio work, and then to electric guitar playing with the Byrds.

Even so, the magic that the Colonels had made continued to appeal to both Roland and Clarence, and in 1973, they reformed their original brother trio with Eric. Adding banjo man Herb Pedersen and dubbing themselves the New Kentucky Colonels, they embarked on an April tour of Europe and, though the banjo position remained unstable, they started to make plans for more touring and recording — only to have them come to an end when Clarence was killed by a drunk driver while loading out from a Palmdale, California club.

What did the band leave behind? Not much in the way of recordings, unfortunately. The Kentucky Colonels made hardly any in the studio — the album done while Roland was in the Army and an all-instrumental album, Appalachian Swing!, one of the most influential bluegrass recordings of the 1960s are the sum total — and while enough of their shows were recorded at the Newport Folk Festival, at California venues, and on that final European tour to fill a couple of albums, they’ve often been out of print or hard to find.

Yet it’s clear — and the new record makes the point with its wide-ranging roster of guests, from guitarists like Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle and Jon Stickley to banjoists such as Kristin Scott Benson (Grascals) and Russ Carson (Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder) and fiddlers like Brittany Haas (Hawktail), Kimber Ludiker (Della Mae) and Jeremy Garrett (The Infamous Stringdusters) — the legacy of the Colonels can’t be measured so simply. From songs like “If You’re Ever Gonna Love Me” and “I Might Take You Back”— both co-written by Leroy Mack, and recorded by scores of bluegrass artists — to guitar showcases like “Listen to the Mockingbird” and “I Am a Pilgrim,” their influence has been carried forward through the bluegrass generations, not only by Roland White, but by Tony Rice, Jerry Garcia, and a host of others who met and heard and jammed with them during those critical years in which they were playing the national folk music circuit.

And for Roland White, for whom those years were just the beginning of a storied career that has taken him, by turns, deeper into the heart of bluegrass and further out to broad-ranging audiences, the opportunity to revisit them in the company of new generations of musicians has been an exciting one. “I really enjoyed playing and singing with all these musicians,” he says. “They appreciate the old music that we made, but they brought their own touch to it, too. It’s good to know that these songs, and these sounds are in good hands.”


Illustration by Zachary Johnson
Photo by Russell Carson, Carson Photoworks

IBMA Awards 2018: Read the Full Winners List

Some of the most decorated artists in bluegrass, such as Balsam Range, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, and the Travelin’ McCourys, picked up even more International Bluegrass Music Awards on Thursday night (Sept. 27) in Raleigh, North Carolina. Other top winners included longtime favorites like Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers, Special Consensus, and Becky Buller.

Instrumentalist awards were presented to Michael Cleveland (fiddle), Sierra Hull (mandolin), Justin Moses (Dobro), Ned Luberecki (banjo), Tim Surrett (bass) and Molly Tuttle (guitar). Hot Rize, the IBMA’s first-ever Entertainer of the Year recipient in 1990, hosted the show.

The recipients of the 2018 IBMA Awards, presented by the International Bluegrass Music Association, are listed below:

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR:
Balsam Range

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR:
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver

INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR:
The Travelin’ McCourys

SONG OF THE YEAR:
“If I’d Have Wrote That Song” – Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers (artist), Larry Cordle/Larry Shell/James Silvers (writers)

ALBUM OF THE YEAR:
Rivers & Roads – Special Consensus (artist), Alison Brown (producer), Compass Records (label)

GOSPEL RECORDED PERFORMANCE OF A YEAR:https://thebluegrasssituation.com/?p=10924&preview=true
“Speakin’ to That Mountain” – Becky Buller (artist), Becky Buller/Jeff Hyde (writers), Crepe Paper Heart (album), Stephen Mougin (producer), Dark Shadow Recording (label)

INSTRUMENTAL RECORDED PERFORMANCE:
“Squirrel Hunters” – Special Consensus with John Hartford, Rachel Baiman, Christian Sedelmyer, and Alison Brown (artist), Traditional arranged by Alison Brown/Special Consensus (writers), Rivers & Roads (album), Alison Brown (producer), Compass Records (label)

EMERGING ARTIST OF THE YEAR:
The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys

RECORDED EVENT OF THE YEAR:
“Swept Away” – Missy Raines with Alison Brown, Becky Buller, Sierra Hull, and Molly Tuttle (artists), single release, Alison Brown (producer), Compass Records (label)

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR:
Brooke Aldridge

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR:
Buddy Melton

BANJO PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Ned Luberecki

BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Tim Surrett

DOBRO PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Justin Moses

FIDDLE PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Michael Cleveland

GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Molly Tuttle

MANDOLIN PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Sierra Hull

Previously-announced inductees into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame – Ricky Skaggs, Paul Williams, Tom T. and Dixie Hall – were honored at this evening’s show.

At the Special Awards Luncheon earlier in the day, the recipients of the following awards were announced:

BLUEGRASS BROADCASTER OF THE YEAR:
Steve Martin (Northern Kentucky-based host of Steve Martin’s Unreal Bluegrass)

BLUEGRASS EVENT OF THE YEAR:
Bluegrass on the Green; Frankfort, Illinois

BEST LINER NOTES FOR A RECORDED PROJECT (tie):
Craig Havighurst – The Story We Tell by Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers
Peter Wernick – Carter Stanley’s Eyes by Peter Rowan

BEST GRAPHIC DESIGN FOR A RECORDED PROJECT:
Lou Everhart
A Heart Never Knows by The Price Sisters

BLUEGRASS PRINT/MEDIA PERSON OF THE YEAR:
Neil Rosenberg

BLUEGRASS SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR:
Jerry Salley

SOUND ENGINEER OF THE YEAR:
Ben Surratt

ANNOUNCING: 2018 IBMA Award Nominations

Nominees for the 2018 International Bluegrass Music Awards were announced today at a press conference in Nashville, Tennessee; Becky Buller leads the field with seven nominations, followed by Molly Tuttle, who garnered six. Close behind, with five nominations each are Special Consensus, and The Del McCoury Band and The Travelin’ McCourys, with strong showings by Rhonda Vincent, The Earls of Leicester, Balsam Range, and Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. Voting results will be revealed at the International Bluegrass Music Awards on Thursday, September 27, at the Duke Energy Performing Arts Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Entertainer of the Year
Balsam Range
Del McCoury Band
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
The Earls of Leicester
Gibson Brothers

Vocal Group of the Year
Balsam Range
Flatt Lonesome
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Gibson Brothers
I’m With Her

Instrumental Group of the Year
Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
Sam Bush Band
The Travelin’ McCourys
Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
Punch Brothers

Emerging Artist of the Year (Tie)
Mile Twelve
Molly Tuttle
Po’ Ramblin’ Boys
Billy Strings
Jeff Scroggins & Colorado
Sister Sadie

Song of the Year
Calamity Jane – Becky Buller (artist), Becky Buller/Tim Stafford (writers)
If I’d Have Wrote That Song – Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers (artist), Larry Cordle/Larry Shell/James Silvers (writers)
Swept Away – Missy Raines (artist), Laurie Lewis (writer)
Way Down the River Road – Special Consensus (artist), John Hartford (writer)
You Didn’t Call My Name – Molly Tuttle (artist), Molly Tuttle (writer)

Album of the Year
Life Is a Story – Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (artist), Doyle Lawson (producer), Mountain Home Music Company (label)
Mayhayley’s House – Lonesome River Band (artist), Lonesome River Band (producers), Mountain Home Music Company (label)
Rise – Molly Tuttle (artist), Kai Welch (producer), Compass Records (label)
Rivers & Roads – Special Consensus (artist), Alison Brown (producer), Compass Records (label)
The Story We Tell – Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers (artist), Joe Mullins (producer), Rebel Records (label)

Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year
I’m Going Under – Darin & Brooke Aldridge (artist), Karen Taylor-Good/Bill Whyte (writers), single release, Mountain Home Music Company (label)
Little Girl – Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (artist), Harley Lee Allen (writer), Life Is a Story (album), Doyle Lawson (producer), Mountain Home Music Company (label)
Speakin’ to That Mountain – Becky Buller (artist), Becky Buller/Jeff Hyde (writers), Crepe Paper Heart (album), Stephen Mougin (producer), Dark Shadow Recording (label)
Travelin’ Shoes – Special Consensus (artist), Traditional arranged by Special Consensus (writer), Rivers & Roads (album), Alison Brown (producer), Compass Records (label)
When God’s in It – Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers (artist), Ronnie Bowman/Jerry Salley (writers), The Story We Tell (album), Joe Mullins (producer), Rebel Records (label)

Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year
Lynchburg Chicken Run – The Grascals (artist), Danny Roberts/Adam Haynes (writers), Before Breakfast (album), The Grascals (producer), Mountain Home Music Company (label)
Medley: Sally in the Garden/Big Country/Molly Put the Kettle On – Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn (artists), Sally in the Garden and Molly Put the Kettle On – Traditional arranged by Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn, Big Country – Bela Fleck (writers), Echo in the Valley (album), Bela Fleck (producer), Rounder Records (label)
Sirens – Infamous Stringdusters (artist), Infamous Stringdusters (writers), Laws of Gravity (album), Infamous Stringdusters, Billy Hume (producers), Compass Records (label)
Squirrel Hunters – Special Consensus with John Hartford, Rachel Baiman & Christian Sedelmyer (10 String Symphony), & Alison Brown (artists), Traditional arranged by Alison Brown/Special Consensus (writers), Rivers & Roads (album), Alison Brown (producer), Compass Records (label)
Wickwire – Mile Twelve (artist), Mile Twelve (writers), Onwards (album), Stephen Mougin (producer), Delores the Taurus Records (label)

Recorded Event of the Year
Calamity Jane – Becky Buller with Rhonda Vincent (artists), Crepe Paper Heart (album), Stephen Mougin (producer), Dark Shadow Recording (label)
I’ll Just Go Away – Dale Ann Bradley & Vince Gill (artists), Dale Ann Bradley (album), Dale Ann Bradley (producer), Pinecastle Records (label)
The Rebel and the Rose – Becky Buller with Sam Bush (artists), Crepe Paper Heart (album), Stephen Mougin (producer), Dark Shadow Recording (label)
She Took the Tennessee River – Special Consensus with Bobby Osborne (artists), Rivers & Roads (album), Alison Brown (producer), Compass Records (label)
Swept Away – Missy Raines with Alison Brown, Becky Buller, Sierra Hull, and Molly Tuttle (artists), single release, Alison Brown (producer), Compass Records (label)

Male Vocalist of the Year
Shawn Camp
Buddy Melton
Del McCoury
Russell Moore
Tim O’Brien

Female Vocalist of the Year
Brooke Aldridge
Dale Ann Bradley
Becky Buller
Molly Tuttle
Rhonda Vincent

Banjo Player of the Year
Kristin Scott Benson
Gina Clowes
Ned Luberecki
Noam Pikelny
Sammy Shelor

Bass Player of the Year
Barry Bales
Mike Bub
Missy Raines
Mark Schatz
Tim Surrett

Fiddle Player of the Year
Hunter Berry
Becky Buller
Jason Carter
Michael Cleveland
Stuart Duncan

Dobro Player of the Year
Jerry Douglas
Andy Hall
Rob Ickes
Phil Leadbetter
Justin Moses

Guitar Player of the Year
Kenny Smith
Billy Strings
Bryan Sutton
Molly Tuttle
Josh Williams

Mandolin Player of the Year
Sam Bush
Jesse Brock
Sierra Hull
Ronnie McCoury
Frank Solivan


Additionally, the IBMA is proud to announce new inductees into the 
International Bluegrass Music Association Hall of Fame: Ricky Skaggs, Paul Williams, and Tom T. and Dixie Hall. They will be inducted during the IBMA Awards show. 

This round of inductions is in addition to a special round of posthumous inductions — of Vassar Clements, Mike Seeger, Allen Shelton, Jake Tullock, and Joe Val — announced earlier this year in celebration of the new Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky. A special induction ceremony will be held at the new museum’s grand opening in October 2018. 


Photo of Molly Tuttle by Kaitlyn Raitz; photo of Becky Buller courtesy Becky Buller Band.