On Friday night, Aug. 10^th catch John Cowan who will play on the 8:30-9:00 portion of the Grand Ole Opry broadcast live on 650 WSM Radio.

Saturday the Aug. 10^th John and the band will be playing at the “world Famous” Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, TN starting at 9:30 pm central time. If you can’t make it to the show in person, you can still see it by going on line to www.bluebirdcafesl.com and watching it in Second Life or via your browser. These shows are live, with good picture and very good audio. There is a cover charge for these performances.

In other news from the John Cowan website, Cowan has posted some new “Demo’s” on the groups MySpace page.

Bobby Osborne and the Rocky Top X-Press will play on 2 big Opry shows this weekend. On Friday night you can catch them playing on the 8:00-8:30 set and Saturday night they will be playing during the 7:00-7:30 segment.

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Flatt and Scruggs

NASHVILLE, Tenn., The Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum and Shanachie Entertainment will release the Best of the Flatt & Scruggs TV Show, Volume Three and Volume Four on October 9^th.

Like their critically acclaimed predecessors (volumes one and two), which were released last March, each volume contains two 30-minute episodes of the classic bluegrass TV program. Volumes three and four contain shows from 1961 and 1962, when legends Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs and their Foggy Mountain Boys were at the peak of their prowess and popularity. Volume Three features two performances by seven-year-old prodigy Ricky Skaggs; Volume Four includes the television debut (at age eight) of Earl’s son Randy Scruggs.

“Those were good years. Basically, we had a good time with each other…There’s nothing like that on the air now, I don’t reckon.”Earl Scruggs

Until the late 1980s, it was believed that no copies of this groundbreaking series had survived. In 1989, however, advertising executive Bill Graham discovered and donated to the Museum 24 intact shows. Soon after, 12 more were acquired from another source. The shows were innovative on several levels: Each show’s mix of up-tempo tunes, comedy bits, spotlight instrumentals and occasional guest performances was a template that subsequent country variety shows would follow. Additionally, the Martha White in-show advertising and accompanying cooking demonstrations were precursors to modern product placement.

Titled Flatt & Scruggs Grand Ole Opry, the show ran from 1955 until 1969, when the pair ended their partnership to take separate musical paths. These shows illustrate the band’s greatness as a well-oiled performing unit.

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Bradley Walker

Burlington, MA - On September 2-3, country and bluegrass vocalist Bradley Walker will perform the song “A Little Change” from his debut CD Highway of Dreams on the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s Jerry Lewis Telethon, now in its 42nd year.

The 21 ½ hour telethon will air live from the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa in Las Vegas, Nevada, beginning Sunday, September 2 at 9 p.m. ET. The program will be broadcast nationwide to nearly 50 million viewers in the U.S. and Canada via 190 television stations in MDA’s “Love Network” as well as on MDA’s website, www.mda.org. Local air times and stations are available at www.mda.org.

“I’m excited to welcome Bradley Walker back to the show this year. He’s an extraordinary talent, and I’m sure his performance and story will inspire our Telethon viewers.”Jerry Lewis, MDA National Chairman and Telethon star

Walker is riding a wave of acclaim for his 2006 Rounder release Highway of Dreams. Produced by Grammy award-winning musician and songwriter Carl Jackson, Highway of Dreams is a heartfelt collection of traditional country and bluegrass, featuring guest support from Vince Gill and label mates Rhonda Vincent, Alecia Nugent, Ron Block and Rob Ickes, among others.

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Arcola, Illinois - This year’s Illinois State Old-Time Fiddle Contest will be held Sept. 2 at Rockome Gardens, an Amish-themed tourist spot near Arcola in east central Illinois. Grand prize to the Open Champion is $250, along with a trophy and a traveling trophy. Cash prizes are paid through fifth place in the open category.

Other categories are for fiddlers over 70, beginners 10 years old and younger and junior for fiddles ages 11 to 19. First-place winners in the junior and senior divisions are eligible to enter the open competition.

The registration fee is $4 before Aug. 29 and $6 on the day of the contest. Registrations can be made by calling 217-795-2035 or 217-268-4106.

Contest sponsor, Illinois Old Time Fiddlers, also maintains a Web presence at http://www.myspace.com/illinoisoldtimefiddlers.

Information about Rockome Gardens is available at http://www.rockome.com

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