Richard Smith and Julie Adams

Statesville, NC - - Hundreds of people from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia are expected to attend the annual N.C. Thumb & Finger Style Guitar Players Convention. The event will be held Nov. 9 and 10 at Mitchell Community College in Statesville. The program features performances by Richard Smith and Julie Adams and special guest appearance by classical guitarist Miguel Pico.

“It’ll be a great weekend for anyone who enjoys good music,” said Clay Lunsford, president of the guitar players association. “If you like world-class guitar music, you don’t want to miss this event.” Other artists include Jeff Little, Clay Lunsford, Eddie Pennington and Bob Saxton. The convention includes daily “jam” sessions, workshops, and open mic.

Registration begins at 12:30 p.m. Friday in Shearer Hall on the main campus. Workshops, jam sessions and open mic starts at 2 p.m. The evening concert begins at 6:30 p.m. in Shearer Hall. Saturday’s festivities begin at 9 a.m. with workshops, seminars and open mic events scheduled throughout the day. The evening concert begins at 6:30 p.m. in Shearer Hall.

Participants can register for the entire program or attend specific events. Nightly admission to the concerts is $15 at the door. Daily admission is $25 and covers all sessions and evening concert. A $55 registration fee, which includes a membership, covers all events for the entire convention for the member, spouse and children. Children 12 years old and younger are admitted free. Proceeds from the event will go to the Mitchell Community College’s Endowment for Excellence, which supports student programs.

For more information and schedule, visit http://www.nctaf.com or call 704.878.4321.

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Alison Krauss

Burlington, MA - Alison Krauss has been selected to perform at the 41st Annual Country Music Association Awards, which will be broadcast live on the ABC Television Network on Wednesday, November 7. She will perform her latest single “Simple Love,” from her RIAA certified gold release “A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection” (Rounder Records). The video for “Simple Love” can be seen on GAC, CMT, and CMT Pure.Krauss was nominated by the Country Music Association for four CMA Awards including Female Vocalist, Vocal Group of the Year for Alison Krauss and Union Station Featuring Jerry Douglas, and two for Musical Event of the Year — with John Waite (his first CMA Awards nomination) on “Missing You” and with Vince Gill on “The Reason Why” (from Gill’s 4-CD release These Days).

“A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection”, released April 3, is comprised of 16 tracks, highlighting Krauss’ career outside of her traditional releases with long time band Union Station. The album features Krauss’ collaboration with John Waite on the single, “Missing You,” which also appears on Waite’s recent Rounder release “Downtown….Journey of a Heart.”

“A Hundred Miles or More” features Krauss’ contributions to film soundtracks including the Oscar^® nominated songs, “The Scarlet Tide” and “You Will Be My Ain True Love,” written for the motion picture Cold Mountain and “Down to the River to Pray” from the film O Brother, Where Art Thou? Known for her collaborations, Krauss also includes several duets in the collection such as the 2003 hit with Brad Paisley, “Whiskey Lullaby,” and her duet with James Taylor from the tribute album Livin’, Lovin’, Losin’: Songs of The Louvin Brothers, “How’s the World Treating You.” The collection debuts five new songs –”You’re Just a Country Boy,” “Jacob’s Dream,” “Simple Love,” “Lay Down Beside Me,” and “Away Down the River” all of which feature Krauss as a producer.

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Michael Cleveland

Evanston, IL. — The Chicago area’s Bluegrass Legends Concert Series is featuring Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper on Saturday, November 10. The concert begins at 8 p.m. at the American Legion Music Hall, 1030 Central St., in Evanston, Ill. Tickets are on sale now by calling 847-573-0443. Details are also available at http://www.chicagobluegrass.com.

Five-time winner of the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Fiddle Player of the Year award, Mike Cleveland is the reigning fiddler of today’s bluegrass world. His band Flamekeeper, 2007 IBMA Instrumental Group Of The Year , burns through the night and sparks the virtuosity of Michael’s fiery fiddle. Crystal vocal harmonies, blistering instrumental work, and allegiance to the first generation bluegrass is warmed by dry wit and down-home humor.

Considered one of the premier bluegrass fiddlers of his generation, Mike picked up a fiddle at age four, and his talent was recognized early. In 1993, he was chosen to be part of the Bluegrass Youth All Stars at the IBMA’s award show. Later that year, Mike made his Grand Ole Opry debut as a guest of Alison Krauss. His list of guest appearances over the years is a who’s who of bluegrass legends including Bill Monroe, Jim and Jesse, Ralph Stanley, Mac Wiseman, Doc Watson, Larry Sparks, Doyle Lawson, and J.D. Crowe.

After high school, Mike briefly toured with then-named Dale Ann Bradley and Coon Creek before joining Rhonda Vincent and The Rage in 2000. At the 2001 IBMA awards, Mike took his first Fiddle Player of the Year award, and shared the title of Entertainer of the Year with Rhonda Vincent and the Rage. In 2002, Mike rejoined The Dale Ann Bradley Band. That year he won the Fiddle Player of the Year award and again in 2004. Mike’s first project as a Rounder recording artist, “Flame Keeper,” was released in February 2002 and was chosen the IBMA’s Instrumental Album of the Year. In 2004, Mike shared the Instrumental Album of the Year award with Tom Adams for “Tom Adams and Michael Cleveland Live at the Ragged Edge,” an album of fiddle and banjo duets. In 2006 and 2007, Mike took home his fourth and fifth Fiddle Player of the Year awards.

Today Mike is a sought-after guest and has performed recently with Vince Gill, Marty Stuart, The Mark Newton Band, J.D. Crowe and the New South, Audie Blaylock and Redline, Melvin Goins and Windy Mountain and The Wildwood Valley Boys.

Bluegrass Legends Concerts ( Evanston , IL ) is the only running bluegrass & acoustic music concert series in the Chicago area that features national headline bluegrass talent. The 2007 fall series marks our 9 th year of presenting the nation’s top acoustic bluegrass talent and local folk-roots opening acts in an all-ages non-smoking concert setting for families. Bluegrass Legends concerts are all about great music in a truly community setting for families, friends, and neighbors.

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Louise Scruggs

Nashville, Tenn. - In honor of the late music industry pioneer Louise Scruggs, the Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum will host a special interview with Denise Stiff, artist manager for Alison Krauss, on Tuesday, November 13, at 6:00 p.m. The Louise Scruggs Memorial Forum, made possible by the Gibson Foundation, will explore issues related to the business side of the music industry and will be presented annually to honor a music industry leader who represents the legacy of pioneer Louise Scruggs. The event, which takes place in the Museum’s Ford Theater, will include an in-depth interview with Stiff, supplemented with photos, film footage and audio recordings culled from the Museum’s collection. A reception will follow the program. Admission is free.

Louise Scruggs’ understanding of music and musical trends, coupled with her formidable business acumen, allowed her to steer her husband Earl Scruggs’ career in the direction of ever-widening audiences. In 1955, she began booking and managing the Flatt & Scruggs show and continued to guide her husband’s career until her passing in February 2006. She was the first woman in country music to assume these roles, and she set new standards for the industry.

“It is altogether fitting that we undertake this annual salute to Louise Scruggs with the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum,” says Henry Juszkiewicz, chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar. “Louise’s attention to detail and strong commitment to her family’s music is very much in keeping with the Museum’s mission and the Gibson Foundation’s goal of advancing education for music and the arts.”

Like Louise Scruggs, Denise Stiff has forged an unconventional path through the music industry with an open-ended, broad-minded interpretation of country music. By presenting traditional music in fresh, innovative ways, Stiff has helped the music-and her artist clients-find legions of new fans. Stiff is owner of DS Management and manager of twenty-time Grammy winner Alison Krauss. Stiff spotted the young fiddler and singer at an International Bluegrass Music Association showcase in Owensboro, Kentucky. Today, Stiff’s clients include Alison Krauss and Union Station, Jedd Hughes and Dan Tyminski. She was executive producer of music for the feature film O Brother, Where Art Thou? and producer of the subsequent Down from the Mountain Tour. She also was associate producer of the Down from the Mountain album and of the Great High Mountain Tour (2004) featuring music from the movies O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Cold Mountain.

“Denise has done wonderful things for Alison and for traditional music,” said Country Music Hall of Fame member Earl Scruggs. “Louise would be pleased to know that Denise was selected for this first forum in her honor.”

Founded in 2002 as the philanthropic division of Gibson Guitar, the Gibson Foundation is committed to making the world a better place for children worldwide through its own initiatives and by its support of other non-profit organizations that advance music and the arts, health and welfare, education and environmental causes. For more information please visit www.gibsonfoundation.org or www.gibson.com.

More information about the Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum is available at www.countrymusichalloffame.com or by calling (615) 416-2001.

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The funeral of Grand Ole Opry star Porter Wagoner will be held Thursday, November 1, at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, TN at 11 a.m.

Wagoner, 80, died of lung cancer Sunday night, October 28.

Visitation will be held from 2-8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 31 at Woodlawn Funeral Home, 660 Thompson Lane, Nashville, TN. Internment will be at Woodlawn Cemetery following the funeral.

Contributions can be made to the Alive Hospice or the Opry Trust Fund.

The visitation and funeral are open to the public.

“Losing Porter is going to take a whole lot of getting used to as he’s been a part of my life for so long. I grew up watching his television show in Mississippi, and it was as if he were a member of our family. After I got to know him, he was.”Marty Stuart

XM radio to pay tribute to Porter Wagoner

Porter Wagoner will be remembered with programming by XM Satellite Radio this week.

The Porter Wagoner episode of “Bill Anderson Visits with the Legends” will air all day Tuesday on XMX (XM 2).

A memorial show will air Tuesday on XM’s classic country channel “America” (XM 10) at 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. eastern, featuring a retrospective of his songs, as well as interviews and highlights from Wagoner’s career.

An encore of Bob Edwards’s conversation with Porter Wagoner, originally broadcast in June, will air on Friday, Nov. 2 at 7 a.m. eastern on “America” (XM 10). Wagoner discussed his life in country music as well as his final project, the critically acclaimed “Wagonmaster,” which was produced by country artist and XM host Marty Stuart.

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