Blue Highway “Through the Window of a Train” (Rounder)

Blue Highway is no stranger to the bluegrass scene. Having released 7 previous albums throughout the group’s lengthy and celebrated career, “Through the Window of a Train” marks the band’s fourth on the Rounder label.

The cover art for the album, predominantly white, with a black and white image across the center third, is in stark contrast to the contents. ” ‘Window of a Train” is a veritable rainbow of musical colors and canvasses. From the dark and sad subject matter of “Homeless Man,” the fiery delivery on the instrumental “The North Cove” to the reflective “Life of a Travelin’ Man,” a telling narrative of the blur of life on the road, Blue Highway paints a masterpiece on “Through the Window of a Train.”

Blue Highway recorded the project at Maggard Sound in Big Stoney Gap, Va., far away from the “music factory mind-set” of big city studio confines, in an effort to gain an “off the cuff” and spontaneous approach that shines through on the final product. While this approach isn’t for the faint of heart, a less seasoned outfit could easily burn through a recording budget or two unsuccessfully trying to capture the essence Blue Highway captures on “Through the Window of a Train.” After a listen or two, it’s no wonder Blue Highway’s members are such in-demand session players.

The CD features 12 cuts that members of the celebrated group wrote or co-wrote. The songwriting on ” ‘Window of a Train” is the foundation and strength of the project. Yeah, the musicianship the group displays is tops, but it’s songs of this caliber that will mark Blue Highway as one of the great Bluegrass groups in the annals of bluegrass history.

A warning is in order: If you get a copy of this great CD, make sure and break the news easy to the rest of CDs in your collection. They won’t be seeing the light of a laser for a while.

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Jimbo Whaley photo by Mike Morbeck

Jimbo Whaley, founding member of Pine Mountain Railroad in 1998 and now with the band Greenbrier, will be at centerstage 7 p.m. March 29 during “An Evening with Jimbo Whaley and Friends” concert and CD release celebration at the Historic Mills Auditorium in Gatlinburg, Tenn.The friends include Marty Raybon, Roger Helton, Scott Carris, Trey Hensley, Dr. Eric Littleton, Sevier County ’s Ray Ball and The Locust Ridge Band.

The concert is being co-sponsored by Five Oaks Tire and Michelin and the Great Smoky Mountain National Park’s Music of the Mountains program.

Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door. Ordering information is available online at www.jimbowhaley.com

All ticket holders will receive the new Greenbrier gospel CD, “The Back of the Book.”

Whaley helped guide Pine Mountain Railroad to become an International Bluegrass Music Association Emerging Artist of the Year nominee for two years in a row. He wrote and performed numerous songs on their chart-topping album, including the title cut, “The Old Radio,” which was co-written by Roscoe Morgan. The CD, produced by multi-Grammy winner Bil VornDick, stayed on Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine’s Top 15 Album Chart for eight months and the single was on the Top 30 Single Chart for 12 consecutive months.

Whaley was chosen to perform at IBMA’s Songwriter Showcase at the 2002 and 2003 IBMA convention. Add film to his credit as well, with four original tunes appearing on the soundtrack of “Bell Witch: the Movie” where he also made his film debut.

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The Biscuit Burners photo by Peter Montanti

The Flat Rock Music Festival in Flat Rock, N.C., will hold a Spring Time Evening on April 19 from 3 p.m. to midnight.

The event, to take place at Camp Ton-A-Wandah in Flat Rock, will feature five bands, a catered dinner and camping for one ticket price of $50.

The bluegrass genre will be represented by The Biscuit Burners, which have been featured on NPR’s “Mountain Stage”, and XM Radio’s Bluegrass Junction.

Other groups on the playbill include the Dirty Rug Band, Moon Shine Babies with special guest guitartist Marc Yaxley, Matt Walsh and the Smokey Joe Show.

Camping will be restricted to inside the festival grounds.

Tickets and directions to the festival can be purchased on Flat Rock’s Web site, www.flatrockmusicfestival.com.

Flat Rock organizers are also accepting applications for volunteers for the spring event. The form can also be founding on the Web site.

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Nashville, Tenn. - Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill’s “Welcome Here Again” hit the storeshelves yesterday is the first release on Green Linnet since its acquisition by the Compass Records Group in May of 2006. The release of “Welcome Here Again” marks the first studio album by Hayes and Cahill in over a decade.

Hayes and Cahill are featured on the cover of this month’s Irish Music Magazine and have upcoming reviews in The Irish Times and The Irish Echo. Martin Hayes is to be featured in The Wall Street Journal this March and is the recipient of TG4’s 2008 Gradam Ceoil Award for Traditional Musician of the Year. Hayes and Cahill will kick off their Australian tour on February 24, 2008.

To sample tunes from “Welcome Here Again” click here.

To find tour dates for Martin & Dennis click here.

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