James King - photo courtesy of Rounder Records

Burlington, Mass. — James King remains one of the leading voices in traditional bluegrass, summoning timeless echoes of Appalachia with a voice that is equal parts urgent, yearning, and tender. Yet it is not King’s ability to evoke his musical heroes (Carter Stanley being foremost among them) that has made him the most celebrated mountain soul singer of his generation. Rather, King possesses a genius for applying the rugged strains of the music he loves to a wide array of songs, traditional and contemporary, reinforcing the relevance and power of classic bluegrass.

“Gardens in the Sky,” to be released on May 20 by Rounder Records, is King’s first and only collection to date of all-gospel material. Producer Ken Irwin worked with King to add material recorded in early 2007 to supplement the already sumptuous set of songs drawn from King’s earlier albums with his own bands, the Rounder Paul Williams album that featured King, tracks from the out-of-print various-artists album The Stanley Tradition-Songs About Our Savior album and with Longview. The album boasts six new songs, among them the much-requested contemporary standout “Daddy Doesn’t Pray Anymore,” by Chris Stapleton of The SteelDrivers.

While it’s difficult to believe anyone could take a Stanley classic like “Sweeter than the Flowers” and breathe freshness and originality into it, James King certainly does so. Just as King and this set of material are perfectly matched, so, too, are the utterly complementary bands and additional musicians. Adam Haynes’ fiddle on “Jerusalem Tomorrow” could scarcely be more hauntingly perfect; but instrumentalists and harmony singers alike, from Dan Tyminski to Rhonda Vincent, from Dudley Connell to longtime James King Band member Kevin Prater, to name but a few, all contribute essential and special musical elements to this remarkable set. This is the cream of the traditional bluegrass crop today.

The James King Band will tour in support of “Gardens in the Sky” with new dates to be announced soon.

“Gardens in the Sky” Track Listing:

1. Will He Wait A Little Longer
2. The Darkest Hour Is Just Before Dawn
3. I Just Steal Away and Pray
4. Daddy Doesn’t Pray Anymore*
5. Garden in the Sky
6. Jerusalem Tomorrow
7. It’s Hot Down Here*
8. Sweeter than the Flowers
9. Don’t Worry Mama*
10. The Touch of God’s Hand
11. These Old Pictures
12. Just as the Sun Went Down
13. Message for Peace
14. Angels Are Singing (In Heaven Tonight)
15. The Prettiest Flowers Will Be Blooming*
16. Voice of My Savior
17. Will You Feel at Home*
18. Happy I’ll Be*

* New Material

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Dailey & Vincent Band (L-R) Adam Haynes, Jeff Parker, Jamie Dailey, Darrin Vincent, Joe Dean photo by Aaron Crisler/The Judy Nelon Group for Dailey & Vincent, Inc.

Nashville, Tenn. — Dailey & Vincent remain at #2 for a second consecutive week on Billboard’s Top Bluegrass Albums chart (Feb. 23 issue) with their self-titled debut on Rounder Records. Also in the February 23 issue, there is a feature story by Ken Tucker, “Vincent Siblings Make Bluegrass Chart History,” which verifies that this is the first time in the history of Billboard’s country and bluegrass charts that siblings (in this case Darrin Vincent and Rhonda Vincent) have held the two top spots.

At the same time, Dailey & Vincent watched their song “By the Mark” remain at #1 for the fourth consecutive week on the Count Down Yonder Weekly Top 17 Songs of SIRIUS Bluegrass.

The duo also had the dubious distinction of being part of Kansas City history on Sunday, when they were stranded at the airport during the longest closure in its 35-year history. The delay, caused by snow and ice, forced them to cancel their performance at the Joe Val Bluegrass Festival. “We’re so disappointed about missing our performance at Joe Val,” said Jamie Dailey. “It’s a great festival to be a part of, and we were really looking forward to seeing everyone there.”

Dailey & Vincent are currently featured in cover stories in Bluegrass Now (February) and Bluegrass Music Profiles (March/April), where their album is at #7 on the Top 10 Bluegrass CDs chart for February.

This weekend Dailey & Vincent will perform at Bluegrass First Class in Asheville, North Carolina (Feb. 22) and at the Gateway City Bluegrass Festival in St. Louis (Feb. 23). For additional information and touring updates, visit the Dailey & Vincent website or the groups Myspace page.

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Donna UlisseDetour

Donna Ulisse will be performing at the historical Lincoln Theatre in Marion, Virginia on March 1, 2008 taping the PBS concert series “Song of the Mountains“. The show is taped in front of a live audience and is broadcast on 163 public television stations around the country at a later date. Ulisse will be singing songs off of her current release “When I Look Back.”

Ulisses’ backup band for the taping is Detour based out of northern Michigan. Detour features Zak Bunce on vocals and upright bass, Peter Knupfer on fiddle, Scott Zylstra on acoustic guitar, Jeff Rose on mandolin who also writes much of the band’s material and on banjo is the reigning National Banjo Champion Mike Sumner. Detour has a new CD out titled “Radio Hill” which has been receiving very favorable reviews.

This will be the first appearance of Ulisse and Detour and when asked how she ended up working with a band out of Michigan Ulisse replied, “Well it wasn’t easy! It started with that first nerve-wracking walk through the doors of my first IBMA WOB week in 2007. I was a newbie and must have had it written across my forehead because Jeff Rose and Mike Sumner introduced themselves to me and were week long friendly faces. We talked briefly about joining forces musically on some future dates so when I was invited to do “Song of the Mountains” it seemed like the perfect opportunity for us to work together”.

Also appearing on the bill that evening will be a stellar lineup. Donna’s long time friend and bluegrass great Larry Cordle who made a guest appearance on her album will be performing with his band Lonesome Standard Time as well as Miller’s Creek and The Stevens Family. For more information on the show and tickets go to: www.songofthemountains.org

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Hendersonville, NC — The Smokey Joe Show will performing at the Blue Ridge Performing Arts Center in Hendersonville, North Carolina this Saturday, February 23rd, 2008. Tickets can be purchased in advance at: www.blueridgepac.com OR check out www.smokeyjoeshow.com for more information. Come on out and hear the band perform all the cuts off of “Little Buildings,” their recently released CD which is getting lots of accolades.

Remember watching O Brother and thinking that old-timey music sure looked and sounded like a real good time? I get that same feeling listening to this CD, a fine front-room party band put on disc. >From the first song, “Squeeze You Right Up,” which is near genius in its homeyness, bounce-around-the-room rhythm and playful lyrical hooks, the virtual show starts strong. The tempo changes slightly among the CD’s songs, but the party rolls on through the whole experience, and when it’s over, you just might want more. For me, that’s a rare experience with albums these days.Regis Murphy - Amps 11

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