Sizzling Sizemore chills out up north
Charlie Sizemore photo by Señor McGuireCharlie Sizemore may be sizzling on the bluegrass charts for the moment, but he must have ice cold blood running through his veins. Blame it on geography and his itinerary, not the singer’s mood.
Sizemore earlier this month participated in a 3-day Lonely Pines Concert Series, held in the upper stretches of Minnesota, including one gig in Bedmidji, generally regarded as the coldest spot in the continental United States.
The Upper Midwest will get more opportunities to see more of Sizemore and his band next month.
They will appear March 8 in Tawas City, Mich., as part of the Corsair Concert Series. His concert, to start at 8 p.m., will be held in the Tawas United Methodist Church Family Center.
Sizemore is back in the northlands the following week when he presents a 7:30 p.m. concert Thursday, March 13, at Two Rivers High School in Two Rivers, Wis.
The following day, Sizemore heads a bit farther south for an 8 p.m. show at the Evanston, Ill., American Legion Hall as part of the ongoing Bluegrass Legends Concert Series.
On Saturday March 15, Sizemore and band will perform in the heart of Illinois, at The Iron Post in Urbana, home of the University of Illinois. His show starts at 6 p.m.
Sizemore’s latest CD, meanwhile, continues to be much hotter than Bedmidji, Minn., ever dreamt about.
“Good News,” a Rounder Records release, remains at the top of Bluegrass Unlimited’s National Bluegrass Top 15 Album Chart this month and is spending its third month as No. 1 on XM Radio’s Bluegrass Junction Top 40 CDs.
Bluegrass returns to Naperville, Illinois
GrasstowneThe 14th annual Naperville, Ill., Bluegrass Festival will feature several top acts during its March 28-30 run at the Holiday Inn Select.
Performers will include Rhonda Vincent & the Rage, Grasstowne, the Dailey-Vincent Band, James King Band, Monroe Crossing, Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike featuring Becky Buller, Art Stevenson & High Water, Ashton Gap, The King Family and Alison Coyer.
Concerts will be held Friday evening, Saturday morning, afternoon and evening and Sunday morning, when Art Stevenson’s band and The King Family will present a gospel show.
Keith Yoder will present instrument workshops on guitar, mandolin and banjo Saturday afternoon, and at 4 p.m. Rob Anderlik will present a dobro workshop.
Special jamming areas will be set up during the weekend. Admission to the jam rooms is free to concert ticket holders and $5 for those without tickets.
Festival promoters are Terry and Jan Lease of the Jacksonville, Ill., -based Midwest Bluegrass Festivals.
Information about tickets and reserving hotel rooms at a special bluegrass weekend rate is on their Web site, www.bluegrassmidwest.com.
The performance schedule follows:
March 28, Friday
- 7 PM Alison Coyer
- 7:20 PM James King Band
- 8:05 PM Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike
- 8:55 PM Grasstowne
- 9:40 PM Ashton Gap
March 29, Saturday
- 10:30 AM Open Stage- Talent Showcase
- 1 PM Art Stevenson & High Water
- 1:50 PM Dailey & Vincent
- 2:45 PM Rhonda Vincent & The Rage
- 3:35 PM Monroe Crossing
- 7 PM The King Family
- 7:30 PM Art Stevenson & High Water
- 8:10 PM Rhonda Vincent & The Rage
- 9:05 PM Dailey & Vincent
- 9:50 PM Monroe Crossing
March 30, Sunday
- 10 AM The King Family
- 10:30 AM Art Stevenson & High Water
Larry Stephenson “Thankful” for new CD
Larry Stephenson “Thankful” (Pinecastle)Nashville, TN - Longtime bluegrass favorites The Larry Stephenson Band recently signed with GoodStuff PR Co. for exclusive PR representation for their upcoming gospel release, Thankful, as well as future band endeavors.
The album, which features guest appearances by Sonya Isaacs, Missy Raines, Warren Goad, Shad Cobb and Ben Surratt, hits the streets on March 18th through Pinecastle Records. Thankful comes on the heels of the highly successful Life Stories released in 2007 that featured a collection of emotional tales with a common human thread.
Stephenson has been called “One of the best and most influential of high lead/tenor singers in recent years,” by Bluegrass Now Magazine and “One of the finest voices in Bluegrass today” by Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine.
Stephenson was recently inducted into the 2007 Southern Legends Entertainment & Performing Arts Hall of Fame.
In other news, Josh Williams will join The Larry Stephenson Band for their Thankful 2008 Tour and beyond in addition to playing the already scheduled dates with his own group, the Josh Williams Band. Williams will replace Ben Helson on guitar and Larry wishes Ben the best of luck in his new endeavors.
Williams is a multi-instrumentalist, perhaps best known as the guitar player for the top ranked Rhonda Vincent & The Rage in their grueling 300 days per year touring schedule from December 2003 through September 2007. He is also known by some as the excellent mandolin/fiddle player formerly with Special Consensus.
No commentsRounder Artists score Superfecta on billboard chart
Burlington, MA – Rounder Recording artist’s currently hold the top four slots on the Billboard bluegrass albums chart with Rhonda Vincent’s Good Thing Going at #1, Blue Highway’s Through The Window Of A Train at #2, and the self-titled albums from Dailey & Vincent and The SteelDrivers at #3 and #4 respectively. This is Rhonda Vincent’s seventh week at #1, a position that she’s held since the album’s release on January 7. Blue Highway debuted at #2 last week, moving Dailey & Vincent to #3, while The SteelDrivers’ release from January 15 has stayed within the top 10 over the past 6 weeks.
With Good Thing Going, Rhonda Vincent presents a set of songs that range from timelessly straight-ahead bluegrass to effervescent swing and heartfelt ballads. The twelve tracks that make up Good Thing Going include five originals or co-writes, alongside a range of contemporary and classic cover tracks including a beautiful rendition of “The Water is Wide” with country superstar Keith Urban.
Blue Highway’s Through The Window Of A Train, the band’s eighth album, was released on February 12 and features 12 songs, all written or co-written by Blue Highway’s five accomplished songwriters whose songs have been recorded by bluegrass staples Ronnie Bowman, Mountain Heart, Ricky Skaggs, and others. Through The Window Of A Train showcases Blue Highway at their songwriting, instrumental, and vocal peak.
Released January 29, the self-titled debut of new bluegrass duo Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent features a broad spectrum of traditional bluegrass, country, and gospel sounds, unified by the duo’s breath-taking vocal strength and harmony as well as their virtuosic musicianship. While not related by blood, Dailey & Vincent invite favorable comparisons to the best in brother duo singing – the Stanley Brothers, the Osborne Brothers and Jim and Jesse.
On their national debut album of all original material, The SteelDrivers’ back-country high lonesome collides with Delta soul and is one of the most refreshing sounds to emerge from Nashville in a long time. Highly regarded behind the scenes as songsmiths and session players with innumerable hits, cuts and licks to their credit, this batch of seasoned pros has performed to sold out crowds from their inception almost two years ago.
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