IBMA’s “Leadership Bluegrass” 2008 Participants announced
Leadership Bluegrass, now in its ninth year with more than 180 alumni, is an intensive three-day program of advanced level, interactive learning experiences that invites participants to examine the challenges and opportunities facing our music along with related leadership issues.
Leadership Bluegrass will be hosted again this year at the BMI offices in Nashville, March 25-27, and will be facilitated by Fred Bartenstein. Please contact the IBMA office for information on future Leadership Bluegrass programs: (615) 256-3222, nancyc@ibma.org.
The International Bluegrass Music Association is pleased to announce the following participants in the 2008 class of Leadership Bluegrass:
- Serge Bernard; Diamond Productions PEI; Stratford, Prince Edward Island, Canada
- Ethan Burkhardt; Pinecastle Records; Columbus, N.C.
- Ron Cox; Avenue Bank; Nashville, Tenn.
- Katy Daley; WAMU’s Bluegrass Country; Washington, D.C.
- Debbie Durant; Brandywine Friends of Old Time Music, Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival; Landenberg, Penn.
- Arnie Fleischer; The Emelin Theatre; Mamaroneck, N.Y.
- Tim Graves; Tim Graves & Cherokee; Northport, Ala.
- Cindy Gray; The Nevada Bluegrass Project; Reno, Nev.
- Bill Hartley; Birthplace of Country Music Alliance; Bristol, Tenn.
- Richard Hurst; Ulster American Folk Park, EBMA; Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
- Carl Jackson; Colonel Rebel Music; Nashville, Tenn.
- Diane King, Music Business Mgt.; Franklin, Tenn.
- Katy E. Leonard; IBMA; Nashville, Tenn.
- Matt Lindsey; Matt Lindsey Music LLC; Nashville, Tenn.
- Michael W. Marceau; D.C. Bluegrass Union; Kensington, Md.
- Tim McFadden; Tim McFadden Management LLC; Brentwood, Tenn.
- Marty Raybon; Marty Raybon & Full Circle; Tuscumbia, Ala.
- Roger Ryan; CMA of Ireland; Cork, Ireland
- Roger H. Siminoff; Siminoff Banjo & Mandolin Parts; Arroyo Grande, Calif.
- Lorraine Short; Prime Tyme Solutions; Raleigh, N.C.
- Wayne Taylor; Raincoe Music; Crofton, Md.
- Dana Thorin; Breezy Ridge Instruments, John Pearse Strings; Scotts Valley, Calif.
- April Verch; April Verch Band, April Verch Music; Pembroke, Ontario, Canada
- Lucy Weberling; Festival Yoga/ Inner Smile Productions; Skiatook, Okla.
- Rebekah Weiler; Middle Tennessee State Univ.; Murfreesboro, Tenn. (student monitor)
After ‘miracle,’ Ernie Thacker is returning
Ernie ThackerErnie Thacker, a self-described miracle, is back.
Thacker, an alumnus of Ralph Stanley’s Clinch Mountain Boys, has traveled a long journey of recovering from a devastating 2006 car accident to once again hit the road with his band, Route 23.
The news gets bigger and better: He’s also just signed a recording contract with Pinecastle Records.
“I am what a lot of people call a miracle,” Thacker says on his MySpace home page. “In April of 2006 I was in a very bad automobile accident. In all medical terms I should have died upon impact. But anyway, I am alive and have made alot of changes in my life.”
Thacker started playing professionally when he joined Dr. Ralph Stanley’s band when he was just 16.
He already has several shows booked for the 2008 season, including the Live Oak, Fla., Bluegrass Festival March 22 and 23.
Other stops include:
April 4 — Bluetop Bluegrass Festival, Bluefield, W. Va.
April 18 — River Bend Music Park, Ocila, Ga.
May 8 — Apple Shop, Whitsburg, Ky.
May 16 — Amilia Family Campground, Amilia, Va.
May 22 — Ralph Stanley Music Park, McClure, Va.
June 21 — Bill Monroe Memorial Bluegrass Festival, Bean Blossom, Ind.
June 27-28 — Rudy Fest, Grayson, Ky.
July 12 — Ed Hamilton Memorial Fest, Beach Grove Ind.
August 2 — Bluegrass festival in Greenup, Ky.
No commentsNew CD pays homage to Abe Lincoln
In case you haven’t heard, 2009 will mark the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday.
Folks down around Hodgenville, Ky., know all about that; they’ve already kicked off a months-long observance.
People around Illinois also are highly aware of the hoopla. Springfield, the state’s capital, is where Lincoln lived and practiced law and worked in the Illinois Legislature before he became president.
And Illinois musician and songwriter Chris Vallillo is on the bandwagon.
Villallo, last month on the 199th Lincoln birthday anniversary, released his latest CD, “Abraham Lincoln in Song,” which has been endorsed by the Illinois Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.
The CD weaves historic narratives with period music and contemporary folksongs in a celebration of the life and times of one of our nation’s favorite sons, according to Villallo’s Web site.
The extensively researched, historically accurate project showcases music Lincoln may well have known and sung while the cover features a rare photograph of the Lincoln stovepipe hat that’s now in the collection of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, a relatively new facility in Springfield that’s become a Mecca for Lincoln scholars and admirers.
“‘With Abraham Lincoln in Song,’ Chris Vallillo takes the audience on a musical journey, making history come alive with his excellent blending of music and storytelling. He grabbed hold of the museum visitors here, establishing excellent rapport with the audience with this thoughtful, humorous and moving show,” said Phil Funkenbusch, director of theaters and the show division of the Lincoln presidential museum.
“I hope the collection of music in this project helps shed light on one of history’s most beloved figures, not only as a remarkable leader, but as a man, who knew and loved many of these very songs himself,” Vallillo says. “I recorded them on a variety of wonderful old vintage instruments. The project was designed to be educational as well as entertaining, with extensive liner notes including interesting anecdotes about the songs and composers,” he adds.
From “The Battle Cry of Freedom,” to “Lincoln’s Funeral Train,” the listener will garner a better understanding not only of what drove the interests and passions of one of America’s greatest presidents, but of what contributes to the fascination and artistry of one of the country’s most respected folk artists.”
Villallo, indeed, has won praise from several corners for his accomplished work as a singer and songwriter and his talents on acoustic guitar and bottleneck slide guitar.
He’s been the Illinois State Scholar for New Harmonies, which is he Smithsonian Institution’s traveling exhibit on roots music. During his tenure with New Harmonies, Vallillo worked with a world class exhibition that tells the story of roots music in its many forms, from blues to folk to gospel, to country, to ethnic to bluegrass.
He describes the project as “a virtual sound track to the melting pot that is America.”
Author and composer Ken Bradury has become a Vallillo fan. He writes: “Some singers play just enough of an instrument to accompany themselves, some great guitar players ‘get by’ as singers, and a few singer/musicians try their best to tell a good story. Chris Vallillo is the complete package…a haunting voice, a master at his instruments, and a stage presence that holds anyone of any age spellbound. Chris pulls off the nearly impossible task of making poetry of our heritage while maintaining the integrity of the original material. And in Chris’s case, that material is the very stuff of which we are made…our history. I am so proud to be from a state that could produce such a consummate performer as Chris Vallillo.”
Sound clips and ordering information are available at the artist’s Web site, www.chrisvallillo.com.
The track list for “Abraham Lincoln in Song” includes:
Battle Cry Of Freedom
Shawneetown
El-A-Noy
Lorena
Lincoln’s Funeral Train
We Are Coming Father Abra’am
Hard times come Again No More
Dixie’s Land
Aura Lee
Hoosen Johnny
Darling Nelly Grey
Lincoln And Liberty
Let the Band Play Dixie
More photos from Bluegrass First Class in Asheville, NC
Rhonda Vincent and The Rage on stage at Bluegrass First Class in Asheville, NC 2008. Photo by Thomas Stout.
Tony Rice on stage at Bluegrass First Class in Asheville, NC 2008. Photo by Thomas Stout.
Tony Rice on stage at Bluegrass First Class in Asheville, NC 2008. Photo by Thomas Stout.Photos from Bluegrass First Class in Asheville, NC
Doc Watson on Stage at Bluegrass First Class in Asheville, NC 2008. Photo by Thomas Stout
Doc Watson and Jack Lawrence on Stage at Bluegrass First Class in Asheville, NC 2008. Photo by Thomas Stout.
J.D. Crowe and Tony Rice on stage at Bluegrass First Class in Asheville, NC 2008. Photo by Thomas Stout.
