Ariel view of the RockyGrass Festival Site. Photo courtesy Planet Bluegrass.

Lyons, Colorado — With the final addition of Darol Anger & Mike Marshall and a Sunday morning gospel set featuring Jeremy Garrett (of the Infamous Stringdusters) & Friends, Planet Bluegrass is proud to announce the single-day lineups for the 36th Annual RockyGrass Festival which will be held July 25-27 in Lyons, CO. Founded by Bill Monroe in 1973, the festival features a diverse lineup of bluegrass, newgrass, celtic, and old-time artists, including the Dan Tyminski Band, Natalie MacMaster, and the Sparrow Quartet.

This year’s lineup explores the many roots and branches of bluegrass music including African-American old-time string band Carolina Chocolate Drops, former Bluegrass Boy Peter Rowan, progressive instrumental quintet Psychograss, and the classical-meets-bluegrass virtuosity of Punch Brothers featuring Chris Thile. Seminal newgrass pioneers Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, and Edgar Meyer perform in the same trio configuration that was featured at Carnegie Hall last fall, while mandolinist Sam Bush brings his “only-at-RockyGrass” bluegrass band to close the festival on Sunday night.

The banjo is well-represented this year, with banjo legend JD Crowe making his first-ever RockyGrass performance with his band The New South. Fellow banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck performs a special set with several of his longtime collaborators, while Bela’s original banjo teacher Tony Trischka returns this year with Psychograss.

The future of bluegrass music is well-represented at RockyGrass, including young bands Chatham County Line, the Steeldrivers, and 3-time International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) winners the Infamous Stringdusters.

In addition to the music on the main stage, RockyGrass features nationally-recognized instrument and band contests as well as workshops throughout the day in the Wildflower Pavilion. When the official music ends, musicians of all levels and ages head to the campgrounds where dozens of jam circles flourish late into the night.

Colorado’s oldest traditional bluegrass festival was nominated for the IBMA’s Event of the Year in 2005. In recent years, tickets for the festival have sold-out in May – over 2 months before the July event. On-site camping passes sell-out in November – before any lineup announcements have been made - through a random online lottery. Single-day tickets ($45-50), three-day passes ($125), and camping ($45-50) are available now at bluegrass.com or 800-624-2422.

The week prior to the festival, Planet Bluegrass hosts music workshops for several hundred bluegrass musicians. This RockyGrass Academy (July 20-24) mostly sells-out in mid-November through an online lottery. This year’s faculty includes Bryan Sutton, Russ Barenberg, Mike Marshall, Darol Anger, Tony Trischka, Mike Bub, and band’s-in-residence Infamous Stringdusters, Psychograss, and Bearfoot.

The complete RockyGrass lineup:

Friday, July 25

• Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas & Edgar Meyer
• Dan Tyminski Band
• Béla Fleck & Friends
• John Cowan Band
• Russ Barenberg & Bryan Sutton
• The Steeldrivers
• Mike Marshall & Darol Anger
• Spring Creek Bluegrass Band

Saturday, July 26

• Natalie MacMaster
• Punch Brothers featuring Chris Thile
• Abigail Washburn & The Sparrow Quartet featuring Béla Fleck
• Psychograss
• Infamous Stringdusters
• Bearfoot
• Chatham County Line

Sunday, July 27

• Sam Bush Bluegrass Band
• Carolina Chocolate Drops
• Peter Rowan
• JD Crowe & The New South
• Adrienne Young & Little Sadie
• Stairwell Sisters
• Gospel Set featuring Jeremy Garrett

About Planet Bluegrass: Since 1990, Planet Bluegrass has been producing exquisite musical events in remarkable Colorado settings including the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, RockyGrass and the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival on the Planet Bluegrass Ranch in Lyons, educational experiences such as the RockyGrass Academy and The Song School, and intimate concerts in the new Wildflower Pavilion in Lyons. For more info visit: www.bluegrass.com.

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Tom T. Hall to give up retirement for an evening to perform a live taping for PBS Series “Song of the Mountains”

Tom T. Hall to tape Song of the Mountains for PBS

The newest Country Music Hall of Fame inductee and celebrated song-writer Tom T. Hall, will make a rare stage performance at an April 5th, 7:00 PM taping of “Song of the Mountains” at the Lincoln Theatre in Marion, Virginia. The show will air on PBS stations nationwide at a later date. Other artists on the bill include, James Leva and Purgatory Mountain, Pleasant Hill and Bill and Maggie Anderson.

Song of the Mountains is a nationally syndicated public television series and is offered to more than 190 stations nationwide. For more information on Song of the Mountains, visit www.songofthemountains.org.

The Isaacs, to perform at The Murphy Theatre in Wilmington,OH April 5.

Classic Country Radio, WKFI AM 1090 in Wilmington is proud to present an evening with world acclaimed gospel group, The Isaacs, Saturday, April 5, at The Murphy Theatre in Wilmington. The April 5 concert begins at 7 p.m. All seats are reserved. For tickets and information, call The Murphy Theatre Box Office toll free at 1-877-274-3848.

The Isaacs have a unique style that fuses bluegrass harmonies and instrumentation with modern southern gospel lyrics. Current group members are Lily Isaacs - vocals, Ben Isaacs - vocals & upright Bass, Sonya Isaacs - vocals & mandolin, Rebecca Isaacs Bowman- vocals & guitar, Jesse Stockman - fiddle, Nathan Fauscett - drums, cajon, Troy Engle - banjo, guitar & fiddle.

Upcoming CD reviews on BluegrassJournal.com

We’ve got a bit of a backlog of CD reviews that should be online over the next 2 to 3 weeks including :

• The Gibson Brothers “Iron & Diamonds” (Sugar Hill Records)
• Longview “Deep in the Mountains” (Rounder Records)
• Stacy York “Kentucky in the Rain” (Blue Circle Records)
• Mashville Brigade “Bluegrass Smash Hits Vol. 1″ (Rural Rhythm Records)
• Two-Man Gentlemen Band “Heavy Pettin’” (Serious Business Records)
• Marcie Horne “Everything’s Blue” (Mountain Fever Records)
• Mike Mitchell “Thirteen Hours” (Mountain Fever Records)

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Alison Krauss and Robert Plant photo by Pamela Springsteen

Burlington, MA — The Robert Plant and Alison Krauss album “Raising Sand,” produced by T Bone Burnett, has been certified RIAA Platinum. The Rounder Records album debuted at #2 on the Billboard Top 200 chart following its release October 23, 2007, marking the highest chart position ever for the label. It remains inside the top 40 five months later.

Last month, Plant and Krauss were recipients of the 2007 Grammy^® Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, for the track “Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On).” The Grammy^® Award was the first-ever for Robert Plant as a solo artist after numerous nominations, and the 21st for Alison Krauss.

Plant and Krauss will begin their Raising Sand World Tour April 19th in Louisville, KY. Dates have been set through July 1, with more July dates to be announced shortly.

Ticket information for all of the Raising Sand Tour dates is available on the artist’s website: www.robertplantalisonkrauss.com,

-From Rounder

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