Branson, Mo. — At Silver Dollar City’s Bluegrass & BBQ Festival, the liveliness of bluegrass music brings family harmonies and upbeat melodies to the stages and streets with over 50 bands and more than 500 performances. Amid the flavors of bluegrass music are the seasonings of an All-American barbecue. These two ingredients combine to create one of the Midwest’s most popular springtime festivals at Silver Dollar City, May 10 – June 1.

Throughout the years, bluegrass music has evolved into a musical genre that showcases award-winners and up-and-comers featuring new sounds and traditional favorites. “Bluegrass music has been influenced by, and has influenced, many other styles of music since its creation,” says Bluegrass & BBQ coordinator D.A. Callaway. This influence can be seen in the growth of crossover and cutting-edge bluegrass artists like the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Rhonda Vincent and The Grascals. Traditional flavors can still be heard from bands such as Dailey & Vincent and NewFound Road, all playing during Silver Dollar City’s Bluegrass & BBQ Festival.

The House of BBQ serves up a barbecue feast from St. Louis ribs and smoked chicken to Texas brisket and sweet roasted corn on the cob, direct from large outdoor charcoal grills and a custom-made 9-foot smoker for Silver Dollar City’s famous flavor. Sample hundreds of sauces from smoky chipotle and sweet hickory to Carolina vinegar and honey habanero.

The festival also highlights two national competitions with the 2nd Annual National Single Mic Championship on May 17 and 18, and the Youth In Bluegrass Band Competition on May 24 and 25. New for 2008, Great American Country Nights In Echo Hollow presents today’s greatest country hits nightly in the park’s 4,000-seat amphitheater.

Silver Dollar City, located near Branson, Missouri, is open daily during Bluegrass & BBQ, May 10 – June 1. Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. (9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. May 24 & 25). For tickets, information and a complete schedule of performances, call 1-800-831-4FUN, or visit the web site, www.silverdollarcity.com.

Bluegrass headliners include:

• Seven-time IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year Rhonda Vincent
• 2006 & 2007 IBMA Entertainer of the Year The Grascals
• 2005 IBMA Entertainer of the Year and Grammy nominees Cherryholmes
• 2007 IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year Bradley Walker (May 10th Only)
• A special concert by 3-time Grammy winner the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on May 30

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The Duhks will release “Fast Paced World” on the Sugar Hill label August, 12, 2008. Photo by Laura Crosta.

Nashville, TN — Hailed by the New York Times as one of the artists at the forefront of the neo-folk movement, the Duhks continue the evolution with their fourth album, “Fast Paced World,” set for an August 12, 2008 release on Sugar Hill Records. “We traveled from Winnipeg, locked ourselves in a Nashville basement, pooled our ideas together and invented a new sound,” says new frontwoman and bilingual, budding soul queen, Sarah Dugas (she replaced Jessee Havey in 2007).

Produced by Jay Joyce, who joins an impressive line of producers (Béla Fleck, Tim O’Brien) before him, the Duhks have created their most energetic, fully realized, unearthly album to date. Seriously. “Jay’s basement studio was like something out of the Star Trek Enterprise,” adds founder and clawhammer banjoist, Leonard Podolak, who, in the past, “traditionally stuck close to the acoustic sound of our instruments. This record is a beautiful mosaic of different ideas and soundscapes.”

Leonard, Sarah, Tania Elizabeth (fiddle, mandolin), guitarist Jordan McConnell and new worldbeat drummer Christian Dugas (Sarah’s brother) have melded French lounge pop (”Toujours Vouloir”) and scratchy soul meditations on the Galveston flood in 1900 (”Mighty Storm”) and sleeping (”Sleepin’ Is All I Wanna Do”) with the soundtrack of the weirdest 1930s Marlene Dietrich movie you never saw (”This Fall”), and beyond. “We’re all proud of this record and can’t wait to release it to the world,” adds Sarah.

In the space between the Grammy-nominated ‘Migrations’ (2006, Sugar Hill Records) and now, the Juno-winning band has gained critical love (”overall virtuosity that could make them stars” - Boston Globe), toured the world and earned a solid fan base - no doubt due to their manic, spirited live shows. (Check YouTube for John Paul Jones joining the band for “Whole Lotta Love”).

Environmental issues have always been a passion for the band, inspiring them to launch The Duhks Sustainability Project (www.greenduhks.com). The goal is to “tour as sustainably as possible - Biodiesel, local organic farmers, sustainable eco-conscious clothing,” says Tania, who was invited by Bonnaroo to speak about sustainability during the festival on June 13th. In addition, Bonnaroo has chosen the Duhks to perform on the Solar Stage on June 14th.

The Duhks on tour

• Jun 6 — Bamajam Festival - Enterprise, AL
• Jun 7 — Freebird Live - Jacksonville Beach, FL
• Jun 8 — Skipper’s Smokehouse - Tampa, FL
• Jun 13 — Bonnaroo - Manchester, TN
• Jun 21 — Fly Me to the Moon Saloon - Telluride, CO
• Jun 22 — Telluride Bluegrass Festival - Telluride, CO

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Rounder Recording Artist Blue Highway headlines Friday night, June 6, at Sally Gap Bluegrass Festival near Williamsburg, KY.

The Sally Gap Bluegrass Festival returns June 6-8 at Jackson Farm, near Williamsburg, Ky.

Fronting this year’s show are Blue Highway, which will perform on Friday,and the Lonesome River Band, Saturday’s top act.

The festival is sponsored by Jackson Farms and Southern Sun.

The event focuses heavily on children’s activities, with a special workshop, the “American Traditional Music Project,” in which participants will be building their own banjos.

The festival also features the Sally Gap Children’s Band and special classroom teachers workshop, “Utilizing Bluegrass Music in the Classroom,” utilizing the International Bluegrass Music Association’s teaching model. The workshop will be held at the University of the Cumberlands.

Other bands on the play bill are Kentucky Win, Southern Sun, Blue Moon Rising, Blue Storm, and Ron, Vernon,
and Straight Creek, Virgil Bowlin and Peerless Mountain and the Dixie Ryders.

Ticket and camping information is available at http://www.sallygapbgfestival.com.

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Litchfield, CT-May 7, 2008 - The National Guitar Workshop is excited to announce the launch of a brand new website. This website (www.guitarworkshop.com) is designed to assist students in finding the class that helps them become a better musician. Designed by Fathom, the website includes information about all of our guest artist appearances, dates and locations, class descriptions, teacher profiles and much more

This year’s program will feature Russ Barenberg, Paul Gilbert, Lisa Loeb, The John Scofield Trio featuring Bill Stewart and Steve Swallow, Kenny Burrell, Michael Angelo Batio, Jennifer Batten, Eric Krasno, Laurence Juber, Sonny Landreth, and more. Courses will be offered in bluegrass, rock, blues, jazz, country, classical, music technology, songwriting, and guitar exploration.

NGW features 8 locations nation-wide with campuses in Connecticut, Nashville, Austin, Washington DC, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Each location offers a wide variety of courses, all taught by world renowned musicians.

In association with Performing Songwriter Magazine, NGW is proud to present the Songwriting Summit featuring Lisa Loeb. In addition, the workshop is offering a seminar on Roots Rock featuring David Grissom, and a Flatpicking Seminar with Grammy-Nominated artist Russ Barenberg.

Our curriculum has also expanded to also include classes on Pro Tools, Garageband, and developing a Home Studio. These music technology classes are powered by Apple®.

For a complete list of dates, locations, guest artists and classes offered please check out our website www.guitarworkshop.com.

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