Pine Mountain Railroad will release “Pickin’ Praisin’ & Singin’” on Rural Rhythm Records.

Rural Rhythm Records is proud to announce the new album, “Pickin’, Praisin’ & Singin’ - Hymns from the Mountain”by Cody Shuler & Pine Mountain Railroad.  The group, recently voted 2007 Winner for “Bluegrass Gospel Song of the Year” by Singing News Magazine plus several Top 10 albums and songs hitting the Bluegrass Unlimited and Billboard magazine charts, delivers a powerful bluegrass gospel album of gospel classics.  This is the perfect vehicle to showcase the band’s beautiful blended harmonies and tight pickin’ which has brought them much National attention over the past 10 years.

“Our goal for this 16 track Gospel Album is to capture the rich heritage of the past with the present, something we call ‘sound traditions’ and ‘new traditions’, and present it in a creative way that appeals to Bluegrass Gospel and Southern Gospel listeners.  We want to keep those standards true to their roots and at the same time present it in a fresh and powerful manner - all at a very affordable price for everyone to enjoy,” said Sam Passamano, President of Rural Rhythm Records.

This new 16 track, specially priced Gospel album includes such standards as, “Where the Soul of Man Never Dies,” “I Bowed on My Knees and Cried Holy,” “How Beautiful Heaven Must Be,” “The Old Rugged Cross,” and many more.  The CD also includes TWO radio releases, “My Eyes Shall Be on Canaan’s Land” to bluegrass radio plus an upcoming Southern Gospel release, “Blood Bought My Freedom.”  Terry Herd of the Bluegrass Radio Network found the CD, “Rock solid and refreshing.  These guys have arrived,” with Les Butler of Singing News Magazine and Front Porch Fellowship agreeing stating, “Now that’s what I call top notch bluegrass gospel singing.”

Front Porch Fellowship Radio Network will feature the CD as their July Album Showcase directed to the Southern Gospel market and will include an interview mixed in with single and album airplay all month long.

Backed by a major new tour and coming off a #1 song in February on XM Radio’s Bluegrass Junction, Cody Shuler & Pine Mountain Railroad’s new gospel album is right on track and full steam ahead to race their way right up the bluegrass and gospel radio and album charts.

For more information on Pine Mountain Railroad, please visit:  www.pinemountainrailroad.com or www.RuralRhythm.com

Share This

Rickey Wasson “From the Heart and Soul” (Rural Rhythm) will be released on August 12.

Nashville, Tenn. — Rickey Wasson has spent the last 10 years singing lead vocals and playing guitar as a member of one of the most influential bands in bluegrass music, J. D. Crowe & The New South. Now Rural Rhythm Records is proud to announce the August 12, 2008 release of Wasson’s debut solo album, “From the Heart & Soul.” Bluegrass veteran guests include: J. D. Crowe, Don Rigsby, Sonya and Ben Isaacs, Randy Kohrs, Adam Steffey, Ron Stewart and Harold Nixon.

The label recently released the first single, “Losin’ in Las Vegas,” on Rural Rhythm’s Fresh Cuts & Key Tracks radio compilation CD. Band and label mate Dwight McCall joins Wasson on this Haggard classic, written by Raymond McDonald, from Merle’s “5:01 Blues” album.

Wasson’s powerful vocals have placed him in an elite group of today’s top bluegrass singers including his lead vocals on J. D. Crowe & The New South’s hit song and album, “Lefty’s Old Guitar” that garnered the 2008 SPBGMA Song of the Year, 2007 IBMA Album of the Year, 2008 Grammy^® Nomination, and #1 hit Song and Album on Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine’s National Bluegrass Survey Charts.

Prior to joining J. D. Crowe & The New South in 1998, Rickey filled in briefly in Alison Krauss’ band, was a founding member of the well respected bluegrass group, Southern Blend in 1984 and has been playing bluegrass every since he was 4 years old. Rickey says, “I never knew there was any other kind of music until I was 10.”

With such a deep tradition in bluegrass, Rickey Wasson delivers a very powerful debut album filled with solid bluegrass music from a new generation artist that will appeal to all ages. In a word, Rickey’s material is “GREAT” says Terry Herd from the Bluegrass Radio Network….”It’s as good as its gets in the traditional bluegrass camp, from a voice of the New South that bluegrass fans can never seem to get enough of …It’s a rock solid winner.”

Share This

North Carolina

July 1-4 — Red White & Bluegrass Festival - Morganton, NC. Bluegrass Artists on the bill for this Free festival include: Junior Sisk and Ramblers Choice, Grasstowne, Chris Jones & the Nightdrivers, Kenny & Amanda Smith, Mountain Heart, Heather Berry, The Grascals, IIIrd Tyme Out, J.D. Crowe & the New South, Cherryholmes and more. See our earlier story on this festival.

Oklahoma

July 1-6 — Arbuckle Mountain 4th of July Jam - Davis, OK. The park will feature Jammig, jamming and even more jamming during this multi-day event. 7 tents will be available for open jams through out the grounds. Visit Arbuckle Mountain online for more information.

Pennsylvania
July 2-5 — Mountain Top Bluegrass Festival - Tarentum, PA. Bluegrass Artists on the schedule include: Eddie and Martha Adcock, Audie Blaylock and Redline, Karl Shifflett and Big Country, Tim Graves and Cherokee, Dailey and Vincent, The Grascals, Roni Stonemen and more. 3 day passes at the gate are $70 and and single day tickets are $30. Children under 10 are free and ages 10-16 recieve a 50% discount with paid adult.

Tennessee

July 2 — Sarah Siskind @ 3rd and Lindsley - Nashville, Tenn. Sarah, whose song “Lovin’ You” was recorded by the Infamous Stringdusters on their latest offering, will perform a 7:00 P.M. show. Cover is $8.00. For more info visit www.3rdandlindsley.com or call 615-259-9891.

Share This

Nashville, Tenn. — Shout! Factory and the Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum announced an exclusive partnership to executive produce a multi-part original series of specials on the history of country music for television broadcast and DVD distribution. This announcement was made by Shout! Factory’s founding partners Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos, and Kyle Young, director of the Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum.

Under the terms of this co-production alliance, the partners will seek worldwide broadcast distribution, and Shout! Factory and the Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum will retain exclusive worldwide home video and digital rights to this multi-part series of specials on the history of country music.

“Through our passion for the rich history behind the legacy of country music, this venture is a terrific opportunity for us to produce compelling original programming with venerable partners,” states the Shout! Factory founding partners. “This new multi-part original series will further our partnership with the Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum and add to the marketing of our new line of DVDs and digital content.”

“The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum functions as a Museum without walls, and we are always looking for new ways to reach and expand our audience and tell them the story of this uniquely American genre. We anticipate that this series will both allow fans to revisit some of country music’s greatest moments and characters, as well as shine a spotlight on lesser known but instrumental forces that made the music what it is today, all within the larger context of 19th and 20th century America.” Kyle Young - Director of Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum

Joining forces with Shout! Factory and the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum are two award-winning documentarians, David Leaf (David Leaf Productions) and Morgan Neville (Tremolo Productions). Separately and together, in their films on such music legends as John Lennon, Frank Sinatra, Hank Williams, Brian Wilson, Johnny Cash, James Brown, and The Bee Gees, filmmakers Neville and Leaf used their storytelling skills to bring these icons to life on screen.

Under Leaf and Neville’s supervision, a team of filmmakers will tackle a diverse series of themes including - The Roots of Country and Bluegrass, The Honky Tonk Tradition, Outlaw Country, The Nashville Sound, The Politics of Country, Country Songs and Songwriters, California Country, and No Depression, which is a detailed look at the alternative country music movement.

In addition to every important song and artist from country’s celebrated history, this original production will engage today’s greatest country stars to provide their personal window to the past, using “guitar pulls” and individual trips in search of the music’s heart and soul. The production will differ from the more traditional music documentaries by bringing the music alive not just with archival performances but contemporary ones, too.

Filmmakers Leaf and Neville explain that “Rather than recount the story in a chronological way, this multi-part, multi-hour series will look at country music thematically. Each self-contained original film will examine a crucial aspect of the heritage and the history of country in a way that presents this American music in a contextual framework that shows how what was once called ‘hillbilly music’ remains a dominant form of expression in American popular music.”

It’s anticipated that the production will take at least two years. Each installment from this original series will take viewers - country fans and non-country fans alike - on a compelling journey that is uniquely American.

Over the years, Shout! Factory has cultivated a strong relationship with the Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum and the country music community. Last summer, Shout! Factory announced a strategic partnership with the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum to create DVD collections on both original programs and single artist titles culled from the Museum archive for home entertainment releases.

About the Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum
Accredited by the American Association of Museums, the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is operated by the Country Music Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization chartered by the state of Tennessee in 1964. The Museum’s mission is the preservation of the history of country and related vernacular music rooted in southern culture. With the same educational mission, the Foundation also operates CMF Records, the Museum’s Frist Library and Archive, CMF Press, Historic RCA Studio B, and Hatch Show Print. More information about the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is available at www.countrymusichalloffame.com.

About Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory is a diversified entertainment company devoted to producing, uncovering and revitalizing the very best of pop culture. Founders Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos have spent their careers sharing their music, television and film faves with discerning consumers the world over. Shout! Factory’s DVD offerings serve up classic, contemporary and cult TV series, riveting sports programs, live music, animation and documentaries in lavish packages crammed with extras. The company’s audio catalogue boasts GRAMMY®-nominated boxed sets, new releases from storied artists, lovingly assembled album reissues and indispensable “best of” compilations. These riches are the result of a creative acquisitions mandate that has established the company as a hotbed of cultural preservation and commercial reinvention. For more on Shout! Factory, visit www.shoutfactory.com.

Share This

Nashville, Tenn. — Ten songwriters and five songwriter/artists have been nominated for one of the nation’s highest songwriting honors – induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Of the nominees, two from the songwriter category and one from the songwriter/artist category will be inducted during the annual Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony to be held on Sunday, October 26, at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel.

“Each of these nominees has honed the songwriting craft to perfection, and the songs they’ve given us are absolute treasures,” said Roger Murrah, a 2005 inductee and the current chair of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation (NaSHOF), which owns and administers the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

The ballot seeks to recognize songwriters whose first significant works achieved commercial success and/or artistic recognition at least 20 years ago and have “positively impacted and been closely associated with the Nashville music community and deemed to be outstanding and significant.”

This year’s ten nominees in the Songwriter category are: Matraca Berg (“Strawberry Wine” by Deana Carter), Paul Craft (“Hank Williams, You Wrote My Life” by Moe Bandy), Kye Fleming (“I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool” by Barbara Mandrell), Larry Henley (“The Wind Beneath My Wings” by Bette Midler), the late John Jarrard (“Blue Clear Sky” by George Strait), Bob Morrison (“You Decorated My Life” by Kenny Rogers), Mark D. Sanders (“I Hope You Dance” by Lee Ann Womack), Tom Shapiro (“Ain’t Nothing ‘Bout You” by Brooks & Dunn), John Scott Sherrill (“Would You Go With Me” by Josh Turner) and Sharon Vaughn (“My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys” by Willie Nelson).

The five nominees in the Songwriter/Artist category are: the late Paul Davis (“I Go Crazy”), Larry Gatlin (“All the Gold in California”), John Hiatt (“Ridin’ With the King”), the late Johnny Horton (“Honky Tonk Man”) and Tony Joe White (“Rainy Night in Georgia”).

Biographical information on the nominees, and an online version of this release, is available at: http://www.nashvillesongwritersfoundation.com/73TEMP/news13B.html.

The ballot was recommended to the NaSHOF board of directors by the Hall of Fame Nominating Committee, which is comprised of Hall of Fame members and Music Row historians. Votes are cast by Hall of Fame members and Professional Songwriter members of the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), as well as the boards of the NaSHOF and NSAI.

Established in 1970, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame boasts 168 members, including songwriting luminaries such as Johnny Cash, Rodney Crowell, Bob Dylan, Don & Phil Everly, Flatt & Scruggs, Vince Gill, Harlan Howard, Roger Miller, Bill Monroe, Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton, Carl Perkins, Dottie Rambo, Jimmie Rodgers, Cindy Walker, Jimmy Webb, Hank Williams, Sr. and Hank Williams, Jr. It was announced in September 2007 that the future home of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame will be the historic building at 34 Music Square East, former home of the Quonset Hut, Columbia Studio A, Columbia and Epic Records and Sony Music Nashville. The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame will become the first organization honoring songwriters to emerge from a virtual entity to one with a physical location.

The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit foundation dedicated to honoring and preserving the songwriting legacy of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. The NaSHOF’s principal purposes are to educate, archive and celebrate songwriting that is uniquely associated with the Nashville music community.

Share This