Lichfield, Staffordshire, UK — The Winter 2008/2009 edition of British Bluegrass News (BBN) is due to be mailed in the next few days.

The bumper-sized 32-page edition has exciting new features including:

Burlington, MA – Rounder Records is pleased to announce several nominations for its artists by the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America (S.P.B.G.M.A.) for the 35TH Annual SPBGMA awards. For the fourth consecutive year, the awards show will take place in Nashville at the Sheraton Music City Hotel on Sunday, February 15, 2009.

had this dream the other night I need to talk about. Here’s the dead-of-night scenario:

I was a two-bit booking agent trying to make ends meet by getting gigs for a small handful of two-bit bluegrass bands. No Sammy Bushes or Sammy Shelors in my stable, mind you. My offerings to festival promoters and club owners amounted to Grade B bands that struggled to captivate their audiences with bad covers of Bill Monroe waltzes and Stanley Brothers’ murder and mayhem ballads.

Birmingham, AL — A new accessory for guitars, mandolins, banjos and other stringed instruments is quickly finding its way among instrument owners as an item with a unique story – the life story of their musical instrument. CaseNotes is a small diary that fits in the case of most instruments and provides space for instrument information along with handwritten experiences from as many as six different owners.