Alert reader Mike Ramsey forwarded us this email blast from Mountain Heart that he received via the group’s MySpace page. Thanks Mike!

“Ok folks, we’re heading to Knoxville this coming Friday, January 16th for a show at the Bijou Theater with Tony Rice! If you don’t have tickets you better get them while available!….”

Last Fall, some of East Tennessee’s favorite bluegrass musicians came together to form a new band, Brand New Strings. Randall Massengill (guitar and lead & harmony vocals), Tim Tipton (bass), Mike Ramsey (mandolin and lead & harmony vocals), Stuart Wyrick (banjo and harmony vocals) are pleased to announced their newest member, Matt Leadbetter on Resophonic Guitar and harmony vocals, completing this five-piece traditional bluegrass group.

“Buckaroo Blue Grass,” a new CD by genre-crossing singer/songwriter Michael Martin Murphy, will be released on the Rural Rhythm Records label on Feb. 10.

The CD includes several new songs and many of Murphy’s classics, which have been hits in both pop and country markets.

Owners of the Blue Grass Music RV Park near Franklin, Ky., have purchased additional property adjacent to their land to allow for more parking for day traffic and to expand the number of full RV hookups, according to an announcement from the Williams & Clark Expedition.