The McKinnon twins — Keith on guitar and Kevin on mandoln — fllank Carrie Hassler Friday at the Greater Downstate Bluegrass Festival in Springfield, Ill. Hassler and her band, Hard Rain, performed two shows during the weekend event. Big names, including Rhonda Vincent, Doyle Lawson, Nothin’ Fancy and Dailey & Vincent pulled in sizeable crowds for the festival, part of the Midwest Bluegrass lineup of festivals. [end]

Springfield, Ill., the state’s capitol city, is the bull’s eye for Midwestern bluegrass fans each November. They’ll be returning again this year for the 23rd annual Greater Downstate Indoor Bluegrass Music Festival on Nov. 6, 7 and 8.

It’s held at the Crowne Plaza, just off Interstate 55….

The Bluegrass Underground inside Tennessee’s Cumberland Caverns will host Mountain Heart and Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain for its next concert — set for 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24.

The caverns are located in McMinnville in mid-Tennessee….

Shades of Bean Blossom, Ind., 1973 will be cast over the Graves Mountain Festival of Music in Syria, Va., next year.

First, back to Hoosier land in 1973, when Bill Monroe’s bluegrass festival at his campground in Bean Blossom had become so popular that MCA Records produced a live, long-play album at the festival, titled appropriately, “Bean Blossom”….

Charleston, SC — Over the July 4th weekend, the first ever MoonPie General Store will welcome Carrie Hassler and Hard Rain to Market Street. Carrie Hassler and Hard Rain are currently sitting atop Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine’s Bluegrass Survey Chart with its #1 single, “I Can Go Back Anytime.” Carrie Hassler and Hard Rain will perform on Friday night, July 3rd…