Win an iPod Shuffle pre-loaded with all of Claire Lynch’s Rounder CDs.

Rounder Records recording artist Claire Lynch is posing the ulimate in word economy in a creative writing contest, entitled “Go short, win big with Claire.”

“It’s deceptively simple: Write your life in six words,” she says.

According to Lynch’s Web site, www.clairelynch.com, she “is convinced that we all have stories worth telling.”

Lynch was inspired by Smith magazine’s call for people to write their lives in just six words. The magazine published almost 1,000 of the responses from writers, both famous and obscure.

Claire Lynch will pick the winner, who receives an iPod Shuffle pre-loaded with all six of her Rounder releases. They are: Crowd Favorites (2007); New Day (2006); Lovelight (2000); Friends for a Lifetime (1998); Silver and Gold (1997); and Moonlighter (1995).

The contest kicks off today, April 22.

The rules posted on Lynch’s Web page are:

• No more than two entries per person
• Submit your six-word bio to clairelynchband@gmail.com
• Include your name, email address, city and state
• Deadline for entries is May 31.

Heed the moral of Claire Lynch Band guitarist Jim Hurst’s six-word bio: “Procrastination keeps me from completing my“. Pick up your pen and get creative today!

The winner will be announced in Lynch’s June e-newsletter, which can be obtained by subscribing on her Web site.

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BlueHighway “Through the Window of a Train” (Rounder)

Burlington, MA – Rounder Records is pleased to announce that many of its artists will be performing at MerleFest on April 24–27 in Wilkesboro, NC. MerleFest began in the spring of 1988 and has grown from two flat-bed trailers and 4,000 attendees to 13 stages with more than 81,500 festival participants. This “one time, one night, one man show,” according to MerleFest Executive Director B. Townes, has turned into one of the largest American roots festivals in the country. A complete list of Rounder performances is below. For more information and stage schedules, visit www.merlefest.org.

Blue Highway (Thursday & Friday, April 24 & 25)
One of the most esteemed groups in contemporary bluegrass, Blue Highway excels at every facet of the music, from instrumental dexterity to impeccable vocal interplay to literate, powerful songwriting. Individually, Jason Burleson (banjo, guitar, mandolin), Rob Ickes (Dobro), Shawn Lane (mandolin, fiddle, vocals), Tim Stafford (guitar, vocals), and Wayne Taylor (bass, vocals) are at the forefront of the genre, appearing on innumerable projects as sidemen, songwriters, and solo artists. Their latest album, Through the Window of a Train was released in February and finds the band continuing to grow and mature in all areas. Blue Highway has released eight acclaimed albums, received a Grammy nomination for their album Wondrous Love, topped the Bluegrass Unlimited radio charts, and won an astonishing 13 International Bluegrass Music Association awards (individually and collectively).

Blue Highway “Through the Window of A Train” CD Review on BluegrassJournal.com

Sierra Hull & Highway 111 (Friday & Saturday, April 25 & 26)

Beginning at eight years old, Sierra Hull has become an adored and respected young mandolin picker in bluegrass circles. Since then, the 16-year old Hull has competed in and won numerous mandolin and guitar championships, showcased at The International Bluegrass Music Association’s World of Bluegrass, and was a featured performer on the Great High Mountain Tour, which included an all-star bluegrass lineup (with Alison Krauss, Ralph Stanley, and others), that performed songs from the soundtracks of O Brother Where Art Thou and Cold Mountain. On May 6, Rounder Records will release Secrets, her national debut album. Secrets was co-produced by Hull and Ron Block (Union Station) and features Block, Dan Tyminski, Barry Bales, Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, Tony Rice, Jim VanCleve, Rob Ickes, Chris Jones, Jason Moore, and 17-year-old banjo whiz Cory Walker (who is also in Sierra’s band, Highway 111).

The Claire Lynch Band (Saturday & Sunday, April 26 & 27)

Claire Lynch has long been recognized as a creative influence in bluegrass music – first for her early years with Alabama’s Front Porch String Band (which was labeled as “a musical force to be reckoned with” by John Starling) and later for her superb singing and songwriting. Two of her five albums on Rounder have been nominated for a Grammy® and, among her many other nominations, she won the IBMA Award for “Female Vocalist of the Year” in 1997. Her latest album, Crowd Favorites, was released in October and is a collection of some of the most-requested songs from Claire Lynch’s impressively rich repertoire.

Claire Lynch “Crowd Favorites” CD Review on BluegrassJournal.com

Tony Rice (Friday & Saturday, April 25 & 26)

Tony Rice spans the range of acoustic music, from straight-ahead bluegrass to jazz-influenced new acoustic music, to songwriter-oriented folk. He is perhaps the greatest innovator in acoustic flatpicked guitar since Clarence White. Over the course of his career, he has played alongside J.D. Crowe and the New South, David Grisman (during the formation of “Dawg Music”), led his own groups, collaborated with fellow picker Norman Blake and recorded with his brothers. Rice remains one of bluegrass’ top instrumentalists, bringing originality and vitality to everything he plays.

The Dan Tyminski Band (Sunday, April 27)

Dynamic on stage, down to earth off stage, Dan Tyminski has the voice, instrumental chops, and charisma to be counted among the most recognizable and popular male vocalists on today’s bluegrass and country music scenes. Since 1994, his ace instrumental skill (mainly on guitar, but also on mandolin) and burnished, soulful tenor singing has been a key component of Alison Krauss and Union Station, arguably the most visible and successful bluegrass band in the modern era. Prior to that, he rose to national prominence as a member of bluegrass favorite, the Lonesome River Band. With Union Station on hiatus for most of 2008, Tyminski has formed a new incarnation of the Dan Tyminski Band, with whom he is releasing his new album Wheels on June 17. This new edition includes longtime Union Station associate Barry Bales (bass), former Union Station and Mountain Heart member Adam Steffey (mandolin), sideman extraordinaire Ron Stewart (banjo, fiddle), and newcomer Justin Moses (fiddle, dobro).

Rhonda Vincent & The Rage (Saturday, April 26)
The reigning queen of bluegrass, Rhonda Vincent, was born with music inside of her. She inherited timeless bluegrass strains from her family and the hills of her Missouri homeland. You can hear them echo every time she sings, or when she runs her hands across a mandolin, guitar, or fiddle. Yet Vincent’s music is a transformation of tradition – a very modern manifestation of her roots in classic bluegrass, refracted through her very real experiences as a bandleader, musician, songwriter, mother, wife, and woman. Rounder released her latest album Good Thing Going in January and it is Vincent’s most personal album to date. With hope, resilience, and gratitude, Vincent presents a set of songs that range from timelessly straight-ahead bluegrass to effervescent swing and heartfelt ballads.

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Mark Schatz

Noted bass player Missy Raines is leaving the Claire Lynch Band after nearly a 13-year stint to start her own group, “missy raines and the new hip.” As she leaves Lynch’s aggregation, the equally well-known Mark Schatz is stepping in to fill her slot.

“From the first note, we had ‘groove,’ ” Lynch wrote in a farewell message to Raines. “What a pleasure it’s been! … I can’t help but be sad — nobody’s been a more loyal, hard-working team member than you. Your departure is a great loss for us, but I know it’s time for your own unique musicality to be expressed.”

Schatz will join the group on Feb. 1.

Twice named the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Bass Player of the Year, Schatz has worked with an impressive variety of artists including Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, Maura O’Connell, Tony Rice, John Hartford, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Tim & Mollie O’Brien and most recently, Nickel Creek. He also acts as musical director for the internationally-acclaimed Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble which showcases his other talents, clawhammer banjo and Southern Appalachian clog dancing.

Schatz has two solo recordings, “Brand New Old Tyme Way” and “Steppin’ in the Boilerhouse” on Rounder Records

He’s also released two instructional bass videos on Homespun Tapes.

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In conjunction with the release of Claire Lynch’s latest offering, “Crowd Favorites,” Rounder has published an exclusive 2-part interview with Lynch. The interview is available on Rounder’s website.

In the interview Lynch talks about the new songs she recorded for “Crowd Favorites“, her newest release on Rounder (See our review here), Her long working relationship with Jim Hurst and Missy Raines and her approach to song selection.

You can read part one of the interview here and part two is available here.

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Claire Lynch - Crowd Favorites

Claire Lynch’s “Crowd Favorites,” an anthology, includes some of Lynch’s most popular songs from her long tenure with Rounder Records and features four new recordings.

The songs on the collection run the gamut stylistically from the traditional bluegrass of the Dennis Lindel-penned “Train Long Gone”, the country sounds of “Your Presence Is My Favorite Gift” and the cajun-infused “Thibodaux.”

Ten of the songs for the project were culled from Lynch’s previous Rounder offerings comprised from “Silver and Gold,” “Moonlighter,” “Love Light,” “Friends for a Lifetime” and “New Day.”

All four of the new songs were cut with Lynch’s backing band, consisting of Jim Hurst (guitar), Missy Raines (bass) and Jason Thomas (mandolin and fiddles).

“The Day That Lester Died” laments the passing of one of the pioneers of bluegrass music, Lester Flatt, and the affect it had on Lynch. It is a very moving tribute.

Claire Lynch Band L-R Claire Lynch, Jason Thomas, Missy Raines and Jim Hurst

The other three new songs on the project are derived from the Front Porch String Band era of Claire Lynch’s career and include “Hills of Alabam’” that relates the sacrifices of life on the road and the yearning for home. “Kennesaw Line,” written by Don Oja-Dunnaway,was inspired by the personal account of a Confederate foot soldier during the Civil War.

Claire Lynch and company’s inspired 8-minute version of “Wabash Cannonball” features the band cutting loose and exploring new and exciting ground instrumentally to great effect on this Roy Acuff signature tune. You won’t ever hear this song the same again.

The revelation throughout “Crowd Favorites” is that Lynch has remained true to her artistic vision throughout her career. The songs reveal a consistency such that they could’ve been recorded during a single session or two, not across a span of more than a decade.

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