Elvis Costello, whose show “Spectacle: Elvis Costello With…” wraps up its second season on Sundance Channel at the end of January, will tour the U.S. this spring with a variety of line ups. Costello will be playing solo, with his band the Imposters, and with the Sugarcanes, the accomplished musicians who joined him on his Grammy-nominated 2009 album ‘Secret, Profane & Sugarcane‘ (Hear Music)…..

Nashville, Tenn., — The Steeldrivers seem to be on a roll. Last night their self-titled debut album was named Bluegrass Album of the Year at the Nashville Music Awards. While The Steeldriver’s hard-hitting and often genre-bending sound has garnered plenty of favorable reviews, success among their industry peers had been elusive until this year. The group was recently honored as the International Bluegrass Music…

Elvis Costello’s latest release “Secret, Profane & Sugarcane” features a wealth of bluegrass music’s top session musicians. The CD, released back in June on the Hear Music label features the talents of: Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, Mike Compton, Jeff Taylor and Dennis Crouch, all of whom make up the core band used on the recording sessions….

Winfield, Kansas — The trio of Buddy Greene, Ron Block and Jeff Taylor were among the more popular acts featured at the 2008 Walnut Valley Festival. Their fans should be pleased to hear that they will be making a return visit to the festival in 2009. The three friends don’t get the opportunity to perform together as often as they would like. Each of them has a great deal going on musically in their lives….

Nashville, Tenn., — For a variety of reasons, it’s harder than you might think for groups of musicians who’ve assembled for tours and special performances to preserve their unique chemistry on tape for fans and historians. Studio time and expense, multiple commitments and sheer logistics usually overwhelm the noblest archival impulses. Even artists who keep every clipping, poster and video cassette from their career usually can’t produce audio documents that capture fully and professionally what these special and sometimes historic gatherings actually sound like, which is funny considering that’s why they came together in the first place….