"10 Questions for Jody Stetcher" on Mandoin Cafe.

Lecagy is "Cool water from a deep well." (From The Real Mr.Heartache blog)

Listen to the re-broadcast of Alison Brown’s performance on NPR’s Music City Roots.

The John Hartford Stringband is #3 on the Roots Music Report Folk chart for the second week in a row!

Colin Hay to play Beaver Creek’s Underground Sound concert series (October 14).

The Music Road blog reveiws Jeremy Kittel’s Chasing Sparks.

Folk Alley suggests music for your discovery: Michael McGoldrick

News like this and exclusive articles are available on the Compass Records Group’s newsletter Up Close. Up Close readers can receive 20% off titles featured in that month’s newsletter. To receive Up Close click here.

We also join the John Hartford Stringband in celebrating the late John Hartford’s upcoming induction into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame.

The Nominations:

The Gibson Brothers
Vocal Group of the Year
Album of the Year – Ring The Bell
Song of the Year – “Ring the Bell” (Chet O’Keefe, songwriter)
Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year – “Ring the Bell”
 
Dale Ann Bradley
Female Vocalist of the Year
 
Missy Raines
Instrumental Performer of the Year – Bass

News like this and exclusive articles are available on the Compass Records Group’s newsletter Upclose. Upclose readers can receive 20% off titles featured in that month’s newsletter. To receive Upclose click here.

Peter Rowan: Up Close

1.   Do you come from a musical family?
Yes, both my mother and father played piano and sang and my great uncle played guitar and keyboard. Uncle Jimmy came back from New Caledonia in the South Pacific and showed up at the house with hula skirts and coconut bras. He played the ukulele – that was the beginning.


2. What’s on your iPod?
We just did a road trip listening to lots of old calypso music from the Caribbean from the 30’s and 40’s, and personally, I’ve been listening the last year to Mozart choral music because it’s so healing.


3. What are 5 CDs you’d want with you on a desert island?
I’d take a collection of Chuck Berry, Bill Monroe, Indian vocal music, Chopin, Mozart, and the Stanley Brothers.


4. What would you be doing if you weren’t in playing music?
It changes from year to year, but I do miss gardening and trying to raise food. But, probably, writing in long form and I would love to be a great painter. It’s so enjoyable to work with colors and shape. Something in the arts…


5. Musical hero you’d most like to meet?
I’ve met a lot of musical heroes. Keith Richards (Rolling Stones) would be one. I’m not sure what we’d have to say to one another, but I love his guitar playing.


6. Favorite venue as a performer?
Too many to list! Audiences in Oregon, Japan and Ireland are great. Playing outdoors in Italy is a one of a kind experience! People are very responsive and they want to have a great time. In Japan, they are very respectful and listen to every note. In Ireland, music is such a tradition. Johnny Keenan Banjo Festival was a real high point a few years ago. Bluegrass can reach to folks where they have similar roots in their music.


7. Favorite concert/performance as an audience member?
I’m a career Bob Dylan concertgoer. A few friends of mine play in the band, and I do love to hear how someone at the top of our music world is still going after it. Charlie Sexton and Tony Garnier are in the band. With bandmates who have played together so long, it’s epic.

One bluegrass show experience stands out. There’s never been a moment like the first festival at Fincastle with Bill Monroe, Carter Stanley, Don Reno, and Benny Martin sang quartets. I’ve never had goosebumps like that. That’s a different part of it. It’s a lifetime experience. That’s what did it for me. The goosebump factor in bluegrass can be there.


8. What sound do you love?
I like the sound of my old D-18 guitar that I inherited from Charles Sawtelle. 


9. What sound do you hate?
The stewardess on the airplane saying that the flight will be late and that a crew is coming to examine the problem. Also when there’s an announcement that we’re re-routing through Chicago.


10. Favorite movie(s)?
Anything that Michael Caine has been in. I just saw Farewell, a French & Russian movie about the Cold War. I like all Bogart classics when he really hit it as a star. Particularly, I enjoy older narratives. When I was a kid, my favorite movie was Treasure Island.

 
11. Last good book you read? 
Shakespeare’s Lost Kingdom


12. Favorite clothing store?
I have one, but I haven’t found it yet and am still looking. What’s fun is going to a tailor in Paris while on tour and having some clothes made and be able to pick them up in a week and wear them.


13. Favorite comfort food?
Spaghetti alla puttanesca


14. Role Model?
Dalai lama. He inspires me


15. What trait do you most value in your friends?
Honesty


16. What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Perfect happiness – musically – is when the magical notes happen and the ancient tones appear. It’s timeless.


17. Which words or phrases do you most overuse? 
“You know”


18. What is your most treasured possession?
Trust in my D-18.


19. Which talent would you most like to have?
The talent to figure out what talent I’d most like to have.


20. What is your Motto?
“Plow it all the way to the fence.”

Pick up Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band’s Legacy now available for pre-order.

This month’s Headphones comes from Dave Stallard who co-chairs the music committee for the Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion and writes about music for Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine. He lives in Southwest Virginia with his wife and two sons.

Russ Barenberg - When At Last
I discovered Russ Barenberg a couple years ago when I first heard Skip, Hop, and Wobble, which he recorded with Jerry Douglas and Edgar Meyer, and it didn’t take long for me to appreciate Barenberg’s guitar playing brilliance. He still ranks as one of my favorite guitar players and When At Last is pure acoustic beauty.

Drew Emmitt - Across The Bridge
Drew Emmitt is the quintessential mandolin player—he so easily straddles the traditional and progressive leanings of his instrument, and his voice breaks with that high lonesome sound. “Big Ice” and “Silvanite” are tremendous instrumentals, and I love the harmonies Drew and Del McCoury create on “This House.”

Special Consensus - 35
I have been pouring over maps of Kentucky, but I just can’t find Chicago on any of them. Though Special Consensus doesn’t hail from bluegrass country, these guys sure do know how to pick it. This record has been playing nonstop since I got it—and it shows why Special Consensus has been around for over three decades.

Phillips, Grier, & Flinner - Looking Back
I have been a fan of David Grier and Matt Flinner since catching them in a tiny music room in Charlottesville some ten years ago. I picked up this disc soon thereafter and have loved it ever since. It is remarkable how this threesome transcends genre, giving the acoustic treatment to Hendrix, Monroe, and John Lennon.

The John Hartford String Band - Memories of John
I must admit to being a bit of a Hartford novice—though I’ve heard Aereo-plain and have a couple of his discs on my iPod, I really haven’t given him the time he deserves. So, this disc has served as my reintroduction to this Americana legend. “Bring Your Clothes Back Home” is one of my favorite tracks of the moment.

An all-star concert celebrating legend Joe Derrane will feature Mick Moloney, John Doyle, Billy McComiskey, Seamus Connolly, Brian Conway, Jerry O’Sullivan, Brendan Dolan, John McGann and more.

Richard Julian and The Chapmans will both be playing official Americana Music Association showcases at the Nashville conference on September 8th. Richard will play at the Rutledge at 9pm. The Chapmans will play at The Staion Inn at 8pm.

Mountain Stage taped a live performace by John Doyle in Bristol, TN for their show to be aired on NPR in October.

News like this and exclusive articles are available on the Compass Records Group’s newsletter Upclose. Upclose readers can receive 20% off titles featured in that month’s newsletter. To receive Upclose click here.

The Fiddle Freak Music Blog is streaming two tracks from Old Blind Dogs upcoming release Wherever Yet May Be: fiddlefreak.com/2010/08/09/obd-mp3/

Listen to an encore of Colin Hay’s October live performance on NPR’s Mountain Stage: www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114209595

Solas, "the most popular and influential Celtic band to ever emerge from the US," plays the Dulbin Irish Festival in Ohio: www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/40498/

"The Waifs of the world unite" for the Edmonton Folk Festival: www.edmontonsun.com/entertainment/bvj_folkfest/2010/08/07/14951771.html

Asheville Citizen Times reviews Alison Brown’s performance at the Diana Wortham Theatre: www.citizen-times.com/article/20100709/ENT/307090006/1005/ent

Jeff Coffin headlines the Utah Artists Expo which will be held August 9-21: www.parkrecord.com/ci_15642543

John Doyle joins Doc Watson, David Holt, Justin Townes Earle, Laura Boosinger & Josh Goforth and Bob Livingston at Bristol, TN/VA’s Paramount Center for the Arts on August 15: www.wvpubcast.org/blogs.aspx?id=15905&blogid=340

Missy Raines & the New Hip "shine at City Park": readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=238301