[Posted 12/11/2006] Interview by Sidekick Gary of Famous Virginia Radio Personalities "Sweet Brenda and Him" (Brenda and Calvin Lawson) has been added to the PERSON IN PROFILE Section as well as to the AUDIO CLIP SECTION of this website! The interview is an interesting look into the lives of two of Virginia's DJ's and Promoters. Largely responsible for bringing more Bluegrass to more people.

[12/08/2006] Ole Dominion Jamboree and JAMinc are giving away free tickets to the Jan 6, 2007 Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver concert 7:00pm at West End Assembly of God, Richmond, VA. We will be giving away a pair of tickets on every show through December 31st.

[Posted 12/08/2006] The Ole Dominion Jambore and Hay Holler Records are giving away CD's for Christmas! You can try to win one of these CD's by calling into the WLEE Studios on Sunday's afternoon show whenever Slim Jim or Sidekick announce they are taking callers for the CD Giveaway. The prize is the Christmas with Hay Holler CD. Two CD's will be given out on Dec 3, 10, 17 for a total of six CD's. Congratulations to Raymond Smiley and June Hall on winning the CD's on Sunday Dec 3rd. The first two CD's are already in the mail to the winners!

[Posted 12/07/2006] Pearl Harbor Day is today - Sixty five years ago Pearl Harbor was bombed and the US was brought into World War II. Please remember our Veterans today.

[Posted 12/07/2006] Copper Ridge will be playing Saturday Dec 9, 2006 for a charity event in Petersburg. See this MESSAGE posted on the Message board for more info.

[12/02/2006] Sidekick and myself went out to Amelia to John Hutchinson's annual Christmas/Birthday party. Several bands were on hand to play for the free event that included plenty of bean or potatoe soup. This was the first time I had seen Flint Hollow perform although I have played their music on the radio show on a regular basis. They were superb to the point of receiving a standing ovation from the crowd and having John dancing on stage with Sweet Brenda. We couldn't stay until the end of the party, but all of the bands were playing great music and all 400 or so guests were having a great time.

[12/02/2006] Longtime Richmond, VA DJ Big John Trimble has received one of the highest honors that a Disc Jockey can receive. He has been inducted into the Country Music DJ Hall of Fame. See this MESSAGE.

[Posted 11/26/2006] Great News about Lovingston Opry House being started. See this POST on the message board about this Nelson County venue and see the upcoming shows.

[Posted 11/26/2006] I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Mine was great! I spent the day with Great friends who are lke family to me, and good Food! Not a whole lot happening because of the Holiday, but I heard that James King is going to be playing at Farmville VFW Hall on Dec 1, 2006.

[Posted 11/11/2006] Happy Veterans Day and Thank you to all of our Veterans for the service you have provided to this great Country!

[Posted 11/11/2006] Sidekick Gary and myself went up to Front Royal, VA last Friday night. The next morning we went over to Frank Journey's house and visited with him and his wife as well as Mark Newton and his wife. Mark was in town to do two shows - along with Cherryholmes - that were part of Frank's Berryville concert series. Mark generously gave us almost an hour of time to give Gary and myself another interview - this time for the radio shows. You can also find audio clips of the interview here on this web site - INTERVIEWS.
Mark had his newest CD - "Hillbilly Hemingway" - released on November 7, 2006 - and I think it is the best work he has done yet.

[Posted 11/11/2006] Also last week end we attended the fund raiser for Donnie Mason of the "In The Tradition" band that was held up at Appomatox High School. Donnie has been a big contributor to fundraisers for other people over the years often donating his time and efforts, and this time there were a few hundred members of the community who hadn't forgotten. Go to this LINK if you want to find out more about the fundraiser or if you missed the event and would like to contribute. Donnie will probably go into the Hospital for surgery sometime in December.

[10/29/2006] Gary and I traveled down to Hampton, VA and met some of his family members and went to the Hampton Bluegrass Festival together this past Saturday. It was a blast and the bands were great! For a more complete review read this POST that Gary wrote up as a review of the festivities.
While we were there we got the opportunity to visit with Tommy Riddle so I made this ad on to a POST.

[Posted 10/29/2006] Fall Line Bluegrass Band's Guitarist Keith Mellinger has a write up in the Richmond TImes Dispatch concerning his day job. Find out more at this POST.

[Posted 10/27/2006] Mark Newton and the Mark Newton Band along with Rebel Records has announced the street date for their newest CD "Hillbilly Hemingway" is Nov 7th. Mark has had the CD with him at his concerts...and he will probably have some more at his Nov 4th concerts with Cherryholmes in Berryville, VA. If your not going to see Mark perform before Nov 7th you will be able to buy it from several sources on line after the 7th. I have the album and I think it is the best work Mark has ever done! Check this POST in the message board for more info.

[Posted 10/27/2006] Willow Branch Bluegrass Band's newest CD is selling great...They are doing their third pressing already. See what happens when you don't make a CD for 13 years! We have been playing it on "The Ole Dominion Jamboree" on WLEE 990 AM and on WorldWideBluegrass.com. Some of the other DJ's on WorldWideBluegrass.com have picked it up and are playing cuts off of it as well. Check this POST for more info.

[Posted 10/27/2006] National Folk Festival was great! Seeing Hazel Dickens was a treat. We played some of the musicians that were at the festival on the radio program including some of her music.
Don't forget the Hampton Bluegrass Festival tonight and tomorrow. Grascals, Dolye Lawson and Quicksilver, Cold Blue and much much more. Find more info HERE.

[Posted 10/13/2006] Happy Birthday VaBluegrass.com! The website turned 1 year old on Oct 10th! Can't believe we have been doing this for a whole year. This website has certainly evolved in ways I would never have imagined....and it is still growing. Thanks for being part of our first year! I hope the upcoming year will bring even more users/readers to the site, more people who contribute by sending in things or posting on the message board and just a whole lot more great music! That is what this site is really about...great music.

[Posted 10/13/2006] I called Sidekick Gary (his new official name from the radio show!) and asked him if he wanted to meet me for lunch at Triple Crossing Coffee Shop. I knew that the Shockoe Bottom Boys play a Friday lunch gig there more often than not and I wanted to see if I could catch these guys in action. From their website they sounded like they were a lot of fun. Well I was right! They played a lot of classic covers...the stuff I could sing along to real quietely under my breath. We had a great time, but there was a twist to the lunch meeting. Two of the members of this band - Brothers Bob and Lennie Tierney - knew Gary from their days together in Boy Scout Troop 10 in Hampton, VA - just a few years back. Turned out to be a great surprise. I loved to hear the brothers sing together and they have a great traditional Bluegrass harmony going on there.

[Posted 10/13/2006] National Folk Festival is underway! If you come to Richmond, VA don't forget to check out the calendar of events. Check this Post and this Post for more info. Kenny and Amanda Smith as well as Hazel Dickens are there along with several other talents artists. To top it all off this is a free event.

[Posted 10/13/2006] Sorry to everyone for not updating this sooner. Gary and I both have been down with colds and sinus infections at the same time as we are getting a new radio show off the ground. We have been able to drag ourselves down to the station and actually do some really great shows, but we haven't been keeping up the website or getting out there and finding sponsers for the show. Now we are getting back on our feet after a few weeks of being under the weather I am sure we will have everything squared away pretty soon. Starting the new radio show on WLEE 990 AM here in Richmond, VA has already been quite an experience and I have really been enjoying it. I have been trying to find a good balance between local independent Virginia Bluegrass artists and Nationally recognized artists (Some from Virginia and some not). If you listen to the show either on the radio or through the internet drop me a line here at vabluegrass.com and let me know what you think of the show and who your favorite artists are.
Last week they broadcast the show on the internet, but there was some technical difficulty that nothing we said on the mic was broadcast on the internet, only over the radio. This left some big blank holes in the audio becuase Gary and I talked quite a bit. For those of you listening in through the internet stream we apologize for this and hopefully they will have this issue corrected.

Remember - If you own or run a busines and are interested in finding out more about how to sponser a portion of the show, please contact me either by phone or email using the contact info on the About page or on the Ole Dominion Jamboree website. Sponsoring The Ole Dominion Jamboree is a great way to spread the word about your business and we have flexible advertising plans to fit your needs.

[Posted 09/29/2006] Gary and I went up to Nothin' Fancy's Bluegrass Festival in Buena Vista, VA last weekend and we had a blast. Not only did we get to experience some outstanding acts, but we also got to talk to several of the artists. Gary interviewed "Sweet Brenda and Him" Radio show hosts Brenda and Calvin Lawson as well as getting an interview with Michelle Nixon while sitting in her bus. How cool is that!
Mark Newton was there and he gave an outstanding performance. He had his new CD with him, but the roll out day in the stores won't be until Nov 9th.
The performers included Nothin' Fancy, In the Tradition, James King, Mark Newton, Michelle Nixon, Rhonda Vincent, IIIrd Time Out, Anita FIsher, All 4 Hym, Honi Deaton, Cherryholmes, The Bluegrass Brothers and Williams and Clark Expedition.
Don't forget the upcoming benefit for Donnie Mason. Nov 4, 2006 Appomatox, VA

[Posted 09/21/2006] Last week the Richmond Times and Dispatch ran a great article concerning a Rocky Mount, VA man and his $100,000 banjo. See more Here.

[Posted 09/21/2006] Monday night I aired my first real show on the WorldWideBluegrass.com. I had a scratchy throat and didn't feel so well, but we survived through it and the music was great! (Of course - I selected them, lol). I was worried about the technical pieces of broadcasting from my home computer out onto the internet, but we got all the pieces up a running ok for the majority of the show. The show is 10-12pm on Monday nights.

[Posted 09/21/2006]Just some family news - I announced on the show that Pop Ellis was at the hospital in Omaha because he swallowed a screwdriver (no lie). Ma Ellis called and said that everything came out ok, and they were heading home today. She put Pop on the phone and he didn't sound any worse for wear. We were worried about him for awhile, but after I found out he was ok - all I could think was sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.

[Posted 09/21/2006] We caught two different festivals last weekend. Friday night we made it down to the VFMA's annual Festival for an evening of entertainment by several great groups. I met some of the guys from Thunder Creek for the first time, a very entertaining group from Tidewater. David Joyner and the guys put on a great show. I also had the pleasure of meeting Mitch Harrell and chatting with him and his band after their show. Mitch had taken some time off from actively playing Bluegrass - but if Friday night was any indication, he is definately back! Mitch is one of those rare Bluegrass vocalist who has a very powerful voice similar in style to Randy Waller, but very unique in sound. Mitch surrounded himself with a talented bunch of guys and I hope this current line up stays together for awhile, because "They got it going on". We also saw local favorites Slack Family and Copper Ridge.
Saturday Gary and I went to see Damon, Gary's grandson, play football in Charlottesville. Damon wanted to hang out with the old men on Saturday so we took him down to Scottsville's Bluegrass Festival. We got to visit with the members of Willow Branch between their sets. Gary is working on interviewing them for a write up on the website soon. They also have a great new CD that just arrived before the show. Band member Doug McDonald wrote the opening song on the new CD. I also met Hank Utz and Paul Finchman from Dark Hollow. I got one of their CD's and Hank pointed out that he had written one of the songs on it - "Misty Morning Rain". He was pretty proud of it. When I got it home and gave it a listen I could tell why. Not bad, not bad at all Hank. All this song writing talent just amazes me. We have a lot of talented people living right around us.

[Posted 09/15/2006] Major Announcement!
Third Hill Productions, L.L.C. - The owners of this website - would like to announce the website now has an audio voice. The voice of VaBluegrass.com is a new radio show called "The Ole Dominion Jamboree". "The Ole Dominion Jamboree" is starting out on WLEE 990 AM on Sunday afternoons from 1:00 pm until 3:00pm starting on October 1, 2006. For those who don't live in the greater Richmond, VA area I will also be volunteering as a DJ on www.WorldWideBluegrass.com on Monday nights from 10:00 pm until midnight. The internet show comes complete with a chat room so you can chat with DJ's and other listeners. More information will be added to the website with mailing address and contact information for prospective advertisers and for artists who want their work shared on the air. The format will be mostly Virginia Bluegrass Artist with some others mixed in once in awhile. We will also have guest either call in or stop by for a chat on the air. Come join me by listening in to the new show!

[Posted 09/09/2006] Red Shipley from Orange County, VA has been nominated for IBMA Broadcaster of the year. See post from our message board member Tamgrass.

[Posted 09/09/2006] Gary and I have formed a new company called Third Hill Productions, L.L.C. This website www.vabluegrass.com is now the property of Third Hill Productions (although I don't think it is an asset - probably list it as a liability!). We are excited by this new partnership and are looking forward to even bigger projects in the future. Be on the look out for future announcements!

[Posted 09/09/2006] Nothin' Fancy was in a car accident, but no one was seriously hurt. See Board Post.

[Posted 08/30/2006] This isn't news, just some of my ramblings. Last week I went to my normal Thursday night jam out by the Richmond Airport. A fiddle player named Sonny showed up. I have had the pleaseure of jamming with Sonny on a few occassions so I was glad to see him there. He is an older gentlemen who plays like there isn't any tomorrow. This time I easedropped on the conversation going on between Sonny and the other guys and found out he played for a long time with a very well known Virginia artist Chief Powhatan. Now I had heard of Chief Powhatan before but he doesn't have the national prominance of a Don Reno or Jesse McReynolds so I was (and still am) a little vague on the details. I did find out from listening to this conversation that while Sonny was with Chief Powhatan and his Bluegrass Braves he played on the Grand Ole Opry no less than seven times.

I thought about this conversation on the way home and decided I wanted to learn more about local Bluegrass History from around central Virginia. I went to Plan9 music store the next day and searched through old 45s and LPs looking for something by Chief Powhatan. I found out from the internet that Chief Powhatan had recorded a few records and I was hoping to get lucky. Well I didn't find anything by Chief Powhatan, but I did run accross an old 45 record that had a date of 1973 and said the artist was J. C. Hale and the Jame River Gentlemen and the record label is Bounty Records Richmond, VA. Produced by Fairfield Sounds and genre listed as (Bluegrass). Well I brought this little gem home not knowing what to expect but glad I had captured something on this outing.

I got my old record player out and hooked it up to my computer and got all ready to play this little piece of history, and realized I no longer knew where the little adapter was that went in the center of the 45 records. This ended up in another night of running around to stores. Radio shack was the most fun where the young man waiting on me didn't know what a "45 record" was. Thanks Goodness I wasn't asking about 8 track tapes. I finally ended up back at the store where I purchased the record, and they had 2 adapters left. So I got it home turned on the speakers on my computer and played the record into the computer and man was I pleasantly surprised. This was some great Bluegrass music with a great sounding unique voice.

I liked this music so much I recorded it onto MP3 files - Yes I have learned what they are and how to make them now!!! I then did a dogpile search for the artist and was surprised to find a reference to him living in New Kent and had his email listed. So I emailed him to see if it was the same J. C. Hale. Low and behold in less than 10 minutes I had the nicest email back confirming that indeed he was the J. C. Hale on this record. Come to find out he later changed the name of the band to J. C. Hale and the Blue Fescue. After that he played with Charlie Mooore and a whole lot of other people. He even moved to Nashville for awhile. He had recently left a local Gospel band he was working with and is thinking about starting or joining another band. The internet had made all of this possible. I was kind of blown away by how the internet has helped shrink the world into a smaller place.

If learning about J. C. Hale and his music career wasn't enough to convince me of the magic of the internet, I had another event occur this week. Last week I saw a post on the myspace group I was looking at that this 19 year old banjo player from Winchester, VA named Mason was in Germany until today. I didn't know what part of Germany but I sent him a message on myspace (which I really don't know how to use) and told him to stop by my friend's music store if he was in Munich. Well Mason wrote to me today and he got my message, he was in Munich staying at a hotel I had stayed at before, and he not only went by to see Heidi and Ruediger Helbig at their store Folkladen, but he got a couple of banjo lessons from him!!!! Man the world is changing.

Well this turned into a rambling gossip column, but it was fun. Hope y'all had as great of August as I did, and I will chat with you again in September.

[Posted 08/26/2006] Learned of a Bluegrass group I hadn't heard of before...check out the post on the message board about these talented teenagers from Southwest Virginia - "The Midnight Ramblers"

[Posted 08/26/2006] Received an email from WLEE 990 AM Radio and they have two hours less Bluegrass than before, but they still have Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon. See this post on the message board.

[Posted 08/22/2006] Didn't hear any Bluegrass on 990 AM WLEE in Richmond this past Sunday....I'm trying to find out what the deal is. I have an email into them but haven't gotten a response as of yet. Meanwhile 1430 AM Ashland WHAN is showing a new schedule with syndicated show 7AM-10AM Into the Blue & Bluegrass on Saturdays. This show is taped in Nashville.

[Posted 08/22/2006] Former Banjo Player for New Kingston Trio is reunited with his custom made Vega Banjo that was stolen 35 years ago. Check this post on the message board to find out about this current Virginia resident.

[Posted 08/22/2006] Benefit show to help veteran Bluegrass musican Donnie Mason to be held Nov 4 in Appomattox, VA. Check this message on the board.

[Posted 08/18/2006] Central Virginia Bluegrass Festival has kicked off. Go Here to check out some pics and info.

[Posted 08/18/2006] On the plus side I recieved the following info about a radio show that includes some Bluegrass. Edge of Americana Tuesdays from 7-9pm WRIR - Richmond Indie Radio - 97.3 FM - http://www.wrir.org

[Posted 08/18/2006] Radio Station 1340 AM WHAP Hopewell is off the air again. Evidently the group buying the station couldn't get the numbers to work out. This means that the new Bluegrass Show on Saturday Morning - "Bluegrass Across America" hosted by Louis Power is off the air. It is sometimes hard to keep up with the fast changes in Bluegrass radio shows. I will let you know if I hear more. I would like to thank Louis for allowing me to come down to Hopewell and Co-host the show with him for a couple of weekends in a row. It was a great experience and I had a lot of fun. There seems to be a shortage of Classic Country and Bluegrass on the radio around central Virginia and I hated to see this one go.

[Posted 08/18/2006]New Jam at a New Bluegrass Music Store. Wednesday nights a 7:00 pm at the Acoustic Emporium. 1061 old Abingdon Highway Ste 3, Bristol, VA 24201.

[Posted 08/13/2006] Went to the VFMA sponsored event at Pocahontas State Park in Chesterfield last night and had a great time seeing "Phoenix" and "Randy Waller and the Country Gentlemen" as well as meeting Franklin Pike. Read my post on the message board about this event.

[Posted 08/09/2006] Sargent Family announces they are appearing in Southwest Virginia on the "Crooked Road" for the first time.

[Posted 08/09/2006] Just in - New band name and myspace webpage for Becky Taylor and Open Fire. Becky is out of the Ashland - Central Virginia area and plays one heck of a fine banjo. I have had the good fortune to play along with her at jam sessions in the past - and hope to in the future to although I am not in the same league musically by any means. Can't wait to catch her band in action.

[Posted 08/09/2006] Check out this Message on the Greene County Fair. Packed full of Bluegras from James King to the Lewis Family. It is going on right now with a different Bluegrass act every night of the week.

[Posted 08/03/2006] Bluegrass Blog is reporting that Virginia Native Mac Wiseman was interviewed for over two hours on XM radio and will be rebroadcast this Sunday 08/06/2006 at 10am. If you have a subscription XM radio you can listen on your computer if you link onto their streaming audio on XM's website. If you don't have a subscription they are offering Three Day free trials right now. If you want to hear Mac on the computer this weekend would be a good time to try that free trial out!

[Posted 08/03/2006] Not Virginia news, but Charlie Derrington was killed Tuesday evening in an motorcycle accident after he was hit by a drunk driver. Charlie was a world famous Master Luthier (instrument builder) who worked for Gibson for many years and mandolins signed by him are highly prized by collectors. He is most famous in Bluegrass circles as the man who put Mr. Bill Monroe's mandolin back together after Mr. Monroe's girlfriend took a fire poker to it and left it in over 400 seperate pieces. This same mandolin sold last year for a reported 1.3 million dollars. Newspaper article.

[Posted 07/30/2006] I was invited to visit Lou Power at 1340 AM WHAP Hopewell and to get on the air and give this website an on air plug. Of course I jumped at the chance. I really wanted to see what an AM station was all about. It was a lot of fun. I was a little scared at first and thought I would make a fool of myself. Lou made me feel right at home and I had a bunch of my CD's in the truck that he allowed me to "spin" a few for the folks at home. We took turns picking out songs. Lou would pick a song from his collection and then I would pick one from mine. Then we would give a brief blurb about the artist or something we knew about them. It was a fun time. I got to give a run down of some of the more local stuff coming up. WHAP is a 1000 watt am station 24 hours a day that covers Hopewell/Petersburg/Colonial Heights at night, and during the day the signal covers a much larger area that reaches to downtown Richmond. The station has been off the air for almost a year and has only recently returned to the air under new ownership. This past Saturday was Lou's third Saturday morning hosting the "Bluegrass Across America" show on WHAP. For his innaugural show he interviewed the Jackie Frost Ensemble who are out there promoting their soon to be released CD.
There are a couple of other weekend AM radio shows that feature Bluegrass, but they cover more of the Richmond area and their signal doesn't cover down to Hopewell/Petersburg very well if at all. They are 1450 AM 6-9am Saturday's hosted by D J Barnett. 990 AM WLEE has Sunday afternoon's with Dee Daniels on Radio Bluegrass at the 2-4pm slot (I didn't know she was back on with this show until today). Then following her from 5-6pm is the syndicated show out of Nashville "Into the Blue".

[Posted 07/24/2007] Press Release I received -- Louis Power, a 30+ year communications and broadcasting veteran will be returning to the microphone on Silver Dolphin Communications’ Classic Country Station WHAP 1340 Hopewell and the Tri-Cities area, 6-10AM Saturday mornings starting July 15th playing bluegrass music. A format Power DJ’ed twenty years ago. Almost to the very month he started hosting “Bluegrass Saturday Morning” on WXGI AM950 as Scott Powers. See Message Board for more about AM Radio in the Tri-Cities.

[Posted 07/18/2006] I returned from my vacation in Nebraska to find Gary had posted a message about this great article in the Richmond Times about the Jahnke Rd Baptist Church Jam here in Richmond, VA.

[Posted 07/18/2006] Received an email with updated info and a web site for the Smyth County Jam.

[Posted 07/18/2006] While I was in southwest Nebraska I attended the 11th Annual Pickin on the Plains Festival in Colby, Kansas. Now while no place can throw a Bluegrass Festival like we do here in Virginia, these flatlanders did a mighty fine job of it. I was impressed with the Canadian group Abrams Brothers and I enjoyed not only the outstanding talents of the two teenage brothers, but their Grandfather Wayne Abrams and Guitar/mandolin player Bob Burtch as well. I was especially entertained by the Vocal harmonies of these two senior members of this group as well as Bob's excellent mandolin playing on his 1924 Gibson F-4. The Abram Brothers have many connections to Virginia (in case you thought I forgot that this was a Virginia Bluegrass website) including their recording label Master Shield as well as their booking agent Tom West out of Buena Vista. They are coming to Luray Caverns in Luray, VA on Aug 12 & 13th to celebrate the 128th anniversary of the Caverns being opened.
I also equally enjoyed the Colorado band Sons and Brothers. I liked this band so much I bought two of their CD's and their live album kept me entertained on a long drive to the Denver airport. If they ever make it this far east I hope to hear about it so I can let you know.

[Posted 07/04/2006] If you are around Richmond, don't forget to go to Jahnke Road Baptist Church on July 11th for the monthly jam that was postponed from tonight. It isn't unusual for that jam to have 150 people or more there. Usually a lot of bluegrass downstairs and Old-Time upstairs. Usually one or two hammered duclimers upstairs with the Old-Time group. It's a real fun time every month. Also don't forget to check the calendar and see the upcoming festivals like the one at Mineral in a couple of weeks. I will be out of town so I am going to miss Jesse McReynolds perform this year as well as all of the other great acts that will be there. That doesn't mean you have to miss out!

[Posted 07/03/2006] I have been keenly aware that I haven't exactly kept up with the latest technology. With IPods replacing CDs which replaced Cassettes which replaced records and 8 track tapes all in one lifetime, its a little much to keep up with. Bluegrass now can be found in PodCasts and listened to on your MP3 player while you the treadmill at the YMCA. There are several innovative people who bring their computer skills to the business of promoting bluegrass - and it is surprising how many of them are right here in Virginia like the people at Bluegrass Blog and on Olde Surber Station Radio. Jack Lewis at Olde Surber Station has figured out how to broadcast on the internet using live365 and create his own radio show as well as a great website. In his spare time he plays in the wash tub base for Oriskany Strings. Some people are just amazing. I went to a jam a couple of weeks ago and I asked an 83 year old mandolin player if he had a computer - he said of course not! About 15 minutes later an 87 year old gentleman came in who didn't even know we were there and wanted to know where other jams like this one were so I asked him if he had a computer - his answer - "of course I do- everyone does now days!". You just never know who will surprise you.

[Posted 07/03/2006] I won't be around town from July 6th through 17th so if you attend any function or event please post it on the message board or send me an email. If I don't get it up while I'm out of town I will catch it when I get back. I am going to Nebraska for a few days to see the folks, go to a family reunion and then hit the annual Bluegrass Festival in Colby, KS if all goes well and the creek doesn't rise.

[Posted 07/03/2006] Working on a new look, and some new ads on here so pardon our dust. I am also trying to catch up with the times and if I learn how to write web pages like the professionals at mandolincafe or Bluegrass Blog do, then you know the whole thing would have to be redone again. No fear of that yet I guess. I have been trying to make the pages fit better on monitors that are set with 800x600 setting on their monitors. I don't use that low of a setting myself so I often forgot that other people may not be able to fit the whole page onto their screen. In trying to make the webpages fit into the 800x600 settings it will make some of the pages appear smaller to other people who have higher resolution settings.

[Posted 07/03/2006] News about Second Tuesday's Jam at Pauli's ice cream in Mechanicsville is off - seems Pauli's is no longer in business. At the same time I still hear that the Ashland Coffee and Tea on second and fourth Tuesday's is pretty much dead as well. Post on the message board or send me an email if ya'll hear any news differently.

[07/01/2006] New Release from Rebel Records I found interesting. It is actually an old release remastered. Don Reno and Red Smiley in 1971 with Bill Harrell and the Tennessee Cut-Ups. The picture on the cover has the names of two other band members on the album including fiddler Buck Ryan. Neither Don Reno nor Red Smiley were born in Virginia, but Bill Harrell and Buck Ryan were both born here. Interestingly enough my side kick here at the website - Gary- was talking to his father the other day and his Dad mentioned that he knew fiddlin Buck Ryan as a young man because they were both from the same part of the Valley. He remembers that Buck played the fiddle almost as well as his father. Buck Ryan's father must have been one heck of a good fiddler. Fiddler-extraordinaire Buck Ryan was playing on television in DC with Roy Clark and Jimmy Dean for several years and then with Bill Harrell on television out of Harrisonburg, VA before he joined up with Don Reno and Bill Harrell in 1968 and played with them into the mid 70's. NC Native Red Smiley passed away in 1972 from complications of Diabettes. South Carolina native Don Reno retired to Lynchburg, VA in the late 1970's and passed away in 1984. Buck Ryan passed away in 1982 and I belive he is buried in Winchester. I don't know anything about Jerry McCoury who is playing on the ablum. I believe Bill Harrell is retired and living in Maryland, but I don't know for sure. I am sure I got parts of this all wrong so I look forward to receiving your emails if you can help me out on any of this information, or post a message on the message board would be even better. - Mando Jim.

[Posted 07/01/2006] The Airport Jam on Thursday nights out close to Richmond, VA airport was absolutely great this past week. This jam usually has five or six pickers in attendance but this past week we had many seasoned veterans show up to join us in some of the best picking I have heard in quite a spell. I know at least two of the players in attendance have had quite a bit of experience playing professionally. The man sitting next to me was a fiddle player named "Red" Battle who I found out earlier in his life he had been a lead singer and guitar player who has been on television, played on the Old Dominion Barndance during its short revival in the early 70's, and has played venues from New York to the Dominican Republic. He has played on 12 albums during his musical career. When you go to a jam you just never know who you might be sitting next to and what interesting stories they may have to tell.

[Posted 06/26/2006] Well I have almost entered into the Twenty First Century. For the first time I bought me an mp3 player/device/thingy. Not an iPod thingy because I didn't want to spend that much on such a grand experiment. Feels kind of like when I put a Credit Card in a gas pump for the first time - Kind of like I was doing something out of Star Trekk or something. Well I got this little gidget and it cost me around $70 and holds about 15 albums worth of songs. This thing is about the size of a cigarette lighter and has one of those plugs that you put into the USB port on your computer (that hole where you connect printers and other such stuff these days). I realized after buying it that this music holding cigarette lighter has about 30 times as much memory space as the hard drive on my first computer - an old AT&T model. The computer I used at school before that didn't have a hard drive, or a mouse for that matter. It has a little slide out USB connector watchimacallit and I thought it would be a great invention if they had one where the car radio had one of those USB holes in it and you could just plug it into the car on the way to work.
I was jammin along to "On The Farm" from Acoustic Endeavors in Roanoke when I realized I hated these new fangled ear plug do dad's that you stick up in your ear and never seem to feel just right. Not only that but it shut all the other noise of other people roaring by in their cars plum out of my head all together (not really decided if that's a bad thing or not). By this point I'm really wishing they had one of those USB plug/hole places on the dash of my car and I could get rid of the ear plugs all together - someone needs to patent that idea. This was worse than them young people who talk on their cell phones while they drive.
Then it hit me. I'm listening to acoustic/bluegrass music on a 21st Century device while driving my truck which was built in the last century, and it doesn't have a CD player, but still has the cassette deck. I had been using some good solid technology from the last century to hook a thing that looks like a cassette tape up to my portable CD player and I realized I could unplug this CD tape device thingy from the portable CD player and plug it into this cigarette lighter song playing thing-a-mi-jig. On the way home from work I tried it out before I left the parking lot. I hooked the new 21st century cigarette lighter that plays music up to my cassette deck in the car and whamo, I had 15 albums/cassette tapes on a cigarette lighter that I could play in the car. I kind of liked this mix of 20th century and 21st century technology, but don't ask me to admit it in public. If you see me at a jam I will still swear I wish I had my 8 track player back... PS: I still remember being 11 years old and playing "String Bean" on an old 4 track player my parents had hidden on a top shelf in the back of the basement. I thought I had hit gold, and I had!

[Posted 06/24/2006] Bluegrass Now magazine featured Fredericksburg, VA native Mark Newton on their June Cover. This isn't the first time the Rebel Records artist has graced the front of Bluegrass Publications. Mark was on the cover of Bluegrass Unlimited in June 2003 and May 1998 as well as on the cover of Bluegrass Now in Nov 1999. He is also the Person in Profile for this site for July. Gary wrote up an outstanding article on this Contemporary Bluegrass Artist. If you have a few minutes I would really appreciate you checking it out.

[Posted 06/24/2006]The Bluegrass Journal is a publication that has just turned one year old - Happy Birthday! They are a regional quarterly magazine that are celebrating the start of their second year of publication by adding Virginia to the region that they cover. I think that was an excellent decision on their part. Check out their website for info and some great Bluegrass Links in case I didn't have for you here.

[Posted 06/24/2006] Speaking of Magazines having Birthdays - Virginia headquartered Bluegrass Unlimited is celebrating 40 years and their July magazine is a 40th year celebratioin edition.

[Posted 06/24/2006] It was a busy week and didn't seem to get much done but work work work. I should have listened to my Grandfather. I remember him saying "Work is for mules, and they turn their tails to it". I did manage to show up a three jams this week and only one was I there on time. I still had fun at Mechanicsville at Mechanicsville Christian Center on Monday, VFMA at Brandermill Church on Tuesday and East Richmond at Third Christian Church out by the airport on Thursday. So this week wasn't that bad after all now I think about it. All three were great jams and a lot of fun because of all the people there. I cannot say enough about how much I enjoy Bluegrass Jam sessions and the fun loving pickers that show up. If any of you readers are in the Richmond, VA area I hope to run into you sometime around the jam sessions!

[Posted 06/18/2006] Gary and I went yesterday to Lakeside Bluegrass Festival at Twin Lakes State Park, Green Bay, VA and had a great time. It was their first Annual event. The Bands and Food was great and we got to see Sweet Brenda and Him (Brenda and Calvin Lawson) from WBBC 93.5FM Blacksstone, VA fame. Brenda and Calvin did a great job as MC's of this new event. The setting is perfect for a festival with a sloping grade down to the lake side and the stage on the sand next to the water. There is a small conference center behind the audience with bathrooms, airconditioned dining area and kitchen. The Park Rangers cooked chicken on a charcoal grill and I will testify the results were outstanding! Check out some pictures from this festival.

[Posted 06/16/2006] I found a couple of web pages that are of interest to lovers of Old-Time music. New River Old Time Music and Dance Association and Old-Time Slow Jam: Clawhammer Banjo.

[Posted 06/11/2006] A new section is coming soon for Artist Profiles. Instead of having an artist for the month we are just going to put up an artist when we get around to it - which we hope will be once a month or so. Gary is working on setting up his first interview now.

[Posted 06/07/2006] Two Virginia groups had their CD's reviewed by Bluegrass Unlimited in June's edition. Acoustic Endeavors and Randy Waller and the Country Gentlemen.

[Posted 06/07/2006] Reminder that June 17th is a great day for local Bluegrass in Central Virginia. Bluegrass Fly-In in West Point, VA and Lakeside Bluegrass Festival in Green Bay, VA south of Farmville. Both events feature some outstanding talent.

[Posted 06/06/2006] Janke Rd Jam session in Richmond, VA will be on the second Tuesday July 11th next month due to the Fourth of July holiday. Please mark you calendars. The jam session normally is the first Tuesday of the month.

[Posted 06/05/2006] Ralph Epperson - founder and owner of WPAQ in Mt Airy, NC passed away. This thread on the message board provides articles from Roanoke Times as well as NPR. NPR also has an audio segment from a 1998 "Morning Edition" which covered Ralph Epperson and his contributions to Old-Time and Bluegrass music.

[Posted 06/05/2006] Just wanted to follow up on the story about going to Graves Mountain Festival this past weekend. On Thursday about forty five minutes before any show started I ran into Mike Andes of Nothin Fancy. I wasn't interviewing him or anything like that, but me and some friends had a nice chat with him. He is a really nice down to earth guy and I enjoyed talking to him about Nothin Fancy's latest CD and learning about the recording studios they have worked in - how they are working on a new CD already - How they work recording into their busy schedules --etc. etc.... First time I saw Nothin Fancy was on Brown's Island about three or four years ago - Gary mentioned this to Mike, surprisingly he remembered playing the gig and how it was one of the hottest shows they ever had done. He also talked about writing music and how slower songs came easier to him and faster songs seemed to take more of an effort sometimes (but not always). In summary he is a really nice guy who is extremely talented and I think he deserves any success that comes his way. I find Nothin Fancy to not only to be very musically appealing, but their live shows are extremely entertaining. They did a super job at Graves Mt and I am very grateful that these guys have had an opportunity to have careers in Bluegrass music.

[Posted 06/04/2006] I just got back from Graves Mountain Bluegrass Festival. It was a great experience and I had a wonderful time. A lot of great festivals are coming up including Christopher Run At Mineral, VA. Also remember the Hackensaw Boy's show this weekend in Floyd that I mentioned below. I missed one of my favorite local bands tonight - The Big Boss Combo was playing at Legends. I would loved to have gone out but was just pooped from the trip to Graves Mountian. The Big Boss Combo are worse than the Seldom Scene in that they don't play that many show dates so you best keep a close eye on their calendar if you want to hear them. Looks like the next time they are at Legends I am going to be in Nebraska seeing family - oh well might have to catch them at the Virginia Food Festival in August - God knows I love food.

[Posted 06/04/2006] Found out the the Old Time Gutenanny jam session (that no longer is meeting at the Gutenburg Cafe) does have a yahoo group even if they don't have a regular scheduled place to meet. You can join up to this yahoo group and keep up with the discussions on up coming events.

[Posted 05/30/2006] Pete Pike passed away on Saturday. He was an important figure in early Bluegrass history and was instrumental in making Washington, DC the capital of Bluegrass for several decades. Early Television personality and performer he lived the beginning and end of his life in Amelia, VA. See his web page for an in depth biography - it is a fascinating read.

[Posted 05/30/2006] One more day and I will be off to Grave's Mountain Lodge for the Bluegrass festival. My first time going to this event and I am really looking forward to it. It has been a busy month with the festival down in Amelia and all the jams. Being to busy with Bluegrass/Acoustic music in Virginia is a nice problem to have and I am very grateful that the commonwealth has such an abundance of resources for the acoustic music/folk music scene. I think we have people like Pete Pike and many others who came before us to thank for these opportunities.
I received an email from a member of Acoustic Endeavors out of Roanoke asking me to list their website as a link, and in reading over their website I realized one of the founders of that band used to be in a band in Germany with a banjo player from Munich that I know and admire. It is a small world. I went to Cary Street Cafe this past Sunday for the first time in a couple of months, and while I didn't play any hot licks on the mandolin I had a good time and there were a few young guys out playing on the holiday weekend. Tripp and Jenny evidently were off to Union Grove, NC for a festival. I get a little sad when I hear about people like Pete Pike and Larry Rice passing away, but it cheers me up to see a diverse group of young people playing the music - and playing it well. The music belongs to anyone who will allow it to speak to them, and I am glad to see more and more young people appreciating and adding to the music be it bluegrass/country/folk or whatever. This music should belong to young and old, liberal and conservative , black or white - or German or Japaneese - and whoever will slow down long enough to tap their toes and give it a listen. OK, enough of my rambling for May before June comes rushing in. I'm going back to picking.

[Posted 05/30/2006] The infamous Prism Coffee House in Charlottesville, VA has reportedly closed its doors after four decades of service.

[Posted 05/27/2006] Popular Mandolin Player Larry Rice lost his health battle this past week.

[Posted 05/27/2006] Hackensaw Boys are playing in Floyd coming up June 9. That same weekend Claypool Hill, VA is having a Bluegrass festival on the campus of the Community College.

[05/21/2006] Richmond Times and Dispatch listed some upcoming Festival's this year beginning with next weekend's Ralph Stanley festival.

[05/21/2006] I found out that the Third Thursday jam at the Gutenburg Cafe in Richmond, VA is no longer going. Rumor has it that it might move to Legend's Brewery but haven't found out for sure. I know some people have been up here from Tidewater area for this jam before so make a note of this if you were thinking of driving to Richmond for this jam. I will be changing the jam page and the venue page. Since this restaurant no longer seems to have Bluegrass music I am going to remove them from the Venue page.

[05/21/2006] The BlueRidge Music Center at mile post 213 of the Blue Ridge Parkway made the news with a listing of upcoming performances.

[Posted 05/21/2006] Ralph Stanley just can't seem to keep himself out of the news, not that he minds this type of news to much. The 79 year old Patriarch of Mountain Music is releasing a new tribute album to the Carter Family and he is hosting his 36 year of his annual festival.

[Posted 05/14/2006] Virginia Guitar Luthier Wayne Henderson received a write up in the New York Post concerning the guitar he built for Eric Clapton and it's matching twin which is being auctioned at Christie's.

[Posted 05/13/2006] WLUR presents an afternoon of live acoustic music on the Washington and Lee campus on Sunday, May 14

[Posted 05/13/2006] Sam Bush Kicked off Friday at Cheers and received this write up in the Richmond Times.

[Posted 05/12/2006] Marty Stuart was reviewed in the Richmond Times Dispatch yesterday leading up to his concert last night. Don't forget another mandolin legend, Sam Bush is playing tonight (Friday May 12) at Brown's Island in Richmond, VA.

[Posted 05/08/2006] Well Spring is in full fling, and it gets harder and harder to sit down and write about things. To much seems to be going on in the world. If you don't believe me check out this Roanoke.com story about all things musical in Floyd, VA. Or you can check out this article about Tiffany Tavern in Arlington, VA. Seems things are hoping from one end of the state to the other.

[Posted 04/26/2006] May 6th from 7 - 10pm at Moneta Elementary School in Moneta, Virginia (Smith Mt Lake area south of Bedford, VA) there will be a Bluegrass & Gospel Benefit for Jeff Ellis (No relation to me that I know of), Please check out this message and help show your support if possible.

[Posted 04/26/2006] A friend of mine picked up a new fiddle from Randal Eller of The Cabin Wood Works of Chilhowie, VA. The fiddle is number 29 for this builder. This is a fine example of the art of lutherie which is still alive here in the the great Commonwealth of Virginia. Check out some pictures here.

[Posted 04/24/2006] Ernie Thacker is still improving in the hospital. Please visit his website to get the latest news and to get the address where a donation can be sent to help Ernie and his family. They do not have any health insurance.

[Posted 04/23/2006] Want to sign our version of a guestbook? Go here and click on "postreply" button.

[Posted 04/22/2006] Ernie Thacker has been seriously injured in a car accident and has been in intensive care in a hospital in Northern Virginia. Bob Cherry at Cybergrass.com has been keeping an update on the web concerning his condition, etc.

[Posted 04/21/2006] New Jam in Richmond's Eastend I asked about it and answered my own questions.

[Posted 04/16/2006] This isn't news, but I found this article in the Richmond Times and Dispatch from December and thought it was a good peek into Virginia music history with a story about the Old Dominion Barndance in 1952. At one time the radio dial was full of Barndance/Hayride/Opry country variety type of programs that were held in local theater's and aired live over AM radio stations. Because the music business started growing up around the Grand Ole Opry it became the number one Barndance in the country. Some consider the Old Dominion Barndance from Richmond, VA to have been the third largest Barndance for a time. There were also the National Barndance out of Chicago, Wheeling West Virginia Jamboree and the Louisiana Hayride. During the 40's and 50' some of the larger shows like the Old Dominion Barndance were picked up by the radio networks (NBC/ABC/CBS etc) and broadcast across the country on other stations as well. Some of these old AM stations were heard across several states by themselves, especially if they were powerful "Clear Channel" stations who did not have any other radio stations in the country broadcasting on their frequency. This was the MTV of the country from the founding of radio stations in the mid 20's until television and rock and roll took its toll in the early to mid 50's. In the end only the Grand Ole Opry survived the invention of television.

[Posted 04/16/2006] I had a couple of first experiences. I heard the Sargent family for the first time, and I visited the Gospel Chicken House for the first time. The Gospel Chicken House was a fun experience and I really enjoyed it. The people are friendly, the food is great and the music is even better. The evening's show was kicked off by the house band (not bluegrass) and then followed by the Sargents. There was another family band who wasn't bluegrass on after the Sargents played their set. The Sargents are made up of Mom (Melinda) on dobro, Dad (Robbie) on base, Lee (15 yo) on guitar, Joshua (12yo) on mandolin and Danielle (11yo) on banjo. Although Melinda and Robbie are very talented performers who pull their weight in this band - they did not overshadow the talents of their children and everyone took their turns at singing and leading with their respective instruments. Danielle is awesome on banjo and has a knack of making it look so easy. Joshua is a talented mandolin picker who I really enjoyed hearing him take his breaks as well as when he is backing up the others. The first few tunes Lee played backup guitar and didn't sing so I started to think this was the quiet sibling - but of course I was wrong. A few songs into the set he held the guitar up close to the mic and let go of some of his own fine lead playing. This was a fun evening and if you haven't caught the Sargent's ( or even if you have) you should check out their schedule and see when they are playing next. This is my second post in a month that mention the Sargent Family Bluegrass band so I think that makes them my local Band for the month.

[04/12/2006] Went out to Rosie Connelly's and caught part of the Irish Jam here in Richmond. Two flutes Octave Mandolin, fiddle and mandolin made up tonight's lively group of players Celtic Music (excuse me if I got this wrong). I ate a nice dinner and heard some great music - it was a fun evening and it was great to see that the group was still jamming together.

[04/12/2006] Late News is better than no news, SPBGMA award winners this year included 1. Bluegrass Promoter of the Year John Hutchinson from Amelia, VA. 2. Female Vocalist of the Year (Traditional) Michelle Nixon Goochland County, VA 3. Male Vocalist of the Year (Traditional) James King Amelia, VA 4. Male Vocalist of the Year (Contemporary) Larry Stephenson Crewe, VA.

[Posted 04/09/2006] Went to Amelia this afternoon to see a show with the Rock Solid Grass Band and The James King Band. Outstanding performace. Please see my comments here. The James King band is doing a benefit April 14, 2006. See details here.

[Posted 04/07/2006] Went out to The Montpelier Center for the Arts & Education tonight to hear the opening act Crusaders for Christ and their guest artist 11 year old banjo player Danielle Sargent from the Sargent Family Bluegrass Band. I wrote up this review of the night's events on the forum.

[Posted 04/06/2006] WTCR 1420 AM in Ashland Kentucky has turned to Americana music. A lot of Bluegrass and related genres represented here. You can listen on the web. This is a station owned by the media giant Clear Channel Communications and it is good to know they would take one of their stations and play American and Bluegrass on it.

[Posted 04/05/2006] This isn't Virginia news, but it is important to me so I am going to share it. I have received a couple of emails lately from some of our German colleagues in the Bluegrass world. I have a friend in Germany who is one of the best banjo players in the world. I am obviously one of his biggest fans. His name is Ruediger Helbig and this link is to his new website, although much of it is in German I am sure some of you would love the page that takes us down his history with plenty of pictures showing the old clothing styles and hairdoos. Ruediger is the leader of the German Bluegrass band Huckleberry V. He is coming out with a new CD of his bands music as well as a new instructional DVD in German for Banjo. I don't know if anyone has ever done a video instruction of banjo in the German language before. Ruediger and his lovely wife Heidi own the music store Folk Laden in Munich Germany. This link to their web page gives the new location of the store in German, but a link at the bottom takes you to the webpage for the store in English. Also if you are interested a few months back I put together a webpage on my visit with Ruediger and Heidi and you can visit that if you haven't seen it already. If anyone is headed to Munich you have to stop in the store and give a big Virginia Howdy to these great musicians and friends.

[Posted 04/05/2006] Calendar is up! After a few choice words and a few days of trying, the calendar is up and running thanks to the help of my good friend Gary who did most of the data entry. We give no guarantee on these events so if your driving a long ways you ought to call the event/venue first. Grouped by Festival/Jams/Shows. This will be updated as we have time and you guys send in your very important information. Please come out and support your favorite Festival, Jam, or Venue.

[Posted 04/05/2006] Story on Earl Scruggs in Reuters News recently, While it isn't Virginia news exactly, it's a very good interview with the 82 year old banjo playing legend.

[Posted 04/05/2006] Michelle Nixon from Amelia, VA has a new CD out and it received a favorable review in the magazine Bluegrass magazine in March. In April Hobart Smith (1897-1965) had his CD from Smithsonian Folkways reviewed favorably and highlighted. The late Fiddler/banjo player/guitarist/pianist from Saltville, VA was taped in 1963 in Chicago. The CD is called HOBART SMITH - IN SACRED TRUST - THE 1963 FLEMING BROWN TAPES. I received this CD for Christmas and I am here to tell you I have played this thing endlessly. If you like old time Mt Music this here is the ticket!

[Posted 04/03/2006] Nothin Fancy Bluegrass Band is releasing their newest CD on May 1st, it is entitled 7. A recent article in a Louisiana News article gives a good interview with the band members.

[Posted 04/03/2006] Donk's Lil Ole Opry Show is having their Bluegrass Extravaganza on April 15th in Hudgins, VA in Mathews County. Donk's has been providing down home entertainment and classic country and Bluegrass every other weekend for more than 30 years.

[Posted 04/03/2006] American Heritage RV Park has their Bluegrass Spring Pickin Party for Campers or people who pay for a day pass coming up on April 14-16th. They will have it again in the fall. At the other end of the state The Log Cabin Campground kicked off their similar jammin weekends which started on March 31st and is held a couple weekends a month through October. Mr B's Bluegrass Festival is April 27, 28, 29th and The Virginia Bluegrass and Country Music Foundation Festival is April 28, 29, 30.

[Posted 03/28/2006] Montpelier Center for Arts Education has a First Fridays Concert Series with Host Band West Hanover Boys and guests. Donations accepted only, no fee. I believe this is the same show that is aired on WHAN 1430 AM in Ashland.

[Posted 03/28/2006] Town Mountain Bluegrass as part of the Virginian Wesleyan College Concert Series April 28, 2006 at Virginian Wesleyan College in Norfolk, VA

[Posted 03/28/2006] Hamptonroads.com/Virginian Pilot had this story last November that I just came across and thought some people might find it interesting. Rockyhock, NC just north of Edenton has David's Red Barn for some classic country and Bluegrass.

[Posted 03/27/2006] Alleghany Mt Radio Network is having a Bluegrass Jamboree 6 to 9 p.m. April 1 at Bath County High School Auditorium Hot Springs, VA to help raise funds for the non-profit radio stations new facilities.

[Posted 03/19/2006] Interesting Historical Sketch about a druggist turned banjo player from 100 years ago.

[Posted 03/12/2006] Benefit for William H Daniel II in Powhatan, VA who is battling cancer. March 18th, 2006 in Powhatan. Please check the Forum/Bulletin Board for more info.

[Posted 03/11/2006] Seldom Scene is coming to Richmond April 2nd, 2006 for a benefit. Please see the Events section of the forum for details.

[Posted 03/09/2006] Nothing Fancy a well known Virginia based band had this write up in a Wisconsin newspaper

[Posted 03/09/2006] John Cowan article in Richmond Times leading up to his Saturday concert at Ashland Coffee and Tea. John Cowan is former lead singer for New Grass Revival and the John Cowan band includes former III Time out member and mandolin player Wayne Benson.

[Posted 03/05/2006] 13 year old girl fiddle player from Basset, VA makes the news. There is also a video attached to this news article that you can watch from your computer.

[Posted 03/05/2006] Big Boss Combo was fantastic tonight at Legends. I got back into Richmond from Cabin Fever at about 5:30pm and decided to have dinner at Legends knowing that Big Boss Combo would be there. I was expecting a good band but I must tell you I had my socks blown off. This band was absolutely great and very professional, and that was after a weekend of hearing a lot of fantastic music. I am really surprised that we don't see more of Big Boss Combo at festivals or concerts because they are of a calibar that is not usually seen except by the top names in the business.
Cabin Fever was also "Off the Hook". I don't know how else to say it. I was almost overwhelmed by the amount of good picking going on. Even the little narrow rooms with phone banks in them at the hotel were full of people picking. This was my first time at Cabin Fever and I thought I had died and gone to picker's heaven. Only problem is my fingers are still sore and I'm a little tired. Stayed up until 1:00 am Friday and Saturday nights playing for all I was worth.
I ran into Luthier David Cohen and got a look at a very cool doggy tracks inlay on a mandolin fingerboard he had done as a custom job some time back. He had a very nice mandolin with him that he calls his C# model that he allowed me to take a spin on. David is a former Chemistry professor who is better known in Classical mandolin circles so I was really pleasantly surprised by the amount of volume as well as woody chop tone this instrument has. Although I didn't get to talk to him I understand that Luthier Richie Dotson was also at Cabin Fever and there were probably a few others so Virginia Luthiers were well represented at this event.

[Posted 02/27/2006] Audie Blaylock was in town, and I missed it. This is a nice write up in the Richmond Times dispatch about Audie and Redline. Evidently they were playing in Amelia last Friday night.

[Posted 02/26/2006] I have added a Forum for the first time. I hope many of you will join up and post questions, answers or thoughts on the board that relate to acoustic string music in Virginia or has some Virginia ties.

[Posted 02/22/2006] Mill Run, a Northern Virginia Bluegrass Band had a very favorable review of their new album "Take a New Ride" in the magazine Bluegrass Unlimited. I happen to own this CD myself and I can second those sentiments. Unfortunately neither the magazine or myself could find a way to buy this CD on the internet or a contact. I did find their website after a little research. I searched CDBaby, County Sales, Plan 9 Music, Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com with no luck. Maybe I should add CD sales to this site to supplement my income? I might make enough to pay for the web space. Anyhow, I saw Mill Run last fall at a festival and they had an outstanding performance so check out their web page and if your interested in the CD contact them through their website.

[Posted 02/22/2006] Raymond Spears of Charlottesville passed away on December 11th, 2005. He was a former President of the Piedmont Virginia Fiddle and Banjo Association (see their listing under jams and under Organizations), radio show disc jockey and local TV personality who was well known in Bluegrass circles. Bluegrass Unlimited states that Raymond Spears "was founder of the Bluegrass From the Blue Ridge show on local TV."

[Posted 02/22/2006] Kruger Brothers from Switzerland were written up in a recent Richmond Times and Dispatch article. The Kruger Brothers recently played in Richmond at a JAMInc sponsored event.

[Posted 02/22/2006] Holiday Lake4-H Educational Center Appomattox County, VA announces Oct 1-4 as the dates for their annual mandolin building and mandolin playing workshop.

[Posted 02/20/2006] Just a note about some upcoming events to remember. Old School Freight Train is going to be coming through the area March 10-11 in Ashland and Williamsburg. Jay Ungar and Molly Mason will be in the area April 21-23rd for anyone interested. Jay Unger is well known as the composer of Ashokan Farewell. They will be in Charlottesville, Ashland and Williamsburg. Local (Richmond) Band Jackass Flats will be at Bogart's on March 9 and Cary Street Cafe on March 18th. They will also be in Harrisonburg at The Little Grill on March 10th. Don't forget Cabin Fever is coming up for all of you pickers that are heading down to Hampton, VA March 3-5th. American Heritage RV Park in Williamsburg, VA has their Spring Pickin Party April 14-16 so don't let that slip up on you if your interested in rolling the RV down to Williamsburg for a weekend of picking. They also have day passes. Their website still lists last year's dates so don't let that confuse you. Beverly Smith and Carl Jones are coming to the Shady Grove Coffee House (UU Church in Glen Allen) March 12.

[Posted 02/08/2006] Man in Hanover makes his own Banjo was written up in Richmond Times and Dispatch. 57 year old Bill Conner makes his first Banjo.

[Posted 02/08/2006] Steve Smith was also written up in the Richmond Times and Dispatch regarding his superbowl evening of music instead of football.

[Posted 02/05/2006] Made the following additions to links - The Old-Time Herald from Durham, NC under "On the Air" under "Print". See - not everything that is on the air is on the air.... I added Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Herndon, VA (think Dulles Airport) to the theaters under venues. I added a new venue in Richmond - Shady Grove Coffee House but I listed it under Theaters instead of Restaurants because it is at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Glen Allen. Anyhow I also added the following entertainers: Steve Smith and his new band Hard Road, Curley Ennis a great folk singer/player from Roanoke who I had the pleasure of listening to in the Roanoke Market last year, Buck Howdy who is known for Children's folk music and Mandolin Mafia from Charlottesville.

[Posted 02/05/2006] Saw Steve Smith and Hard Road in Williamsburg Library Theater last night. Outstanding performance by a great band in a surprisingly great venue. The Library Theater is absolutely great little theater with not a bad seat in the house. If you get a chance look for the Libraries link under venues and check out the upcoming performances.

[Posted 02/05/2006]Kelly Perdue of Mando Mafia passed away in December at the age of 45 from a sudden heart attack. Olivia from www.cvillejams.com wrote and asked me if I had heard about his passing. The Mando Mafia website has a tribute to the late mandolin player from Charlottesville area.

[Posted 02/05/2006] Updated the look of the website. We got rid rid of the frame structure and got a new logo thanks to a friend of mine Gary Williams who put it together for me. Let me know what you think of the changes by sending me an email.

[Posted 01/25/2006] WNRN Radio comes to Richmond. Adult Alternative Radio Station comes to Richmond - not everything is Bluegrass or acoustic, but one show is called Acoustic Sunrise

[Posted 01/25/2006] Renovating Downtown Theaters gives economic life back to downtown's. Recent article in Richmond Times and Dispatch about smaller Virginia towns renovating old downtown theaters and filling them with Bluegrass music.

[Posted 01/24/2006] New trial page added to this website for Musical Instructors. If you teach an acoustic string instrument, live in Virginia and want to be listed please send me an email. I am going to try this for a couple of months and see if there is any interest. If I don't get any participation I will discontinue it. Mando Jim

[Posted 01/24/2006] Steve Smith and Hard Road are playing at the Williamsburg Library Theater February 4th, 2006.

[Posted 01/24/2006] Virginia Native Mac Wiseman graces the cover of the February 2006 issue of Bluegrass Unlimited. There is a very good article on Mr Wiseman. Mr Wiseman is at the same time one of the founder's of Bluegrass music - and in many ways broader than any one genre of music. Mr Wiseman was often seen at the Old Dominion Barndance in the old Lyric Theater in downtown Richmond during the 1950's. Mr Wiseman generally does 16 shows a year including one of the festivals in Mineral, VA. If you have never seen Mr Wiseman in person you need to make it a point of making one of his shows this year.

[Posted 01/24/2006] Janette Carter of the Carter Family dies at 82 years of age. She had been the last living daughter of AP and Sara Carter and founder of the Carter Family Memorial Music Center also known as the Carter Fold. Although not as famous as her parents or her cousin June Carter Cash and her husband Johnny Cash, Ms Carter was the recipient of many music and cultural awards including a Grammy life time achievement award.

[Posted 1/21/2006] New Bluegrass Jam Session in Gum Spring, VA added to the website. It is the fourth Friday of each month. See Jam Session Listings.

[Posted 1/15/2006] Just a short note about things in general. Recently had an email that confirmed the jam session in Unionville, and a friend told me about a jam at the Moose Lodge in Suffolk. I have attended the jam session out on Old Church Rd in Mechanicsville, VA for the first time and had a great time. Great bunch of people and it's always good to see a few young people come out.
I met a base player from Courtland, VA a few months back whose name is Jack. Jack and his wife had several people over to his place this past weekend for a potluck and jam session and it was a great time. Played for about near six hours and my left hand is still smarting a little from it. While at Jack's everyone wanted to know if the person next to them was going to be at Cabin Fever in March. You can find Cabin Fever stuck in with the festivals under venues. Seems like everyone is excited about this upcoming Cabin Fever and its suppose to be the end all of be all of pickin parties. I've never been but I am looking forward to going this year. Speaking about pickin parties, I was ease dropping on a conversation while I was at Jack's house and heard tell of a Spring/Fall jammin party at a campground in Williamsburg. Seems that you can go camping or just pay for a day pass and get all the picking any fool would want. I added in under venue's titled American Heritage RV Park Picking Party. If you get a chance check out their website.
I dropped by Cary Street Cafe today (Sunday Jan 15, 2006) to see Tripp, Jenny and the pickers and see if I could hit a few licks on my new mandola Santa brought me for Christmas. Of course I'm not much of a picker to begin with - but today I couldn't hang in there very long because Jack and the group down at Courtland wore me out last night. There were about 10 to 12 people there and everyone had a great time. I hung around for a couple of hours enjoying my diet coke and hearing some good old time music played.
Hope everyone out there is starting off the new year with a lot of picking parties and having a good time. No need to wait til spring with all these get togethers going on. Jim

The Steep Canyon Rangers are performing 10:00 pm January 12th, 2006 at Cary Street Cafe. Their current release "One Dime at a Time" on Rebel Records is #11 on Bluegrass Unlimited's album Charts. (Posted 12/19/2005]

Arlington, VA fiddler Speedy Tolliver records his first album at age 87. [Posted 12/19/2005]

The Radio Show "Bluegrass Radio" on WLEE Radio 990AM Suday afternoons has been canceled after four short weeks on the air. Rumor has it that the radio show was unable to get the paid advertising needed to stay on the air. Hopefully we will be hearing more from DJ's Dee Daniels and Chris James in the world of Bluegrass very soon. [Posted 12/01/2005]

Late notice - Irving Daniel Gurganus local fiddle player passed away in Sept 2005. He was member of Sunshine Sue's (from the Old Dominion Barndance in Richmond, VA fame) backup band for many years. I found this in Richmond's Time and Dispatch and thought it worthy of adding here even though I am almost three months late with it. [Posted 11/29/2005]

Virginia's James King is on the cover of December, 2005 Bluegrass Unlimited [Posted 11/29/2005]

Earl Scruggs - 81yo - fell off of a stage in South Carolina but was not seriously hurt. Nov 26, 2005. Not Virginia news, but interest to many. [Posted 11/29/2005]

Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver will be in Richmond, VA January 7, 2006. See JAMinc website for details. (Posted 11/10/2005)

Haley & The Boys newest CD - "It;s All Good" on the Cimirron/Rainbird Records label received a very favorable review in the November edition of Bluegrass Unlimited. Congratulations! Haley & the Boys hail from Windsor, VA/Tidewater area of Virginia. In this same issue Ralph Stanley's CD "Shine on" also recieved favorable reviews. (11/10/2005)

Bluegrass Radio was a big sucess on their first program, and so was the conert by Bruce Molsky. Thanks Bruce and JAMinc. for a wonderful evening of entertainment. 11/10/2005

Bruce Molsky is performing Wednesday, Nov 9, 2005. The 2003 Grammy Nominee fiddle player will be performing for a limited audience of about 80 people in a recording studio. In Your Ear Studio A in Shockoe Bottom Richmond, VA. Contact JamInc . for reservations and more info.

Bluegrass Radio on 990AM Richmond, VA begins airing on internet and radio on Sunday, November 6, 2005.

Innsbrook Pavillion, Richmond VA Bluegrass festival From Richmond Times and Dispatch Oct 18, 2005.

National Folk Festival, Richmond, VA article in Richmond Times and Dispatch Oct 10, 2005.

Jimmy Martin passes away, Richmond Times and Dispatch, May 21, 2005