(NASHVILLE, TENN Press Release) -  Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver has been honored with aGRAMMY® nomination for Best Bluegrass Album in the 58th GRAMMY® Awards.

In Session (Mountain Home Music Company) debuted top 10 in Billboard in January 2015 and has had multiple songs on multiple radio charts the entire year.

Produced by National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellowship winner and Bluegrass Hall of Fame member Doyle Lawson, In Session is the band’s fortieth album and fifth Grammy® nomination.

"We are extremely excited and honored to have this Grammy® nomination," says Lawson. "My band worked hard on this album and it truly was a team effort. Special thanks to Mountain Home for their hard work and support, the DJs that play our music, our booking agent Mary McClellan, and the promoters and venues that allow us to present our music. We also want to express our gratitude to all of the incredible writers for their contributions to this album.”

In addition to Lawson, the band includes some of the best musicians and vocalists in the genre: Dustin Pyrtle, Eli Johnston, Josh Swift, Joe Dean, and Stephen Burwell.

The Grammy® will be awarded on Monday, February 15, 2016, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA.

BRISTOL, Tenn.(Press Release) -- Tennessee Ernie Ford (1919-1991) sold an estimated 90 million albums worldwide, and charted 17 Top Ten country singles and four Top Ten pop singles over a 35-year recording career. He also played significant roles in radio and television broadcasting.  But although he left a legacy of diverse and singular recordings and was a major influence on the generation of country and rock musicians that emerged in his wake, Ford’s stature as a culture figure receded from view to the point that recent generations have not recognized his name nor his music. 

Tennessee Ernie Ford: Portrait of an American Singer, a 2015 boxed set from Bear Family Records featuring five CDs and a hardcover book, has gone a long way toward rehabilitating Ford’s reputation as a pioneering crossover artist and as an early shaper of rock ’n’ roll.  That set has now been nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Album Notes category. The album notes writer for the new Tennessee Ernie Ford set, Ted Olson, also served as producer of the release.  

Journalist and author Barry Mazor wrote in The Wall Street Journal: “Ford’s adventurous 1949-1960 secular recordings for Capitol Records are the focus of a new, enormously entertaining 154-track boxed set, Tennessee Ernie Ford: Portrait of an American Singer (Bear Family Records). Music historian Ted Olson’s detailed notes track this ‘stellar singer who refused to let arbitrary genre rules dictate how he should interpret a song.’ The records themselves, though, as they evolve in production and performance, ultimately tell the rich story.” 

When: January 14th
Where: Club Helsinki
Time: 6pmDoors/8pm Show
Tickets: Reserved Seating $20 in advance/$25 Day of show
G.A. $15 in advance/$18 Day of show

Folk quartet Darlingside will perform at Club Helsinki on January 14 in support of their new album Birds Say. Darlingside (Don Mitchell, Auyon Mukharji, Harris Paseltiner and David Senft) are a Massachusetts-based ensemble whose sound is an eclectic blend of 60s folk, clever wry wit, classical arrangements, soaring harmonies, and a modern indie-rock sensibility.  Birds Say has generated a variety of critic's praise from NPR, New Yorker's Talk Of The Town (view HERE) Huffington Post, American Songwriter, and many others. View highlights HERE. 

View the video premiere of "God of Loss" via NPR Music HERE.

What makes Darlingside’s sound stand out is the creative way they combine both traditional and modern sounds.  In a sense, their harmonies and instrumentation are a throwback to traditional acoustic music, however on the new album they experiment with tape delays, splashy reverbs and other studio effects for a psychedelic twist on folk.  The band mixes electric and acoustic instruments played in a variety of styles to back their four-part vocal harmonies. They collectively wrote all of the material on their new album.  

Friends for ten years, Darlingside met as students at Williams College. During school they began writing and singing together and moved into a house shortly after graduation to become a band.  Since then they have continued to hone their songwriting and unique instrumentation, piquing the interest of press outlets likeRolling Stone who highlighted “Blow The House Down” in David Fricke’s Fricke’s Picks in 2014 and The New York Times Booming Blog who highlighted their 2013 collaboration of “Woodstock” with folk singer Heather Maloney.

JD SOUTHER’S FIRST AND SECOND SOLO ALBUMS, 
JOHN DAVID SOUTHER AND BLACK ROSE, 
PLUS ONLY ’80S ALBUM, HOME BY DAWN,
RECEIVE EXPANDED EDITION REISSUES 
FROM OMNIVORE RECORDINGS

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Press Release) — John David Souther, better known as JD Souther, is a singer-songwriter and actor best known as writer of hit songs by the likes of the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt. While his own albums failed to gain the commercial traction of those of his songwriting clients, they’ve long been viewed as cult classics, prototypes of theAmericana movement. Omnivore Recordings will launch a JD Souther expanded reissue initiative after the first of the year, with the debut album --John David Souther — set for January 8, 2016 release while Black Rose and Souther’s sole ’80s album, Home by Dawn, will return to stores on February 12, 2016.

Before he was co-writing #1 Eagles hits like “Best of My Love,” “New Kid in Town,” and “Heartache Tonight” with Glenn Frey and Don Henley, Souther formed Longbranch/Pennywhistle with Frey when they were roommates. Their downstairs neighbor was a fellow by the name of Jackson Browne, who took Souther to audition for his boss, David Geffen, who had recently formed theAsylum Records label. After hearing two songs, Geffen told Souther to “go make a record.” And that’s exactly what he did.

John David Souther arrived in 1971, and was immediately a critical success and established Souther as a, if not the songwriter to watch. (He would be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame 42 years later.)

(Press Release) Whiskey and Cigarettes Country Radio Show is happy to announce the airing of their exclusive interview with 2009 ASCAP Songwriter of the Year and Billboard Chart-topper, Phil Vassar. Phil joined award-winning host, DJ Nik Bernitz Pizzigoni, to talk about his illustrious career, including his current NoPhilter Tour. 

The interview with Phil Vassar will air this coming Sunday, December 13, 2015, between 11am ET-3pm ET. The live show airs on Military Brotherhood Radio at http://www.militarybrotherhoodradio.com. Whiskey And Cigarettes is also re-broadcast on 50 syndicating stations, worldwide, multiple times throughout the week.  The interview will also appear on the December edition of the “Whiskey and Conversations” talk show, broadcasting in December on iheartradio and other outlets.

Ty Bates, Hannah Bethel, Laura McCormick, Adam Searan, Jacob Stiefel, Diana Upton-Hill, The Vegabonds, and Jericho Woods will be giving the joy of Christmas to thousands of Middle Tennessee children by being a part of the Christmas 4 Kids Tour Bus ShowMonday, December 14th. They will be joined alongside other prominent artists including 3 Doors Down, .38 Special, Lonestar, Shenandoah, Bellamy Brothers and Trick Pony. 

The Christmas 4 Kids Bus Show/Artist Meet & Greet takes place Monday, December 14th, from 5 PM to 9 PM(weather permitting) at the Hendersonville, TN Wal-Mart (204 North Anderson Lane, Hendersonville, TN).

Christmas 4 Kids has been assisting families throughout Middle Tennessee since 1992.  The organization hosts fundraisers each year to buy presents for households that cannot afford to provide the Christmas memories that we all cherish every year. Artists that have participated in the event throughout its history include Taylor Swift, Hunter Hayes, Chris Young, Gretchen Wilson, Trace Adkins and Trisha Yearwood, just to name a few.  For more information about Christmas 4 Kids, visit www.christmas4kids.org and www.facebook.com/Christmas4Kids.

Nova Scotian folk/Americana crooner David Myles made his official US debut in September with the release of his new album So Far, a collection of his songs over the years re-recorded and re-imagined in an acoustic stripped-down format.  Now, just a couple months later, he follows his debut with the US release of his acclaimed holiday album It's Christmas.  As a special exclusive, the album's single "Santa Never Brings Me a Banjo" is available as a free download on Folk Alley who called the song "a humorous take on the idea that we don't always get what we want - even at Christmastime."
 
"I came up with this while I was raking the leaves," Myles told Folk Alley.  "I was laughing out loud while I was coming up with it.  It reminded me of a Roger Miller song, which was a great feeling.  He's one of my favorite songwriters ever.  We even heard from Weird Al after we released the video!  That's what I call a career highlight!"

Download "Santa Never Brings Me a Banjo"
 
Watch the animated video for the single on YouTube HERE.

Nashville, TN (December 8, 2015) - 2015 has been an banner year for Doug Seegers, following the release of his acclaimed solo debut, Going Down To The River, last October. Seegers received tremendous accolades in the press, including features on NPR’s Morning Edition and On Point with Tom Ashbook, and in-depth profiles in the Wall Street Journal and People. Other highlights include multiple sold-out tours of Scandinavia, a triumphant performance at the 2015 Americana Honors & Awards, and most recently, a Nashville/Midsouth Regional Emmy Award nomination.  

Seegers and Jerry L. Walker received the nomination at The Nashville/Midsouth Chapter of The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) last month for the Community/Public Service (PSA) they created for the Nashville Rescue Mission. The spot, titled "Home for Christmas" aired on Nashville’s WTVF Channel 5.

Seegers’ work with the Nashville Rescue Mission will come as no surprise to those who are familiar with his not-so-typical Music City story. Seegers was a  frequently homeless, 62-year-old singer-songwriter-guitarist when he was discovered at a Nashville food pantry by a Swedish country music star, who helped him from the streets to superstardom in a country best known for global pop superstars Abba.

In the midst of all of the Grammy hubbub, one of my favorite shows of the year was announced today, December 10th. The 8th Annual Salute to Texas Independence Day will take place on March 5th, 2016 at Terminal 5 in NYC.

This year brings a pretty incredible line-up. Casey Donahew Band and Pat Green, who is once again headlining, will be returning. In addition, Randy Rogers Band, whose new album Nothing Shines Like Neon releases in Janaury, and Wade Bowen, who recently played FarmBorough Fest, are also on the bill.

It's a guaranteed good time, so grab your tickets when they go on sale Friday, December 11th at 12noon.

Doors: 6:00 pm / Show: 7:00 pm
Terminal 5 New York, NY
$35 advance / $40 day of show
On Sale Friday, 12/11 at 12noonEST

Al always, this event is all ages and any patron with a Texas related tattoo or wearing an article of clothing with a logo from a Texas college on it will receive one complimentary drink (must be 21+).

Nashville, TN (December 7, 2015) -  Nashville powerhouse group The SteelDrivers received a GRAMMY nomination for Best Bluegrass Album for The Muscle Shoals Recordings, marking four career nods for the group. The critically-acclaimed album, released June 16 on Rounder Records, debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Bluegrass Chart and achieved the highest first-week sales in the band’s history.

“What a great early Christmas present. We are honored and thrilled to say the least for this recognition. The Muscle Shoals Recordings represents our desire to continue to push ourselves as a group and bring a fresh perspective. We are a scrappy bunch of players that love what we do and send a hearty congrats to all the nominees,” says fiddle player, vocalist and songwriter Tammy Rogers.

The Muscle Shoals Recordings is the fourth release from The SteelDrivers, made up of Richard Bailey, Mike Fleming, Tammy King, Gary Nichols and Brent Truitt. The four-time GRAMMY nominees produce “uneasy listening” music, a unique blend of bluegrass and soul that has inspired praise from critics and audiences for years, and The Muscle Shoals Recordings is no exception.

“The aptly-named The Muscle Shoals Recordings reflects the same soul and blues ache so evident in the town made famous by Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin and the Staples family, among many others.” Suzanne Cadgene, Elmore Magazine

“You can call it power-bluegrass or country soul, but whatever you call it, Nashville's SteelDrivers have bushels of it.” AD Amorosi, Philadelphia Enquirer

The winners will be announced on February 15, 2016 at the 58th Annual GRAMMY Awards.

www.thesteeldrivers.com | www.facebook.com/The-SteelDrivers