Fields Of Bluegrass

This week we’re going to let Del McCoury and Jon Weisberger take over so we can hear Del’s “Blue Side of Town” radio show. The Johnson Mountain Boys, Hot Rize, Flatt & Scruggs, Larry Sparks, Lonesome River Band, and The Osborne Brothers are just a few of the artists featured. GREAT bluegrass music, Del’s recollections of experiences from his musical past, and his first hand knowledge of bluegrass really make this program a fun listen.

Join us at 9PM Eastern if you’re in “The Land of Bean Blossom.” You’ll find us at 88.7 on your FM dial, right smack dab in the middle of “Friday Night Folk” programming on WICR.

Not in Indy? Not a problem!  The current show is posted on the player at the right side of this very page and updates once a week, friends.

Photo by Señor Jim McGuire

Doc Watson celebrates his 89th on March 3rd.
We couldn’t wait that long.
The hour will include both live and studio tracks, requested favorites, and some selections from deep down in the formidable discography generated during Doc’s long and prolific career.

Looking down the list of songs, collaborators and sidemen include Doc’s son Merle Watson, Ricky Skaggs, Norman Blake, Tony Rice, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, T. Michael Coleman, and David ‘Dawg’ Grisman, to name a few.

Doc Watson‘s approach to what is now called old-time music is something we’ll be needing to explore, love his clawhammer banjo playing. And you’d better know we’re going to end the program with a few real good gospel songs. We’ll include a nice a cappella rendition of “Amazing Grace,” as well as songs from the 1987 release “On Praying Ground,” an album that features The Nashville Bluegrass Band backing Doc.

Join us at 9PM Eastern if you’re in “The Land of Bean Blossom.” You’ll find us at 88.7 on your FM dial, right smack dab in the middle of “Friday Night Folk” programming on WICR.

Not in Indy? Not a problem!  The current show is posted on the player at the right side of this very page and updates once a week, friends.

Bean Blossom

Something EXTRA special this time around, folks. We’ll have live recordings from Bean Blossom in years past. Most performances fall between the years 1999 and 2011, with a few selections from that album that Rural Rhythm recorded last year at the Bill Monroe 100th birthday celebration. This is the part of winter where the anticipation of warm summer days and bluegrass festivals and such get you through, it’ll be nice to listen to some live bluegrass recorded at our favorite music park.

There’s a recording of “Grey Eagle” in here that Michael Cleveland did way back when he was just a young man getting started, and I’ve got some good news to share. Michael and his band Flamekeeper will be at Northminster Presbyterian in Indianapolis on Sunday, April 15 | 4:00 p.m.
Info: http://www.northminster-indy.org 

Ralph Stanley and Jimmy Martin sharing the stage for “I Only Exist,” JD Crowe & The New South getting a rousing rendition of “Train 45″ going, and Larry Sparks singing “Blue Virginia Blue” are some of the highlights from the older material. Of course we’ll take things out with a nice set of bluegrass gospel. IIIrd Tyme Out and Grasstowne will provide a couple of good ones.

Join us at 9PM Eastern if you’re in “The Land of Bean Blossom.” You’ll find us at 88.7 on your FM dial, right smack dab in the middle of “Friday Night Folk” programming on WICR.

Not in Indy? Not a problem!  The current show is posted on the player at the right side of this very page and updates once a week, friends.

This weekend is the second of two area bluegrass festivals of the indoor variety. Last weekend’s deal at The Lions Club in Clermont was a blast, the bands sounded great. The Lions were able to raise a bit for their community-building efforts, thanks for joining us everybody.
The White River Bluegrass Club in Anderson (northeast of Indy) hosts this weekend’s long-running annual festival. Saturday 2/18/12. Multiple bands take the stage between noon and 7PM.
I’ve attended this one with family more than once, Rangeline Community Center is a big ol’ room. Concessions. Blue Mafia is coming up (from Louisville and Bedford) this year, too.

February 18, 2012
23rd Annual Snowflake Bluegrass Festival
Location: Rangeline Community Center
1405 Rangeline Rd. – CR 200E,  Anderson, IN
Additional info: Dennis Niccum (765) 606-0761

Be sure to check that events page of ours for more fine music, bluegrass and old-timey in nature. Make it point to catch at least one live event a month and watch this music scene of ours here in The Land of Bean Blossom continue to grow.

This week’s program contains a couple of Tony Rice numbers, Brand New Strings, Dr. Ralph Stanley, Blue Moon Rising, Town Mountain, Jackstraw, Cumberland River, and a fantastic local band called Bluetown with the version of “Rose of Old Kentucky” that they recorded for their recent release “Summers Gone.”
I’ll even see if we can’t squeeze in more than one song from that new all-gospel project from Dailey & Vincent to close the show.

Join us at 9PM Eastern if you’re in “The Land of Bean Blossom.” You’ll find us at 88.7 on your FM dial, right smack dab in the middle of “Friday Night Folk” programming on WICR.

Not in Indy? Not a problem!  The current show is posted on the player at the right side of this very page and updates once a week, friends.

Well friends, I’d like to say, in some highly informative manner of course, that I had some lofty purpose for featuring the music of Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs and The Foggy Mountain Boys this week other than that being what I wanted to hear, but I can’t lie to you.

Earl Scruggs did indeed just celebrate his 88^th birthday on January 6^th, there is that. Yet, we know full well that if I attempted to dig up something that even the newest bluegrass fans among us doesn’t know about the most famous bluegrass band on the planet…good luck. And dwelling long and loud on the pivotal role that these gentlemen played in helping Bill Monroe to develop this uniquely American musical form…preaching to the choir.

Can tell you this, I might just ‘zig’ when you think I’m going to ‘zag’ tonight, at least. Of the 22 songs we’ll squeeze in, you’re much more likely to hear “Foggy Mountain Special” than “Foggy Mountain Breakdown,” for instance. When a song has been featured in everything from Hollywood movies to an episode of Monty Python’s Flying Circus…great tune, but we don’t want to wear it out, right? Some of my favorites are a bit more obscure, rest assured, and a nice gospel set from Lester & Earl will close things out tonight.

Join us at 9PM Eastern if you’re in “The Land of Bean Blossom.” You’ll find us at 88.7 on your FM dial, right smack dab in the middle of “Friday Night Folk” programming on WICR.

Not in Indy? Not a problem!  The current show is posted on the player on the right side of this very page, friends.

Well, of course we love the old standards. That said, to keep a musical form vibrant, an influx of new material is absolutely essential. The husband and wife songwriting team of Tom T. & Dixie Hall have written so many bluegrass chart-toppers in the last decade that the scope of their recent work arguably rivals the volume of favorites that “The Storyteller” produced in the first phase of his illustrious career.

An exciting new project from Peter Cooper & Eric Brace, “I Love: Songs From Fox Hollow,” pays tribute to Tom T. by revisiting his 1974 children’s classic of the same name with the help of artists such as Jim Lauderdale, Buddy Miller, Mike Bub, Bobby Bare, and many more.
http://songsoffoxhollow.com/

And of course you can draw from many recent releases to find Tom T. & Dixie-penned selections. Michelle Nixon, Ralph Stanley II, Darin & Brooke Aldridge, and Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice have all dipped into that deep well to find material of late.

In addition, we’ll reach way back for favorites from Reno & Smiley, and Red Allen & The Kentuckians. Charlie Sizemore will explore the possibility that there are no lawyers in heaven in song. And new releases from Blue Highway, The Lonesome River Band, and Bill Emerson will be followed by a gospel set taken from the legendary “Skaggs & Rice” album.

If you’re in the greater Indianapolis area, tune in to 88.7 on your FM dial at 9PM EASTERN during “Friday Night Folk” programming on WICR.

Not in Indy? Not a problem! You can pick up our live stream by clicking on the WICR logo on the right here, or the show will be posted on this very site later this week and will remain on our player for 7 days.

This week in a brand new installment of The Fields of Bluegrass Radio Hour it’s one for the dogs, friends. A theme show featuring bluegrass songs that pay tribute to “Man’s Best Friend.”

First, let me start out by wishing Mr. Earl Scruggs a happy birthday! That’s right, Earl Eugene Scruggs, the man that was instrumental (literally!) in helping Bill Monroe forge the template for bluegrass music and for perfecting and popularizing the 3-finger banjo-picking widely known as “Scruggs style,” turns eighty-eight on January 6th. We’ll have a couple from Lester & Earl in the program tonight to mark the occasion, you’d better know it.

Well, let’s see. Bill Monroe sings about foxhounds. The Stanley Brothers have both a rabbit in a log (but they ain’t got no dog) and a dog that’s as blind as he can be but at dinner time he can see. Norman & Nancy Blake have a dog that suffers from the same affliction.  Doc Watson shoulders up his gun and whistles up his dog. Jimmy Martin has a dog he claims is the best coon dog in the state of Tennessee. Someone stole Don Stover‘s coon dog and he wishes they’d bring him back. Leroy Troy‘s rabbit dog is gone, gone, gone…yeah, better remember to bring a hanky. I know that last couple make both me and Briscoe Darlin cry. So I guess we’d best get them Darlin Boys (aka The Dillards) to sing about “Old Blue.”

Then, to close the program, we are going to throw the water dogs (retrievers, labs, spaniels, newfies, etc.) a treat by going in a more nautical direction with good ol’ bluegrass gospel numbers from Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, The Johnson Mountain Boys, Danny Paisley & The Southern Grass, and more!

Join us at 9PM Eastern if you’re in the greater Indianapolis area. You’ll find us at 88.7 on your FM dial, right smack dab in the middle of “Friday Night Folk” programming on WICR.

Not in Indy? Not a problem! You can pick up our live stream by clicking on the WICR logo on the right, or the show will be posted on our player later this week. You are certainly welcome to drop by just as often as you’d like. Check the events calendar for concert information. See what we have planned for this week’s program. Request your favorites via email. We’re always tickled to hear from you!

Me & Jimmy

Happy New Year Friends of Bluegrass and old-time mountain music!

Boy, do we have some exciting things coming up in 2012, don’t even know where to begin. Brand NEW program this Friday, so don’t miss that puppy.  And buddy, we have all kinds of fun features, theme programs, interviews, and in-studio performances planned for 2012.

There are some world-class events coming up in the state that you’ll find on our events calendar. Bands such as The Special Consensus, The Dry Branch Fire Squad, Sam Bush, Ricky Skaggs, and m0re! And be sure to check back in the weeks ahead as we begin to list festival information and such, too.
Festivals…warm weather…pickin’ out-of-doors. My, my if that don’t sound good already!

We’ve been having fun watching the line-up coming together for The 2nd Annual John Hartford Memorial Festival at Bean Blossom. This year we’re looking at a 3-day event that starts May 31st and artists such as The Hillbenders, Darol Anger, The Tillers, The Henhouse Prowlers, Larry Keel & Natural Bridge, The Goldmine Pickers, and a whole lot more are already down to perform.
Get your advance tix now and save you some $$ by getting in on the ‘early bird’ special:
http://www.johnhartfordmemfest.com/

Tune in every Friday night at 9PM Eastern to The Fields of Bluegrass Radio Hour. Smack dab in the middle of “Friday Night Folk” programming on WICR 88.7FM in Indianapolis, The Land of Bean Blossom!

Merry Christmas Every Buddy!

Here in The Land of Bean Blossom we’re ready to celebrate by gathering family and friends together to share some good bluegrass music to suit the occasion.
We know the days will be getting longer from here on out, and there’s nothing like ringing banjos, voices raised in high harmonies, and a solid mandolin chop to facilitate Christmas ‘warm fuzzies!’

Plenty of new releases this year from artists such as Donna Ulisse, Ricky Skaggs, and Heather Berry. A fantastic Christmas concept album called “The Gathering” that features the talents of Mike Compton, Joe Newberry, and Rhiannon Giddens of The Carolina Chocolate Drops, among others, makes it’s Fields of Bluegrass Radio Hour debut, too.

Rest assured, we plan to include many of the songs us bluegrassers grew up listening to this time of year. Holiday favorites from Ralph Stanley, The Country Gentlemen, Larry Sparks, The Stanley Brothers, Doc Watson, David Grisman, and Bill Monroe are part of the deal, too. And we won’t have to reach too awful far back into the archives for seasonal offerings from The Special Consensus, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Rhonda Vincent, and The Lost & Found.

Join us at 9PM Eastern if you’re in the greater Indianapolis area. You’ll find us at 88.7 on your FM dial, right smack dab in the middle of “Friday Night Folk” programming on WICR.

Not in Indy? Not a problem! You can pick up our live stream by clicking on the WICR logo on the right, or the show will be posted on our player later this week. You are certainly welcome to drop by just as often as you’d like. Check the events calendar for concert information. See what we have planned for this week’s program. Request your favorites via email. You know we’ll be glad to hear from you!

Our BIG Christmas special for 2011 is scheduled for 12/23 at 9PM, but join The Ghost of Christmas Past and me this week for a re-broadcast of our 2008 Christmas broadcast.

If you’re in the greater Indianapolis area, tune in to 88.7 on your FM dial at 9PM EASTERN during “Friday Night Folk” programming on WICR.

Not in Indy? Not a problem! You can pick up our live stream by clicking on the WICR logo on the right here, or the show will be posted on this very site later this week and will remain on our little player deal for 7 days.