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LONESOME RIVER BAND
In 2007 Lonesome River Band celebrates 25 years in Bluegrass as one of the most popular and influential acts on the bluegrass festival and concert circuit. They have not looked back since the release of their breakout CD, Carrying The Tradition, in 1991, which included current LRB band leader Sammy Shelor, as well as Dan Tyminski, Ronnie Bowman and Lonesome River Band founder, Tim Austin. They recorded a second project for Rebel Records, Old Country Town, before Tyminski accepted a gig with Alison Krauss & Union Station, and Austin decided to leave the road to focus on his recording studio, Doobie Shea.
Like any band whose success has endured for 25 years, Lonesome River Band has seen some very talented musicians come and go. One readily thinks of acts like The Country Gentlemen, Seldom Scene, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, or JD Crowe & the New South as examples of successful bluegrass bands whose lineup has undergone a number of complete changes over the years, while still retaining the distinctive sound that brought them their success. As LRB continues to record and perform bluegrass music with both critical and commercial success, their name deserves mention in that list as well.
During this last 15 years, Shelor has enjoyed performing in Lonesome River Band with such stellar musicians as Kenny Smith, Don Rigsby, Ron Stewart, Rickie Simpkins and Mike Hartgrove - each of whom has moved on to pursue other musical endeavors. With each personnel change, Shelor has looked for a new musician who could not only fill a spot that had been left vacant, but also bring in an artist with something to add of their own.
When Shelor joined Lonesome River Band in 1990, he never envisioned himself leading the band only ten years later. Fresh off a six year stint with the popular Virginia Squires, Sammy came on board along with Ronnie Bowman. When founder Tim Austin left in 1995 to focus on his studio, Sammy and Ronnie Bowman took over band management, and when Ronnie left in 2000, Shelor found himself in charge, leading the band that had hired him fifteen years earlier.
Through changes in vocalists and rhythm sections, the constant in the wildly popular LRB sound has been Shelor’s insistent, driving banjo style. His peers in the International Bluegrass Music association have voted him Banjo Player of the Year on four separate occasions. Banjo pickers all over the world have studied Sam’s tab books and instructional DVD from AcuTab. Shelor got an early start with the banjo, when his grandfather fashioned him a banjo from an old pressure cooker lid when Sam was only four years old. His other grandfather then issued a challenge, promising to buy him a real banjo if the young Shelor would learn to play two songs. Sam met that mark in short order, and with the help of a family devoted both to him and to bluegrass music, he soon found himself entered in contests at fiddler’s conventions near his home in southwestern VA. By age ten, he was performing in local bands and became a full time professional musician when he graduated from high school, joining The Heights Of Grass at age 19. That band eventually morphed into The Virginia Squires, and brought Sammy into contact with banjo legend Sonny Osborne, who helped shape the young picker’s approach to working as a pro banjo player. Sonny also showed Sam the importance of using a quality instrument, and introduced him to the sound of the pre war flathead Gibson banjos that are now so highly prized by banjo players all over the world.
Lonesome River Band consists of Matt Leadbertter on Dobro, Brandon Rickman doing Lead Guitar and Vocals, Andy Ball playing Mandolin and Lead Vocals, Mike Anglin playing the Upright Bass. These outstanding players bring a wealth of talent and energy to the quarter century year old Lonesome River Band.
PINE MOUNTAIN RAILROAD
Touring since 1998, this band features rock solid multi-part hammonies as well as stellar musicianship.
PMR features Cody Shuler on mandolin. Born in Bryson City, North Carolina, Cody started playing the mandolin at age thirteen. At fifteen, he started playing for legendary banjo picker Raymond Fairchild, where he played nightly at Raymond's Maggie Valley Opry House for four years. At age nineteen, he started playing mandolin with Pine Mountain Railroad. In April 2006, Cody married Marianne and moved to Knoxville, Tennessee. In September 2006, Cody took over management of Pine Mountain Railroad and is in the midst of readying the band's first national release under his tenure, Alone with Forever
Bill McBee on bass. Bill grew up singing in church, as did most all the guys in Pine Mountain Railroad. He loves the old-time gospel songs and Southern Gospel music in general. His background in bluegrass began first with hearing the Grand Ole Opry in its heyday of the late-50's. He became sold on the bluegrass of Mr. Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys, Flatt & Scruggs, The Osborne Brothers, Jimmy Martin, Red Allen, Reno & Smiley, Jim & Jesse, and, of course, The Stanley Brothers. Bill played guitar and dobro early-on but settled on the acoustic bass as his instrument of choice. He currently travels and performs with a 1939 Kay Orchestra Model, a masterpiece. He just finished recording Alone with Forever with this great performance bass. He also endorses and has performed extensively with a Wan-Bernadel fully-carved bass. You can hear that bass on the recording, Heartache & Hope. He's owned a bunch of basses, including American Standard, Epiphone, Gibson, and several Kay's. Bill is an avid kayaker and motorcycle enthusiast.
Matt Flake on fiddle. Matt has been a member of Pine Mountain Railroad since October 2004. He lives in Leitchfield, Kentucky, just about 30-minutes from the birthplace of Mr. Bill Monroe and bluegrass music, Rosine, Kentucky. “Scooter”, as he is known by his many fans, began playing the mandolin when he was nine. About a year later, he began taking fiddle lessons from Jesse Haycraft. He continued these lessons for several years. Matt previously played music with Blue Tradition, a Kentucky bluegrass band that won championships in both Kentucky and Indiana. Individually, Matt has won state championships in Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana on three different instruments: Mandolin, Fiddle, and Guitar. Currently, Matt plays a custom-made John Silakowski five-string fiddle. He is also a good shot with a pool cue, according to sources, and enjoys a friendly game every now and then with his buddies.
Mark Cable on guitar. Mark grew up listening to bluegrass music. Now a proud member of Pine Mountain Railroad, Mark enjoys singing lead and the high vocal parts. He also plays rhythm guitar – a Mike Long masterpiece. Mark lives in Tuskeegee, North Carolina with his wife Sabrina and two children Destinee and Samuel. In his spare time, Mark is an avid deer hunter. His passion is for bow hunting. When not hunting, Mark loves to be with his family, attending church, and hanging out with friends. Mark has sung with several bands and southern gospel groups, among them the Smoky Mountain Boys, based in North Carolina. An unbelievably gifted vocalist, Mark has a range from bass to high tenor.
Eli Johnston on guitar. Eli was born and raised in Treece, Kansas, a small town near Columbus, Kansas. Eli was taught the guitar by his Grandpa Joe and improved his skills by attending jam sessions, pickin' parties, and festivals with his dad. At about age fifteen, Eli began playing bass and banjo as well. In his high school days, Eli played baseball, football, and wrestled.
Elmer Burchett on banjo. Elmer, who lives in Berea, Kentucky, comes from a long line of blue grassers. His dad, Elmer Sr., played banjo and worked with many of the early pioneers of the music. His grandfather played both the fiddle and banjo in Louisa, Kentucky for radio shows and barn dances. Elmer inherited his innate sense of blue grass music from them and has developed his own new passion – writing blue grass songs. Those great songwriters who have inspired him have created a monster in Elmer. If you ever wondered about how Elmer spends his spare time, he spends it with his daughters Haley and Molly, now ages fifteen and ten, respectively. Daughter Haley has been seen performing with her Dad during touring opportunities since about June 2006. Elmer's career has spanned numerous groups and gigs. He was a member of Rambler's Choice, one of the finest bluegrass bands in recent times, as well as Wyatt Rice and Santa Cruz .
NEWFOUND ROAD
The music of NewFound Road is marked by a refreshing clarity – a sense of honesty and purpose rarely heard in today’s bluegrass. NewFound Road are a vivid reminder of the power inherent in undiluted, stripped-down bluegrass. This unflinching immediacy is bolstered by a wide range of stylistic influences, the presence of three remarkably soulful vocalists, and strong in-house songwriting talent, making NewFound Road among the most dynamic and thrilling contemporary bluegrass bands on today’s thriving scene. NewFound Road members Rob Baker on mandolin and vocals, Randy Barnes on bass, Tim Shelton guitar and vocals, and Jr. Williams on banjo,guitar and vocals.
THE JAMES KING BAND
The James King band features traditional bluegrass from one of the most powerful lead singers in bluegrass today.
THE HILLBILLY GYPSIES
The Hillbilly Gypsies are a West Virginia native string band who specialize in playing their own homegrown style of Appalachian old time music, mixed with a hard drivin' bluegrass sound. In addition to their original material, The Hillbilly Gypsies play an eclectic mix of traditional and quite often, not-so-traditional bluegrass standards and catchy old fiddle tunes.
The Hillbilly Gypsies are best appreciated jamming at a live show.
They perform in the old fashioned style, around a single vintage style
large diaphragm microphone. This "Old Timey" approach adds a high energy barn party atmosphere to their show. Watching the whole band work around the mic is like taking a trip back in time. It'll sure make you want to get up and dance!
Formed in 2001 from a chance meeting in Morgantown WV, The Hillbilly Gypsies have been pickin'and grinnin' ever since. More than just a
bluegrass band, The Hillbilly Gypsies are a close knit family, mindful of tradition yet bold explorers of new styles of acoustic music.
DOERFEL FAMILY
Parents Tom and Cheryl did not grow up with bluegrass music, though music was a part of their childhoods and it was music that brought them together. Tom played trumpet in school bands while Cheryl took piano lessons from Tom’s sister, who introduced them. Cheryl discovered the lure of bluegrass when she heard the Fox Family at her high school. Again in college she saw a bluegrass musical called “Cotton Patch Gospel.” She was hooked. In the early ‘90s she found a banjo in her dad’s barn and taught herself to play with a Murphy Henry video.
When TJ was 8 he asked her to teach him how to play. He soon learned everything she knew so Cheryl found him a wonderful teacher, Andy Cushing. Soon after, Kim at the age of 8, expressed an interest in the violin. Her Aunt Julie is a Suzuki violin teacher and all Kim’s cousins were playing. So it was a fiddle that made her 9th birthday extra special. Like her big brother, Kim started learning from Murphy Henry Fiddle videos. As she progressed Cheryl could see Kim’s passion for the instrument and found her great teachers, Geoff Perry, and then Phil Banaszak. Eddy started pickin’ on a little junky guitar but when the family bought a mandolin he decided he liked that better. He, too, started lessons with Andy Cushing.
Cheryl started backing up the kids on guitar and was trying to learn to flatpick. She laughs that she can’t play anything fast enough to keep up with the kids. She tried to get Tom to play bass with them but he refused. Cheryl said, Looking back, I’m sure we didn’t sound that good, but we were having a ton of fun.”
After some time, a friend gave Tom an electric bass so he started to play with the family. That, however, wasn’t good enough for Cheryl. She wanted him to play the stand-up bass. Again he refused. (he never wanted to spend money on instruments!) When another friend found him a cheap bass fiddle he could no longer make excuses and made the switch. People started asking us to play and paid us,” Cheryl remembers. I put the money aside and started saving for better instruments. Soon we had enough for sound equipment too!” Ben started singing with the family at age 4. He started on the fiddle but one day discovered a guitar and that’s been his instrument ever since.
DAVID DAVIS AND THE WARRIOR RIVER BOYS
Carrying an Alabama family tradition, David Davis and the Warrior River Boys offer audiences a rare glimpse at the role of the frontman in American music. In Chicago Blues, it was Muddy Waters and the legendary Howlin’ Wolf. In Bluegrass music, it was Bill Monroe. Rather than operating under trendy “hit” oriented marketing schemes, frontman mandolinist David Davis simply nurtures his roots with integrity, tonal depth, and prose. After a couple of Rounder label projects in the early ‘90’s, David and the band snapped rave reviews with their self-titled 2004 release on Rebel Records - “….sure-fire picking and train whistle harmonies.” USA Today. Their newest 2006 Rebel release, “Troubled Times”, is imbued with the innate sense of purpose that defines David and The Warrior River Boys: carrying an Alabama family tradition.
Directly linked to the origins of bluegrass music, David Davis’ love of bluegrass grew organically. Back in the 30’s his father and two uncles played and sung in the brother style traditions of early country music. Uncle Cleo joined Bill Monroe as the very first Blue Grass Boy in 1938. David’s father went off to WWII and lost his right hand in a mortar accident. While his dad’s dream of making music may have been shattered, he never lost his love and devotion to the music. In fact, David carried his father’s love innocently down the road, never suspecting the impact on his life.
KARL SHIFLETT AND THE BIG COUNTRY SHOW
Staying true to original bluegrass roots is The Karl Shiflett & Big Country Show, a five-piece acoustic country group hailing from Texas. The group masterfully blends vintage country music with bluegrass to capture a sprit and feeling of by gone days. They are best known for their fast paced and highly entertaining “Retro” stage show.
The Karl Shiflett & Big Country Show officially started in 1993 but did not gain national recognition until 1999 when they signed with Rebel Records becoming a household name within the genre literally overnight. Their debut release went to the top of the charts and featured their signature song “Where the smoke goes up (and the money goes down)”. The group has recorded two additional projects on the same label with numerous original compositions seeing similar chart success including “It’s fall again, “Cold cold love” and “Worries on my mind” to name a few.
The group’s efforts to entertain and preserve a classic “musical art form” has not gone unnoticed. They have been recognized by their peers for various awards and nominations during their career, including the IBMA “Emerging Artist” award in 2001 and nomination for “Entertainer of the year” in 2002. Most recently the group were recipients of the 2006 IBMA “Album of the year” award for their participation in the “Skaggs Family Records” recording, titled “Celebration of life”. This project was recorded in 2005 at the “MACC” (Musicians against childhood cancers) in Columbus, Ohio. The project includes over 45 of the top acts in bluegrass music and more importantly all proceeds go to “St. Jude Children’s Hospital” for cancer research.
Karl and the band are also known as “Ambassador’s of Bean Blossom” at Bill Monroe’s Memorial Park in Bean Blossom, Indiana, the largest and longest running bluegrass festival in the world (since 1966). They are currently working on their fourth project for Rebel Records to be released in early 2008.
The current line-up for “The Karl Shiflett & Big Country Show” includes: Karl Shiflett - lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Kris Shiflett - acoustic upright bass, Brandon Godman - fiddle, Jessie Baker - mandolin, guitar, banjo & harmony vocals, Chris Hill - banjo, guitar and harmony vocals
DAN PAISLEY AND SOUTHERN GRASS
Carrying on the tradition of of his late father Bob Paisley, Dan Paisley and Southern Grass has the hard driving traditional sound of bluegrass from the early years of bluegrass music. Always a festival favorite, the passion and energy from their live stage show always leaves the crowd wanting more. The band has their first Rounder record release scheduled to be out in 2008.
CHRIS JONES AND THE NIGHT DRIVERS
Best known for his highly acclaimed work in the bluegrass world, Chris Jones has always had a musical field of vision too wide to be contained within it. Perhaps that's been shaped by his voice -- low and mournful rather than sharp and soaring--or perhaps by the way he's felt compelled to write so many of the songs he sings, filling them with a heartfelt intimacy and contemporary depth that's still rare in the genre. Even when he's been most firmly planted within the bluegrass mainstream, these qualities have made him stand out from his peers - and have garnered him critical notices for his personal musical style and sound.
Chris Jones is no newcomer to the musical spotlight. His resume includes appearances and recordings with some of the world’s most respected musicians including The Chieftains (he was featured on their 2003 U.S. tour), Earl Scruggs, Vassar Clements, Lynn Morris Band, April Verch Band, the McCarters and the award-winning quartet Weary Hearts, among others. He has performed many times at the Grand Ole Opry and has been seen on such television shows as Conan O’Brien, Emeril Live, and The Grand Ole Opry Live. Jones’ collaboration with legendary country singer/songwriter Tom T. Hall led to the release of the duet “Man On The Side Of The Road” from Chris’ “Just a Drifter” album, which became one of the Top 5 airplay bluegrass songs of 2001. Most recently, he appeared in the PBS series "The Appalachians" as a both a performer and commentator. Additionally, Jones hosts a daily show for Sirius Satellite Radio.
While he often sounds like he comes from generations of southern pickers, Jones was actually born in Brooklyn and grew up dividing his time between his mother’s home in Suffern, New York, and his father’s in New Mexico. It was in the Land of Enchantment that he first became acquainted with bluegrass and began to learn guitar. After graduating high school, he attended the University of Vermont where he began playing music with a variety of groups, soon after making the decision to become a full time musician. He played with the band Special Consensus for several years before immersing himself in traditional bluegrass with Dave Evans & Riverbend. He later joined Lynn Morris and her husband Marshall Wilborn in the group Whetstone Run. He later moved to the Southwest as a member of Weary Hearts, an award-winning quartet that served as the training ground for a number of prominent musicians including Ron Block of Union Station and Mike Bub who formerly played bass for the Del McCoury Band. Weary Hearts released the album “By Heart” on Flying Fish Records to great acclaim.
Jones eventually moved to Nashville with Weary Hearts. When the band dissolved, he did stints with a number of other groups before making his solo recording debut with the album “Blinded By The Rose.” The recording featured strong performances by Jones and an outstanding group of musicians and included his original song “Dark Wind of Missouri,” which spent more than a year on the Bluegrass Unlimited chart and introduced him to national audiences.
Following the success of his first album, Jones signed with Rebel Records, where he released three albums, “No One But You,” “Follow Your Heart,” and “Just a Drifter.” Each has won critical reviews, enhancing his reputation as a soulful singer/guitarist and an insightful songwriter.
SPECIAL ED AND THE SHORT BUS
Special Ed and the Shortbus is a bubbling fountain of virtuosic insanity. Seeing them play is like watching a high-speed train about to jump the tracks. Unstoppable energy matched with technical mastery, outlandish humor and fully engaging entertainment, the Shortbus is a sight to behold.
Jug band, Bluegrass, Old-Timey, String Band, Vaudevillian, Jazz, call it what you will, it's just American music (except when it's Eastern European). The band employs banjos, guitar, mandolin, fiddle, a trap set, a doghouse bass, many kazoos, and a whole host of other toys to create their irresistible sound, a truly Special blend.
Special Ed and the Shortbus have been playing music together since the Spring of 2002. Based in Richmond, VA, they have traveled far and wide. Over time, the music has moved in many directions as their individual characters have come together, creating a many-limbed frenetic bluegrass beast. They have gained a reputation both near and far for high energy and sometimes bizarre live acts.
In 2004 they released two albums simultaneously. Special Ed and the Shortbus Bluegrass Band, is a more straight ahead endeavor, while Downhill From Here, contains more blue material.
Special Ed and the Shortbus base both their sense of humor and their musical tendencies primarily on self-indulgence. Their frenzied exuberance is not intended to set them apart, it's just instinct. The same is true of the music. They play it that way because that's what they like. Experience Special Ed and the Shortbus for yourself and your life will be changed forever.
HILLBILLY WATER
Hillbilly Water have been performing together for over 5 years. Having gotten their start in '02. The band is an acoustic trio featuring mandolin, guitar & bass. Louie Demayo is the lead singer and mandolin player. Lou is a huge fan of Bill Monroe and bluegrass music in general. Louie D. as he's called by friends and fans alike has been playing mandolin for over a dozen years. He's had the pleasure of hanging out and playing with Del McCoury, Adam Stefi, Allison Krauss and a bunch of others. On guitar we have the unassuming Ed Rainey. Ed's been playing for as long as he can remember and was brought up listening and playing old time country and bluegrass songs. Encouraged by his dad, himself a great banjo/vocalist, Eddie learned to play all the bluegrass instruments; Dobro, Guitar, Mandolin and Banjo. He is quite a talent and must be seen to believe. Not only does he play amazingly but he sings great too. Helping Lou D. with the high harmony. Ed's played with many greats including Peter Rowan and Vaser Clements. Bassist George The Greek has been playing for over 20 years and his musical friendship goes back just as far with Ed Rainey. They have been playing in bands since high school and have created a dynamic groove and feel that kicks the band up a notch. These 2 guys live to play music. George has also played with some heavy dudes including, Buddy Miles, Vaser Clements, King Wilke and Buddy Cage. The band has just completed and released their debut cd "Have A Drink".
STAINED GRASS WINDOW
The story of how Stained Grass Window came to be is essentially that of a happy accident. Our origins lie at an event local to us called the Jerseytown shindig. This monthly jam provided the opportunity for a chance meeting between Mark Doncheski and Mary Hermann. Mary is an ER doctor with an interest in bluegrass and acoustic music. Mark had been playing bluegrass in an organized setting as a bass player for the band Dark Hollow. A third individual, Ken Shafranko, was fulfilling a long simmering ambition to learn the dobro and he, too, found himself at the same jam. The year was 1990 when these three made each other's acquaintance. At Mary's invitation they found themselves at her house from time to time just for the enjoyment of playing together. A fourth individual, Tom Harhart, would join these sessions. Tom was a fairly accomplished player on just about anything with strings from banjo to mandolin to guitar to dobro. And he could sing.
After a couple of years of playing together just for the fun of it one night Mary announced that she'd found someone who wanted them to play for a fee. And so it happened that these four musicians presented themselves to an audience, playing to a St. Patrick's day crowd at a local tavern. No thought had even been given to a name for this assemblage of erstwhile musicians. Spring turned to summer and they found ourselves playing before other groups. At one of the events someone in the audience wanted to know what was the name of the band. Mary, ever quick on her feet, replied "Stained Grass Window." The name stuck.
Tom decided to discontinue performing in early 1996 and that proved to be the occaision for Lou Eberlin to join us. Lou had a long time interest in country music and his brother played bluegrass in the southeast Pennsylvania area. Lou's voice can be heard as lead on many of the cuts from our three recordings. Another indivdual with whom Mark played in his Dark Hollow days was Bob Meehan. Bob had developed into a seasoned harmonica player and he, too, began to perform with us. While harmonica isn't a staple amongst bluegrass bands you do hear it from time to time. Even the Foggy Mountain Boys recordings featured Charlie McCoy on some of their work. In early 1999 Mary became part of an all female bluegrass ensemble. In her place came Rick Marcera. Rick, a native of the Phillippines, came to be introduced to bluegrass music by his wife. She attended festivals in her youth along with her parents and after she married Rick the two of them would attend festivals together. Rick was already an accomplished musician as he earned his living on the cruise ship circuit playing drums, saxaphone, and piano. He also took up the guitar. At the point he became part of Stained Grass Window he was not a bass player and we needed one. It was something he figured he could learn and learn he did.
The year 2004 was a year of transition for Stained Grass Window. Bob Meehan relocated from his home in New Jersey to South Carolina to be closer to a daughter. Also in 2004 Bob Knorr came into the band, replacing Lou. Bob was known to us for a long time and we'd performed at places where he was performing with other groups. He anchors us on bass but has considerable skills on the guitar and mandolin as well. The thing that Bob really brought into our music though was his appreciation for traditional bluegrass. He can sing lead or move to tenor or baritone. The addition of his voice allows us to do some things now musically that we weren't able to do with the previous array of voices.
In the course of performing for as many years as we have we can look back and see two stages to our evolution. The first part was where we labored pretty hard to become good musically. While we still work pretty hard at that we've matured as performers and have now come to understand that what we provide is not just something that is musically comptetent. The fact is, only a minority of the people we play before are musicians. People come to have a good time, not to be music critics. Our purpose must be to provide entertainment, allowing the members of the audience to just sit back and relax to the music we make.
Stained Grass Window Has played all the Out Among The Stars Festivals!!
AIMLESS PURSUIT
Aimless Pursuit is a Pennsylvanian Bluegrass Band living in the Philadelphia area. They are a 4-piece group that features traditional acoustic bluegrass instrumentation and Harmonica. They are influenced by Hot Rize / Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers, Old Crow Medicine Show and Old and in the Way.
They call their music Pennsylvania Bluegrass. This allows Aimless Pursuit to perform a wide ranging style embracing Bluegrass Tradition with our Pennsylvania Roots. Our show is accessible to both novice and experienced listeners of roots style music. As "ambassadors of bluegrass", they bring in novice listeners by adapting familiar songs to the bluegrass format in a method they call Adaptograss. .
Instrumentation Brian Pierce - Banjo, Guitar, Dobro, Vocals, Neal Neuman - Bass, Vocals, Scot Limbert - Guitar, Harmonica, Vocals, Todd Limbert - Mandolin, Vocals