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Our Staff
Richelle Putnam • Executive Editor/Writer
Richelle Putnam holds a BS in Marketing Management and an MA in Creative Writing. She is a Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC) Teaching Artist, two-time MAC Literary Arts Fellow, and Mississippi Humanities Speaker. Her fiction, poetry, essays, and articles have been published in many print and online literary journals and magazines. Among her six published books are a 2014 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards Silver Medalist and a 2017 Foreword Indies Book Awards Bronze Medal winner. Visit her website at www.richelleputnam.com.
Rebekah Speer • Creative Director
Rebekah Speer has nearly twenty years in the music industry in Nashville, TN. She creates a unique “look” for every issue of The Bluegrass Standard, and enjoys learning about each artist. In addition to her creative work with The Bluegrass Standard, Rebekah also provides graphic design and technical support to a variety of clients. www.rebekahspeer.com
Susan Woelkers • Marketing
Susan traveled with a mixed ensemble at Trevecca Nazarene college as PR for the college. From there she moved on to working at Sony Music Nashville for 17 years in several compacities then transitioning on to the Nashville Songwritrers Association International (NSAI) where she was Sponsorship Director. The next step of her musical journey was to open her own business where she secured sponsorships for various events or companies in which the IBMA /World of Bluegrass was one of her clients.
Brent Davis • Contributor
Brent Davis produced documentaries, interview shows, and many other projects during a 40 year career in public media. He’s also the author of the bluegrass novel Raising Kane. Davis lives in Columbus, Ohio.
Mississippi Chris Sharp • Reviewer
Singer/Songwriter/Blogger and SilverWolf recording artist, Mississippi
Chris Sharp hails from remote Kemper County, near his hometown of Meridian. An original/founding cast member of the award-winning, long running radio show, The Sucarnochee Revue, as featured on Alabama and Mississippi Public Broadcasting, Chris performs with his daughter, Piper. Chris’s songs have been covered by The Del McCoury Band, The Henhouse Prowlers, and others. https://mississippichrissharp.blog
Susan Marquez • Journalist
Susan Marquez is a freelance writer based in Madison, Mississippi and a Mississippi Arts Commission Roster Artist. After a 20+ year career in advertising and marketing, she began a professional writing career in 2001. Since that time she has written over 2000 articles which have been published in magazines, newspapers, business journals, trade publications.
Kara Martinez Bachman • Journalist
Kara Martinez Bachman is a nonfiction author, book and magazine editor, and freelance writer. A former staff entertainment reporter, columnist and community news editor for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, her music and culture reporting has also appeared on a freelance basis in dozens of regional, national and international publications.
Candace Nelson • Journalist
Candace Nelson is a marketing professional living in Charleston, West Virginia. She is the author of the book “The West Virginia Pepperoni Roll.” In her free time, Nelson travels and blogs about Appalachian food culture at CandaceLately.com. Find her on Twitter at @Candace07 or email CandaceRNelson@gmail.com.
Chris Jones
by Brent Davis
If you ask Chris Jones what he does for a living, his reply might begin by asking how much time you have.
In addition to managing his band, Chris Jones and the Night Drivers, he’s a singer, guitarist, and composer. He also writes a weekly bluegrass humor column and hosts shows on SiriusXM satellite radio.
He says he loves it all, but that’s not his only motivation. Musicians of all kinds--perhaps especially bluegrass musicians since the COVID shutdown--are looking for creative ways to generate income and grow their fan base by capitalizing on their particular skills and knowledge. Writing and radio hosting are in Jones’s wheelhouse.
“I have a band right now where everybody has something else going on,” Jones says. “That’s good for me because it takes some of the pressure off to be working 200 days a year.”
Jones has performed bluegrass professionally since age 18. He’s hosted radio shows off and on for nearly as long. Now, he hosts Truegrass, his weekly radio show on SiriusXM. He can also be heard filling in on other network offerings, including Bluegrass Junction and Willie’s Roadhouse.
“I started with college radio at the University of Vermont radio station,” Jones recalls. As he moved from band to band across the nation during his extensive bluegrass apprenticeship, he often found
work at a local radio station. He hosted everything from country music shows to the occasional on-air swap meet that used to be a staple of locally-owned radio stations.
With streaming and other technological changes, some argue that the radio DJ has gone the way of the blacksmith. But Jones’s popularity on SiriusXM shows that many people still value connecting with an on-air host on a show such as his.
“That really is the strength and that’s important to have that connection,” he says. “And I’m the same way as a listener. I really don’t want to hear a computerized playlist. I want to hear somebody who’s engaged with the music in some way.”
Jones’s encyclopedic knowledge of and passion for the music makes him the perfect host for Truegrass, which features bluegrass songs at least 20 years old. He hosts the show from his home in Alberta’s Peace Country or any of the countless places he tours in North America and abroad. His hosting has brought new fans for the band, though listeners don’t always associate him with Chris Jones and the Night Drivers.
“The other day, I had somebody say, ‘Are you the same Chris Jones that’s on the radio?’ A couple of people have come up to me in the past and said, ‘I pictured you a much shorter fellow,’ to which I always answer, ‘I do the show sitting down, so I seem shorter.’”
Jones’s comic sense was evident in the first
instructional columns he wrote years ago for Flatpicking Guitar magazine.
“It was becoming a borderline humor column,” Jones remembers. “I was teaching a tune and I would put in some guitar tab, and I found that I was really enjoying the humor side of it. I’m a humor-writing fan, too. I read a lot of stuff like that.”
An invitation to participate in the burgeoning Bluegrass Blog led to “From the Side of the Road,” his popular weekly humor column in Bluegrass Today. He recently celebrated his 500th column for the online site. Recent topics include “Mr. Bluegrass Manners” (Big string loops on the tuner pegs: bluegrass fashion faux pas?); advice for opening acts (enjoy the headliner’s snacks, such as locally-sourced jelly beans); “Rocky Top” as bluegrass haiku (I like it up here/no phone bills or smoggy smoke/we’re completely lost).
Classic artists influence his music and humor writing. “My dad was a big James Thurber fan, and he’s high on my list. And I was introduced to Robert Benchley through my mom, who had a couple of his books at home. And I became a real fanatic about that. A lot of those writers from that era are really interesting to me. And contemporary ones, too.”
Though occasionally readers mistake his satire for real advice or legitimate information (“I had a whole social media uproar last year,” he remembers), the one-of-a-kind column has turned into another valuable side gig.
“I’m kind of surprised at the success of it just because it’s such a weird thing,” says Jones. “I get responses from people all over the country that read it. I’ve had people in Europe tell me, ‘I don’t always understand every part of it, but I kind of enjoy it.’ So that has been very gratifying.”
Though Jones may have had enough experiences in his storied bluegrass career to inspire the Great American Novel, he has other plans.
“We’re all looking for things to sell out on the road besides the vanishing CD,” he explains. “I want to put out a book of songs of mine, with some writing about each one, and chord charts and background and things like that. I’m also trying to compile the humor columns into a collection. I’m already working on that.”
So, of all his jobs, does he have a favorite?
“I feel very fortunate to do all these things,” Jones says. “But I think that the thing that I have done the longest professionally is play music. It’s the part that still takes priority.”
Bluegrass & Gee’s Bend
by Brent Davis
A bluegrass picker looking for a music camp has many choices. But Bluegrass and Gee’s Bend is unique in several respects. While it offers beginning and advanced classes in all the traditional bluegrass instruments, a philosophy inspired by the historic Foxfire books has created an experience that includes classes in “lost arts” such as blacksmithing, natural dyeing, soapmaking, foraging, cooking, canning, and quilting classes. This diverse curriculum is taught in a beautiful, secluded retreat only an hour from a major city.
Bluegrass and Gee’s Bend is one of several annual camps offered by the Alabama Folk School at Camp McDowell, an Episcopal church camp and conference center a short drive from Birmingham, Alabama.
“Camp McDowell has been a place where people gather for respite, for retreat,” says Caitlin Lollar, director of the Alabama Folk School. “And so, I think what we’re trying to do specifically is promote lifelong learning across all platforms and ways of being creative. And I think that shared experience of creativity really sets us apart.”
Bluegrass and Gee’s Bend is a four-day experience that can appeal to couples with varied interests. While one is taking classes with a celebrated musician, such as banjoist Alan
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Munde or guitarist Tim May, the other may be studying beginning blacksmithing, basket weaving, goat milk soap making, or sewing with internationally known quilters.
“We have a lot of people who come back even two or three times a year because one person can play music and the other person can pick a craft,” Lollar says. “And our craft classes are almost always beginner level, so that helps a lot, too. You can come not knowing anything and join a craft class.”
The Gee’s Bend in the name refers to a secluded, rural community on the twisting Alabama River with a rich quilt-making tradition. China and Marianne Pettway are acclaimed master quilters from Gee’s Bend who teach at the camp. Lollar says Maryann Pettway has quilts in the Smithsonian.
“The women of Gee’s Bend are the descendants of enslaved people and sharecroppers,” Lollar explains. “Once they were freed, the women there began quilting completely out of necessity. They would make them from scraps of old clothing, which is a familiar story to a lot of economically disadvantaged people around the country, I think. But these people-and the quilting tradition that started when slavery ended--those lines are still there. So, it’s a really amazing part of Alabama’s art culture.”
The setting also distinguishes Bluegrass and Gee’s Bend.
“Camp McDowell sits on the border of the Bankhead National Forest and the Sipsey Wilderness,” Lollar says. “It’s quiet at night. You can see more stars than you’ve maybe ever seen in your life. I think that a really important part of what we do is giving people a chance to slow down, to quiet themselves.”
It’s not all quiet when the sun goes down, however. Since there are classes in all bluegrass instruments, musicians of all persuasions jam late into the night. A “graduation” concert follows a faculty recital on the last evening of camp. It features members of all the music classes and allows the craft class participants to show their work. The applause for the folks marching with their colorful and imaginative quilts is as loud as it is for the fiddle tunes and breakdowns. The concert also features a spirited performance of gospel songs by quilters Marianne and China Pettway, who have been singing since childhood.
Bluegrass and Gee’s Bend use scholarships and grants to keep the experience affordable and the teacher/pupil ratio low.
“We don’t ever really want to go over that 12-person mark unless it’s a repertoire class,” says Lollar. “We really want the students to have the experience of getting one-on-one attention from the instructor and leaving feeling like they know that musician that they learned from.
“Our students are primarily from all over Alabama and around the Southeast, especially Mississippi and Georgia. We get a lot of people from Florida and Georgia. Occasionally we get an international student because of the history of Gee’s Bend and their renown in the quilting world.”
The Alabama Folk School also offers an Old Time and Gee’s Bend camp in October. It, too, provides four-day craft classes. A weekend “starter” camp for those who have just picked up an instrument and a youth camp are also offered during the year.
The first Alabama Folk School event was in 2007. Attendance is growing again after the pandemic.
“We’re at our biggest attendance numbers that we’ve ever had, but we still have space for more people, especially at Bluegrass and Old Time and at our youth folk camp in the summer,” Lollar explains. “So, we’d love to see more people come and learn about the art culture of Alabama. And then we also have hopes of expanding our craft offerings so that, eventually, there’s an equal amount at events. Right now, it’s about three-fourths music classes. We would love to see it 50-50 with the craft classes.”
John C. Campbell Folk School
by Susan Marquez
I learned about the John C. Campbell Folk School when my father, a hobby woodworker, took a class there. He made the seven-hour drive from central Mississippi to Brasstown, North Carolina, to spend a week at the school where he took a wood-turning class. He returned the following summer with my then-12-year-old son for an intergenerational week, where an adult and child could participate together in a class. They took a weeklong wood-turning class where my son was introduced to the craft in a nurturing environment. He and my dad returned for the next two years, focusing on wood carving. My father then returned on his own once more for a class where he learned to make a dulcimer.
My father grew up in the hamlet of Sylva in the mountains of western North Carolina. He moved to Mississippi when he was twelve but always had a strong attachment to his Appalachian roots. The John C. Campbell Folk School has brought people together for almost 100 years, providing a nurturing environment for learning that sparks selfdiscovery.
John C. Cambell, born in Indiana and raised in Wisconsin, had the idea of starting a school based on the “folk high schools” common in rural Denmark. John studied education and theology in New England and was called to do humanitarian work. In 1908, he was drawn to the Southern Appalachian region with his wife, Olive Dame of Massachusetts, where the couple studied mountain life and social conditions. He talked with farmers about their agricultural practices while Olive collected Appalachian ballads and learned about the handicrafts of the mountain people.
They realized that their mission was not to educate but to preserve and share with the world the crafts, tools, and techniques used in the daily lives of the mountain people. When John passed away in 1919, Olive and her friend, Marguerite Butler, traveled to Europe, where they studied folk schools in Scandinavian countries. They planned to return what they learned to the United States to start a school in Appalachia.
Upon their return, they visited with Fred O. Scroggs, who owned the local store in Brasstown, to see if there may be interest in having a school in the area. When they returned a few weeks later, over 200 people from Cherokee and Clay counties were gathered at the local church. They offered to help with labor, building materials, and additional support. Scroggs even donated the land. The school opened in 1925, two years before my father was born.
Classes and workshops at the Folk School are “noncompetitive.” There are no grades and no credits. Students learn at their own pace, and the method of teaching is what the Danes called “The Living Word,” with hands-on instruction. There is no regular teaching staff. Both weekend and week-long classes and workshops are held year-round with guest
teachers who are celebrated masters in their fields. From fiddle-making to bread baking, blacksmithing to dance, there is a wide range of classes from which to choose. (Bob Kogut and Riley Bogus, both featured in the September issue of The Bluegrass Standard, teach classes on making fiddles and banjos. The late George Berry, a Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi member, taught woodcarving classes at the Folk School for many years.)
Bethany Chaney, who served as interim director of the school, was named executive director in September 2023. The North Carolina native has more than 25 years’ experience in non-profit management and is an award-winning writer and a pine needle basket maker, a skill she learned as a returning student to the Folk School. She played a critical role in strategic planning for the school and returning the school to pre-pandemic operations. “Bethany has a deep understanding of our mission, vision, and values and has earned the respect and trust of our board, staff, and many in our local and extended communities,” says Dina Norris, past chair of the Board of Directors of the Folk School. “She has demonstrated the leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills that the permanent role demands.”
The school covers several acres, and many of the ingredients in the meals made fresh daily are raised on the property. The day begins with Morningsong at 7:45 a.m. – a Danish custom of sharing stories and songs. Visitors are welcomed to the school, even just passing through. They are invited to explore the grounds and nature trails during daylight hours and visit the Craft Shop, which features items for sale by Appalachian artists. Lodging is available onsite for school students, including a nearby campground.
The Log Cabin Museum has been recently renovated, thanks to a partnership with Foxfire. The school’s history center houses the school’s archives, including photos from the early 1930s by Doris Ulmann. The newest addition is a gallery called Olive’s Porch, named after the school’s co-founder. Located near Murphy, North Carolina, the craft shop showcases traditional and contemporary art and crafts by local and regional craftspeople. Olive’s Porch also has a studio space dedicated to an artist-in-residence. xwww.folkschool.org
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Rapid Grass
by Kara Martinez Bachman
Whether conveying the abstract grandeur of the mountains, relaying the joy of a skiing trip, or meditating on the simplest details of trees, Colorado’s Rapidgrass is heavily influenced by Mother Nature.
At first, these musicians wanted to impress. They’ve always blended styles, including “classical, gypsy, bluegrass, pop, swing and other world rhythms.” It was very cool, but it wasn’t the main feature that shaped the band’s personality. The crux of Rapidgrass was a desire to “wow” audiences with technical ability and manual dexterity. It’s a good and often very impressive goal. Fifteen years later, however, the time had come to move to a more meaningful place. A deeper place.
“I feel like in the past, we started as a band that showcased how fast we could pick,” explained Rapidgrass guitarist and lead vocalist Mark Morris. He said it would manifest with a specific energy while onstage. “It resonated in our playing; it was almost like a competitive vibe. We’ve kind of matured as musicians to realize musical proficiency on a song is something to behold, but the message of the music is more important,” he said.
The band’s most recent music appears to be more about things of the spirit than speed. A
new album – which Morris said is “almost folk” – will be released during autumn 2024. Several singles from the record have already been released, and Morris thinks the new approach is already detectable. The unreleased tracks promise to showcase Rapidgrass songwriting even more.
Morris, who does most of the songwriting, seems inspired by profound things. He came to a big realization that now guides him and the rest of Rapidgrass.
“All of the songs already existed in the universe. They just needed to come out,” he explained. As a songwriter, he aims to be “the lightning rod that can let the message come through somehow.”
He added that when the messages do come out, “it transcends anything an artist can come up with on their own. It comes from the universe…I am basically a vessel.”
For Morris, that “universe” included an intimate and lifelong relationship with the beauty of his home landscape. “I grew up in Colorado, up Highway 103 by Mount Blue Sky,” he said. Despite having many siblings, he said he was “alone most of the time, by myself in nature.”
He said he would start writing songs about the trees and the rivers. “I feel this connection when I am in nature…I can feel the breeze talking to me and the intricacies of leaves and flowers.”
In addition to recording and gigging, Rapidgrass just held its very own annual event for the 15th year.
“I basically started a festival on my [childhood] little league baseball field,” Morris laughed. The Rapidgrass Bluegrass Festival is held each August in Idaho Springs, Colo., and despite it being a smaller fest, it has attracted performers such as David Grisman and Sam Bush over the years.
“The town was so stoked that they built me a stage,” Morris said, adding that his family members are very much involved in putting on the festival.
He and the rest of the band now strive to help people focus on the present moment, similar to how nature encourages such contemplation. When nature and music are combined, Morris seems to see an even stronger double lift to the human spirit. Both things in synergy, he believes, help people stay right where they can be most content: present in the here and now.
“Being present in the moment…that’s the most magical thing. Art and music, they make time stand still…I’m dedicating my life to it because it’s so powerful. I get all the inspiration to do that,” he said, “when I grab ahold of an Aspen leaf. Just one leaf.”
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by Jason Young
Celebrates Anniversary
“I’m still the guy who wants to play in a five-piece band,” says the legendary Mandolin player Sam Bush. The threetime Grammy Award-winning artist has made a career doing things his way. Inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame twice (New Grass Revival in 2020 and solo artist in 2023), he prefers to spend his time performing live rather than recording. The Bowling, Green native, now 72 and with the energy of someone half his age, shows no signs of slowing down.
“I still want to do it while the hands and the voice still work because I find that I’ve never enjoyed playing more than I do now,” shares the musical legend who survived a bout with cancer back in 1982.
Recently tearing it up for his 50th consecutive year at Colorado’s Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Sam says a sense of gratitude struck him.
“I gotta say, it was a lot to take in mentally. I have had some health slips through the years.” When asked if he thought he would still be performing fifty years after his first Telluride performance, he said, “I’m just happy to be alive fifty years later.”
Remembering his first performance at the festival with New Grass Revival, “The first time we played on stage, it was just a different atmosphere. Of course playing on stage and seeing those mountains and seeing Bridal Veil Falls in the distance is overwhelming.” Sam recalls the welcome they received. “It’s like God, is this our audience? As I said before, it’s as if the wide open spaces encouraged the wide open thinking.”
He attributes his “wide-open thinking” to his childhood.
“Growing up in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in close proximity to Nashville, Tennessee’s television stations, I got to see it all. I got to see the Beatles on Ed Sullivan and the Stones, Jefferson Airplane, Mason Williams playing ‘Classical Gas.’”
He said, “I had the greatest of WSM radio with The Ralph Emery Show, Flat and Scruggs -- I was a musical sponge!”
As Sam develops his style, he remembers some advice that the father of bluegrass, Bill Monroe, gave young musicians.
“Just from being around Bill Monroe here and there, even though he loved it when people played his brand of bluegrass, he also expected you to have your own voice. I heard him say that to others over the years. I always took that to heart.”
Bush formed the New Grass Revival in 1971.
“When we came up with New Grass Revival, we were trying to point out that we were carrying on what we have learned from the Osborn Brothers, The Dillards, Country Gentlemen and Jim and Jesse.”
“We weren’t claiming that we started any movement; we were one of a bunch of bands that were varying the program. I was already influenced by the people who had already departed from traditional bluegrass.”
Among the many musicians who shaped his sound is the renowned pianist and singersongwriter Leon Russell.
“I like to play octaves on the mandolin. There are certain octave- riffs that I know are Leon Russell phrases,” adding that New Grass Revival listened to Russell’s music while on the road.
Sam recalls working with the Lawton Oklahoma icon. “We were opening for Leon Russell, the biggest rock show for two and a half months, and it was an incredible experience. I love Leon’s music.”
The Mandolin picker also shares his love for the late Jamaican singer and guitarist Bob Marley.
“The first album by Bob Marley I heard was Natty Dread. What attracted me to reggae first was the rhythm guitar playing. Making the off-beat chunk,” Sam remembers, describing the sound. “I said, ‘Wow, it sounds like bluegrass!’”
He says Bob’s drummer, Carlton Barrett, was also a huge inspiration. “Playing a marching drum in high school, I was always interested in drum patterns. The way the reggae drums works crept into my mandolin playing.”
Returning the conversation to Newgrass, Sam says great things about younger bluegrass artists like Billy Strings and Molly Tuttle.
“I’m so proud of Molly and Billy. They are both doing a major thing for the music,” he says, adding that they constantly strive to improve and introduce new audiences to traditional bluegrass.
Sam’s advice to young musicians is, “Keep the love of music alive. If you go into the area where you’re going to start making a living, that’s not always fun. Try to return to the thought of why you wanted to play and what you love about music. That’s why you go play shows. You love music!”
by Susan Marquez
Marquez
Heralded as “Nashville’s newest bluegrass ambassadors,” East Nash Grass is making a splash with its traditional bluegrass sound with a foot toward the future.
As guitarist James Kee and the band crossed the Pennsylvania state line on their way to the first of several shows in the northeast last summer, James took the time to fill us in on all things East Nash Grass.
Each band member is a professional – and accomplished – musician. They played for fun on Mondays at the weekly bluegrass night at Dees’s Country Cocktail Lounge located (you guessed it) in East Nashville. What started as a loose collection of pickers gradually solidified into a committed group of dedicated bandmates in 2017. “We decided to tour and bring our own music into the mix,” says James. Things seemed to change overnight when the band opened for the Earls of Leicester at the Ryman in Nashville in 2022. “It’s been a wonderful journey. It just feels like we keep climbing.”
Cory Walker (banjo) came up with the name for the band. Cory and James are joined by Harry Clark (mandolin), Gaven Largent (dobro), Maddie Denton (fiddle), and Jeff Partin (bass). “All our adult lives, we’ve played with other bands,” says James. “But when this group of musicians came together at Dee’s, it was something special.” The members of East Nash Grass all had careers playing with other artists. “Having our own band gives us ownership of the show. We can bring our own music and tell our jokes. It feels different to be in your own band. It’s a good feeling.”
The band collectively has many accolades. Cory won the 2014 IBMA Momentum Award for Instrumentalist of the Year. Maddie is a third-generation fiddle player and the 2016 Grand Master Fiddle
Champion, as well as the 2008 Junior Fiddle Champion. Since 2008, she has won fourteen state championship titles in Alabama, Kentucky, Indiana, Georgia, and Tennessee. Harry Clark was presented with the IBMA Momentum Award for Instrumentalist of the Year in 2022, and Gaven Largent received the award in 2023. East Nash Grass is rooted firmly in the traditional bluegrass style, but they also acknowledge that at its heart, bluegrass music has always been wild and spontaneous. “It fires on all cylinders or none at all.” James says that while he comes from East Tennessee, he grew up thinking old-time music was “screechy and scratchy.” It was only after he moved to Nashville that his perspective began to change. “I heard people our age playing it, and I loved it. There has been a resurgence in old-time music. I’ve enjoyed seeing how that shook out in our music.”
While each member has an instrument they play the most, all of them can play different instruments. And they do just that when they perform. They also all sing, so finding the right person to sing a particular song is natural for them.
Each member of East Nash Grass also writes, and James says that each is bringing their very best and most thoughtful songs to the table. “Instead of having an album with one or two really good songs, every song this band records is a good song.” The band has recorded two albums, with a third in the works.
The band was in the process of putting their first album together when the pandemic hit. “We were really just letting the music happen, then we didn’t know how things would shake out,” James recalls. “We didn’t know if we’d ever tour again or if we would be able to promote our album.” But they forged ahead and recorded their
self-titled debut album in 2021. They followed that with Last Chance to Win on the Mountain Home label in August 2023. James says they will release a few songs from their upcoming album this fall.
To get an idea of the high-energy East Nash Grass offers, check out the videos on their YouTube channel. Viewers can experience their skill as an ensemble in their video “Railroadin’ and Gamblin’.” A totally different kind of video, “Starlet Iris, ” features a fully animated video. “Harry wrote that song, and it’s one of my favorites,” says James. “We wanted to do something different, and we had friends in Nashville who did animation. We like to think of stuff that’s off the beaten path, and I think both the song and the video accomplished that.”
www.eastnashgrass.com
From his Eastern Kentucky home, Randall Deaton recalls his pet project’s long journey to fruition. “I started this project in 2012,” he says. And in July, the record he masterminded and produced was finally released. Silver Bullet Bluegrass is Randall’s ode to Bob Seger and his Silver Bullet Band. “I have been a big Bob Seger fan for a long time,” says Randall.
“We had a bluegrass record label,” he explains, Lonesome Day Records. In 2008, Randall had an aha moment, realizing that good songs can be transformed into bluegrass. That year, Ralph Stanley II recorded Elton John’s “Georgia” in his studio. Not long after that, a bluegrass group called Youngstown recorded Bruce Springsteen’s “Blue Moon Rising.” Randall started thinking about Bob Seger’s songs and how those could sound played in the bluegrass style.
In 2012, Randall says he did a track session for the album in their studio in Eastern Kentucky. “From that point on, pieces gradually fell into place.”
Randall met Gary Nichols, who sang with the Steel Drivers, and said he would love to be involved with the project. “He introduced me to Jimmy Nutt, who had a recording studio, The NuttHouse, in Muscle Shoals,” says Randall. “That’s where Gary was from and where Seger recorded a lot.”
When Randall asked for suggestions on who to sing “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man,” Gary suggested Bo Bice (fourth runner-up against Carrie Underwood in the fourth season of American Idol). The song, made famous by Seger in 1968, was the first single released from the album; Bo did a gritty, rock-tinged bluegrass version of the song, which was produced and co-engineered by Randall as head of Lonesome Day Records, along with Gary. The track was recorded at Lonesome Day Recording in Booneville, Kentucky, and The NuttHouse Recording Studio.
The second radio release from the album was “Long Twin Silver Line,” recorded by Carson Peters. “I was blown away by how good Carson is in the studio,” says Randall. “This is the convergence of a great song, a great vocalist, and great musicians creating a lasting record.”
Carson grew up listening to classic rock ‘n roll and always enjoyed hearing Seger songs. Carson was sold when Randall approached him with the idea of cutting a track for the tribute project. “I loved the idea and jumped at the chance to be included with the great artists already on board,” he recalls. The two played around with the arrangement for the fiddle break in the middle, but Carson credits Randall as the brains behind it. As for the rest, Peters says, “I think (and hope) that the youthfulness in my voice and aggressive style of the fiddle playing suits this song well and gives it a nice spin.”
The third single, “Roll Me Away,” was recorded by Bill Taylor. The song features Bill’s smooth vocals along with a beautiful arrangement. The rest of the album has heavy star power as well, with Shona Tucker of Drive-By Truckers (“Hollywood Nights”), Tim Shelton (“Against the Wind”), Keith Garrett (“You’ll Accompany Me”), Jeff Parker (“We’ve Got Tonight”), Ward Hayden (“Betty Lou’s Getting Out Tonight’), Josh Shilling (“Main Street”), Tim Stafford (“Even Now”), Robert
SILVER BULLET
by Susan Marquez
Hale (“Feel Like a Number”), and Larry Cordle (“Night Moves”). “We also used studio musicians from Muscle Shoals, which added a real Muscle Shoals flavor to the album,” says Randall.
By 2015, the album was nearly finished, but Randall and his wife got involved in other things outside of music. “I shelved it, waiting for the right time to release it.”
The Deatons purchased a campground in Michigan’s upper peninsula, which was timeconsuming. Randall wanted to keep his toes in music water, so he brought music to the camp in 2021. “We had Black Hawk the first year and Ricky Skaggs the next,” he says. By 2023, Randall was ready to get the Seger project back on track. They returned to the studio in early 2023, and Carson Peters did some tracks. Bill Taylor came in and recorded “Roll Me Away.” In November 2023, Randall started the process of releasing the record.
“It’s the first record we’ve put out in nine years,” he says. The release date for Silver Bullet Bluegrass was July 12. The album has broad appeal and should charm Seger fans and Bluegrass lovers alike. For engineer Jimmy Nutt, the recordings offered a chance to reunite with several players and singers in the studio. “I am so grateful to Randall for letting me work on this. It was an incredible experience.” For Randall, “capturing the power and essence of these classic rock songs in a bluegrass presentation was a challenge. But the result proves that the skills of top-tier bluegrass musicians and vocalists are unmatched. I hope folks enjoy listening to it as much as we all enjoyed making it.”
Siblings Without Rivalry
by Kara
For Aric Steinberg, stepping up to help musicians was an easy decision. He first arrived as a volunteer with the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund 15 years ago and hasn’t regretted it one bit.
“I started as a volunteer and learned about this vulnerable community,” Steinberg recalled. “I really fell in love with the mission.” Now, as an Executive VP of the nonprofit, he’s a big part of the work of helping musicians in need. Specifically, the “vulnerable” communities he mentioned are those with significant illnesses, the physically or mentally disabled, or the elderly who are in need.
It all started in 1994 after singer-songwriter Victoria Williams was forced to drop out while on tour with Neil Young. After a lengthy process, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. A group of friends released a starstudded album of Williams’ songs – “Sweet Relief” – and that phrase would become the name of the charity she’d create with a portion of the album’s proceeds. Surely, she realized that many other performers faced debt following medical diagnoses and other unfortunate life events.
“It’s our 30-year anniversary this year,” he explained. When the charity began, it was strictly for musicians, but the scope expanded to include other music industry workers over time.
“We help anyone who makes most of their money in the music business and demonstrates financial need,” Steinberg said. According to the official mission statement, clients seeking grants may include “recording artists, club and session musicians, composers and songwriters from across the country, road crew, agents, managers and many others.”
He explained that fans and music lovers are “terrific” as donors, but Sweet Relief funding primarily comes from larger entities within the music industry. All are welcome to help those who make the music that moves us!
Steinberg explained that Sweet Relief now has “genre” funds. These funds allow donors to earmark their donations to be used in a certain way. For instance, he explained, “Someone might want to donate and help just jazz musicians. The long-awaited ‘bluegrass fund’ just launched.”
Kara Martinez Bachman
There are also specific category funds within Sweet Relief, such as a fund for those affected by cancer or for elderly musicians who are in poverty. “Elder” funds will help those struggling with necessities such as rent, food and clothing.
Donors can be assured that Sweet Relief resources are channeling properly and addressing actual needs. Aside from a period during COVID-19 when needs were more extreme and operating normally was more difficult, the charity makes sure that a third party is involved—a hospital, grocery store, or landlord would be a good example. Instead of giving their grant recipients cash, the needs are identified, and a medical bill might be paid directly or a grocery card purchased.
“We pay third parties; we don’t just cut checks to our clients,” Steinberg assured. “It definitely instills confidence in the donors.”
As a VP, Steinberg’s main gig is talking to artists, managers and others in the business about the Sweet Relief mission.
“We’re a small organization relative to some of the other players in this sphere,” he said, adding that all donations are appreciated. For those who want to help but lack resources, Steinberg suggested an easy, free way to help struggling musicians.
“Follow us on socials…and interact,” he advised. “Thumbs up” the messages of the group. Reply to posts online. Get involved in the conversation. “It really does skew the algorithms in our favor and help the cause.”
“If music has had an influence in your life,” he summarized, please consider donating to Sweet Relief.
The Castellows
by Susan Marquez
Growing up on the family cattle farm in Georgetown, Georgia, the Balkcom sisters, Eleanor, Lily, and Powell, have made a name for themselves as a neo-classical country music trio. Family is important to the girls, who even named their band after their greatgrandmother’s maiden name. The sisters grew up loving music and singing at church, local private parties, and in their family’s home.
The home where the girls were raised is the same home their father grew up in, on land that was home to generations before them. Ellie and Powell are triplets – they have a brother. They recently turned 21 years old. Their sister and bandmate, Lily, is 18 months younger. Their mother homeschooled all of them before they pursued their individual interests in college. Ellie and Powell attended the University of Georgia in Athens, where Ellie majored in management information systems and international business with plans to land a job in the corporate world. Powell earned her degree in agriculture, which is one of her greatest passions in life. While they were away at college, Lily attended pilot school and earned her pilot’s license. She had hopes of becoming a commercial or corporate pilot. All have backup plans should they need them, but the way things are going, The Castellows will be in the music world for a long time to come.
They were first discovered through their Instagram and TikTok accounts in 2022 when they began posting covers to their social media accounts. They got a lot of attention from publicists and record companies. They came to Nashville in early 2023 and signed a joint record deal with Warner Music Nashville and Warner Records. After signing to a label, they immediately signed with Make Wake Artists and partnered with WME for agency. Warner Records’ Co-Chairman and CEO, Aaron Bay-Schuck, says, “From the moment we met The Castellows, we knew they were the real deal. Not only was their talent and star power immediately apparent, but they were also unapologetically themselves. It’s this authenticity, along with their determination and drive to be truly great, that will make them an unstoppable force.”
The girls were exposed to many new experiences. Right off the bat, they began co-writing. While they had already been writing on their own, the sisters had to learn to write with a professional writer. They were paired with veteran songwriter Hillary Lindsey, which turned out to be a successful songwriting partnership. Together, they spent the summer writing and recording the band’s first release, “No. 7 Road,” which came out in October 2023. Hillary listened to their ideas and helped bring to life the song that highlights their “little slice of Heaven” back in Georgia.
Their first EP, A Little Goes a Long Way, was released worldwide in February 2024. The band wrote or co-wrote six of the seven songs on the EP, produced by Trina Shoemaker, who has worked with Sheryl Crow, Queens of the Stone Age, and Nanci Griffith. They
kicked off their first tour in Little Rock, Arkansas. Their calendar has been packed all year, including an arena tour from October through December with Little Big Town and Sugarland.
The Castellow’s music highlights their rich, soulful three-part harmonies. Not only can the girls sing, but they are also accomplished musicians. Ellie plays lead guitar, and Powell plays banjo. Rooted in tradition, the girls add their modern twist to their authentic songs consistent with who they are in real life. “Every moment spent in the presence of The Castellows is nothing short of captivating,” says Warner Music Nashville’s Co-Chair and Co-President, Chris Lacy. “Their sibling harmony, their musical prowess, and their songs – that tell not only their own stories but generational truths about their family – combine to create a sound that is genuine and original. Ellie, Lily, and Powell are superstars. Full stop.”
In April, the Castellows received their first major award nomination for CMT Digital-First Performance of the Year at the 2024 CMT Awards. They have also been named a Sirius XM “Highway Find” artist for The Highway (channel 56). They have landed on multiple 2024 “Watch Lists,” including the CMT Next Women of Country, CMT “Listen Up,” Pandora “Country Now,” and Nashville Lifestyles “Five Groups You Need to Know.” Their most recent release is a single called “Miss America.” Posting about the song on their Instagram page, the girls said, “(We) grew up on a farm in a very small town in South Georgia. One of the things we are extremely thankful for is the way we were raised and the environment we grew up in. Rural America holds a very special place in our hearts, and it seems these days that rural America keeps getting smaller and smaller. This song is a love letter to that part of the country and also a reflection on a time in our lives that we won’t be able to relive again. You only get to grow up once. Thank y’all for listening. The Castellows.”
