What Is NAMM?

By Greg Tutwiler

Anaheim, CA, and has been one of the world’s largest music trade events leading up to the economic disruptions caused by the pandemic in 2020. Normally, averaging well over 100,000 attendees, the 2023 show drew less than half of its past attendance. Typically, held in early January, holding the 2023 conference in April was likely one of the factors in the shortfall in attendance.

NAMM, the National NAMM, the National Association of Music of Music Association of Music of Music of Merchants, Merchants, Merchants, Merchants, held its annual conference and trade show this past April, again at the Anaheim convention center. Founded in 1901 as the National Association of Piano Dealers of America, the organization is a not-for-profit association that promotes the pleasures and benefits of making music. Its first convention was held in Baltimore that same year. In 1919, the organization was renamed to NAMM to better define the broader scope that it was serving.

Every year since 1976, the convention has been held in

I first attended NAMM in the late 90s, as coproducer of Singerand Musician Magazine. NAMM is the event to attend, if you’re in any part of the music industry where keeping your finger on the pulse of what’s happening, matters to you. And as a writer, and producer of music related content, it’s been a major source of pertinent information for us at Americana Music Magazine for the past 15 years.

NAMM NAMM Rebound

NAMM has been trying to work its way back to a normal schedule since having to cancel the 2020 show. In 2021 the show was held exclusively on-line. A paired down version was held live in June of 2022, prior to the 2023 April show. NAMM is finally planning to be back on track for its January 2024 show – held once again at the 1.8 million square foot Anaheim Convention Center, January 25 - 28, 2024.

The music industry, as a whole, is still trying to recover from the pandemic shutdown. Touring bands are slowly beginning to fill out their calendars –but it may still take a while before they all return to a comfortable schedule – if ever. We’ve also lost several venues and festivals over the past three years.

However, the resilience of musicians, and their deep love for their craft, has kept their fans entertained and supplied with new music, in spite of the world condition.

NAMM is an integral part of that process, and we are very glad to see things beginning to come back to life.

For many, NAMM is more than just business, it’s also a homecoming of sorts. It’s a reunion of industry friends , and a central place where attendees can reconnect, network, and encourage each other for the coming year.

We’ll be there again in January, 2024, gathering intel on the latest industry gear, and providing our usual video and social media reports so you can play along. If NAMM is on your radar, maybe we can connect live and in person, like I did this year (in the below picture) with my good friend, and ARMM contributor, Mike Aiken.

Singer/ songwriter Marty Falle may be riding a fresh wave onto the Americana music scene with his latest single, Kentucky Bluestar, from his recently released album of the same name, but Nashville’s noted musician, arranger and producer, Johnathan Yudkin, predicts there’s more to come.

“What is setting Marty apart from other bluegrass artists is that he’s not trying to fit into the bluegrass lane,” says Yudkin, who has worked with everyone from Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood to Steven Tyler and Toby Keith. “He’s made his own lane, and he doesn’t even think in terms of what is popular. His songs come from the heart –they’re unpretentious, not overthought. And that’s why I look at him as an artist.”

Mentor and Friend

Falle and Yudkin have been friends and collaborators for years, meeting shortly after Falle’s Hoochie Coochie Gal from the Buckeye State blew up on the internet more than a decade ago.

“He was basically a good artist trying to find himself,” reflects Yudkin. “Later, when I got involved with his writing, he’d send me ideas and we’d go back and forth. I can be blunt with people, but he listened.”

These days Yudkin marvels at Falle’s ability to weave stories into his lyrics that flow like poetry.

“It’s an instinctive thing with Marty,” he adds, “and his voice isn’t standard bluegrass material. He sounds different and interesting. It’s believable and I like that.”

Evolution as an Artist

As a young musician, Falle leaned towards rock and country, but a few years ago while he and Yudkin were talking about future endeavors, they looked at each other and exclaimed, “Let’s do bluegrass!”

“It worked,” quips Yudkin, explaining that taking away the hard rock allowed Marty’s talent to shine, or as he puts it: “If you take the cheese sauce off of something, there’s a whole lot of good food under there!”

The Album & Accolades

A firm believer in the magic of live recording, Yudkin assembled a team of musicians at County Q Studio in Nashville for Falle’s newest 11-track album that included Rob Ikes (dobro) because “he always delivers,” Carl Miner (guitar) for his versatility and ability to cut loose (check out his flat picking on the fast-paced Daddy’s Shotgun), Mike Bub (bass) who’s “savvy” about studio work, and Matt Menefee, who’s stellar on the banjo.

Marty Falle

To find out more, visit www.martyfallemusic.com

Backup vocals by Marty Slayton, longtime vocalist with George Strait, and Kim Parent, touring vocalist with Brooks and Dunn, added to the flow the project.

While the mournful ballad Cherokee about the Trail of Tears and the thrumming beat of Ridin’ , a heartwrenching plea to escape life on the road, are captivating tracks that display Falle’s versatility, it’s the toe-tapping, feel-good Kentucky Bluestar that’s surging.

“It’s a solid piece of music that has the state name, the state flower, and that phrase – Kentucky Bluestar, you’re the one for me – that is wonderfully cohesive with 3-part harmony so that is like Carter Mountain League gold,” boasts Yudkin.

Listeners and critics apparently agree. The single recently Peaked at #8 on the Top 50 APD Bluegrass / Folk Albums in April and rose to #6 on The Bluegrass Today Singles Chart in May. Handpicked for airplay by award winning DJs, and syndicated coast to coast, the song has reached audiences across the country

Falle, who was featured in the April edition of Bluegrass Today and selected as the cover story for the June release of Bluegrass Standard Magazine, says, “It’s been an interesting couple of weeks.”

“But you won’t see a picture of me in Bluegrass Standard,” he laughs. “They’re using photos of my album cover (a colorful rendering of the wildflower) that was created by Disney artist, TJ Matousek.”

With future endeavors already in the works, Falle is sure to become a familiar face in the months to come.

ARTICLES BY DAN WALSH

Tim Raybon Dean M. Collins

Tim Raybon’s musical trek began early, as he played with his dad and brothers in the family band The American Bluegrass Express, starting at age eleven. With Central Florida as its base, the band met with great success throughout the South during the mid-1970s, affording Tim the opportunity to sharpen his skills by playing festivals and concerts where he shared the stage with some of the greatest legends in Bluegrass music, including Bill Monroe, the McReynolds, and the Osborne Brothers.

Entering the 1980s, as his brother Marty made his way to Nashville and ultimately the band Shenandoah, Tim says, “I went on to college and just kind of fiddled around with music.” He ended up working in construction with his dad, and playing music on the weekends.

In the early ‘90s, the explosion of what was at the time called “new country” reignited Tim’s musical motivation. He landed a house band gig at the iconic Sanford, Florida club, the Barn, and began splitting his time between Florida and Nashville, where he was pursuing a music career more intentionally.

1997 brought a musical reunion to Tim and his brother Marty that produced the certified gold hit “Butterfly Kisses.” That same year the Raybon Brothers were nominated for the CMA Duo of the Year.

In 2019, along with Daniel Grindstaff, Tim founded the popular bluegrass band Merle Monroe. When a band member suggested writing a Christmas song to jumpstart the band’s quest for name recognition, as their first release was due out the following March, Tim found he was up to the challenge.

The group rebranded as The Tim Raybon Band in 2022. It currently features a roster of extraordinary musicians and showcases Tim’s story-telling ability through his masterful vocal delivery of a song. The group has been building anticipation for its third studio album, I Can Get Used To This, by releasing a series of singles over the last few months.

To find out more, visit www.timraybon.com

Dean M. Collins says, “I always joke that my ‘side gig’ is as a commercial airline pilot…” The country/ Americana/bluegrass singer-guitarist served as a Navy pilot and now flies for Delta Airlines. But music has a been a constant throughout his highflying life.

He remembers his takeoff in songwriting and playing as a distinct moment during his teens, while growing up on a large farm in Kentucky. Dean pulled a neglected guitar given to him by his mom out of the closet in an attempt to help memorize a poem for school by setting it to music. The guitar became a constant companion, leading to a college rock band and his first recording experience. “[It was] my first time in a recording studio and I said, ‘Man this is where I want to be.’ That was in ‘87. I’ve been making music (against all better judgment) ever since.” Dean would go on to make three albums before departing for deployment on an aircraft carrier during the Desert Shield/Desert Storm conflict.

After 10 years of active duty, followed by 10 years in reserve service concurrent with work of Delta that understandably decreased his “free time”, now Dean has more recently put his music career back on his radar. This focus has culminated in a new album, Land Where The Wishes Come True, due out in June 2023.

Supported by renowned guest musicians who together have received more than 60 Grammy Awards, Dean’s new album invites listeners on a journey through past loves, missed opportunities, precious bonds and experiences, all gathered along his life’s path. From all these moments, he weaves a dense, constant web of memories and impressions.

For now, fans will have to enjoy Dean’s music by recording only. “I’m kind of unusual in that I’m the only person in this group of musicians who doesn’t really play live. My big gig this year is playing at my 40th high school reunion.”

To find out more, visit www.deanmcollins.com

Jake Dryzal

Jake Dryzal is a singer-songwriter and producer from Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Raised in a musicloving household, Jake’s creativity blossomed at an early age. Although his family didn’t have a music performance background, the 24-year-old was immersed in it nonetheless. “My parents collected CDs when I was a little kid, and I would go through their collection and I discovered a lot of my favorite artists that way. And they also had VH1 on the TV a lot and that really got me into wanting to do music as a career.”

Jake began to write music under the name Blue Navy, starting in 2011. For the earlier part of the decade, Jake used Blue Navy as a musical experiment, writing songs on his sister’s piano (which he was never taught to play), and using video editing software to mix his tracks. After trying out some other genres (post-metal, emo) with some collaborators, Jake returned to the studio in an attempt to finally achieve his singular sound as Blue Navy. Being heavily influenced by dream pop and post-rock music, he tried to create more ethereal textures within his music. The end result was his first official full-length album, Mine, released in 2016. Moving into a new phase of musical exploration, Jake recently released an album (and debuted a new musical identity) called Great American Racer. He describes it as “a folk rock/alt-country concept album about the heroin and opioid epidemic that has been raging in Rust Belt America for the past several decades.” He recalls that “at first I thought maybe this problem is a little exaggerated, but then when I was really growing up, it started to trickle down into my own family life, with my friends and my family members. And I just thought that this is a very serious problem that I needed to address.”

Jake continues, “Lyrically, the album draws parallels between Johnstown, Pennsylvania’s three historic floods (particularly the 1889 one) and the city’s diminishing industries with the current horrors of substance abuse.” Jake has been hard at work on this labor of love since 2018, writing, playing and recording the majority of the material himself.

To find out more, visit https://whatsittoyajake.wixsite.com/jakedryzal

DaleAnn Bradley

Music is like a flower that can grow anywhere, under any conditions. For Dale Ann Bradley, the minimal approach to music of her Primitive Baptist upbringing in Bell County, Kentucky, was all that was required to start a flourishing career as a singer. Although no musical instruments were permitted at the church which she attended, Dale Ann’s love for music began at an early age. Growing up singing all the church songs acapella likely helped her develop her vocal gift and grew her ability to pull every emotion out of a song.

Of course, for anything to grow, it needs a little water and nourishment. Dale Ann recalls her great uncle’s part in cultivating her musical gift. After finding success in the big city, he bought her an 8-track tape player as well as tapes from her favorite entertainers.

She was around fourteen when she received her first guitar. “It was a little plywood, small body guitar, but it had six strings and I made a pick from a milk jug. Drove everybody crazy.” Music had taken a firm root in Dale

Ann’s soul: “I never thought of doing anything else.”

A beloved high school music teacher had a big influence, giving Dale Ann her first major performing experience. He and his wife sang weekly during the summers at Pine Mountain State Park and invited Dale Ann to join them. This band became known as Back Porch Grass, and it helped Dale Ann grow her musicianship to the next level. Regional gigs and a couple of 45 RPM singles resulted. Through the band, she met her future collaborators, the New Coon Creek Girls, as well as Harold McGeorge, whose help brought her to the door of Kentucky’s famous Renfro Valley, home of her first extensive entertainment contract.

While at Renfro Valley, she performed on all shows and recorded on The Sunday Morning Gatherin’, the second oldest radio show in America next to The Grand Ole Opry. Dale Ann also recorded two solo albums during her tenure at Renfro Valley. “I can’t put a price on all I learned at Renfro Valley,” Dale Ann says. She joined the New Coon Creek Girls while at the Valley, performing with them until 1997 and recording four albums.

About her songwriting, Dale Ann says “Something has to just kind of stay with me quite a while, then it just kind of comes together…I love melodies. It seems like the melodies are what brings the lyrics.” When putting together an album, she adds, “I try to get as many experiences and feeling in there as I can.”

Dale Ann’s latest album, Kentucky For Me, is a very special one for the singer, as it is dedicated to her home state, and features a number of Kentuckian musicians. “This is my love song to Kentucky,” she says.

For more information, visit www.daleannbradley.com.

Music From Your Neighbors

welcome to the Summer edition of SPINS for 2023. Festival days are here we’ve already enjoyed some of our favorite acts! Have you? Thank you for checking out all these great new CDs! Make sure you go see live music whenever you can too! We’ll keep telling you all about the good stuff right here! Oh, and please tell them we sent you! Buy their CD. Support your favorite musician so they can keep making music!

Got one you want us to consider? send it to: Uncle Woody

The Spin Doctor, PO Box 45 Bridgewater, VA 22812

Benson Pick Your Posion www.ksbbanjo.com

This banjo and mandolin weilding couple have been a force to reckon with in the bluegrass industry for yearsand now it’s time for an official solo project of their own. Wayne and Kristin Scott Benson present Pick Your Poison.

The Scooches Lift You Up www.thescooches.com

Betina Hershey and Nick Russo team up on this new venture to create a new 12 song collection. The world class band has been labled a “trancendent breath of fresh air.” Lift You Up is slated for a July 2023 release.

Music From Around The World

Dale Ann Bradley Kentucky For Me www.daleannbradley.com

Dale Ann Bradley is a six-time IBMA vocalist of the Year recipient, along with many other accolades. Her new 11 song CD, Kentucky For Me , includes several collaborations with noted industry icons. This is simply good music.

David Childers and the Serprnts Melancholy Angel www.davidchilders.com

Mount Holly, NC is home for singer-songwriter David Childers. The former lawyer gave up the practice to pursue his passion for music. We think it was a great idea. His music is a delight to listen to.

Dreadnot

Good Ol’ Days www.thefullertons.net/dreadnot.com

“Neon” Leon Fullerton’s story is for another day. This album, Good Ol’ Days, was created by “old friends and relations of Leon Fullerton” to showcase some of their favorite songs of his. This is a legacy album dedicated to reviving and celebrating his memory.

Cinder Well Cadence www.hearthmusic.com

Amelia Baker’s experimental folk project, Cinder Well, and their new release, Cadence

It is said to be about recapturing the rhythms of life after a time of deep isolation.

Amelia’s haunting voice and the albums oceanic vibe make for a facinating listen.

My Brother’s Keeper Field Guide www.mybrotherskeeperband.com

This Cincinnati, OH based contemporary bluegrass quartet is made up of brothers, Titus, Joshua, and Benjamin Luckaupt, along with Wayne Murray. They have been nominated for four Josies. Their latest project is well worth a listen.

Daryl Mosley

A Life Well Lived www.darylmosley.com

Daryl Mosley has been writing and recording bluegrass music for more than 30 years, writing ten #1 songs. He has been named SPBGMA songwriter of the year three times. This third solo project, A Life Well Lived, is already a timeless treasure.

Savoy Brown Blues All Around www.savoybrown.com

Any serious conversation about modern blues music must contain the name Savoy Brown. Formed in 1965 by guitarist Kim Simmonds, This iconic band has just released their 41st recorded project. This is a must add to any serious blues collection.

Rinestone Revival www.thekodynorrisshow.com

Rinestone Revival is the latest release from the reigning two-time SPBGMA Entertainer of the Year. Their energetic stage show, and flashy, embroided western suits, entertains audiences young and old, with their throw back music and stage performances.

The Contenders

The Contenders www.mightycontenders.com

A story much like a Hollywood movie - The Contenders recorded their only album just months before the bands demise. The 1978 album got very little attention - but has recently been reissued. Any fan of 70s mellow rock music will love this nostalgia feel record.

Lindley Creek

Whispers In The Wind www.lindleycreek.com

Whispers In The Wind is the sophomore release from multi-nominated IBMA Momentum awarded Lindley Creek. This 12 song project, produced by Jim VanCleve, features the bands spirited, traditional sounds highlighted by their insightful lyrics.

Conrad Fisher

Trouble With A Hammer www.ashbrookmusicgroup.com

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania is home for Conrad Fisher - where he draws inspirition from a deep well of musical influences ranging from Don Williams, to Buck Owens, to Tom Petty. Trouble With A Hammer has earned him a lot of attention.

& Carolina Road

A Little Bit Of Grass www.carolinaroadband.com

Lorraine Jordan founded Carolina Road in the mid - 2000s, and went on to land four #1 hits, as well as multiple IBMA and SPBGMA industry awards. Their latest - A Little Bit Of Grass - another set of good,solid, traditional grass.

You can send new Americana CD releases for consideration to PO Box 45, Bridgewater, VA, 22812 / greg@americanarhythm.com