International Bluegrass February 2015

IB

INTERNATIONAL

bluegrass RALPH STANLEY ROBERT EARL KEEN

Dixie Hall R e m e m be red AirPlay Direct World of Bluegrass Registration

International Bluegrass

Vol. 30 | No. 2 | February 2015

Editor: Taylor Coughlin taylor@ibma.org

Designer: Erin Faith Erdos erinfaitherdos@gmail.com

STAFF

Nancy Cardwell Consultant

BOARD

Taylor Coughlin Communications and Professional Development Director

Eddie Huffman Convention Services and IT Systems Director

Jon Weisberger/Board Chairperson

Alan Bartram/Director, Artists/Composers/Publishers Becky Buller/Director, At Large D.A. Callaway/Director, At Large Danny Clark/Director, At Large Jamie Deering/Director, Merchandisers/Luthiers Regina Derzon/Director, Associations, Secretary John Goad, Print/Media/Education William Lewis/Director, At Large

Steve Martin/Director, Broadcasters Stephen Mougin/Director, At Large Joe Mullins, Director, Artists/Composers/Publishers Leah Ross/Director, Event Producers Ben Surratt/Director, Recording/Dist./Marketing Tim Surrett/Vice Chair/Director, Artists/Composers/Publishers Angelika Torrie/Director, International

INFO CONTACT US

INTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASS

The monthly emailed publication of the International Bluegrass Music Association

(ISSN #1095-0605) IBMA: IBMA is the trade association

608 W. Iris Drive, Nashville, TN 37204 USA 615-256-3222 | 888-GET-IBMA Fax: 615-256-0450 Email: info@ibma.org Website: www.ibma.org

that connects and educates bluegrass professionals, empowers the bluegrass community, and encourages worldwide appreciation of bluegrass music of yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Statement of fact and opinion are made on the responsibility of the writers alone and do not imply an opinion on the part of the officers, directors, staff or members of IBMA. Portions of International Bluegrass may be reprinted provided that explicit citation of the source is made: “Reprinted with permission from International Bluegrass, the publication of the International Bluegrass Music Association, www.ibma.org.�

FEBRUARY Table of CONTENTS

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Pick up some healthy lifestyle tips from an ultra runner and professional touring musician Photos courtesy of Good Home Grown Music

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04 06 08 10 14 20 26 28 30

EDITORIAL IBMA: Reaching Beyond

WOB Official showcase Deadline: Feb. 28th Q&A with Board Member Leah Ross RALPH STANLEY: Rolling Strong ROBERT EARL KEEN: A Texas Troubadour Turns to Bluegrass

Dixie Hall: Remembered

FRESH SOUNDS NEW MEMBERS MEMBERSHIP NEWS: Airplay Direct Bluegrass Industry News

EDITORIAL

IBMA: Reaching Beyond Editorial by Eddie Huffman

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e rely on a viable music industry, and we need to work to help ensure its continued viability. Of course, as a trade organization this is what we do collectively. We create and sustain networks of bluegrass music professionals and connect them with fans and other audiences. Our principle means for doing so are our member services and our annual business conference at the World of Bluegrass. In this issue we feature an offering from AirPlay Direct, sustaining sponsor of the IBMA, and we have some enhanced online member services coming down the pike. In this issue, we also announce WOB registration and ticket sales dates— with an event overview coming next month. But we also work to nurture the industry in other ways.

Our partner organization, The Foundation for Bluegrass Music does this through its grants program (see last month’s issue for announcement of grantees) and Bluegrass in the Schools workshops and materials.

These efforts get bluegrass music into our communities and schools, introducing new audiences to our music and hopefully inspiring new bluegrass music professionals. The Bluegrass Trust Fund, supported primarily by our Wide Open Bluegrass Festival, provides financial assistance to our fellow bluegrass professionals in times of need, literally saving lives of some of the hard working people in our business.

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And our Leadership Bluegrass program has provided intensive professional development training to hundreds. But I want introduce you to another way the IBMA is working for the future of our music.

The IBMA holds a seat, which I currently fill, on the planning board of Academy of Entertainment at Nashville’s Pearl-Cohn Entertainment Magnet High School, and our primary task is to assist the Academy with state accreditation (ensuring that it teach core concepts within its specialized training). It is fitting that when the Metro Nashville Public School District set up it magnet school program, one of those schools would concentrate on music business.

The Academy serves as the district’s full service, student-run production studio, complete with a marketing and artist development agency.

Students develop an artist roster from across the district’s public high schools, working on all stages of the process, from recording and engineering to branding and product placement.

The students plan and promote an annual spring music festival, coming up this April, again from start to finish. And when other district schools have serious audio production needs, they come to Pearl-Cohn.

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These students are receiving the type of practical, hands-on training that gives direction to their inspiration, and their education is tied to tangible end products that show them their the real fruits of their efforts. Upon entering college or a music profession, these students have a real portfolio, whether it be composed of production credits or marketing and branding assets, or often, both.

As a trade organization we form a comprehensive music industry network that can offer virtually anything in terms of industry knowledge and experience, ranging from internships for students and teachers with Nashville-based IBMA members to expert consultation with those of us in New England, out West, and abroad (hint: I may call you soon!). Paying it forward, offering our collective music business know-how to Pearl-Cohn, is a powerful way to work together for the future of bluegrass music. As a trade association we help ensure another generation of talent buyers, recording engineers, festival promoters, and more, and we introduce bluegrass music to an incredibly diverse set of young people who will reshape the music industry at large, as well as bluegrass music’s place in it.

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Beautiful site in the rolling hills north of San Francisco Camping or Lodging Delicious Meals All ages welcome!

Walker Creek Music Camp

Bluegrass & Old Time Musicians, Singers & Dancers April 9-12, 2015 - Petaluma CA - REGISTER NOW! www.walkercreekmusiccamp.org - 415 663-1342 Spring 2015 Instructors: Alan Munde Blaine Sprouse Sam Grisman John Reischman Keith Little Sharon Gilchrist Ivan Rosenberg Brad Leftwich

Tom Sauber Evie Ladin Keith Yoder Jim Nunally Jack Tuttle Luke Abbott Morgan Cochneuer Scott Nygaard

Music & More program for our youngest campers taught by Carol Spiker.

World of Bluegrass Official Showcases Deadline to Apply: February 28, 2015 The premiere opportunity to introduce talent and new music at IBMA’s annual World of Bluegrass Business Conference comes in the form of “official” showcase performances which help the music industry assembled discover emerging new bands, as well as established bands with new music or new personnel.

In Raleigh, N.C. this year each showcase band will perform at least twice during World of Bluegrass Week—once on a convention center stage and once on a local “Bluegrass Ramble” town venue stage.

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Up to 30 showcase artists will be invited for World of Bluegrass 2015, depending on the number of applicants and the qualifications of groups that apply. IBMA showcase artists are chosen in a juried selection process that takes into consideration every applicant’s entertainment value, level of professionalism, potential appeal and quality of work. There are generally more than 100 acts who apply every year, and the Selection Committee is appointed by the IBMA board chairperson.

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WOB NEWS

In addition to the two showcase opportunities, official IBMA showcase bands receive a number of benefits and complimentary services, including: • Featured profile in conference program and on the WOB smart phone app • Distribution of one mp3 per band on our AirPlay Direct account, providing radio DJ access to showcase band music • Inclusion of one mp3 on the 2015 Noisetrade/ IBMA Bluegrass Ramble Showcase Compilation • Inclusion in the Bluegrass

Ramble Spotify play list, promoted on social media

by IBMA • Priority access to “Gig Fair” appointments.

• Scheduled consultation in advance of events on maximizing showcase opportunities • Complimentary booth space during business conference (value $600+)

• Full conference registration package for performing members of group (value $1000+) • One organizational membership for group (value $205) • And other exclusive services available to official showcase performers.

APPLICATION PROCESS: IBMA’s World of Bluegrass is scheduled for Sept. 29-Oct. 3, 2015 in Raleigh, N.C. Artists are not required to be IBMA members to apply for the showcase opportunity, but are required to submit a $25 fee to help defray selection process costs. If invited to participate as an official showcase artist, there is an additional fee of $500 to offset costs of services and showcase production.

To apply for an official WOB showcase opportunity (deadline Feb. 28, 2015), please do one of the following: 1. Click here to submit your application online We’re encouraging as many bands as possible to apply online in 2015.

Questions? Give Eddie Huffman a call at 615-256-3222 or email him at eddie@ibma.org.

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IBMA BOARD Q&A

Shake & howdy Leah Ross

Getting to Know your IBMA Board What are you doing to help the board achieve the current goals?

As a new member to the board, I am trying to listen to the conversations and become more knowledgeable about the organization as a whole so that I have input that is of value.

What would you like to share with members that they might not know?

Leah Ross, Executive Director for Birthplace of Country Music, just joined the board.

I can’t play an instrument but, I own a Gerald Anderson guitar and my goal is to learn to play.

The Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion is where I got my involvement with IBMA. I have attended the conference for around seven years, graduated from Leadership Bluegrass and have been a speaker at a couple of the conferences. Bluegrass music is a major genre in our music heritage as the birthplace of country music. We follow the news generated by IBMA and attend the business conference for the showcases and workshops offered.

What if I don’t have a favorite? I can tell you who I listen to a lot. Jim Lauderdale, Del McCoury, The Infamous Stringdusters, Greensky Bluegrass, Chatham County Line and Della Mae. I really like the young people in bluegrass today because they are stretching those standards a little bit and that is what I like.

In brief, what brought you to bluegrass music?

What are your personal goals as a director on the board?

My goal is to contribute to the conversation about how to make IBMA a leader in the bluegrass industry. I believe we need to make sure we select an executive director who is resourceful, hard-working and highly determined.

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What is your favorite bluegrass album and why?

What is your advice to someone fresh to the bluegrass industry/what is your advice for a seasoned pro?

Respect the past and learn from seasoned pros, but make your own mark on the industry. I would say for the seasoned pro, give your help and advice to the newbies because they are our future.

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FEATURE

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Ralph Stanley : Rolling Strong The Doctor releases Man of Constant Sorrow as he turns 88

by Taylor Coughlin Dr. Ralph Stanley was wrong last year.

He said he was retiring. But right now we’re listening to Man of Constant Sorrow on repeat, an album on Cracker Barrel’s label that features a bevy of stars – from country crooners to rock legends – and we’re pretty happy that the Dr. was wrong for once in his life.

The legendary banjo player and incomparable singer from the Appalachian hills of Virginia will turn 88 in February with no slowing down, as his latest project and subsequent tour can attest.

Produced by longtime Stanley friend and collaborator Jim Lauderdale, and Buddy Miller, Man of Constant Sorrow involves duets from familiar musicians who happen to be devotees of Stanley, including Josh Turner (“We Shall Rise”), Dierks Bentley (“I Only Exist”), former employee Ricky Skaggs (“We’ll Be Sweethearts in Heaven”), Ralph Stanley and Nathan Stanley (“Rank Stranger”), Elvis Costello (“Red Wicked Wine”), Gillian Welch and David Rawlings (“Pig in a Pen”), Del McCoury (“Brand New Tennessee Waltz”), Robert Plant (“Two Coats”), Lee Ann Womack and daughter Aubrie Sellers (“White Dove”) Old Crow Medicine Show (“Short Life of Trouble”) and two solo songs by Ralph including a tear-inducing recitation to his late brother Carter, and perhaps his most famous song in recent years, “Man of Constant Sorrow.”

feature photo by Ed Rode

“We had a wish list of artists that we would’ve liked to have seen on [the album]” said Ralph’s grandson and duet partner Nathan Stanley.

“Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale, who produced the project, worked very hard on getting the artists we had on our lists and reaching out to other ones they thought would be good for the project.

Also Ken Levitan, our manager, had some big input on what to put on it.”

In a November post on Dierks Bentley’s Facebook and Twitter pages he posted a picture captioned: “still processing. got to sing a ralph stanley song with...ralph stanley! look him up kids. #firstgenerationbluegrass.”

With a repertoire like Stanley’s – spanning decades – it’s a wonder how the tracks were chosen for which artist. Nathan explains:

“Buddy and Jim gave the artists their free will to sing their favorite Ralph Stanley song if they had one in mind,” he said. “If they were just so glad to be part of it and didn’t have a song in mind that they wanted to do, Jim and Buddy picked a song for them and talked it over with them and that’s how it went.”

Photos courtesy of Dierks Bentley

“You could tell when they were recording how much they revere Ralph,” said Lauderdale in a promotional article for the album. “If you’re a musician and love old timey or bluegrass or folk or really even Recorded in Buddy Miller’s home in rock, you know who Ralph Stanley Nashville, the recording process was is, and you probably have some kind of bond with him internally because a special one that involved family of how great his music is. It’s really and friends. “It was one of the best atmosphere’s we’d been in in a long interesting but not surprising what a big reach Ralph has had in so many time,” Nathan said. genres of music.”

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The Stanley Brothers, Ralph and Carter Beyond the allure of the guests who sing Ralph’s songs with him and his Clinch Mountain Boys are the songs themselves and how each artist interprets them. Take “Two Coats” for instance; with a plaintive introduction sung by Ralph, Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant seamlessly joins, the melancholy and reverberant fiddle sways in the background. The harmony between Stanley and Plant is so organic, the lilting lone fiddle entwines the listener into a world unknown – a real, haunting treat.

Josh Turner’s upbeat, triumphant “We Shall Rise” kicks off Man of Constant Sorrow with exuberance and reverence with Stanley’s harmonies taking a subtle backseat.

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Ricky Skaggs’ rendition of “We’ll Be Sweethearts in Heaven” is a nostalgic trip for anyone who remembers when Skaggs and Keith Whitley started as teenagers in the Clinch Mountain Boys. Surely, it was like riding a bike when these two sang together for Man of Constant Sorrow.

British rocker Elvis Costello is perhaps the most far-out artist to be pulled in for the project, being well known more for his power pop, new wave and punk than anything else.

But as of late, he’s dug out a folkier side to himself as seen on this project as well as with the T Bone Burnett-produced New Basement Tapes supergroup project. Having been introduced to Stanley’s music by Jim Lauderdale a few years ago when

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they were on tour together, Costello took to the music so much so that he and Lauderdale quickly worked up a version of “Red Wicked Wine” for an encore performance one night in Raleigh, NC. “He had met Ralph on the ‘Down from the Mountain Tour’ and is such a big fan,” Lauderdale said in a press release. “I know it means a lot to do this duet.”

What may surprise most folks is that Del McCoury and Ralph Stanley had never recorded together until this album. When producers Miller and Lauderdale discovered that, they gave him the Jesse Winchester song “Brand New Tennesse Waltz.”

“I still to this day haven’t found out how that song got pitched to Ralph,” Miller said in a press release.

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“It’s just so offbeat from what he usually cut. On the original for some reason Ralph cuts out a line on every verse. We put them back in when we recorded with Del. It gives away a little more of the story.”

Each song has its own way of hitting you – in the gut, in the memory, in yours hands and feet as you can’t help but clap and stomp along – but none hit quite so hard as “Hills of Home,” a recitation spoken by Ralph to his late brother Carter that brings a tear to any eye with a soul behind it.

“I didn’t think nothin’ about it,” said Ralph about writing the song. “It just came to my mind and I went out and done it. I didn’t make any plans for it or anything.”

“He wanted to pay tribute to Carter in that song and keep his name alive by writing ‘Hills of Home,’” said Nathan.

“I never dreamed, I never thought, so young you’d be called to rest. But the Man who calls our number, somehow you fit into His plans. We play the same places that we played together, travel the same roads mile after mile after mile. Your memory is with us all the while.”

The Grand Ole Opry will be honoring their oldest member by presenting a two-night special with Ralph at the end of February. No specific details have been made yet, but in a town like Nashville and with as many good friends Ralph has, you can be sure it will be an opportunity to see The Doctor you won’t want to miss with plenty of surprises.

Man of Constant Sorrow is available now at Cracker Barrel locations, as well as Cracker Barrel’s online store.

Catch Ralph on tour as he continues to entertain and enthrall his fans – new and old. Follow his schedule here.

-“Hills of Home” by Ralph Stanley

Ralph’s faith has always played a big part in his music and life; he has never shied away from giving credit to God for keeping him going.

“He made the retirement plans last year, but then he did a lot of studying on it, praying about it and talking it over and he just wanted to continue touring as long as the Good Lord would allow him to,” said Nathan.

“Whenever it’s time to quit, the Lord will let him know when to do it. And God bless him [sic] to be 88 years old next month and he’s still got a wonderful voice and still wanting to get out there and tour and perform for all the fans.”

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Texas Troubadour Takes Turn at Bluegrass Robert Earl Keen follows a lifelong passion for new project

by Taylor Coughlin

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o one knows the road quite like Texas folk/ Americana hero Robert Earl Keen. He knows it goes on forever (according to perhaps his best-loved single) and he knows it can take him many places. This time, it took him to bluegrass – a genre he has revered since childhood, growing up in Central Texas.

Pulling in the likes of Danny Barnes (banjo), Sara Watkins (fiddle) and Kym Warner (mandolin) to join his band, Keen boasts a passion and knack for bluegrass favorites from Flatt & Scruggs to Hot Rize. In his earthy, raw vocals and down-home gritty guitar, you’d wonder why he hadn’t jumped into this particular style of music sooner.

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Before heading out on tour to promote Happy Prisoner, Keen talked to International Bluegrass’ Taylor Coughlin from his home in Texas about his new project, playing tennis with Peter Rowan, and the way he interprets songs as one of the most-loved storytellers in music today.

T-You’ve always loved bluegrass.

You grew up listening to it; you were in a bluegrass band in college, and you went to a bluegrass festival for your first date. So, having listened to bluegrass your whole life: When it came to doing this project, what did you really start listening to to help you get into the right mindset?

REK- I had a lot of it in my head, and I could remember the words and sing the songs. I could play most of the songs without going

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back and re-visiting them. So, I didn’t dig into different records so much. I probably listened to “99 Years For One Dark Day,” on the Hot Rize record [Hot Rize, 1979]. And I dug out several versions of “Poor Ellen Smith” because of all the things I just left alone, I left a lot of things alone lyrically, I tweaked a couple lines in “Poor Ellen Smith.” I really was pretty solid on the way things were and the way I liked them to be. So the trick was to have the right group of people to play.

And that came together – I just got really lucky. Other than my band – who play really well and are really bluegrass fans themselves, I was really lucky to get Sara [Watkins, Nickel Creek] and Danny Barnes, and Kym Warner [The Greencards]. So that really made me believe that I was on the right track.

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T- Those are great folks to have involved on a project. They’re doing lots of really cool projects themselves, so how did you get them involved?

REK- I know them personally in all different ways. Kym was in the Greencards and I, truly, when he moved over from Australia, I was the one who signed off on his green card.

T- No way! I had no idea. That’s awesome.

REK- Yeah, I met him through Kasey Chambers. He came over [from Australia] with Kasey and started playing and then I ran into he and Carol [Young], Eamon [McLoughlin] and all that, so I’ve known them for a long time, and pretty well, they opened up a couple shows for me. And Sara [Watkins], she was a special guest for a whole group of Northeast shows, and we got to be pals and we communicate now and then, so that was…you know, Sara is so busy all the time, I was a little reluctant to ask her. But see, I’m kind of a bluegrass fiddle snob. You know, I’m crazy about Vassar Clements and all the great players – the way they have this rhythmic thing and the double chop stuff – so I knew she was the right person to play. And then Danny Barnes. I’ve known Danny since about 1988.

T- Y’all go way back.

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REK- Yeah, long time.

But Danny played with us on a pretty regular basis in 200304-05…something like that. So I had that going with Danny. But those people, like you said, they’re all independent and so I was kind of shocked that I got lucky and picked the time that everybody could come and do this. And they were so nice about just saying, ‘Yeah, I’m ready to go!’

T- You also pulled some Texas folks into it as well like Natalie Maines [Dixie Chicks], Lloyd Maines [producer, Natalie’s father] and Lyle Lovett. Those folks have some blood in them too.

REK- Absolutely!

T- So I’m sure it was cool for them to get to do some bluegrass stuff with you, too.

REK- Well I’ve been friends with Lyle forever, and I’ve known Natalie for almost, I don’t know, 20 years, or since she was a little kid, right? So I knew their background. But the other thing is, they have that kind of voice that really matches bluegrass.

They have that little slight part of country music and down-home thing that they have going on in their voices and I just thought that would work out great, and it did. And you know, same deal

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with them, they were like, ‘Yeah, sure! Great!’ I didn’t have to talk anybody into anything on this deal. It was amazing.

T- Speaking of voices, you tried to emulate the high lonesome vocals and realized that it wasn’t for you. But I think that turned out for the best because so many of your fans know you and love you because your voice is so authentic, and people really connect to it, which is why a lot of people really love bluegrass because they connect to it. So, when the final product came out, did you really feel like you made the right choice in putting your own style, your own voice into these songs?

REK- Yeah, absolutely. And what backs that up is everyone from my wife to some of my really good friends that I’ve sent it to have just immediately come back and said, ‘You should’ve done this years ago! This is the best thing you’ve ever done!’ So I’ve got flat-out, 100% thumbs-up on this from the people who have heard it.

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Even the record company [Dualtone]…I’ve known Scott for a few years and I just kinda gave it to him and said, ‘What do you think? Any suggestions?’ and he said, ‘Man! This is great; I had no idea.’ So, everybody likes it and it’s good to do something that everybody likes because I’ve done some stuff that nobody likes, and that’s rough.

T- Well, you’ve always done your own thing, and you obviously did your own thing with this, but everybody loves it too, so it’s like a win-win situation.

REK- I do feel comfortable, just naturally more comfortable, being surrounded by acoustic instruments than I am with electric instruments.

Although I do really love electric and I love a really loud guitar and all kinds of stuff, but I do have a certain calm about the way acoustic instruments sounds and it makes me feel comfortable enough so I don’t feel like I’m grasping for straws in terms of the sound; I just sing how I feel.

T- What do you think was the most challenging part about making this album?

REK- Cutting out songs. We recorded probably 28 songs altogether. And we pared it down to 15 for the CD itself, but there’s a deluxe version with 20 songs. So you know, we cut out 8 songs. But the rest of them sounded pretty good. So the way I made these decisions, if you listen to the record, there’s kind of a cross-section chronologically with the record from the “Poor Ellen Smith” to the Richard Thompson one which is more current. I like the spectrum and some of the stuff was doubling up on that spectrum so I like going across the spectrum with not only years but also some of the sounds, you know. There’s a huge difference in sound between “Hot Corn, Cold Corn” and “Twisted Laurel” for instance. That “Twisted Laurel” lyric, as far as I’m concerned, you can just type that up on a piece of paper on the wall or a bulletin board and call

“I got a lot of fans out there and I want them to know about bluegrass because I think it’s great” www.ibma.org

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FEATURE that the most beautiful poem ever written. It’s fantastic. So I wanted to capture what I thought bluegrass was, you know? And not just “Kick it off Wichita!” kind of stuff.

T- You obviously have a lot of clout as a good storyteller in your music, and a lot of the soul of bluegrass is the storytelling. Did you find it easy to interpret these songs/stories?

REK- Absolutely. One of the things that goes on with me is I see the same movie in my head every time I sing a song. If I can get ahold of a song and I really like it and it works for me, it’s like the movie is running through my head. And it’s the same, whether it’s my song or somebody else’s song – it doesn’t matter. And I just see the same images over and over. So when I lock into some kind of story like that, it makes it easy and I feel like I’m on the right track. There are songs I cannot get a grip on.

You know, some Grateful Dead songs, Bob Dylan – it’s like I’m not getting an image. But all the songs on that record it’s like one image after another.

T- You said it was hard to pare down all of the songs you wanted to make. So for some of the songs you picked, were they ones you’ve been listening to for a long time? Were there any new discoveries that you included?

REK- The funniest thing – the first cut we did, “Hot Corn, Cold Corn,” was the last song that we did and I heard it a couple times, 18

but I didn’t have the record. I heard it on the radio. So I didn’t really have a clear idea of how it should go, and it truly was the last song we did in the studio. We all just started banging up stuff and it was so fun, so that might be why it’s off the somewhat traditional bluegrass track there.

But that’s a good example…I heard the Lester Flatt version before, but I didn’t know it as well as I knew the other songs, that’s for sure.

T- You also have a cool thing with Peter Rowan intro-ing “Walls of Time.” Tell me a little bit more about that.

REK- I wanna tell you, that was the cherry on top of the milkshake, it was fantastic. Because I thought we’d done pretty well and I got all these people and they were so nice. But Peter Rowan was such a serendipitous moment (I hope that’s a word, I’m taking it!)… He was friends with the guy that owns the studio. And I knew Peter when I was in Nashville. Peter and I used to play tennis together, believe it or not!

T- (laughs) That’s awesome.

REK- Peter and I toured all over together, these crazy, really hard tours with no money. But it was really great. Peter and I had written a song together, “What We Have Together is Tearing Me Apart,” that’s the song we wrote together a long time ago! You know, I’ve known Peter forever.

And he just happened to be out at the studio to see this guy! So

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I was like, ‘Hey, Peter! What’s going on?’ He’s like, ‘I’m just out here talking to Mike [sic] and we’re working out some little tour.’ And I said, ‘Hey, we just did “Walls of Time,” you gotta come in here and listen to this!’ So we’re putting it up in the control room and he’s sitting there with a guitar – he almost always has an instrument in his hand and he’s always pickin’ on something, he so musical – and he starts strumming his guitar and telling a story how [“Walls of Time”] came about and I said, ‘Now would you mind if we put that on tape? Can we put this down?’

We went in there and I asked him how the song came about and he started into this great story, and he started singing it. Some of my favorite moments ever in radio were things that happened like that – on radio, in bluegrass music. There’d be somebody talking about a song or something and BOOM! the song kicks off. There’s one [story] from Winfield, Kansas years ago when they always numbered the contestants in the flatpicking guitar field because they didn’t want to know who was actually playing and there’s an announcement, ‘Number 13!’ and there’s this incredible intro and this guitar just blasts through the radio and you learn that this was Mark O’Connor when he was like, 12… So I was just thinking in terms like that, you know?

How cool is it to bring in the real story? And so, Peter being there and doing that, I thought, ‘Yeah!’ (laughs) ‘This record’s done!’

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T- I thought that was cool too.

Anyone who knows about Peter – he’s a storyteller, too – and when I heard that on the record, I thought that was pretty cool.

REK- Yeah, it was really fun!

T- I bet it was! For you, and for him, too!

REK- Yeah and then, see, Danny Barnes had already sung on that.

So then since [Peter] was there, I said, ‘Man, I was gonna leave this alone but since you’re here, can you sing the harmony part on this “99 Years…”’ and he just walks in there and does it in, I don’t know, two takes and we’ve got it done. Boom. It was fantastic. So he sang on the record to, which was pretty cool.

T- So what’s your touring schedule looking like? Any bluegrass festivals?

REK- We’re playing MerleFest, we’re playing Telluride! We’re gonna go up to the Northeast starting February 8. It has a little different personnel; I couldn’t get Danny or Sara because they’re doing their own things, but we’re getting it together. I have a huge December every year, and it’s all about this Christmas song [“Merry Christmas From the Family”] so I was just trying to get through December and then get started on this. So that’s what I’m in the middle of now. Doing some rehearsing, and taking it on the road. We’re going to play 45 minutes of this bluegrass, straight, like it is, and then take

an intermission which I’ve really never done, and then come back out and do some of our greatest hits. If they’re not there for the bluegrass, they’re probably there to hear “The Road Goes on Forever.”

T- And hopefully your tried and true fans, you get them into bluegrass through this project, and us being the IBMA, that’s what we’re all about!

REK- You know, that’s another thought. I believe that bluegrass is truly the American music and it speaks to everybody. If they sit down just long enough and get over some of the twang and some of the silliness of it – although I like the funny [stuff], but I know some people are turned off by it – but I think when you get a good project, and you get to listen to bluegrass and you sit down and listen to it, I almost always find people do come around. They go

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‘yeah, this is pretty cool.’ It’s well played, almost always the song has a story, the singing is like, impeccable, and some people are really tricky with it like Doyle Lawson – great, great vocal stuff.

So it’s really interesting. It takes everything from gospel to country to string band stuff. I mean, it truly is the melting pot of all American music, and that was part of my thought was: I got a lot of fans out there and I want them to know about bluegrass because I think it’s great.

Come out, support live music!

Happy Prisoner: The Bluegrass Sessions comes out February 10 on Dualtone Records. Look for the album anywhere music is sold, and be sure to catch REK in concert. Click here for tour dates.

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FEATURE

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Dixie Hall

Memories of the Queen of Bluegrass Songwriters & Unparalleled Champion of Traditional Bluegrass

By Nancy Cardwell

D

ixie Hall, a prolific bluegrass songwriter and publisher, Blue Circle Records label and Good Home Grown Music Publishing founder, and a tireless supporter of the bluegrass music songwriting and musician community, died January 16 at the age of 80 at home, after a long illness. In an article for The Tennessean, Miss Dixie’s husband of 46 years, Country Music Hall of Famer Tom T. Hall, said the funeral service would be private, but that he expects to gather friends and fans for “a cheerful and joyous celebration of her life and music” in the future.

Born Iris Violet May Lawrence, Dixie Hall grew up in England’s West Midlands, near Manchester.

During her 54 years in the music business Hall wrote, pitched and promoted more than 500 commercially recorded songs by dozens of bluegrass music artists (plus a few more cut by country stars Johnny Cash and Miranda Lambert). In late 2014 she released her first bluegrass single, “Sunny Flower One,” providing lead vocals herself for the disarmingly simple, yet heartwrenching love song.

In a note to music industry reps and friends that came along with the mp3 download of the songs she said, “This song is my gift to you. Running out of time here, but it’s your earth and your music. Please save it and give generously. God bless you forevermore. I love you.”

In addition to her accomplishments as an awardwinning writer and publisher, Dixie Hall will be remembered for her organizational skills in the bluegrass music community and her tireless efforts to promote the music closest to her heart, championing scores of bands and songwriters—some emerging, some struggling, and some already well known.

Thanks to her team’s efforts, the professional music business, a rough and challenging ride for any artist out there, has become a friendlier, more encouraging place.

An increasing number of bluegrass musicians found their way out to Fox Hollow, the Hall’s home south of Nashville, looking for new songs and returning again later because they were made to feel like a part of the

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family. In an interview for Bluegrass Unlimited magazine in 2013, Dixie told me, “I’m trying to ease their way, in the same way that the Carters and so many others have eased mine. If a few dollars’ worth of studio time, or groceries, or conversation can make someone feel a part of the bluegrass family, then that’s what I want to do. It’s a family, and it’s important that it stays that way, so that tradition continues.”

Dixie’s most recent album, Pickin’ Like a Girl, from the Daughters of Bluegrass series, is a four-CD boxed set featuring 134 women on 69 songs—all written by Dixie and Tom T. Fifty-two of the songs are new cuts on the first three discs, and the fourth CD is a re-issue of a previous Daughters of Bluegrass project, Bluegrass Bouquet. All the vocals, instrumental work, and sound engineering are by women. The fourth in the Daughters series, an album concept originated by Gena Britt and Lorraine Jordan, includes several new faces and international artists this time— including participants from Australia, Ireland, Slovakia and Canada.

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DIXIE HALL

Dixie discovered the magic of words at an early age, winning a poetry contest hosted by the BBC with a poem she wrote about Canada. Her parents owned a candy and pipe tobacco shop, and she fell in love with American music at Saturday morning Western movie matinees. By 18 she was a talented horsewoman, working as a trick rider in Wild West shows on the weekends in the summer time. A chance meeting with country artist Tex Ritter at a train station in England while he was on tour led to a job in music promotion and distribution. She placed some Ritter singles with EMI Records in England, and then Don Pierce at Starday Records in Nashville enlisted Dixie’s help to promote one of his acts, Bill Clifton and the Dixie Mountain Boys.

She starting writing a column for the Country and Western Express magazine. When Pierce offered her a job with Starday handling publicity and promotion in 1961, Dixie took a shop to the United States.

Through her work with Clifton, Dixie met Maybelle Carter and her daughters, beginning a lifelong friendship with the iconic country music family.

“It was like I’d known them all my life,” Dixie said in the BU article. “The music they made was the pure stuff. It was the origin, to me. And the family reached out and pulled me in.”

At Starday Dixie promoted a roster of bluegrassheavy artists like the Stanley Brothers, the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers, String Bean, Lonzo & Oscar, Carl Story, Grandpa Jones and Bill Clifton.

Bluegrass music captured her soul. “I’ve been a bluegrass fan all my life—always,” she told Bluegrass Unlimited. “Don’t ask me why. I don’t know. I’ve just always known it in my soul. I can’t explain it.” In particular, The Carter Family and The Stanley Brothers resonated most deeply with Dixie.

“There’s nothing else like it,” she said. “It’s honest.

It’s real. I feel like it’s always been a part of me, and I’ve always been a part of it. I don’t know why or how. It’s a mystery.”

A few years later when Louise Scruggs was in the hospital briefly, she asked Dixie to check on Earl and the boys, and then Dixie ended up working for Louise, starting a publishing company for 22

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Flatt & Scruggs Music. Next Dixie went to work for Music City News, where she did everything from answering the phone to mailing out subscriptions—which led to a column, writing articles, and eventually the editor’s job.

Dixie and Tom T met at a BMI Awards dinner at Nashville’s Belle Meade Country Club. When they ran into each other again at the Disc Jockey Convention, he asked her out and they went fishing on their first date. They were married in 1964, and for many years she focused on charity work, homemaking, raising and showing Bassett Hounds, and working with the local humane society. Dixie continued to listen to her favorite kind of music, and she hired bluegrass bands like Mickey Harris’s family (now the bassist for Rhonda Vincent & the Rage), Petticoat Junction, and JT Gray & Friends to perform at her fundraising events and open houses.

In the ‘90s Tom T retired and completely got away from music.

Dixie told him it was “OK to quit the road, but don’t give up on music.

Music is too much of a treasure to throw it away.” She urged him to write for the joy of the music itself—not to make a living, but just to be a part of the bluegrass community. As a challenge from her husband, Dixie wrote and produced a bluegrass album for Nancy Moore, a singer they met in Florida when they were building a house there.

Dixie Hall, President Jimmy Carter, Rosalyn Carter, Tom T. Hall She got about halfway through the album set when Tom T. couldn’t stand it anymore. He pulled up a chair, a guitar in his hands again, with ideas about where a certain song should go.

They wanted to avoid Music Row, so song demos at a Florida studio called The Possum Club led to Tom’s recording, Songs from Sopchoppy. The album included the single, “Little Bitty”—a tune Tom T had started when on tour in Australia which had lain in his briefcase for years. Alan Jackson had a country hit with the song, which funded the renovation of the Halls’ dog kennel into a recording studio at their home in Fox Hollow.

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The Halls started attending IBMA World of Bluegrass conferences in Louisville and Nashville, the SPBGMA convention, and the festivals in Bean Blossom, Indiana, where band leaders would approach them and ask for songs. Some folks buy a place in the Riviera to retire, Tom T Hall said.

Instead, he and Miss Dixie chose bluegrass music as a respite and a community where they want to spend the last chapter of their lives. Actually, “I did not go after bluegrass music,” Miss Dixie clarified in the BU article.

“It came after me. It reached out and pulled me in.”

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FEATURE

From 1999-2015 Dixie and Tom T worked as a writing team with a daily 1 p.m. co-writing appointment. Their songs have been recorded by bluegrass artists like Chris Jones, Don Rigsby, Alecia Nugent, The Larry Stephenson Band, James King, Rhonda Vincent, Valerie Smith, Junior Sisk, Janet McGarry, Donna Ulisse, Dale Ann Bradley, Karen Lynne, Charlie Sizemore, Lorraine Jordan, Louisa Branscomb, Becky Buller and many, many more.

Dixie Hall has now received more songwriting cuts than any female in bluegrass music, and

“Bluegrass music speaks to my heart. It’s what comes out. It’s the best thing that happens.” she and Tom T. were awarded a Distinguished Achievement Award from the International Bluegrass Music Association in 2004.

Two Blue Circle Record releases won IBMA’s Recorded Event of the Year award in 2006 and 2009, and Mark Newton won an award in 2001 for the Halls’ “Follow Me Back to the Fold,” a tribute to Maybelle Carter. And after 10 straight SPBGMA Songwriter of the Year awards, the Halls were awarded the Grand Masters Gold and have had their jerseys retired from the category.

Dixie Hall, June Carter Cash, MaybelleCarter, Johnny Cash 24

FEATURE

“Think on their level. Don’t write down to them; just be them. Because it’s what you are.”

Dixie says the thing that gave her the most satisfaction as a songwriter was talking to fans who approached her at festivals who wanted to talk about her songs.

“They were from everywhere, and little old men and little old ladies with tears in their eyes would come up and say they loved this song and say, ‘You’re just like a daughter to us,’ Dixie recalled in the article for B.U. “They looked you in the eye and you realized they were speaking the truth. They poured their hearts out. That’s the greatest feeling. That’s when you know you’re reaching them.”

While battling the effects of a brain tumor and other health challenges in her last months, Miss Dixie continued to write songs, keeping a standing Wednesday co-writing appointment with Tom T. and bluegrass songwriter Billy Smith, among others. “I write songs every chance I get,” she said.

“Songwriting is an escape, a retreat, and a haven for me. It’s somewhere to go. There’s nothing like the feeling when a song’s completed. You see what it is you’ve brought into the world. And then you have to let it go, and hope someone doesn’t put drums on it,” she laughed. “Bluegrass music speaks to my heart. It’s what comes out. It’s the best thing that happens.”

everything she did. For 46 years we never spent a night apart in anger. She died at home in her sleep.

She had a wonderful group of former employees and old friends, taking care of her.”

According to her directions, Miss Dixie was cremated and her remains were scattered in the pet cemetery behind the studio at Fox Hollow.

“Not long before she died,” Hall said, “she took my hand and she said, ‘Tom T., we’ve had a wonderful life together.’ And then she paused and looked up towards heaven and said, ‘It was just beautiful.’”

Tom T. is an early riser, having grown up on a farm in eastern Kentucky and served in the military.

With a cup of coffee every morning, he says he and the staff at Fox Hollow start out each day wondering, “WWDD”—“What would Dixie do?”

Dixie Hall was a community organizer driven by a charitable heart who combined immense creativity and the refusal to take “no” for an answer with a smile, an elegant hillbilly-tinged British accent, and a welcome to her causes and her family.

We’ll miss her.

In December 2014 Dixie Hall released her first bluegrass single—singing the lead vocal herself— an original called “Sunny Flower One.”

“Miss Dixie and I had an understanding,” Hall said.

“She was a person all unto herself, and I was told early on not to speak for her. She succeeded at

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FRESH SOUNDS

February 2014

Blue Mafia, Pray For Rain Pinecastle Records www.pinecastlemusic.com

Victor Furtado, Victor Furtado Patuxent Music www.pxrec.com

Frank Wakefield and Red Allen, The WDON Recordings 1963 Pinecastle Records www.pxrec.com

Monroe Fields with Carl Sauceman and the Green Valley Boys, 1950s-60s broadcasts Patuxent Music www.pxrec.com

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Daniel Greeson, Daniel Greeson Patuxent Music www.pxrec.com

Donna Hughes, From the Heart Running Dog Records www.donnahughes.com

FRESH SOUNDS

The Farm Hands Better Than I Deserve Pinecastle Records www.pinecastlemusic.com

Darin & Brooke Aldridge, Snapshots Mountain Home Music Company, mountainhomemusiccompany.com

John Reischman and The Jaybirds On a Winter’s Night Corvus Records www.thejaybirds.com

NEW MEMBERS: JANUARY Les Fowler Lisa Marchsteiner Virgil F Stanford Jr James Hunter Mark Sherman

Douglas Tate Anne Payne Matt Royles Lynwood Lunsford F Gregory Hall

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Susan Bank David Rozzell The Bluegrass Experience Bill Thibodeau Emilie Hamilton

International Bluegrass

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MEMBERSHIP NEWS

Continues as Year-Round Sponsor of IBMA AirPlay Direct’s year-round sponsor relationship with IBMA will continue through 2015, with tangible benefits for IBMA Business Conference attendees and IBMA members.

satellite and internet-based radio programs. If you’re not already taking advantage of this service, I urge you to check it out at www.AirPlayDirect.com.”

As one of IBMA’s member services, AirPlay Direct provides all IBMA Business Conference attendees with a $50 gift certificate which may be used to set up a new account at AirPlay Direct, upgrade an existing account, or be used toward any APD “Marketing & Awareness” Campaign.

AirPlay Direct is an artist marketing, promotion and education platform that delivers premium digital services and is the leading secure digital file transfer system for the music industry. They are a centralized, professional eco-system that connects artists, labels and radio stations, as well as equipment and services.

Subscribers are qualified music industry participants, and they have a national and international reach of over 9,300 radio station members in 90+countries with over 39,000 artist and label members from all musical genres.

In addition, any IBMA member may receive an additional $50 gift certificate—totaling $100 for individuals who are both members and paid conference attendees. (IBMA professional membership is just $75, so this offer from APD more than covers the cost of your annual dues.)

“AirPlay Direct is an incredibly valuable tool for artists and their teams to utilize in efforts to promote their music to radio,” said IBMA Consultant Nancy Cardwell. “And for broadcasters, it’s a convenient, free, online service where they can download new music for their terrestrial,

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“AirPlay Direct is proud of the fact that we deliver more bluegrass, folk, Americana, blues and roots music to radio stations globally than any other company on the planet,” said Robert Weingartz, Chairman & Creator of AirPlay Direct, and Executive Director & Founder of Collective Evolution. “This is truly a testament to all of our fantastic members.”

International Bluegrass

In addition to the gift certificates listed above, AirPlay Direct will have an educational presence at World of Bluegrass 2015 in Raleigh, and they will continue to be the Primary Sponsor of IBMA’s Momentum Awards (with $3000 additional gift certificates for Band of the Year, Vocalist of the Year, and each of the three Momentum Instrumentalists of the Year). They will also deliver IBMA membership and World of Bluegrass promotional messages to radio, and will continue to promote music from IBMA World of Bluegrass official showcase bands before, during and following the events.

Watch for future eblasts from IBMA for info on upcoming monthly, small group mentor sessions at the IBMA office in Nashville for those who would like to have help from AirPlay Direct staff in setting up their accounts and utilizing free member and conference attendee certificates.

To take advantage of your WOB 2014 Conference attendee and your current IBMA member certificates, please contact Lynda Weingartz at lynda@AirPlayDirect.com.

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“AirPlay Direct is an incredibly valuable tool for artists and their teams to utilize in efforts to promote their music to radio,” said IBMA Consultant Nancy Cardwell. “And for broadcasters, it’s a convenient, free, online service where they can download new music for their terrestrial, satellite and internet-based radio programs.

If you’re not already taking advantage of this service, I urge you to check it out at ”

Industry NEWS

February 2015

On the charts Billboard: Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn, Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn at number one; Nickel Creek, A Dotted Line at number two; Earls of Leicester, Earls of Leicester at number three.

Bluegrass Today Monthly Airplay: “Her Love Won’t Turn on a Dime” by Lonesome River Band (written by Bart Butler, Timothy Johnson, Shane Minor) at number one; “Now the Summer’s Gone,” by Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers (written

by Barkley C. Davis) at number two; “Honky Tonked to Death,”

by Junior Sisk and Ramblers Choice (written by Bill Castle).

Bluegrass Unlimited songs: “Moon Over Memphis,” by Balsam Range (written by Mark Winchester) at number one; “Bitterweeds,” by Larry Sparks (written by Barbara Wilkinson, Sonya Wood) at number two; “Fiddlin’ Joe” by Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper (written by Mark Brinkman) at number three.

Bluegrass Unlimited albums: Five by Balsam Range (Mountain Home) at number one; Earls of Leicester by Earls of Leicester (Rounder) at number two; Trouble Follows Me by Junior Sisk and Rambler’s Choice (Rebel) at number three.

For the record - need to know The minutes of the IBMA Board’s teleconference of January 7 & 8 have been approved and available in the Documents section of the IBMA.org website (which can now be accessed directly from the “About” drop-down menu on the home page). You can reach them directly by clicking here. Similarly, the audit report on our financial statements for 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 has been accepted and is also available in the Documents section, or by clicking here.

Vince Gill has partnered with America’s Best Communities to help revitalize small towns and cities across America.

The competition is supported by Frontier Communications, DISH Network, and CoBank and challenges communities to come up with a business plan that will support their economic development and overall quality of life. For more information, visit: http:// americasbestcommunities.com/.

“In The Mood With Lilly – 50 Music Themes” a brand new book by Bulgarian artist and writer Lilly Drumeva-O’Reilly, explores 50 genres of music in the Bulgarian language and is the first book in the Bulgarian language to cover bluegrass. The book is based on her famous

radio show, which has been on air since 2003. In 2013 Lilly received a Fulbright scholarship to study music in the United States. The results of her research have been a major contribution to this book.

For more information visit: www.lillydrumeva.net.

Dailey & Vincent have sold out their inaugural winter cruise: “Dailey & Vincent Water Fest” setting sail February 14-19, 2015 from Ft. Lauderdale, FL. With such high demand, plans are in the works for a 2016 cruise around the same time, so mark your calendars and keep your ears open for more details coming out in February. Bon voyage!

Bluegrass Underground, 2014 IBMA Event of the Year, has announced their season 5 taping lineup! March 27-29, Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn, Hot Rize, Robert Earl Keen, Chatham County Line, Jerry Douglas presents The Earls of Leicester, Lee Ann Womack, Amos Lee, The Quebe Sisters, Leftover Salmon, Railroad Earth, and Greensky Bluegrass will all perform in the Cumberland Caverns in McMinnville, TN. For tickets and info visit: www.bluegrassunderground.com.

Dolly Parton has signed a development deal with NBC to produce series of twohour movies based on the songs, stories, and inspiring life of Dolly. More details will be announced at a later date.

Della Mae’s new project is well underway, and you can be part of the process!

Pre-order the album, and get a bunch of perks along with it. For more, visit their Pledge Music campaign page.

Phil Leadbetter has beat cancer (again)!

Nearly after four years of battling Hodgkins Lymphoma, Uncle Phil received an “all clear” from his doctor. Great news for the multi-award winning Dobro player, booking agent and dear friend to many.

Lady banjo players: There is a new line of banjo picks you might want to check out. Christina Holland of Anvil Jewelry makes customized banjo picks that may suit your fancy. A pair can be yours for $129. Shop here.

Oasis Disc Manufacturing now offers production on vinyl. Standard LPs average 150 grams and jackets are printed on 100% Green Forestry Practices board stock. Check out www.oasisCD.com/vinyl.

INDUSTRY NEWS For the record - need to know The Blue Ox Festival is a brand new bluegrass festival in Eau Claire, Wisconsin with longtime festival producer Jim Bischel at the helm. Held June 11-13, booked acts include Del McCoury Band, Sam Bush, Infamous Stringdusters, Pert Near Sandstone, and many more.

Bischel has been producing Country Jam since 1990 and was inspired to start a bluegrass festival after his son came from seeing a Travelin’ McCourys show in Denver and loving it so much that the excitement was too much to ignore.

Read the lineup and get tickets here: http://blueoxmusicfestival.com/lineup/.

Emilee Warner, formerly of Warnerblaster, is the new marketing director for City Winery Nashville. Emilee works on the Leadership Bluegrass planning committee as Chair and has served the

IBMA in various ways over the past many years. Congrats, Emilee!

Welcome IBMA’s newest intern, Shelby Dutton! In her own words:

Shelby is helping out around the office in various ways, with a focus on graphic design. We’re glad to have her on board!

Hi! My name is Shelby Dutton. I’m a Junior at Belmont University majoring in Entertainment Industry Studies with a minor in Design Communications. I was born and raised just south of Fayetteville, Arkansas, next door to a rich Bluegrass community. I grew up picking on an acoustic guitar and a mandolin. I have a passion for the music of Johnny Cash, Tony Rice, and Doc Watson. Bluegrass music makes me think of home, and I’m so excited to get to work with IBMA for a semester!

Associations & Assertions The Minnesota Bluegrass and Old Time Music Association announced their 40th year of festivals with the following events and dates: March 6-8: Winter Bluegrass Weekend March 20-22: Cabin Fever Festival April 24-25: MN Bluegrass Community Concerts May 29-31 MN Homegrown Kickoff Music Festival August 6-9 MBOTMA Festival

Visit www.minnesotabluegrass.org or call 1-800-635-3037 for more info!

The Kansas Bluegrass Association has announced the 2015 Noth Platte Country Bluegrass Festival, April 23-25 in North Platte, Nebraska at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds. All concerts are indoors, with camping on site and plenty of activities for the entire family. Ticket start at $50 for all three days until April 1, when prices increase. Visit www.npcountrybluegrassfestival.weebly.com.

The Missouri Area Bluegrass Committee has announced the St. Louis Flatpick, 11th annual guitar workshop weekend.

Stephen Mougin, Rebecca Frazier, and Bull Harman are all slated to instruct. The workshop is $300 and includes all-day workshops, reception & jamming, lunch, a Saturday night concert and more. Call 314-368-4418 for more information or register online at www.stlflatpick.com.

In Remembrance Ray Hicks, popular DJ and emcee from the Ozarks and original founding member of IBMA, passed away January 14 at age 68 of ongoing health issues.

With his many contributions to bluegrass radio, IBMA, publications such as Bluegrass Now and IBMA’s now-defunct Bluegrass Radio Now, as well as being a great friend to many, he will be sorely missed.

Bill Yates of Country Gentlemen fame passed away January 26 after several weeks in the hospital. The bass player from Virginia will be sorely missed.

There will be an fuller-length article on Yates in next month’s issue of International Bluegrass.

Dixie Hall passed away on January 16 at age 80 in her Nashville home. She suffered from brain cancer. For an in-depth look on her amazing life, please read Nancy Cardwell’s article earlier in this issue.