tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30312063992012415592024-03-13T08:04:34.522-05:00Flatt and Scruggs Preservation SocietyThis blog is about all things concerning Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys! The most successful bluegrass group of all time! It is an extension of the website: www.flatt-and-scruggs.comUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger83125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031206399201241559.post-80615796784901511862013-06-28T09:42:00.002-05:002013-06-28T09:42:55.486-05:00Earl Scruggs' Banjo Heading to Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Earl Scruggs' Gibson RB-Granada Mastertone banjo will become
part of the Precious Jewels display at the Country Music Hall of Fame and
Museum in Nashville. The five-string banjo, the late Hall of Fame member's
primary instrument, has never been exhibited. It goes on display July 12.
Scruggs acquired the instrument in a trade with banjo legend Don Reno in the
late 1940s and used it on the 1949 recording of his signature composition
"Foggy Mountain Breakdown" with Lester Flatt and the Foggy Mountain
Boys. He continued to use the instrument on the road and in the studio with
Flatt & Scruggs and the Earl Scruggs Revue. The Precious Jewels display,
part of the museum's Sing Me Back Home: A Journey Through Country Music
exhibit, also features Mother Maybelle Carter's Gibson L-5 guitar, Lester
Flatt's Martin D-28 guitar, Bill Monroe's Gibson F-5 mandolin, Jimmie Rodgers'
Martin 00-18 guitar and Hank Williams' Martin D-28 guitar.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031206399201241559.post-31985119342862443222013-06-20T10:26:00.002-05:002013-06-20T10:26:25.984-05:00Rare Josh Graves Video<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UXphD7Zd7M">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UXphD7Zd7M</a><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031206399201241559.post-58314544815407252712013-06-13T09:59:00.001-05:002013-06-13T09:59:46.043-05:00Curl Seckler recovering from a stroke.Bluegrass legend Curly Seckler, 93, is recovering at home after suffering a mini stroke on May 19. Seckler suffered some loss of his ability to speak, but fortunately did not experience any paralysis. He was transported to the hospital and underwent multiple tests, but was not admitted. He is working with a speech therapist and is making progress in his recovery.<br />
Seckler celebrated 77 years in bluegrass music last year. Seckler is renowned as one of the pioneering tenor singers in bluegrass, including 12 years with Flatt & Scruggs' Foggy Mountain Boys and 21 years with the Nashville Grass. He celebrated his 75th anniversary in bluegrass music in 2010 and his 92nd birthday in 2011! He was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2004, the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2010, and the Bill Monroe Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 2011. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031206399201241559.post-72372200559100610422013-05-07T12:57:00.001-05:002013-05-07T12:57:33.115-05:00Earl with Del McCoury<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wWeX6v05PqQ/UYlAZNuxcCI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/qKMNQkdWVtQ/s1600/Picture1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wWeX6v05PqQ/UYlAZNuxcCI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/qKMNQkdWVtQ/s320/Picture1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Great Photo of two of the greats!<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031206399201241559.post-56370635220169048752012-11-01T10:02:00.001-05:002012-11-01T10:02:19.342-05:00Saddest day in Bluegrass History!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZVkK8_G0GhU/UJKOz0XBlfI/AAAAAAAAAP8/OeUv6tnurzk/s1600/courtroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="340" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZVkK8_G0GhU/UJKOz0XBlfI/AAAAAAAAAP8/OeUv6tnurzk/s640/courtroom.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />
Earl Scruggs, right, with wife Louise, looked away as Lester Flatt walked away
outside the courtroom after their attorneys worked out agreements to breaking up
the famous singing team after 21 yearsUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031206399201241559.post-7558721337119500052012-11-01T09:58:00.002-05:002012-11-01T09:58:06.241-05:00Earl Scruggs Milestones<h3>
Earl Scruggs milestones</h3>
<br />
<strong>Jan 6, 1924:</strong> Earl Eugene Scruggs is born in Shelby, N.C.<br />
<br />
<strong>1928:</strong> Father George Elam Scruggs, a farmer, bookkeeper and
musician, dies following an eight-month illness. Earl begins playing his banjo
later that year, practicing in a two-finger style and using instruments
belonging to his older brother and his father.<br />
<br />
<strong>1934:</strong> Begins developing a three-finger style that would
become known as “Scruggs-style” banjo and would also become a central element in
bluegrass music.<br />
<br />
<strong>1935:</strong> Purchases a banjo from the Montgomery-Ward mail order
company.<br />
<br />
<strong>1945:</strong> Begins playing banjo with “Lost John” Miller and His
Allied Kentuckians, which performed in Knoxville and Nashville.<br />
<br />
<strong>Dec. 8, 1945:</strong> Makes first appearance with Bill Monroe’s Blue
Grass Boys, a group that already featured Monroe on mandolin, Lester Flatt on
guitar, Chubby Wise on fiddle and Howart Watts (known professionally as “Cedric
Rainwater”) on bass. This group would become the prototypical bluegrass ensemble
and is often referred to as “The Original Bluegrass Band.”<br />
<br />
<strong>Sept. 16, 1946:</strong> First records with Bill Monroe, adding jazzy
banjo to “Heavy Traffic Ahead.”<br />
<br />
<strong>Dec. 14, 1946:</strong> Louise Certain attends the <em>Grand Ole
Opry</em> and meets Scruggs after the show. The two began dating.<br />
<br />
<strong>Early 1948:</strong> Departs the Blue Grass Boys, along with Flatt.
Monroe would not speak to either man for 23 years.<br />
<br />
<strong>March 1948:</strong> Flatt & Scruggs begin working on WDVA in
Danville, Va., with a band that included Jim Eanes on guitar, Cedric Rainwater
on bass and Jim Shumate on fiddle. Eanes soon departed, and his place was taken
by Mac Wiseman, who helped them find a job at WCYB in the Virginia-Tennessee
border town of Bristol.<br />
<br />
<strong>April 18, 1948:</strong> Earl Scruggs and Certain marry.<br />
<br />
<strong>Fall 1948:</strong> First Flatt & Scruggs recording session for
Mercury Records. The session yielded four songs: “God Loves His Children,” “I’m
Going To Make Heaven My Home,” “We’ll Meet Again Sweetheart” and “My Cabin In
Caroline.”<br />
<br />
<strong>March 1949:</strong> Wiseman leaves the band and is replaced by
mandolin player Curly Seckler.<br />
<br />
<strong>Nov. 21, 1950:</strong> Flatt & Scruggs begin recording for
Columbia Records.<br />
<br />
<strong>Oct. 24, 1951:</strong> A Nashville recording session yields “Earl’s
Breakdown,” in which Scruggs introduces his technique of adjusting his banjo
strings’ tuning in the middle of a song. Reception to this song led Scruggs to
create a mechanism for raising and lowering his strings’ pitch without adjusting
the tuning pegs.<br />
<br />
<strong>June 1953:</strong> Earl and Louise Scruggs move to Nashville and
begin playing a morning radio program on WSM.<br />
<br />
<strong>1955:</strong> Despite opposition from Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs
join the <em>Grand Ole Opry</em>. They also begin playing a series of television
programs that demand 2,500 miles of travel each week. Louise Scruggs begins
managing and booking the band, thus becoming Nashville’s first female manager
and booker. She remained a guiding presence in her husband’s career until her
death in 2006. The year also brought the addition of Buck “Uncle Josh” Graves on
the Dobro — a significant departure from Monroe’s notion of proper bluegrass,
which featured only mandolin, fiddle, guitar, bass and banjo.<br />
<br />
<strong>October 1955:</strong> Earl and Louise Scruggs were involved in a
serious automobile accident that kept Scruggs from touring for several
months.<br />
<br />
<strong>Mid 1958:</strong> Seckler leaves the band.<br />
<br />
<strong>July 1959:</strong> Plays the Newport Folk Festival, accompanied by
Hylo Brown rather than by Flatt. The appearance opened folk music fans’ eyes and
ears to the possibilities of the banjo and helped secure a spot for Flatt &
Scruggs in the 1960s folk boom.<br />
<br />
<strong>1960:</strong> Flatt & Scruggs include drums for the first time
in a recording session. And during a rehearsal break for CBS’ <em>Folk Sound
USA</em> program, Scruggs plays informally with sax player King Curtis. “It was
then that Earl realized the banjo worked well with many forms of music,” Louise
Scruggs would later write in liner notes to a Scruggs album.<br />
<br />
<strong>1961:</strong> Flatt & Scruggs begin playing college and
university folk shows.<br />
<br />
<strong>1962:</strong> Flatt & Scruggs record a live album at New York
City’s Carnegie Hall. “The Ballad of Jed Clampett,” the theme for CBS show The
Beverly Hillbillies, is issued on Columbia. The single would become Flatt &
Scruggs’ only No. 1 country single and the first bluegrass recording to top
country charts.<br />
<br />
<strong>1963:</strong> Louise Scruggs spearheads a live recording at
Vanderbilt University, where a school official had told her that <em>Grand Ole
Opry</em>-style music wasn’t welcome.<br />
<br />
<strong>1964:</strong> The group records with the addition of Charlie McCoy’s
harmonica, a further deviation from Monroe’s classic bluegrass sound.<br />
<br />
<strong>1967:</strong> Columbia brass assign Bob Johnston, known for
producing Bob Dylan’s material, to produce Flatt & Scruggs.<br />
<br />
<strong>1968:</strong> The <em>Nashville Airplane</em> album, which features
a clearly disinterested Flatt singing Dylan lyrics such as “everybody must get
stoned,” is released. It was Flatt & Scruggs’ final studio effort.<br />
<br />
<strong>1969:</strong> Flatt & Scruggs split up early in the same year
they were awarded their first Grammy, for the recording of “Foggy Mountain
Breakdown” used in the feature film <em>Bonnie and Clyde</em>. In late 1969,
Scruggs played the <em>Grand Ole Opry</em> with sons Gary and Randy in the debut
performance of the eclectic, genre-bounding group The Earl Scruggs Revue. Son
Steve later joined the group. “When the boys came into the group, that’s when I
first started realizing real progress, for the first time in years,” he would
say in 2007.<br />
<br />
<strong>1970:</strong> Stars in the National Public Television show <em>Earl
Scruggs: His Family and Friends</em> with Gary and Randy Scruggs, Doc Watson,
The Byrds, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and others.<br />
<br />
<strong>1972:</strong> Scruggs and the Revue (sons Gary, Randy and Steve and
fiddler Vassar Clements, pianist Bob Wilson and drummer Jody Maphis) release
<em>I Saw The Light With A Little Help From My Friends</em>, with guests
including Linda Ronstadt, Arlo Guthrie and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. The
cross-generational musical mix of Scruggs’ recordings and live performances in
this time period would be of great influence to The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s
guest-star packed <em>Will The Circle Be Unbroken</em> series, and Dirt Band
members credit Earl and Louise Scruggs with providing inspiration and helping
recruit personnel for the Circle projects. Earl Scruggs would perform on each of
the Dirt Band’s three <em>Circle</em> albums.<br />
<br />
<strong>1982:</strong> <em>The Storyteller and the Banjo Man</em>, a duo
project with Tom T. Hall, is released.<br />
<br />
<strong>1985:</strong> Flatt & Scruggs are elected to the Country Music
Hall of Fame.<br />
<br />
<strong>1992:</strong> Steve Scruggs dies, and a grieving Earl Scruggs ceases
playing music for eight months. Back problems would keep him from heavy touring
in the ensuing years.<br />
<br />
<strong>1996:</strong> Suffers a near-fatal heart attack during hip
surgery.<br />
<br />
<strong>2001:</strong> Releases <em>Earl Scruggs and Friends</em>, a
collection of collaborations with Elton John, Sting, Billy Bob Thornton, Johnny
Cash, Steve Martin and other admirers. The album’s version of Scruggs’ “Foggy
Mountain Breakdown” won a Grammy.<br />
<br />
<strong>Feb. 13, 2003:</strong> Gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of
Fame.<br />
<br />
<strong>2004:</strong> Performs a multishow residency at the Country Music
Hall of Fame and Museum.<br />
<br />
<strong>2005:</strong> Plays the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival.<br />
<br />
<strong>2006:</strong> Louise Scruggs dies at age 78. A memorial service is
held at the Ryman Auditorium, where the couple met.<br />
<br />
<strong>2007:</strong> Flatt & Scruggs are elected to the Nashville
Songwriters Hall of Fame.<br />
<br />
<strong>2008:</strong> Receives a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Rounder
Records releases<em> Earl Scruggs with Family & Friends: The Ultimate
Collection Live At The Ryman.</em><br />
<br />
<strong>Sept. 15, 2010:</strong> Is hospitalized in Chapel Hill, N.C., after
requiring medical attention prior to a concert.<br />
<br />
<strong>March 28, 2012:</strong> Earl Scruggs dies in Nashville at age
88.<br />
<br />
<strong>2012:</strong> Projected opening of the Earl Scruggs Center: Music
& Stories from the American South in Shelby, N.C.<br />
<!-- .entry-content -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031206399201241559.post-27942377158030769392012-11-01T09:56:00.001-05:002012-11-01T09:56:27.365-05:00Earl Scruggs Center Coming Soon!<div class="intro">
<strong>The Earl Scruggs Center will showcase the history, cultural
traditions of the American South and the unique musical contributions of Earl
Scruggs, the region’s most pre-eminent ambassador of music. Envisioned as a
cornerstone for regional, cultural and economic development, the Center will
serve as a cultural crossroads for visitors, students and
residents.</strong></div>
<br />
<div class="learn" sizcache06223015837816823="0" sizset="1">
The Center will explore Mr. Scruggs’ innovative career and the community that
gave it shape while celebrating how he crossed musical boundaries and defined
the voice of the banjo to the world.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.earlscruggscenter.org/">http://www.earlscruggscenter.org/</a><br />
<br />
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031206399201241559.post-3878313490259226332012-05-14T09:11:00.001-05:002012-05-14T09:11:56.525-05:00Everett Lilly, Bluegrass Musician, Dies at 87<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8m_opFFsQVs/T7ESPaO0qHI/AAAAAAAAAPs/RJdLpBvwDmQ/s1600/14lilly-popup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8m_opFFsQVs/T7ESPaO0qHI/AAAAAAAAAPs/RJdLpBvwDmQ/s320/14lilly-popup.jpg" width="217" /></a></div><br />
<div _prototypeuid="12" class="articleBody"><div itemprop="articleBody"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div itemprop="articleBody"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div itemprop="articleBody"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Everett Lilly, who was largely credited, along with his brother Burt and their band mates Don Stover and Tex Logan, with introducing bluegrass music to New England, died on Tuesday at his home in Clear Creek, W.Va. He was 87.</span></div></div><div _prototypeuid="13" class="articleBody"> <div itemprop="articleBody"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mr. Lilly had been found to have an aneurysm and probably died of a heart attack, his son Daniel said. </span></div><div itemprop="articleBody"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mr. Lilly and his brother grew up singing close harmonies in the style of the Monroe Brothers, the Blue Sky Boys and other Depression-era duos. During the 1940s they performed on radio stations and in churches, schoolhouses and theaters in their native Appalachia before moving to Boston in 1952. There, teaming with Mr. Stover and Mr. Logan, they brought bluegrass and old-time music to college campuses, folk festivals and nightclubs throughout the Northeast. </span></div><div itemprop="articleBody"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mr. Lilly played mandolin and sang high tenor in the group, which was known as the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNbqD6IyJic" title="Video about the group.">Lilly Brothers and Don Stover</a>. (He also occasionally played fiddle, guitar and banjo.) Mr. Lilly’s brother, who died in 2005, sang lead vocals and played acoustic guitar. Mr. Stover, who died in 1996, was the band’s banjoist. Mr. Logan, who is still living, was the fiddle player. </span></div><div itemprop="articleBody"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Lillys’ keening vocal harmonies and hard-driving instrumental sound were well suited to Boston’s rough-and-tumble Hillbilly Ranch, a nightclub where, as the de facto house band for almost two decades, they entertained a mix of blue-collar and university regulars. They also appeared on “The Hayloft Jamboree” on the Boston radio station WCOP and toured widely, exposing urban audiences to traditional rural music. </span></div><div itemprop="articleBody"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before moving to the Northeast, Mr. Lilly spent the better part of two years as the mandolin player and tenor singer in Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs’s band, the Foggy Mountain Boys. He appeared on the Grand Ole Opry with Flatt and Scruggs, as well as on several of their early-’50s recordings for Columbia, including “ ’Tis Sweet to Be Remembered,” <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drHCosJWH0Q" title="The song.">“Earl’s Breakdown”</a> and “Don’t Get Above Your Raisin’.” </span></div><div itemprop="articleBody"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Charles Everett Lilly was born on July 1, 1924, in Clear Creek, W.Va., the son of a carpenter. He and his brother worked in the coal fields near their home as teenagers but soon abandoned the mines to pursue a career in music, billing themselves early on as the Lonesome Holler Boys. </span></div><div itemprop="articleBody"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The brothers moved to Knoxville, Tenn., in 1945 to appear on WNOX with the country star Molly O’Day. In 1948 they began performing on the WWVA Jamboree in Wheeling, W.Va., and made their first recordings for the local Page label. They later recorded for Folkways, Prestige and other independent labels. </span></div><div itemprop="articleBody"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In 1970 Mr. Lilly returned to West Virginia after his son Jiles was killed in an automobile accident. He and his brother performed in public less frequently as the years progressed. Their career together was chronicled in the 1979 documentary “True Facts in a Country Song.” The Lilly Brothers and Don Stover were inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Hall of Fame in 2002. </span></div><div itemprop="articleBody"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In addition to his son Daniel, Mr. Lilly is survived by his wife of 64 years, JoAnn; two other sons, Mark and Everett Alan; four daughters, Karen Pierangelino, Diana Tomah, Ann Lilly and Laverne Wheeler; a sister, Flossie Williams; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. </span></div><div itemprop="articleBody"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mr. Lilly continued to perform, with his sons Daniel and Mark, in a group called the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnbSk-9FyX4&feature=related" title="Video of the group.">Lilly Mountaineers</a> until his death. </span></div><div itemprop="articleBody"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“He played music right up to the end,” Daniel Lilly said. “He was enjoying life and still riding his four-wheeler through the woods at the age of 87. He died at the kitchen table.” </span></div><nyt_correction_bottom></nyt_correction_bottom></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031206399201241559.post-21096377895371791512012-04-02T16:12:00.000-05:002012-04-02T16:12:46.442-05:00Earl Eugene Scruggs (1924–2012) The greatest banjo player of all time!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gzOtm89L4IM/T3oVt8shufI/AAAAAAAAAPc/toxmDOgb7SM/s1600/earl+at+carnegie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gzOtm89L4IM/T3oVt8shufI/AAAAAAAAAPc/toxmDOgb7SM/s320/earl+at+carnegie.jpg" width="251" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Nuff said..........</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031206399201241559.post-40709707825772703242012-01-03T13:07:00.000-06:002012-01-03T13:07:38.549-06:00Jody Rainwater Passes. 1919-2011In the fall of 1949, Jody joined Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs in Lexington, Kentucky, as their booking agent. He soon began doing comedy routines with the band, and when Cedric Rainwater left the Foggy Mountain Boys in the summer of 1950, Jody took over as bass player and bass singer. Jody made his first recordings with the Foggy Mountain Boys in October of 1950. Just a month later they were in Nashville for their first Columbia session, which included Jody's original song, "I'm Waiting to Hear You Call Me Darling." Their two sessions in 1951 produced fourteen songs. Jody sang the bass vocal part on the three gospel quartets: "I'm Working on a Road," "Get in Line Brother," and "Brother, I'm Getting Ready to Go."<br />
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Jody remained with Flatt & Scruggs until June of 1952.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031206399201241559.post-68644458075416038712011-08-02T09:15:00.000-05:002011-08-02T09:15:26.403-05:00Earl Scruggs at the Newport Jazz Festival July 30, 2011Earl performed at the jazz festival Saturday. He also performed there 52 years ago! Way to go Earl!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SwPnRHPOKBs/TjgGNzU5g3I/AAAAAAAAAPY/q5zHxRw09aE/s1600/earl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265px" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SwPnRHPOKBs/TjgGNzU5g3I/AAAAAAAAAPY/q5zHxRw09aE/s400/earl.jpg" t$="true" width="400px" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031206399201241559.post-50946643803636384342011-06-06T09:24:00.000-05:002011-06-06T09:24:55.913-05:00Jim Shumate to be inducted into the Blue Ridge Hall of Fame!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7QgFBQrp9Sc/Tezi9ogwJRI/AAAAAAAAAPU/uVkDvnybRx4/s1600/jimshumate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="395px" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7QgFBQrp9Sc/Tezi9ogwJRI/AAAAAAAAAPU/uVkDvnybRx4/s400/jimshumate.jpg" t8="true" width="400px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>There have been a lot great fiddle players over the years. Some of the ones I like most are Posey Rorer, Charley LaPrade, Paul Warren and J.E. Mainer. That’s a woefully incomplete list of fiddlers, and you’ve probably guessed that I’m partial to the old-time guys. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Well, there’s one fiddler who hasn’t had a lot of mainstream press, but is one of the most influential (and many say the best) of the bluegrass fiddle players who has roots in the old-timey styles.<br />
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<br />
<br />
He’s Jim Shumate of Hickory, and he’ll be inducted into the Blue Ridge Hall of Fame in Wilkes County.<br />
<br />
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<br />
Bluegrass isn’t that old. It came along in the mid-1930s, just in time for the fabled Robert Johnson to explore the infant musical style. Johnson, known for his blues (and being one of the most influential artists ever), dabbled in bluegrass before he died in 1938.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
It was Bill Monroe who started the fire that today burns brighter than ever. Shumate was once the fiddler in Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys, at the time when Earl Scruggs and Lester Flatt were with the group<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Now, ol’ Bill was a taskmaster. Everything had to be just right. He didn’t cotton to foolin’ around on stage. His way of thinking was that the audience spent good money to see a good show and that’s what the folks were going to get. Monroe figured out what music energized a crowd, what animated people and what gave ‘em the dreamy, I-remember look.<br />
<br />
He knew bluegrass was just the ticket.<br />
<br />
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So how good was Shumate? Good enough that the first time he was at the Grand Ole Opry (1944), the Bluegrass Boys opened the show and the first licks were Shumate doing the Opry theme song. Monroe thought Shumate was good. Real good.<br />
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Shumate didn’t record a lot. “The process was so tedious,” he recalled in a interview several years ago. And he really didn’t like the grind of road trips. Six years after Monroe first heard him play on WHKY Radio in 1943, Shumate came home for good.<br />
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However, he has a plaque hanging in the Bluegrass Hall of Fame in Nashville.<br />
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Shumate’s time with Monroe was critical for bluegrass music, a reality not lost on the fiddle great. He once mused, “Once we (the Bluegrass Boys) got started, it (bluegrass) didn’t take long to get going after that. When we were at the Opry, everybody was trying to do it just like we did. I said, ‘I don’t know what it is, but we’re making some kind of history.’ We just sort of laughed it off. Bill Monroe was the backbone of it. I know that. He is one fine fella to work for.”<br />
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As long as you deliver, and nobody every accused Jim Shumate of not delivering his best. He’s still remembered and revered by veteran performers and devotees of bluegrass.<br />
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Listen and watch closely: That’s Shumate on Lester and Earl’s “The Mercury Sessions” and the dynamic duo’s TV variety show. He was featured in “High Lonesome: The Story of Bluegrass Music,” a film by Northside Films of Brooklyn<br />
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Ah, so you have heard of him! Don’t get the impression that I know him. I met him one time and then only because a coworker was doing a story. So I did some checking up on Shumate. By the time I was done, I knew he was the real deal<br />
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The miracle of modern technology made studio recording less tedious, and Shumate has cut a couple of albums. If you find “Buckle Up The Backstrap,” grab it. Same goes to “Up And At ‘Em.” And he performed at various venues and conducted fiddle workshops for years, as long as there wasn’t too much travel time involved.<br />
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Let’s see. He was 70 in 1993 when he recorded “Buckle Up.” Hmmm. It’s about time to honor him with induction at the Blue Ridge Hall of Fame on June 11. Shumate will be enshrined with Emmylou Harris, Jens Kruger, Jim Lauderdale and Willard Watson.<br />
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Shumate is scheduled to perform. If you go, hang on to your hat. He’s not going into the great hall because he’s ordinary. Hey, he’s got a plaque in Nashville. Bill Monroe turned him loose on his very first note at the Opry.<br />
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The Wilkes County boy who learned to play from his brother and his uncle and memorized every stop and note Arthur Smith and Sam Kirk McGee could do favored home over fame. But he isn’t forgotten. Besides, Shumate never looked at his ability as a way to get rich and grab glory.<br />
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“It’s a gift from God,” he once said. It’s a gift he’s shared for decades. It’s good knowledgeable people know he deserves recognition.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031206399201241559.post-51175006321166897142011-03-09T08:29:00.000-06:002011-03-09T08:29:00.676-06:00Photos of Earl Scruggs House!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here are some photos of Earl's nice home near Nashville, TN.</div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-VBAWjtapukA/TXeOKtAjXPI/AAAAAAAAAN0/wa9Ych6S9-E/s1600/Picture1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" q6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-VBAWjtapukA/TXeOKtAjXPI/AAAAAAAAAN0/wa9Ych6S9-E/s640/Picture1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dlcOROSl9QQ/TXeOMLEvYjI/AAAAAAAAAN4/14h8Su4HHcY/s1600/Picture2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" q6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dlcOROSl9QQ/TXeOMLEvYjI/AAAAAAAAAN4/14h8Su4HHcY/s640/Picture2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-pT3huzNvLgY/TXeONlpMF6I/AAAAAAAAAN8/8UheJ_HMTkw/s1600/Picture3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="430" q6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-pT3huzNvLgY/TXeONlpMF6I/AAAAAAAAAN8/8UheJ_HMTkw/s640/Picture3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031206399201241559.post-14468157861827653192011-02-21T08:48:00.000-06:002011-02-21T08:48:02.990-06:00Cousin Jake Bluegrass Festival March 12thGem Theater-Downtown Historic Etowah <br />
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This festival of bluegrass music, named in honor of Cousin Jake Tullock, is held every year in March and located at the Gem Theater. Jake grew up in Etowah, Tennessee where he learned to make music with his family. After leaving home to make a career as a musician he landed a job with Flatt and Scruggs, playing bass and telling jokes. He traveled with Flatt and Scruggs for 20 years. Jake retired from the music scene and moved back to Etowah, where he served as a police dispatcher until his death. Come hear the music that Jake loved played. The festival is held at the Historic Gem Theater in downtown Etowah. There will be lots of jamming going on across the street at the L&N Depot Museum, so bring your instrument along. Between sets, pick up bargains at the many antique shops and outlets located in the downtown.<br />
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This event begins at 12:00 p.m. and is $15 for an all day ticket which is available at the box office the day of the performance. <br />
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For more information, contact Etowah Area Chamber of Commerce 423-263-2228Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031206399201241559.post-20687195688893866212011-02-11T08:37:00.000-06:002011-02-11T08:37:32.271-06:00Reminiscing on Sandy Ridge ShowsIn 1948 Cleo Lemons heard on the radio that Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs had left Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys to form their own band. Upon hearing this news Cleo wrote a letter to Lester Flatt to see if they would agree to come to Sandy Ridge School and play a bluegrass show that would be sponsored by the American Legion. In a few days, Cleo received a response and the very first bluegrass show at Sandy Ridge School was scheduled.<br />
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That first evening Cleo met Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, Mac Wiseman, Jim Shumate and Howard Watts in a 1937 Ford two-door with bass on top and instruments along with sound equipment in the back. This would mark the beginning of one of the longest running annual bluegrass shows in history.<br />
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Flatt and Scruggs continued to appear at Sandy Ridge School until their breakup in 1969. Flatt and Scruggs broke up the Saturday night before the Sandy Ridge Show would have been played on March 7th. The Osborne Brothers agreed to play the show in their place. After this, Lester Flatt continued to do the show for many years. The Osborne Brothers became annual performers at the show along with others including The Lewis Family, Jim and Jesse and the Virginia Boys, and more. <br />
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In the 60 plus years this concert has been held, there is just too much history that has taken place to be included in a few short paragraphs. One interesting fact relayed to Doug Hutchens by Earl Scruggs is that “Flatt and Scruggs played this show more times than any other one place except for the Grand Ole Opry.”Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031206399201241559.post-77890326694848266952011-01-07T09:20:00.001-06:002011-01-07T09:21:43.732-06:00The Ballad of Jed Clampett<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0_XAPku7SgE?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0_XAPku7SgE?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031206399201241559.post-59138293916087138822011-01-06T08:13:00.000-06:002011-01-06T08:13:03.272-06:00Happy 87th Birthday Earl Scruggs! Jan 6, 1924<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OkaLMSgO5mU/TSXNYzVWZBI/AAAAAAAAANs/Gn0ET2nIOYg/s1600/38_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" n4="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OkaLMSgO5mU/TSXNYzVWZBI/AAAAAAAAANs/Gn0ET2nIOYg/s640/38_1.jpg" width="416" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: large;">Happy Birthday Earl! Thanks for all the great music! It has brought joy to thousands of people through the years! Wishing you many more years of good health!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031206399201241559.post-16873810685660538872010-11-09T07:58:00.000-06:002010-11-09T07:58:44.308-06:00Country Music Hall of Fame Celebrates Curly Seckler<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OkaLMSgO5mU/TNlTHsXGqvI/AAAAAAAAANk/QqGbajtmNms/s1600/Curly-Seckler.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" px="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OkaLMSgO5mU/TNlTHsXGqvI/AAAAAAAAANk/QqGbajtmNms/s400/Curly-Seckler.gif" width="390" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will celebrate Bluegrass Music Hall of Famer Curly Seckler during a Saturday, Dec. 4 program at 1:30 p.m.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Seckler, who turns 91 on Christmas day, sang harmony vocals on classic Flatt & Scruggs hits including “Salty Dog Blues,” “Roll in My Sweet Baby’s Arms” and “I’ll go Stepping Too.” He was also a part of Lester Flatt’s Nashville Grass band, and led that group after Flatt’s 1979 death. He remains an in-demand live attraction, performing at MerleFest, the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival and other high-profile events.</div><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">SIRIUS XM radio’s Kyle Cantrell will interview Seckler on December 4, and Seckler will perform several signature songs. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The event is included with Museum admission and is free to Museum members. For more information, check www.countrymusichalloffame.org or call 416‑2001. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031206399201241559.post-15789510333409134932010-10-08T08:27:00.000-05:002010-10-08T08:27:29.820-05:00Lester Flatt inducted into Songwriters Hall of FameThis is a couple years old but wanted to post it:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OkaLMSgO5mU/TK8bd0koOWI/AAAAAAAAANg/fL8iHVFGSYI/s1600/lester.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OkaLMSgO5mU/TK8bd0koOWI/AAAAAAAAANg/fL8iHVFGSYI/s400/lester.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Memories. Gladys Flatt (third from left) holds the award presented by Songwriters Hall of Fame as they inducted her late husband, Lester Flatt, into its ranks of stars. L-R: Marty Stuart, who presented the award to Gladys; Earl Scruggs, Lester's partner who was also inducted; Gladys; and Tammy Herren Brumfield, the granddaughter of Lester and Gladys. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Wife and granddaughter accept award </span><br />
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The man who helped put Sparta on the map with his continuous string of bluegrass hits has been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Lester Flatt, whose slow drawl and easy manner won the hearts of millions of fans in the United States, as well as overseas, was given the award posthumously during an Oct. 14, 2007, event at Renaissance Hotel, in Nashville. <br />
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Marty Stuart, one of Lester's former prot�s, presented the trophy to Flatt's widow, Gladys Flatt, and his granddaughter, Tammy Herren Brumfield, both of White County. Stuart, who has risen to stardom in the world of bluegrass music through the past three decades, lived with the Flatts when he was a young boy and remained in their home approximately three years. Also honored Sunday night was Earl Scruggs, Lester's former partner. Lester first hooked up with Scruggs as part of Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys, in 1945. Within three years, the two men had left Monroe to venture out and start their own act. <br />
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In 1953, Flatt and Scruggs began their WSM radio show for Martha White Flour. In 1956, they joined the Grand Ole Opry. In 1962, Flatt and Scruggs gained worldwide recognition when they recorded the theme song to The Beverly Hillbillies TV show. The duo did not write the song, but it still hit number one within five weeks of the show's first broadcast. In 1962, they also performed at Carnegie Hall, becoming the first bluegrass act to have this honor bestowed upon them and performed the now-famous Martha White jingle. In 1967, Scrugg's instrumental, Foggy Mountain Breakdown, was used in the film Bonnie and Clyde. The song earned the duo a performance Grammy and went on to achieve Million-Air status from BMI. Flatt and Scruggs wrote many of their popular songs, including Don't Get Above Your Raisin', Crying My Heart Out Over You, Flint Hill Special and "Cabin in the Hills. They disbanded in 1969, but both were inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Honor. In 1985, Flatt and Scruggs became only the second bluegrass act to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. <br />
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"It's really neat that more than 25 years after he died that he's nominated for something like this," said Brumfield, when talking about the man she affectionately still refers to as Poppa. "I'm just really sad that it couldn't have happened when he was living." <br />
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Flatt passed away in 1979 and is buried at Oak Lawn Cemetery, in Sparta. <br />
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Brumfield recalled a story her grandmother had told her about one of the times Lester had gotten the inspiration to write a song. At that point in the interview, Gladys took over the storytelling and said she and Lester were traveling down the highway one day when he told her to find something on which to write. The only thing Gladys could find was a brown paper sack. Lester began reciting the words as Gladys took dictation. That song was Be Ready for Tomorrow may Never Come. <br />
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"When we got here [Sparta], he got his guitar out at my sister's house," said Gladys. "I mean he didn't change the tune. He didn't change a word. They [songs] would just come to him like that. It was amazing." <br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">By Kim Swindell Wood</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031206399201241559.post-65119526517729158402010-10-08T08:22:00.000-05:002010-10-08T08:22:26.691-05:0013th Annual Liberty Square: A Lester Flatt Celebration Oct. 9th.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OkaLMSgO5mU/TK8a8oFtTkI/AAAAAAAAANc/AC1CjRbE3po/s1600/poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OkaLMSgO5mU/TK8a8oFtTkI/AAAAAAAAANc/AC1CjRbE3po/s1600/poster.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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Sparta, Tennessee will again honor its bluegrass heritage on Saturday, October 9, 2010 with the 13th Annual Liberty Square: A Lester Flatt Celebration. Sparta is the hometown of bluegrass legends Lester Flatt and Benny Martin, current bluegrass stars Blake Williams of The Expedition Show and Josh Swift of Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. Last year, during an unprecedented ceremony, the city of Sparta unveiled new city limits signs, declaring itself "Bluegrass USA" and also established the Sparta, Tennessee Bluegrass Hall of Fame, inducting Lester Flatt, Benny Martin and Blake Williams as well as local musicians John Henry Demps and Bill Jones.<br />
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In keeping with the branding of Sparta, Tennessee as Bluegrass USA while honoring the area's bluegrass heritage and annual event, city officials have commissioned a new logo for Liberty Square: A Lester Flatt Celebration. "The celebration at Liberty Square gives our entire region an opportunity to come together as one to celebrate the life and accomplishments of Lester Flatt", stated Sparta's Mayor, Jeff Young. "Lester Flatt is a name known around the world and Sparta is fortunate to have been his hometown." <br />
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W.D. Stone & Associates, a public relations firm based in Cookeville, Tennessee designed the new logo. "The logo created for Liberty Square: A Lester Flatt Celebration is intended to pay homage to the old concert prints of Lester Flatt' s era, but in a more modern design style", stated Roman Stone, owner of W.D. Stone & Associates. "Being such a legend in bluegrass music, it was only natural to include Lester's likeness in the new logo, especially considering the event was originally intended to honor him. Our design team used vintage colors and retro elements to be consistent with Sparta's historic bluegrass tradition, and to further enhance the brand that the area projects to the world. We feel the logo evokes a feeling of nostalgia while still honoring a relevant bluegrass pioneer." <br />
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Liberty Square: A Lester Flatt Celebration draws thousands to the Sparta and White County, Tennessee region annually. This year's event will take place on Saturday, October 9, 2010 on the city's square. The event will include craft and food vendors from many local businesses and non-profit organizations in the area as well as a classic car "cruise-in". At the center of the event, will be the national talent performing in front of the historic Oldham Theatre. <br />
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This year's lineup will include one of the most awarded groups in bluegrass, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, the International Bluegrass Music Association's 4-time Instrumental Group of the Year Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, hard-driving traditionalists Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramb lers and The Expedition Show which features Sparta native and past honoree, Blake Williams. Music will begin at 11:30am CST. For information on Liberty Square: A Lester Flatt Celebration, please visit www.SpartaTN.com or call 931-836-3248.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031206399201241559.post-24767478731417466422010-10-05T10:49:00.000-05:002010-10-05T10:49:15.066-05:00Curly Seckler will be inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OkaLMSgO5mU/TKtI2Y-L5YI/AAAAAAAAANY/TA0PujXhSmo/s1600/curly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" px="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OkaLMSgO5mU/TKtI2Y-L5YI/AAAAAAAAANY/TA0PujXhSmo/s320/curly.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Bluegrass music legend Curly Seckler will be inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. Among the other inductees are Doc Watson, Andy Griffith, George Hamilton IV, Arthur Smith, Shirley Caesar, Don Gibson, and more. The ceremony is open to the public, however, as of September 10, the event is sold out. The evening will include a reception, dinner, and induction ceremony with a variety of entertainment. Several of the inductees, including Curly, will perform. For information, call the NCMHOF at: 704-934-2320, or visit: NorthCarolinaMusicHallOfFame.org.<br />
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Bluegrass legend Curly Seckler was featured in a Legends of Bluegrass set during the IBMA FanFest on October 2nd in Nashville. This week, he will return to his native North Carolina to be inducted into the NC Music Hall of Fame in Kannapolis, NC at th David H. Murdock Core Laboratory Building beginning at 6:00 PM. <br />
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Seckler was born in China Grove, NC on December 25, 1919. He got his start as a professional musician over WSTP radio in Salisbury, NC in 1935. In 1939 he joined Charlie Monroe's Kentucky Pardners and moved to WWVA in Wheeling, WV. He went on to perform with several of the top first generation bluegrass bands, including Jim & Jesse, the Stanley Brothers, the Sauceman Brothers, and Mac Wiseman & the Country Boys. <br />
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In 1949 Seckler joined Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys, as tenor singer and mandolin player. He was an integral part of this group during its most musically productive years. During his tenure they landed a lucrative sponsorship with Martha White Mills and a daily radio show on WSM in Nashville, became members of the Grand Ole Opry, and began a series of highly successful television programs in multiple markets across the Southeast. Seckler remained with the Foggy Mountain Boys for about twelve years, recording over 130 songs with them, many of which have become bluegrass classics. <br />
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After Flatt & Scruggs parted ways, Seckler joined Lester Flatt's Nashville Grass. Before Flatt passed away in 1979 he asked Seckler to take over leadership of the band. Seckler continued to lead the Nashville Grass for another 15 years, before retiring from active touring. <br />
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In 2004 he was inducted into the IBMA Hall of Fame. That same year he made a series of new recordings and began performing more frequently. His recent appearances have included MerleFest in NC, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in CA, River of Music Party in KY, the IBMA Awards Show in Nashville, and the Song of the Mountains television series on PBS. At age 90, Seckler continues to be a creative, hard working entertainer. This year he celebrates his 75th anniversary in music! 10/7/10: Kannapolis, NC - David H. Murdock Core Laboratory Building, 6:00 PM Curly will be inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. Among the other inductees are Doc Watson, Andy Griffith, George Hamilton IV, Arthur Smith, Shirley Caesar, Don Gibson, and more. The ceremony is open to the public, however, as of September 10, the event is sold out. The evening will include a reception, dinner, and induction ceremony with a variety of entertainment. Several of the inductees, including Curly, will perform. For information, call the NCMHOF at: 704-934-2320, or visit: www.northcarolinamusichalloffame.org. <br />
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Bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs, center, appears with his sons, Gary, left, and Randy, right, as the late Louise Scruggs is inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame during the International Bluegrass Music Awards show on Thursday, Sept. 30, 2010, in Nashville, TennUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031206399201241559.post-36754194137416055232010-09-20T07:55:00.002-05:002010-09-20T07:55:37.960-05:00Known Flatt and Scruggs Live RecordingsHere is a lsting of live recordings by Flatt and Scruggs. Many are not commercially available:<br />
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1946-1948 Grand Ole Opry (w-Monroe)<br />
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1947/xx/xx Grand Ole Opry (w-Monroe, different)<br />
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1949/xx/xx WCYB Farm'n Fun Time (3 songs)<br />
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195x/xx/xx Earl & Don Reno on the Opry (2 songs)<br />
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195x/xx/xx Hotel Jam Session (late 50s)<br />
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1952/xx/xx Radio (?)<br />
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1952/xx/xx The Ritz Teather<br />
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1953/06/xx Martha White Monring Shows<br />
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1954/xx/xx Martha White Morning Shows<br />
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1955/xx/xx Martha White Morning Shows (w-1954 tracks)<br />
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1956/06/24 New River Ranch<br />
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1957/04/28 New River Ranch<br />
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1957/12/10 Fortune Feed Show<br />
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1957/12/xx Martha White Morning Show<br />
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1957/12/xx Leatherneck Jamboree<br />
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1957/xx/xx Martha White Biscuit Time<br />
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1957/xx/xx Jam at Arthur Smith's home<br />
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1958/06/15 New River Ranch<br />
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1958/07/27 New River Ranch<br />
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1958/xx/xx New River Ranch (various dates)<br />
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1959/09/06 New River Ranch<br />
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1959/xx/xx WSAZ-TV Shows (June and November)<br />
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1959 Earl w Hylo Brown Newport Folk Festival<br />
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1959/xx/xx Pet Milk Grand Ole Opry (from LP)<br />
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1960 F,S FMB Newport Folk Festival<br />
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1966 F,S FMB<br />
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196x/xx/xx Earl, Bill Keith & Randy Scruggs<br />
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1960/05/29 New River Ranch<br />
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1960/06/16 Folk Sound USA TV Broadcast<br />
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1960/12/16 Pet Milk Grand Ole Opry<br />
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1961/04/07 Iron City, TN<br />
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1961/08/04 Scottsville, KY<br />
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1961/12/03 Mount Vernon, VA<br />
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1961/xx/xx The Ash Grove<br />
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1961/xx/xx Sunset Park<br />
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1961/xx/xx Berkeley<br />
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1962/05/12 University of Illinois (archive)<br />
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1962/12/08 Carnegie Hall<br />
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1962/xx/xx Ash Grove<br />
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1962/xx/xx Sunset Park<br />
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1963/05/02 Vanderbilt University<br />
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1963/xx/xx Earl answering a fan<br />
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1964/xx/xx Cornell University<br />
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1964/xx/xx Macon, GA (incomplete?)<br />
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1964/xx/xx Martha White Shows<br />
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1965/xx/xx Houston, TX<br />
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1965/xx/xx Grand Ole Opry Shows<br />
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1966/10/06 Houston<br />
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1966/xx/xx Cornell University<br />
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1966/04/09 2nd Cornell University<br />
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1968/03/xx Osaka, JapanUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031206399201241559.post-90596064510596139662010-09-17T08:39:00.000-05:002010-09-17T08:39:04.318-05:00Earl Scruggs Hospitalized in North CarolinaThe legendary musician was in Chapel Hill on Wednesday (September 15) for a sold-out show on the University of North Carolina campus but had to be taken to the hospital shortly after arriving to the venue.<br />
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Family members say the 86-year-old banjo great is feeling better today and that his condition is not cause for serious concern.<br />
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One of the most important figures in bluegrass history, Earl is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner. His rapid style of three-finger banjo picking, dubbed "Scruggs Style," has been used by countless bluegrass and country artists in his musical wake.<br />
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Earl got his big break playing in the Father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe's band in the mid 1940s. He left with fellow bandmate Lester Flatt to form the Foggy Mountain Boys. After two decades of playing together, Flatt and Scruggs won their first Grammy in 1968 for their instrumental 'Foggy Mountain Breakdown,' now a bluegrass classic. (Earl won another Grammy for his performance of the same song in 2001, alongside several guest musicians including Steve Martin, Vince Gill and Jerry Douglas.) Flatt and Scruggs, along with Jerry Scoggins, also wrote and performed 'The Ballad of Jed Clampett' -- the theme to the TV sitcom, 'The Beverly Hillbillies.'<br />
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The Foggy Mountain Boys broke up in 1969 due to artistic differences. Earl soon formed the Earl Scruggs Revue with his two sons. His beloved wife, the late Louise Scruggs, will be posthumously inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame this year.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031206399201241559.post-65062774616230840972010-09-16T13:16:00.000-05:002010-09-16T13:16:55.081-05:00Hylo Brown Festival expands to three days Sept. 17-19!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OkaLMSgO5mU/TJJe-iIOe-I/AAAAAAAAANI/zI9vQVjkWkE/s1600/Hylo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OkaLMSgO5mU/TJJe-iIOe-I/AAAAAAAAANI/zI9vQVjkWkE/s320/Hylo.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The annual Hylo Brown Bluegrass Festival will be held Sept. 17-19, at Goshen Memorial Park in <span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">MECHANICSBURG, Ohio</span> . Presented by Dave Kehl Chevrolet, the festival has expanded to three days instead of the usual Saturday-only schedule.</span><br />
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Along with an expanding schedule, those in attendance can take advantage of on-site camping, as well as "open pickin'" all weekend. This year's lineup includes local bands, as well as national recording artists, decorated with awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA).<br />
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Added this year are an open-mic night on Friday and gospel music on Sunday morning.<br />
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"After several years, we have finally taken the first step to expand the festival out from its usual one day," said Matthew Smith, festival manager. "It has been a great leap of faith, especially with the addition of such well-known bands to this year's event. The caliber of bands is truly at a high level."<br />
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The music<br />
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Typically featuring only central Ohio bands, this year's musicians are also traveling from Kentucky and West Virginia. "Several favorites are returning to the festival this year, including Jim Greer & the Mac-O-Chee Valley Folks, as well as Grassahol," added Smith. "Both bands have supported our festival in the past."<br />
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Other additions to this year's festival include a live radio broadcast from the Classic Country Radio network (www.myclassiccountry.com) and a Saturday morning pancake breakfast by the Mechanicsburg Lions Club.<br />
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Headlining this year's festival is the award-winning bluegrass band IIIrd Tyme Out.<br />
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Led by the International Bluegrass Music Association's (IBMA) two-time "Male Vocalist of the Year" Russell Moore, IIIrd Tyme Out, has walked away with IBMA's "Vocal Group of the Year" award seven consecutive years. The band has garnered more than 50 industry awards since their inception in 1991. They feature a capella renditions of many songs, which stand in harmony with their instrumentation from some of the top musicians in the bluegrass business.<br />
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Their heavy touring schedule regularly includes performances on the Grand Ole Opry as well as GAC and RFD channel programs. With over 14 recordings, IIIrd Tyme Out is one of bluegrass music's most recognized and in-demand bands in the genre's history. The band has received six nominations for the upcoming 2010 IBMA Awards, to be held at the end of the month.<br />
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Also featured is local band and national recording artist Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers. The Radio Ramblers, a collaboration of veteran bluegrass musicians who have worked with one another during former musical endeavors, formed in 2006 for the primary purpose of performing at promotions by Classic Country Radio, a network of three southwest Ohio radio stations owned and operated by Mullins, featuring classic country, bluegrass and gospel music. However, due to the level of their professionalism and talent, the requests for performances by the Radio Ramblers has grown, thus expanding their schedule to include shows at area music venues, benefits, and festivals. The Radio Ramblers have quickly become a welcomed addition to the southwest Ohio bluegrass music scene.<br />
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Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers have officially completed the recording process of their soon-to-be-released gospel project for Rebel Records.<br />
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"Hymns From The Hills" features both new and older songs, as well as special guests Ralph Stanley, Doyle Lawson, Rhonda Vincent and Larry Sparks.<br />
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"This project has been a lifetime in the making," said front man Mullins in a release. "In addition to the endless contributions of the Ramblers, I wanted the chance to record with some of the artists I have featured on my radio broadcast daily for many years. Besides the legendary musicianship and singing of each guest, I cherish the rich friendship I share with each one."<br />
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Rebel Records expects to release "Hymns From The Hills" later this year.<br />
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Hylo Brown<br />
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The Hylo Brown Bluegrass Festival is held each autumn in memory of the legendary "bluegrass balladeer" Frank "Hylo" Brown. Originally from Johnson County, Ky., Brown brought his family to Ohio, where he began his career with Bradley Kincaid on local radio stations.<br />
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After this beginning, his life would lead him to television performances as featured vocalist with Flatt & Scruggs and with his own band, the Timberliners, appearances at the Grand Ole Opry, the WWVA Jamboree, the Newport Folk Music Festival, and more.<br />
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Retiring to Mechanicsburg, Brown passed away in 2003. Brown is a member of the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America's Preservation Hall of Greats, an honoree on the U.S. 23 Country Music Highway, a 2009 recipient of the IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award, has been a candidate for the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, and has been recognized by the IBMA as one of the first generation pioneers of bluegrass music.<br />
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Brown memorabilia will be on display in a museum at the festival, set up by Brown's family.<br />
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For more on the festival and Hylo Brown, including ticket information and camping registration, please visit www.hylobrown.com, or call (937) 215-9363.<br />
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2010 Hylo Brown Bluegrass Festival Schedule<br />
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(Schedule is subject to change without notice)<br />
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Friday, Sept. 17<br />
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8 p.m. - Open mic with Daniel Dye and the Miller Road Band<br />
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Saturday, Sept. 18<br />
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10 a.m. - Springfield Special<br />
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11:30 a.m. - Grassahol<br />
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1:00 p.m. - Jim Greer & the Mac-O-Chee Valley Folks<br />
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2:30 p.m. - Square Dancing<br />
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4:00 p.m. - Blue Storm<br />
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6:00 p.m. - Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers<br />
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7:30 p.m. - Coaltown<br />
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9:00 p.m. - Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out<br />
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Sunday, Sept. 19<br />
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9-11 a.m. - Gospel MusicUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0