New Music Video From Stetson & Cia- "Waves"

Award-Winning Bluegrass Band Cherryholmes To Split

In a post on their web site Wednesday afternoon, the group - parents Jere and Sandy Cherryholmes and children Cia, B.J., Skip and Molly - announced they will be splitting up this spring to enable family members to pursue other career goals. Cherryholmes released four albums on Ricky Skaggs' label. Cherryholmes was the recipient of the International Bluegrass Music Association Entertainers of the Year award for 2005 and were nominated again in 2007. Other accolades include Grammy nominations in 2006, 2007, and 2008 for Best Bluegrass Album.

From the site:

"We want to let you all know that "Cherryholmes" (the group) is officially disbanding. Our final performances will be on May 6 at the Doyle Lawson Bluegrass Festival in Denton, NC and May 7 at Houstonfest in Galax, VA."

"Many of you have watched us from the beginning. You've seen our children grow into young adults. Though it is bittersweet, there comes a time in a family when seasons change. We've always known this season would come. Now that it has, we believe it is only right that our young folks be allowed to follow their own dreams and goals for the future. With spouses to consider and differing career aspirations, they deserve the freedom to choose their own paths without the extreme interdependence that exists in a family business."

"Nearly twelve years ago, God sent our family on an amazing adventure. We are blessed to have traveled hundreds of thousands of miles, playing the music we've created and loved. We've seen the beauty of our great country as well as much of the world. We've met and made true friendships with our icons. It has been an honor to receive several Grammy nominations and Entertainer awards. Of course, the honor of regularly performing on the Grand Ole Opry is the pinnacle of our experiences. We all look forward to the next chapter of our adventure."

"First, we want to thank Ricky Skaggs and our friends at Skaggs Family Records for all they have done to help us - for believing in us, encouraging us, praying for us, and working long hours to help us get our music out. We want to thank our agent Toby Tumarkin and the staff at Columbia Artist Management for getting us into some of the most beautiful theaters in the country, for opening the doors to symphony performances, and for our wonderful experiences in the UK."

"Most of all, we want to thank all of you, our friends and fans, for your love and support over the years. It has been our privilege to be allowed to entertain you. Please check our schedule for performances through May 6 and 7. We hope to see you there or somewhere down the trail."

Inspirational Country Music Awards Show Takes Place October 15, 2009

The 15th Annual Inspirational Country Music Awards Show (ICM Awards) will be held on Thursday, October 15, 2009, at 7:00 p.m. CST at the Trinity Music City USA Auditorium located in Hendersonville, Tennessee.

This year's event will include a Celebrity Golf Tournament & Benefit Concert on Monday, October 12 at the Bluegrass Yacht & Country Club in Hendersonville. The benefit concert will be that night at Trinity Music City USA. Current celebrities scheduled to attend include Tracy Lawrence, Bobby Capps (.38 Special), Jeff Bates, Randy Houser, Adam Gregory, Cherryholmes, Halfway To Hazard, with more being added. All proceeds from the both the golf tournament and benefit concert will go towards the purchases of life saving emergency weather radios for residents of Sumner County.

Actor and Tennessee native David Keith host the ICM Awards show as well as the benefit concert.

The annual Inspirational Country Music Awards are dedicated to honoring and showcasing the biggest names and emerging talent among artists who perform Christian and Inspirational Country music. Tickets for the show are $45.00 and are on sale now.

For more information visit the ICM Awards website at http://www.icm-awards.com/

Stream Free Bluegrass A'Plenty With Three NPR Performances

Bluegrass music is part of the fabric of country music, tightly woven into its history. And while it's not heard on mainstream radio, it still has great influence on the musicians that play its music there. It has its own roots in Irish, Scottish and English traditional music. Bluegrass was inspired by the music of immigrants from the United Kingdom and Ireland (particularly the Scots-Irish immigrants in Appalachia), as well as jazz and blues- today it's all about the hills and mountains in and around Kentucky & Tennessee.

National Public Radio has three great recent performances by three fantastic bluegrass artists in the last week- all three are well worth the listen.

Originally from California and now based out of Nashville, Tenn., the award-winning bluegrass group Cherryholmes (pictured) epitomizes the term "family band." Led by bass-playing father Jere Cherryholmes with his wife Sandy Lee on mandolin — and featuring their children Cia Leigh on banjo, B.J. and Molly on fiddle, and Skip on guitar — the group was named the International Bluegrass Music Association's Entertainer of the Year in 2005. They joined Mountain Stage for this set just before heading to California for the 2008 Grammy Awards celebration, for which they were nominated for multiple awards. This year, the band has earned another two Grammy nominations, including Best Bluegrass Album for its latest CD, Cherryholmes III: Don't Believe.
Banjo player Cia Leigh Cherryholmes is the group's core songwriter, penning three of the songs included here ("How Long," "You Don't Know What Love Is" and "Don't Give Your Heart to a Knoxville Girl"). Mother Sandy Lee takes the lead for Hazel Dickens' "Workin' Girl Blues" and B.J. wrote the speedy instrumental "The Nine Yards." Listen to their performance HERE.

Steeped in the Piedmont blues of the North Carolina hill country, the Carolina Chocolate Drops members breathe new life into the African-American string-band tradition. The group's three members — Rhiannon Giddens, Dom Flemons and Justin Robinson — share vocal duties and trade instruments throughout this set, recorded in February 2008. Featuring claw-hammer banjo, plenty of fiddle, snare drum, bone percussion and even a little kazoo, the Carolina Chocolate Drops' members perform a set of mostly traditional tunes here. The band learned its repertoire under the tutelage of North Carolina fiddler Joe Thompson, who mentored the group in the traditions and tunes of Piedmont string-band music. The lone exception is the group's beat-box-driven cover of "Hit 'Em Up Style," an R&B and pop hit for singer Blu Cantrell. Listen to their performance HERE.

Originally from New York, Claire Lynch moved to Alabama at the age of 12. In the 1970s, she sang and wrote for the group Hickory Wind, which later achieved recognition as the Front Porch String Band. The group disbanded in 1981, but Lynch found great success as a songwriter, having her songs recorded by country stars Patty Loveless, Kathy Mattea and The Whites. Now, Lynch fronts her own band, which contains some of the most highly decorated players in bluegrass — multiple award-winning flat-picker Jim Hurst, mandolinist and fiddler Jason Thomas and bassist Mark Schatz. Of that group, Schatz and Hurst are both veterans of Mountain Stage, having appeared several times with various performers. Listen to Claire Lynch's performance HERE.