2015 Festival of the Bluegrass Lineup
Artist Profile
Balsam Range is a bluegrass and acoustic music group founded in 2007 in Haywood County, N.C. They are the 2014 IBMA "Entertainer of the Year" recipients as well as the 2014 IBMA "Vocal Group of the Year" winners. Balsam Range consists of five members; on fiddle and lead tenor, Buddy Melton; on mandolin and vocals, Darren Nicholson; on stand up bass, dobro and vocals, Tim Surrett; on guitar and vocals, Caleb Smith; and on banjo, Dr. Marc Pruett.
Lonesome River Band continues their reputation as one of the most respected names in bluegrass music. Virginia Country Music Hall of Famer and multi-award winning banjo picker, Sammy Shelor (banjo and harmony vocals) has put together a wealth of talent that includes: Brandon Rickman (lead & harmony vocals and guitar); Mike Hartgrove (fiddle); Barry Reed (bass, harmony vocals); and Randy Jones (lead & harmony vocals, mandolin) all performing the distinctive LRB sound fans love.
Adkins & Loudermilk are kicking off 2015 with a full tour and their first album release, Adkins & Loudermilk releasing March 2015 on Mountain Fever Records. Both Dave and Edgar have received critical acclaim and tremendous chart success for their solo albums and continue to garner a loyal fan base due to their impressive and high energy stage performances.
The sound of the award-winning group Town Mountain can best be described as traditional bluegrass, albeit with a rough-hewn side to it that is not too slick or glossy. They are a band of the here-and-now, yet they have a groove that is based on the bluesy and swinging sounds explored by the first generation of bluegrass pioneers. Riding on the momentum of Leave the Bottle, Town Mountain came away from the 2013 International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) World of Bluegrass convention with a couple of IBMA Momentum Awards in hand for “Band of the Year” and lead singer Robert Greer for “Vocalist of the Year
The IBMA most awarded Male Vocalist of the Year (5-time career), Russell Moore, is truly at the top of his game. Fronting one of the most popular bands in bluegrass history; Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out is celebrating nearly 25 years as one of the genres most awarded and influential groups in modern day bluegrass. All in all, the band has garnered over 50 industry accolades since their inception in 1991 including being named the IBMA’s Vocal Group of the Year seven consecutive years. Their a cappella renditions of many songs can rarely be matched and their superb instrumentation provides even more quality sound to their rich vocal blend featuring one of the most respected lead vocalists of all time. The future is looking very bright for Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out. Indeed, if one measure of success is the degree to which younger and newer musicians look to a group for inspiration, then Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out are about as successful as a bluegrass group can be, for a whole generation of young pickers and singers can be heard across the country trying their hand at IIIrd Tyme Out classics.
With Josh Crowe on guitar, and Wayne Crowe on bass, the Crowe Brothers’ music career has spanned more than four decades and a dozen recording projects. Growing up in Clayton, Georgia, Josh and Wayne began playing music as boys with their dad, Junior Crowe, and with various local bands playing bluegrass and gospel. In 1975, they teamed up with Raymond Fairchild and worked the bluegrass festival circuit and traveling the country with him full-time for the next 15 years, and relocated to Maggie Valley, NC. Over the years of their career, the Crowe Brothers have made notable appearances on the Grand Ole Opry and at the Library of Congress, as well as numerous National TV show performances.
Chris Jones and the Night Drivers are making some of the most distinctively elegant yet driving music to be heard anywhere today, and they’re delivering it with a unique blend of dry wit, emotional authenticity and broad humor that’s won the loyalty of a growing number of fans across the country and around the world. And while it’s a truism that there are few overnight successes in the world of music, it’s equally true that, with Chris’s decade and a half fronting a quartet that now includes two members nearing a decade of service each and a “new” one who’s already been a Night Driver for four years, there are few groups whose members are so in tune with each another’s every musical move.
For more than four decades, profoundly influential bluegrass band The Seldom Scene has shared its undeniable talent, progressive repertoire, and creative spirit both in the studio and on stage. They have performed on the Festival of the Bluegrass stage for 41 years and has closed Saturday night of the Festival with one of the greatest sing-alongs of all time.
Heartfelt, energetic, and down home. Heralded by CMT Edge as "one of the most promising bands on the bluegrass scene," the music of the Nashville based group The Barefoot Movement is as down to earth as their intention for members of their audience: sit back, relax, take your shoes off, and stay a while. All the worries and frustrations of the world melt away as the charming four-piece acoustic band takes listeners back to a simpler place and time. Whether you're seeking emotional ballads or rip-roaring barn-burners, you can expect a collection of music that offers something for everyone.
Newtown demonstrates a vast array of acoustic music styling. Based out of Lexington, Kentucky, Newtown accurately cites their obvious local musical influences. The band is able to journey into a realm of their own while still maintaining the spirit of the legendary bluegrass and “Newgrass” sounds created within the walls of Lexington’s Red Slipper Lounge during the mid 70’s. Newtown create their sound as a cohesive musical unit with a tangible diversity to which all listeners can relate.
|
