Featured Past Artists
Best of the Bluegrass!
|
Featured Past Artists |
|
|
2006
" I predict that time will prove Tim May to be one of the legends of flatpicking guitar." "Tim May just became one of my favorite guitar players."
PlaidGrass is an acoustic band that plays a mixture of traditional Irish instrumentals with a Bluegrass improvisational blend. PlaidGrass plays a variety of venues, including Irish festivals, Bluegrass festivals and pubs. PlaidGrass is primarily an instrumental band, but is equally adept as a vocal group. Also, the band’s individual members’ vocal song writing has been acclaimed in magazines such as Music Row, Dirty Linen, Bluegrass Now and Bluegrass Unlimited. PlaidGrass puts on a high energy performance and features some of the best acoustic players in Nashville. Members of PlaidGrass include: Gretchen Priest-May on fiddle
2005
A Very Special Bluegrass Evening of Bluegrass As part of the “Best of the Bluegrass” we are pleased to present an evening of old-time, traditional, and new-grass performances. Headlining the evening is Don Rigsby and Midnight Calls Along with a Great Musical Team team, Zoe Speaks And a special appearance by Red Barn Radio Records recording artists
Don Rigsby
Zoe Speaks
The New Kentucky String Ticklers
Bios Don Rigsby: Don Rigsby, an internationally recognized Bluegrass musician and singer, is the full-time director of KCTM. With more than 19 years of experience in the music industry, Rigsby has released four solo albums and performed with several groups, including Longview, Bluegrass Cardinals, J. D. Crowe and the New South, Lonesome River Band and Rock County. The 2001 male vocalist of the year, named by the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America (SPBGMA), he has been nominated by the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) for album and song of the year. He shared two IBMA awards while performing with Longview and also sang on a Grammy-winning album by rocker John Fogerty. His office phone number is 606.783.9001. Eastern Kentucky native Don Rigsby discovered bluegrass music early in life, nurturing his interest through Ralph Stanley records and hanging out with two of Stanley's Clinch Mountain Boys, Ricky Skaggs (who happens to be Don's cousin) and Keith Whitley. Soon enough, he would move on to make his own mark with his powerful tenor and distinctive mandolin playing.
Zoe Speaks (Mitch and Carla):Mitch grew up in the foothills of the Appalachians in Madison County, KY. He spent much of his childhood divided between his grandfathers' houses, one a foxhunter and tobacco farmer who plowed with mules and the other a musician and farmer, of sorts (he grew corn with which he made moonshine). In the course of learning his grandfathers' trades, there was much time for stories, jokes, and especially music. Mitch demonstrated musical talent from an early age, and performed with his mother in a regionally sought-after mountain duo. At age 17, he set out for the east coast as part of the folk duo Mandala, with whom he played for over 10 years. After moving back to Kentucky, he began to hone his storytelling skills, drawing on the life stories and experiences rare among his generation and those following. In 1996 he met Carla Gover and decided to refocus on his music career as part of a duo based on songwriting, vocal harmony, and perpetuating Appalachian culture. Since then, he has won both the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest and the prestigious Kerrville New Folk Award. Growing up in the rural Eastern Kentucky coal town of Whitesburg, Carla's early years were filled with music. She was first immersed in the a capella hymn-singing of her grandmother, Ollie Gilbert Hudson (who also taught her herbalism, cooking, sewing, quilting, gardening, and many other things she considered to be important to her education). Later she absorbed the old time banjo/fiddle at the dances on Saturday nights at the schoolhouse, the twang of local bluegrass festivals, and the soul of mountain church music. Her older brother also made a point of exposing her to great songwriters and singers of many genres, including the Beatles, Steve Goodman, John Prine, Tom Waits, and Dolly Parton. It was always clear to her that she wanted to pursue a career in music. As a youth she played piano, guitar, saxophone and French Horn. In college, Carla studied music while earning a degree in Appalachian Studies and singing in local clubs. Shortly thereafter she recorded her first album for JuneAppal Records with a mixed cast of bluegrass and old-time musicians. She then moved to the Washington, D.C. area where she performed with the percussive dance ensemble Footworks. She returned to Kentucky out of homesickness, and a desire to explore a new direction as a singer/songwriter with husband Mitch. She has won the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest, and Acoustic Guitar called her "one of the 30 essential artists of the next generation".
The New Kentucky String TicklersDon Rogers (Guitar, Vocals) comes from a family with a long musical heritage dating back to the original Kentucky String Ticklers band, which included his grandfather and three Great Uncles. The musical inspiration and stories of how his ancestors made a living playing music in the early part of the 20 th century and through the Great Depression fueled his undying desire to become an accomplished musician. Like his grandfather, he chose the guitar as his primary instrument although he first took up the banjo at the age of 15. The roots of his old time Appalachian heritage , Blues, and Bluegrass can be heard in his playing and songwriting, passed down from previous generations. In his playing and writing he tells stories of old, and also creates new stories with an aged style using the influences of Jazz, and New Acoustic. After growing up in Winchester, Kentucky, Don pursued a career in psychology earning Bachelors and Masters degrees in Psychology from Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky. During this time he was influenced by the musical styles of Earl Scruggs, Bob Dylan, Duane Allman, George Benson, Gerry Garcia and many others. Today, his music is deeply affected by life’s experiences with his family, including his wife and two daughters, and his work experience as a mental health professional. He also values the kind of music that has an energy source from deep within the soul, and is produced for music’s sake rather than purely commercial reasons. Don recently moved from his native Clark County , Kentucky to a farm in Bath County. Danny Williams ( Mandolin, Vocals )is originally from Winchester, Kentucky , where he began his musical journey in his school choir at the age of thirteen. Under the direction of Dr. Gale Price, he began to appreciate and feel music in a different way. His love for singing turned into a love for playing when he received a guitar at the age of eighteen. Bands, such as The Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers, and college music theory courses became major influences . Eventually, Danny joined The Green Genes, a local Winchester band made up of friends. During his tenure with the group, he played a variety of musical instruments, including: drums, guitar, keyboard, and bass guitar. After the break-up of Green Genes, Danny enrolled in colleges in Alabama and music school in Levelland, Texas. While in Texas, he "got the itch to play the mandolin,” commenting that it was "the best thing I ever did." In 2003 he returned to Kentucky and joined Don Rogers to start the New Kentucky String Ticklers. Danny Cecil ( Bass ) was raised in a home filled with music. His mother Betty, a fine pianist and singer in her own right, interested Danny and his sister Courtney in music at very early ages. In fact, his mom says, “he was singing and humming before he could even speak.” With their father in the U. S. Navy, the family moved regularly, always living in or near large urban areas including Chicago, Washington D. C., Virginia Beach and Ann Arbor , Michigan. During this period, Danny and Courtney were heavily involved in their school, church and community music and art programs. After learning and playing a variety of instruments (saxophone, flute, drums, manual percussion, piano and guitar) , Danny gave up music to pursue a degree in biology from Marquette University in Milwaukee , Wisconsin . Upon graduation, he moved to Seattle to work as a biomedical technician. Six months after moving west, Danny rented a double bass from a local music shop and the seeds of a new career were planted. With countless music venues and musicians playing daily in and around Seattle, he soaked up bass techniques by watching, listening and eventually studying with three different teachers. By day he worked in a research lab, and many nights he would practice his music until falling asleep. Eventually, the draw of a career in music became so strong that he made the decision to leave science and jump into double bass studies full-time. Moving back home to Lexington, Kentucky, Danny enrolled in the University of Kentucky ’s School of Music and worked there for three years before graduating Cum Laude in the winter of 2002 with a B. A. in music. While at UK, he played in every major ensemble including jazz, big bands, the UK Symphony Orchestra, the UK Wind Ensemble, and several small jazz combos. At night he played with groups in Cincinnati, Lexington and Louisville, earning his income as a jazz bassist. In the fall of 2003, Cecil met Don Rogers and Danny Williams, and became the bassist with the NKST. Their friendship and musical relationship is relatively young, but grows with each practice, gig, and now, recording.
|
||
