Red Barn Radio:

A Jewel in the Heart of the Bluegrass

If you find yourself looking for something to do on otherwise slow Wednesday nights this fall and you appreciate high quality live music, do yourself a favor and make plans to spend an evening at Arts Place and check out Red Barn Radio’s series of live broadcast recording sessions.

Red Barn Radio was founded by Ed Commons six years ago and since that time has hosted dozens and dozens of the finest Bluegrass and Old Time bands playing the circuits these days.

Founder Commons acts as the show’s Producer and Director and handles the soundboard duties as well. He’s been involved in audio production for years and operated a location audio service and recording studio in Pittsburgh before he made the move to Lexington.

Once in Lexington, Commons founded an independent record company which recorded folk, blues, jazz, and rock. Not one to merely sit behind the soundboard, Commons also has played keyboards, acoustic bass, and carried vocals at various times in his career.

While catching up with Commons recently, I asked him if Red Barn Radio has a specific mission or goal behind its efforts. He noted three specific goals behind his efforts, to-wit:

--To broadcast American Grassroots music with an emphasis on the music of Kentucky.

--To give artists a platform from which they can connect with a large listening audience.

--To give the listeners an opportunity to learn about the people, places, and history behind the music.

Check, check, and check.

While some live radio broadcasts have a tendency to rely on the personality of the host to carry the momentum of the broadcast forward, the folks behind Red Barn Radio clearly want to remain in the background in order to keep the focus of the shows on the musicians, their musicianship, and their backgrounds.

Stated succinctly by Commons, “Brad Becker, as host of the show, Tom Brown, the “voice” of Red Barn Radio and me as the technical supervisor and Producer are only there to glue the performance together and present these individuals and groups in the best possible light.”

The performers who have set a spell at Red Barn Radio include some of the biggest names in Bluegrass and acoustic music such as J.D. Crowe, Billy Renee and the Cumberland Gap, Art Stamper, Don Rigsby, Jim Hurst, Phil Ledbetter, the Grascals, and Daniel and Amy Carwile.

In addition, Red Barn provides a venue for lesser known bands from around the region who according to show host Brad Becker “work their jobs all day and play music evenings and weekends.”

Show host Brad Becker, who has done stints both as a player and a music journalist, has been with the program for two years and has helped shape the show so as to include a little more emphasis on the stories musicians have to tell, and how they came to the music.

When asked what makes Red Barn Radio’s content unique, Becker noted: “We do sometimes get carried away with geeky instrument talk. For these players, though, their instruments are like lovers, or even family members. Really appealing and poignant, I think, is the reverence players of traditional music have for the elders of the tradition, and also for the instruments they preferred-- Gibson F5 mandolin (Monroe), Martin D-28 (Clarence White, Tony Rice).”

Red Barn Radio is also unique in that it takes place in a small, intimate setting in which audience members often get a chance to mingle with the performers after the shows. Regarding the proximity of the performers to the audience, Becker noted “[o]ne thing lots of folks love about attending Red Barn Radio programs is watching expert players working those instruments. And front row seats are about ten feet from their sound holes!”

Given the nature of Red Barn Radio as an ongoing artistic pursuit, I was curious to find out if there were any changes in terms of the types and styles of performers one can expect in the upcoming season. In this regard Commons noted that Becker is trying to balance the season with traditional as well as newer sounds that are outgrowths of acoustic and bluegrass roots.

Becker for his part notes that he is particularly interested in the old-time string band music revival currently taking place which he describes as “similar to what was going on in the 60’s and early 70’s when young people became sick of highly produced country and bluegrass music.”

Thus while Red Barn Radio shows will largely be steeped in the Bill Monroe and Stanley Brothers traditions, Becker intends to bring in old-time music that initially paved the way for Bluegrass and also bands that are taking Bluegrass in new and different directions.

For September, Red Barn’s lineup features four distinctly different styles of music and can be seen as cross-section of what you can see there throughout the year. Starting off the successive Wednesday night performances on Wednesday, September 5 th, Brian McGee and the Hollow Speed take the stage.

McGee and Hollow Speed are an Americana band from Ashville, North Carolina. A three-man setup in the traditional old-time format, they claim to play with a “juke joint kick and a rock and roll sneer.”

Originally from Philadelphia, McGee started playing guitar at age seven and formed a punk band a few years later. Eventually becoming enamored with the songs of Johnny Cash and Hank Williams, McGee’s interest segued into the land of traditional country and old-time string band music and the days when songs were about “drinking and death, regret and fear, and anger and love.”

On September 12 th Kentucky Sassafras makes an appearance. Hailing from Gallatin County, Sassafras features the singing and instrumental work of 17 year old Chloe Blayne. From Chloe, the rest of the band members range all the way down to 12 years of age.

All of the members of Kentucky Sassafras play several instruments and the ease with which they switch instruments while performing is more reminiscent of seasoned professionals your average teen band. The secret? They all started playing at very early ages and having been working hard ever since.

Revival Ridge takes the Red Barn stage on the third Wednesday of September. Traveling down from Bellevue, Kentucky, Revival Ridge is a four-man gospel band that features Paul Estep and his son Jonathan. Paul plays guitar and handles lead and tenor vocals while 15 year old Jonathan plays mandolin primarily and sings baritone.

Finally, rounding out the month Hog Operation out of Louisville brings their supercharged style of bluegrass to town. A four-man outfit, Hog Operation brings silky smooth traditional three-part harmonies to the plate and draws from a wide well ranging from the sounds of early Celtic settlers, African American blues, reggae, rock, R & B, and country.

Mark your calendars and get set to take in some of the best music the region has to offer in one of the most intimate settings around. Red Barn Radio on Wednesday nights…there’s nothing else that comes close.