Rhonda Vincent is an award-winning bluegrass singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Famously crowned “the new queen of bluegrass” by the Wall Street Journal. In 2010, she released her album “Taken,” which she released on her own label. While amazingly independent, she is proud to acknowledge the contributions of her longtime band The Rage consisting of Hunter Berry, Mickey Harris, Ben Helson, and Aaron McDaris, as well as her collaborations with artists such as Dolly Parton, Richard Marx, and Next Big Thing. Rhonda Vincent and The Rage have over 70 awards to their name, with honors including an IBMA Entertainer of the Year award and an astounding seven consecutive IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year awards. Vincent is an incredibly talented, self-motivated, independent woman who is seemingly taking over bluegrass, one song at a time.
Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers, made up of Joe Mullins, Adam McIntosh, Tim Kidd, Evan McGregor, and Mike Terry, feature a charismatic blend of country, gospel, and bluegrass. From slow country ballads to bluegrass instrumentals at breakneck tempos to dense harmonies reminiscent of old gospel music, Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers will leave you absolutely stunned. Before working with The Radio Ramblers, Joe Mullins performed with the band Longview, earning Song of the Year and Recorded Event of the Year awards from the IBMA. He also took home the IBMA Instrumental Recording of the Year award in 2001 for his banjo work on Rebel Records’ “Knee Deep in Bluegrass.” Mullins owns a number of Ohio radio networks featuring Bluegrass and Gospel music. He has been nominated for 2010 SPBGMA for Broadcaster and Promoter of the Year, and one of his stations, WBZI, was nominated for Bluegrass Radio Station of the Year. When it comes to both knowing and performing great Bluegrass music, no one appears to do it better than Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers.
Rhonda Vincent and Joe Mullin and the Radio Ramblers will play Springer Mountain Farms Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman on Thursday, July 12. For more information and to purchase ticket click here.
The Springer Mountain Farms Bluegrass Series continues this Thursday night, June 28, with Chris Thile & Michael Daves and The Boxcars! Tickets are only $26.50 and are available here.
If you like hardcore bluegrass featuring twangy, flawlessly-blended harmonies, then you’re in for a treat for this week with Chris Thile & Michael Daves. Many may know Chris Thile as the former mandolin player for Grammy-Award winning band Nickel Creek; however, Thile continually proves that his skills step far beyond Nickel Creek, or even the bluegrass genre. In 2006, Chris Thile expanded his horizons when he initiated the collaboration that developed into Punch Brothers, a band that radically ties bluegrass to elements of rock, pop, jazz, and even classical. In 2005, when Thile met Michael Daves, a Georgia-born New Yorker with a fearless voice and a fondness for bluegrass, the pair immediately connected. The dynamic duo came out with an album entitled “Sleep With One Eye Open” in 2011, which Nashvillean Jack White produced. The combination of Thile’s technical-style of mandolin musicianship and Daves’ emotionally-charged guitar and vocal parts, along with their intertwining vocal harmonies, this pair is the perfect balance of musicianship and passion, leaving a lasting impact on any audience.
The Boxcars, made up of Adam Steffey, Ron Stewart, John R. Bowman, Keith Garrett, and Harold Nixon, have a smooth, seamless, classic country and bluegrass sound, featuring skillful instrumentation and dense vocal harmonies. The makeup of the band is rather impressive: Steffey was once a member of Union Station, Stewart is one of the most sought after multi-instrumental session players in bluegrass history, Bowman has worked for Alison Krauss and is married to one of the Isaacs, Garrett is a founding member of Blue Moon Rising, and Nixon has toured with the band JD Crowe and the New South. Last year, The Boxcars took home the 2011 IBMA Awards for Emerging Artist of the Year and Instrumental Group of the Year. Adam Steffey and Ron Stewart also won awards individually: Adam for Mandolin Player of the Year and Ron for Banjo Player of the Year. With this incredible amount of talent and experience under their belts, The Boxcars are sure to delight any bluegrass lover.
Guitar-slinger Vince Gill is kicking off the annual Springer Mountain Farms Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman series on June 21 with Sarah Jarosz. Tickets are available here and cost $26.50, or a series pass is available for all six shows for only $140.
Vince Gill is most famous for being a phenomenal country music star with hits like “Go Rest High on That Mountain” and “Don’t Let Our Love Start Slippin’ Away,” but his talents extend far beyond one genre. Gill grew up playing guitar, banjo, bass, mandolin, dobro, and fiddle, playing in bluegrass bands even as early as high school. Earl Scruggs, a legendary banjo player and member of The Original Bluegrass Band founded here at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium, heavily influenced Gill’s musical style. In response to Scruggs’ recent passing, Vince said, “It feels like losing my musical father … I don’t know if music would have spoken to me if it wasn’t for the sound of Earl’s banjo.” Inspired by country and bluegrass pickers alike, Vince Gill is one of the most respected performers, musicians, and songwriters of our time. Gill has won eighteen CMA honors and twenty Grammy® Awards. He has also sold over twenty-six million albums, and is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Sarah Jarosz is a bluegrass multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Jarosz first picked up a mandolin at age 10, and now, she plays octave mandolin, banjo, and guitar as well. In 2009, the year she graduated high school, she released her debut album, “Song Up In Her Head” on Sugar Hill Records. Her collaborators included Chris Thile, Darrell Scott, Stuart Duncan, and Jerry Douglas. When listening to Jarosz, it’s easy to see why The New York Times calls her “one of acoustic music’s most promising young talents.” Although Jarosz is only 21 years old, her incredible singing, picking, and songwriting abilities are well beyond her years. This will the second time Jarosz has appeared on Springer Mountain Farms Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman.
On this day in 1994, Bill Monroe and Alison Krauss took to the very stage where Bluegrass was born to kick off the first Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman.
The tradition started by The Father of Bluegrass continues this summer with an impressive lineup of who’s who in the Bluegrass genre. Tickets are $26.50 per show, on sale now and available here.
2012 Springer Mountain Farms Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman
June 21 Vince Gill with Sarah Jarosz
June 28 Chris Thile & Michael Daves and The Boxcars
July 5 Gibson Brothers, Steep Canyon Rangers, and The Roys
July 12 Rhonda Vincent and Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers
July 19 Dailey & Vincent
July 26 Ricky Skaggs
Come early to Springer Mountain Farms Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman for our Puckett’s Pickin’ on the Plaza showcase for your chance to become Chicken Rich!
Each week, a top regional band will perform on the Ryman plaza starting at 6:00 p.m. visit the 650 AM WSM table to register to win a “Chicken Rich” prize pack including a t-shirt, Hatch poster and cooler of delicious Springer Mountain Farms chicken delivered to your door! The winner’s name will be called from the stage each Thursday night by a Springer Mountain Farms representative and legendary 650 AM WSM announcer Eddie Stubbs!
The lineup will be as follows:
June 21 Freshwater Creek
June 28 Dana Romanello
July 5 Todd Grebe & Cold Country
July 12 Jake Cox
July 19 Travis Wetzel Trio
July 26 A Step Ahead
Come hungry because Puckett’s will be bringing their food truck, Trolley Parton, and offering up some of their delicious southern recipes featuring Springer Mountain Farms chicken! Food sales begin at approximately 5:30 p.m.
Bring the whole family out to catch Pickin’ on the Plaza, right before legends of Bluegrass perform on the stage of the Mother Church of Country Music. Tickets for Springer Mountain Farms Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman are available here and cost only $26.50 per show.
The full lineup for Springer Mountain Farms Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman:
June 21 Vince Gill with Sara Jarosz
June 28 Chris Thile & Michael Daves and The Boxcars
July 5 Gibson Brothers, Steep Canyon Rangers and The Roys
July 12 Rhonda Vincent and Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers
July 19 Dailey & Vincent
July 26 Ricky Skaggs
Preview of Dierks Hatch Show Print for February 2 Ryman Concert
Before a recent Opry appearance, we took a few minutes to speak to Dierks Bentley about his new album, playing the Ryman and his love of Bluegrass. Dierks plays the last full stand-alone concert on the current Ryman stage this Thursday, February 2 before renovation begins February 4 (read more about the stage replacement here.)
Playing at the Ryman never gets old, does it?
Dierks: No, it never does. It never gets old looking around the hallways at all of this great memorabilia on the walls. It’s a living, breathing museum – it’s unbelievable.
You started playing at the Honky Tonks, paying your dues, and now you’re standing here in the Ryman. What was that first time like for you?
Dierks: Oh man, I mean just amazing, unbelievable. I used to play the bars down there at night. Around two o’clock in the morning, I’d be walking back to my car and I’d run my fingers along the wall of the Ryman and dream of one day getting a chance to perform on the stage. Now I’ve had several chances through the Opry and through our own live shows here. It’s just the coolest stage to stand on. It really is my favorite room of any building I’ve played in the whole country.
Tell us about some of your favorite shows that stand out or moments you’ve experienced in the pews.
Dierks: Oh sure! Well last night I was here watching Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, so that is my most recent memory and it was just great. With my wife, one of the first shows we went to in this building was the Opry. I remember Martina McBride was playing that night, and it was really cool to take my wife to that show. I’ve seen some great music in this building. And of course get a chance to be part of the Opry and play here this time of the year is incredible.
When Coldplay played here in 2003, Chris Martin actually stopped the show and said something along the lines of “Not to sound arrogant, but I’ve never sounded this good.” I heard you were here that night…
Dierks: Yeah I was here that night. I’ve seen so many shows, from the loud rock bands to folk bands, and the room sounds good no matter who’s playing. There’s a great sound to it. It’s one of the greatest places to sit as a fan and watch a show. And for me, to be onstage tonight, it’s the best view of any show I get to play every year.
Your new single is called “Home” and the Ryman is the home of country music, does this feel like “home” to you?
Dierks: Well I was thinking the same thing about this being the home of country music, the Mother Church of Country Music. Playing this song onstage for the first time is going to be a pretty powerful song. This song talks about a lot of things. It talks a little bit about the troops and the military. We have a lot of guys that are coming home from Iraq right now, so it’s just a special time of year. To sing this song onstage tonight should be pretty memorable for me and all the guys in the band.
You’ve got a special concert performance coming up Thursday, February 2 to celebrate the release of your new record, “Home”. (The record will be available in stores and on iTunes on February 7.)
Dierks: I’m really proud of the record. I put in over a year’s worth of writing and recording into the record. It’s been the longest I’ve spent on a record, but I really wanted it right after “Up on the Ridge”, which was such a different record for me. That was one of the most important records of my career. I feel like this record coming out after that needed to have the same attention to it. We put all we had into it, and I just can’t wait for our fans to hear it.
Now you mentioned your last record, “Up on the Ridge”, which obviously had bluegrass ties. You know bluegrass really started here. There’s a lot of history here with Del McCoury and you came out to help celebrate Bill Monroe’s 100th birthday with a special concert in our parking lot last year.
Dierks: Yeah! Del played out there in the street not too long ago. I got a chance to get up and sing with him in the parking lot facing back towards the building. It was incredible just to get the chance to do that. Every chance I get to play around this venue, any genre of music – especially the acoustic stuff, it’s always pretty cool.
Your concert on Thursday will be the last stand-alone concert on the current stage. How does that make you feel?
Dierks: My “Home” album release show will have even more meaning to it now…the significance of that stage and who played there before me will definitely be in the back of my head all night. As a member of the Grand Ole Opry, I couldn’t be any prouder.
Dierks Bentley plays the Ryman Thursday, February 2 with Will Hoge opening. Tickets are available by clicking here.
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Bill Monroe, the “father” of bluegrass, and as an informal kick off to IBMA’s “World of Bluegrass” week in Nashville, September 26 – October 2, The Del McCoury Band and special guests will perform on the grounds of the Ryman Auditorium on Tuesday, September 27 from noon until 2 p.m. Central.
The free outdoor bluegrass concert, open to the public, is hosted by the Foundation for Bluegrass Music, a non-profit whose mission is to support public enrichment programs of artistic, educational, historic preservation and literary value. The concert is made possible through the support of the Music City Music Council, The Ryman Auditorium and 650 AM WSM and the cooperation of the Metro Government of Nashville & Davidson County.
Del McCoury, who first came to national attention as the lead singer for Bill Monroe in 1963, is also celebrating his pending induction into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, which will occur during the International Bluegrass Music Awards later that week on Thursday, September 29. McCoury’s new album, Old Memories: The Songs of Bill Monroe (McCoury Music) is scheduled for release on September 27, the day of the free Ryman concert.
Bill Monroe was born September 13, 1911; the bluegrass music community is celebrating the Monroe Centennial around the world with tributes, concerts, broadcasts, recordings and other special events.
Rarely in the world of music can historians agree on the exact origins of a particular genre. Nashville, however, has the unique distinction of being able to pinpoint itself as such a birthplace when, in December 1945, a unique combination of Bill Monroe & his Blue Grass Boys with the debut of Earl Scruggs on banjo and his three-finger style of playing electrified the audience of the Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman Auditorium. The new style of music they performed would be so widely emulated by other groups that it would become known as “bluegrass” music, in respect to the band’s name. A Tennessee state historical marker was placed in 2006 at the northwest corner of the Ryman to celebrate this event.
The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) hosts one of the most prestigious events in bluegrass each year in Nashville. Its “World of Bluegrass” week (September 26-October 2) includes the genre’s Business Conference, the IBMA Awards Show and Bluegrass Fan Fest. Collectively, more than 20,000 will attend the events hosted at the Nashville Convention Center and Ryman Auditorium, and hundreds of broadcast outlets carry programming from the event every year.
Earlier this summer, we celebrated Bill Monroe’s upcoming 100th Birthday with a special edition of Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman featuring Doyle Lawson, Bobby Osborne, Sierra Hull and more.
During December 1945 on our historic stage, Monroe played with his band (featuring banjo pioneer Earl Scruggs, Lester Flatt, Chubby Wise and Cedric Rainwater) and Bluegrass music as we know it was born. The line-up have been widely credited with starting the musical genre during that Grand Ole Opry performance.
The Tennessee Historical Commission honored the Ryman with a historical marker (officially #3A-209 for you trivia buffs) to designate us as the offical Birthplace of Bluegrass on Sept. 29, 2006. The sign stands proudly on the northwest corner of the building near Fifth Avenue.
The plaque reads:
In December 1945, Grand Ole Opry star Bill Monroe and his mandolin brought to the Ryman Auditorium stage a band that created a new American musical form. With the banjo style of Earl Scruggs and the guitar of Lester Flatt, the new musical genre became known as “Bluegrass.” Augmented further by the fiddle of Chubby Wise and the bass of Howard Watts (also known as Cedric Rainwater), this ensemble became known as “The Original Bluegrass Band” which became a prototype for groups that followed.
This week, we wrap up our annual Springer Mountain Farms Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman series with an evening with Doc Watson. The legendary Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award-winner is widely known as one of the bluegrass greats. Recognized for his flatpicking and fingerpicking styles and range of genres from folk to gospel, Watson has won seven Grammy awards. He has also been inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor.
Tickets are only $26.50 and available here. Prior to Doc’s performance, Sydni Perry will kick off the evening with Pickin’ On The Plaza starting at 6:00 p.m.
Originally built as the Union Gospel Tabernacle in 1892 by Captain Tom G. Ryman, this National Historic Landmark and Mother Church of Country Music is a Nashville icon. Most famous former home of the Grand Ole Opry, the Ryman is open for tours during the day and hosts concerts and event at night.
The building was recently honored as Pollstar Magazine's Theatre of the Year for a third time and is currently the Academy of Country Music Venue of the Year.
