Since its formation 37 years ago, the award-winning Lonesome River Band continues its reputation as one of the most respected names in Bluegrass music. Whether performing on the famous stage of the Grand Ole Opry or headlining major concert events & festivals, their loyal fans continue to support one of the most loved and most influential acts of our time.
Lonesome River Band’s vocal and instrumental talents seamlessly come together as they perform their trademark sound that fans continue to embrace. The outstanding lead vocals and harmony by acclaimed singer-songwriter Brandon Rickman (guitar) and the 2017 IBMA Momentum Award Vocalist of the Year Jesse Smathers (mandolin) are pure magic and put over the top by the exceptional instrumentals of fiddle extraordinaire Mike Hartgrove, top-tier bassist Barry Reed; and five-time IBMA Banjo Player of the Year and Virginia Country Music Hall of Famer Sammy Shelor.
The stellar harmony of Rickman and Smathers vocals is certainly highlighted in the group’s recent albums. In 2018, Lonesome River Band received an IBMA Album of the Year nomination for their self-produced Mayhayley’s House on the Mountain Home Music Company label. They dedicated the album to Mayhayley Lancaster, a self-proclaimed “Oracle of the Ages” who handed out “readings” and personal predictions at her home in southwest Georgia’s Heard County. The bluegrass tinkers of tradition also dedicated the album to its fans; and, to people who understand that traditions once lost are rarely recovered. The musicianship, song selection and vocals are stellar.
In 2017, Lonesome River Band performed at Jim McBride’s induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame along with Alan Jackson, Luke Bryan, Earl Thomas Conley, James LeBlanc, Lee Ann Womack, Dustin Lynch, the Bundys, Craig Campbell, Hillary Lindsey, Clint Lagerberg and Steven Lee Olsen.
This award-winning band again built on their familiar sound while adding bold progressiveness to their March 19, 2016 Mountain Home Music Company album, Bridging the Tradition that made its debut at #2 on Billboard’s Top 10 Bluegrass Album Chart. The album received a 2016 IBMA Award Nomination for Album of the Year along with “Thunder & Lightning” for Song of the Year, “Rockin’ of the Cradle” for Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year, and Sammy Shelor for Banjo Performer of the Year. Lonesome River Band continues to evolve in the ever-changing landscape of Bluegrass and Acoustic Country music. With this album, the band once again delivered incredible, ground-breaking music that is rooted in the tradition it began decades ago.
Also in 2016, band members Sammy Shelor and Mike Hartgrove performed with actor Martin Short when Steve Martin was honored with the 43rd American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award – the highest honor for a career in film. The award was presented to Steve Martin during the gala tribute in Los Angeles, Calif. and aired on TBS. The star-studded event included: Tiny Fey, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Conan O’Brien, Dan Aykroyd, Jack Black, Kevin Nealon, Steve Carell, and many more.
Lonesome River Band’s long career is obviously filled with numerous awards and recognitions including their 2012 International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Award for Instrumental Recorded Event of the Year for their song “Angeline the Baker” from their Chronology Volume One album. Sammy Shelor received his fifth win as the IBMA Banjo Performer of the Year in 2012. The group has also received other awards from IBMA including Album of the Year, along with many from SPBGMA including Bluegrass Band of Year, Vocal Group of the Year, Song of the Year and Shelor as a 3-time SPBGMA Banjo Player of the Year award winner.
In 2011, Sammy Shelor received the 2nd Annual Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass. Lonesome River Band with special guest Steve Martin performed on the Late Show with David Letterman and the guys also got to sit down with the late-night host where Martin presented the award check to Shelor in a humorous exchange!
Lonesome River Band has been one of the most popular and influential acts in bluegrass music since the release of their breakout album, Carrying The Tradition, back in 1991. As always, with Lonesome River Band, you can be assured their prominence as one of the most influential acts in bluegrass music is here to stay.
https://www.lonesomeriverband.com/
https://www.facebook.com/lonesomeriverband/
Brandon Rickman – guitar, vocals; Jesse Smathers – mandolin, vocals; Mike Hartgrove – fiddle; Barry Reed – bass; Sammy Shelor – banjo
Lonesome River Band
Since its formation 37 years ago, the award-winning Lonesome River Band continues its reputation as one of the most respected names in Bluegrass music. Whether performing on the famous stage of the Grand Ole Opry or headlining major concert events & festivals, their loyal fans continue to support one of the most loved and most influential acts of our time.
Lonesome River Band’s vocal and instrumental talents seamlessly come together as they perform their trademark sound that fans continue to embrace. The outstanding lead vocals and harmony by acclaimed singer-songwriter Brandon Rickman (guitar) and the 2017 IBMA Momentum Award Vocalist of the Year Jesse Smathers (mandolin) are pure magic and put over the top by the exceptional instrumentals of fiddle extraordinaire Mike Hartgrove, top-tier bassist Barry Reed; and five-time IBMA Banjo Player of the Year and Virginia Country Music Hall of Famer Sammy Shelor.
The stellar harmony of Rickman and Smathers vocals is certainly highlighted in the group’s recent albums. In 2018, Lonesome River Band received an IBMA Album of the Year nomination for their self-produced Mayhayley’s House on the Mountain Home Music Company label. They dedicated the album to Mayhayley Lancaster, a self-proclaimed “Oracle of the Ages” who handed out “readings” and personal predictions at her home in southwest Georgia’s Heard County. The bluegrass tinkers of tradition also dedicated the album to its fans; and, to people who understand that traditions once lost are rarely recovered. The musicianship, song selection and vocals are stellar.
In 2017, Lonesome River Band performed at Jim McBride’s induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame along with Alan Jackson, Luke Bryan, Earl Thomas Conley, James LeBlanc, Lee Ann Womack, Dustin Lynch, the Bundys, Craig Campbell, Hillary Lindsey, Clint Lagerberg and Steven Lee Olsen.
This award-winning band again built on their familiar sound while adding bold progressiveness to their March 19, 2016 Mountain Home Music Company album, Bridging the Tradition that made its debut at #2 on Billboard’s Top 10 Bluegrass Album Chart. The album received a 2016 IBMA Award Nomination for Album of the Year along with “Thunder & Lightning” for Song of the Year, “Rockin’ of the Cradle” for Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year, and Sammy Shelor for Banjo Performer of the Year. Lonesome River Band continues to evolve in the ever-changing landscape of Bluegrass and Acoustic Country music. With this album, the band once again delivered incredible, ground-breaking music that is rooted in the tradition it began decades ago.
Also in 2016, band members Sammy Shelor and Mike Hartgrove performed with actor Martin Short when Steve Martin was honored with the 43rd American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award – the highest honor for a career in film. The award was presented to Steve Martin during the gala tribute in Los Angeles, Calif. and aired on TBS. The star-studded event included: Tiny Fey, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Conan O’Brien, Dan Aykroyd, Jack Black, Kevin Nealon, Steve Carell, and many more.
Lonesome River Band’s long career is obviously filled with numerous awards and recognitions including their 2012 International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Award for Instrumental Recorded Event of the Year for their song “Angeline the Baker” from their Chronology Volume One album. Sammy Shelor received his fifth win as the IBMA Banjo Performer of the Year in 2012. The group has also received other awards from IBMA including Album of the Year, along with many from SPBGMA including Bluegrass Band of Year, Vocal Group of the Year, Song of the Year and Shelor as a 3-time SPBGMA Banjo Player of the Year award winner.
In 2011, Sammy Shelor received the 2nd Annual Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass. Lonesome River Band with special guest Steve Martin performed on the Late Show with David Letterman and the guys also got to sit down with the late-night host where Martin presented the award check to Shelor in a humorous exchange!
Lonesome River Band has been one of the most popular and influential acts in bluegrass music since the release of their breakout album, Carrying The Tradition, back in 1991. As always, with Lonesome River Band, you can be assured their prominence as one of the most influential acts in bluegrass music is here to stay.
https://www.lonesomeriverband.com/
https://www.facebook.com/lonesomeriverband/
Brandon Rickman – guitar, vocals; Jesse Smathers – mandolin, vocals; Mike Hartgrove – fiddle; Barry Reed – bass; Sammy Shelor – banjo
The 2019 Instrument Raffle Winners
The Grascals
Great musicians will always find a way to make good music, but for great musicians to make great music, they must form a bond – one that, more often than not, goes beyond the purely musical to the personal. For The Grascals, that bond has been forged at the intersection of personal friendships, shared professional resumes and an appreciation for the innovative mingling of bluegrass and country music that has been a hallmark of the Nashville scene for more than forty years.
Their cutting-edge modern bluegrass is delivered with a deep knowledge of, and admiration for, the work of the music’s founding fathers. Timely yet timeless, The Grascals make music that is entirely relevant to the here and now, yet immersed in traditional values of soul and musicianship. It’s a unique sound that has earned three Grammy® nominations and two Entertainer of the Year awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association, as well as national media attention that seems to perpetually elude acts entrenched in niche genres. Such appearances include The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Fox & Friends, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and CBS’ The Talk. All the while, stages that represent the strongest bastions of tradition continually welcome them, as evidenced by the over 150 performances on the Grand Ole Opry. Honors also include performing twice for President George W. Bush and at President Barack Obama’s inaugural ball at the Smithsonian.
As their records prove, The Grascals’ rare musical empathy gives them an unerring ear for just the right touch to illuminate each offering’s deepest spirit – whether they’re digging into one of their original songs or reworking a bluegrass classic or a pop standard. Take for instance, fan favorite, “Last Train to Clarksville.” Non-bluegrass listeners enjoy a new take on a familiar song, while diehard bluegrass audiences who may have never heard the Monkees classic, respond in-kind, not even realizing that the song has been Grascalized.
https://grascals.com
https://www.facebook.com/grascals/
David Parmley & Cardinal Tradition
David Parmley began his musical career at age 15 and by the time he turned 17, he began his full time career as a member of The Bluegrass Cardinals. That band featured his father, Don Parmley, and three Los Angeles musicians. In 1975 they made their way to the Washington DC area and began performing several nights a week for several years. David’s lead and baritone voice was the backbone to The Cardinal sound. Dozens of musicians have worked with David and Don over the years but “The Sound” remained constant. The Bluegrass Cardinals recorded dozens of projects during their 25 year run. The material is considered the finest to come out of the 70’s and 80’s Bluegrass era. David left The Bluegrass Cardinals in the 90’s to pursue a solo career featuring a more modern approach to Bluegrass Music. David Parmley and Continental Divide topped the Bluegrass Charts throughout the 90’s. He took time off the road around 2008, but now in 2016, David is returning to Bluegrass Music with a new renewed spirit. Cardinal Tradition is an exciting new adventure and one that everyone has been waiting for.
https://davidparmley.com
https://www.facebook.com/David-Parmley-and-Cardinal-Tradition-113626715338914
David Parmley – lead vocals and guitar; Doug Bartlett – mandolin and harmony vocals; Steve Day – fiddle and harmony vocals; Dale Perry – banjo and harmony vocals; Ron Spears – bass and harmony vocals
The Old Blue Band
OLD BLUE is a bluegrass band. They play bluegrass music the old-fashioned way, with much attention paid to the original music of the founders of the style. Folks like Bill Monroe, The Stanley Brothers, Flatt and Scruggs. The band is dedicated to the preservation of the music from the past and the continued presentation of its character in the present day. They leave the future development of this music to a new generation. OLD BLUE are seasoned professionals that have played this style for decades. They are some of the best in the business from the western United States. These gentlemen present bluegrass music the way it was in the early days. Fans will experience the music the way it used to be, and still is…played by OLD BLUE.
https://oldblueband.com
https://www.facebook.com/OldBlueBluegrassBand
Dick Brown – banjo, vocals; Bill Cox – guitar, lead vocal; Billy Parker – mandolin, vocals, Bob Denoncourt on Bass, Marty Warburton on guitar and vocals and Alvin Blaine on dobro (and other instruments).