After their successful video release of "Reuben's Train", HOGSLOP STRING BAND is back with a brand new video, "John Henry."

The Hogslop String Band is a Nashville based old time string band comprised of five energetic young musicians hailing from Georgia, Tennessee, California and North Carolina.  Featuring Casy Meikle and Kevin Martin on fiddles, Graham Sherrill on banjo, Gabriel Kelley on guitar and Casey "Pickle" McBride on the washtub bass, these boys surely raise a ruckus.

Upon forming as a pickup square dance band in the summer of 2009, The Hogslop String Band has since become one of the most sought after old time string bands. Known for their outrageous facial hair and a rollicking repertoire heavily based on Georgia and Middle Tennessee fiddle tunes, these boys have provided entertainment for fashion shows, political conventions and whiskey distilleries as well as countless weddings, festivals and soirees.

Following in the footsteps of such country music luminaries as Uncle Dave Macon and Gid Tanner, they put on a high energy show easily appreciated by both young and old alike. Despite an unkempt appearance, their undeniable charm is as certain to steal your heart as it will your daughters.

The Bill Monroe Music Park is proud to announce details for the 52nd Annual Bill Monroe Memorial Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival taking place June 9-16, 2018. This year’s incredible line-up will feature performances by Ricky Skaggs, Asleep at the Wheel and numerous Bean Blossom favorites performing during the 8-day event.

The Bill Monroe Memorial Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival is the oldest continuously running bluegrass festival in the world. Every year, music fans from around the globe travel to Brown County, Indiana and enjoy performances by the top artists in bluegrass music.  This year’s full line-up includes:

Saturday, June 9: The Grascals, Ralph Stanley II & The Clinch Mountain Boys, Dale Ann Bradley, Darrell Webb Band, Remington Ryde, Steve Gulley & New Pinnacle, Tommy Sells & Big Country Bluegrass, Tommy Brown & County Line Grass

Sunday, June 10: Seldom Scene, The Churchmen, Flatt Lonesome, Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers, Danny Paisley & The Southern Grass, Tommy Brown & County Line Grass, The Malpass Brothers, Brother John Bowman

Monday, June 11: Audie Blaylock & Redline, Wayne Taylor & Appaloosa, David Davis & Warrior River Boys, David Parmley & Cardinal Tradition, Little Roy & Lizzy Show, Cumberland Gap Connection, ClayBank

Tuesday, June 12: Blue Highway, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, Sideline, The Moron Brothers, Farm Hands, Feller & Hill & the Bluegrass Buckaroos. Free traditional bean supper!

Wednesday, June 13: Special Consensus, Larry Stephenson Band, Karl Shiflett & Big Country Show, Trinity River Band, Hammertowne, The McLain Family Band, Po’ Ramblin’ Boys

Thursday, June 14 - Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, Special Consensus, Dave Adkins Band, Band of Ruhks, Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice, Kevin Prater Band, Blue Mafia

Friday, June 15: Asleep At The Wheel, Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice, Rickey Wasson Band, Flashback (J.D. Crowe Tribute Band), Kenny & Amanda Smith, Chris Jones & The Night Drivers, Larry Efaw & Bluegrass Mountaineers. Free mater sandwiches in memory of James King.

Saturday, June 16: Larry Sparks & Lonesome Ramblers, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Bobby Osborne & Rocky Top X-Press, Jesse McReynolds & The Virginia Boys, Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time, Paul Williams & Victory Trio, Terry Baucom’s Dukes of Drive, Rickey Wasson Band

Camping and Ticket Reservations can be made by calling 800-414-4677. Discounted festival tickets can be purchased online before June 1. Advance tickets are $20-$35 daily, $100 for 3-day combo; $200 for 8-day combo. Juniors 13-16 years old save $5 off per day and Children 12 & under are Free. Admission includes: Bluegrass Hall of Fame, Museum & Uncle Pen cabin Tour, Traditional Bean Supper on Tuesday, daily instrument and vocal workshops, and Mater Sandwiches by Junior Sisk on Friday.

The 52nd Annual Bill Monroe Memorial Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival is sponsored by the Central Indiana Bluegrass Association, Miss Dixie Hall’s Foundation, and media by Moonstruck Management. The legendary Tommy Lamb and Jamie Johnson will serve as Emcees for the festival. Sound will be provided by Tom Feller & GBS Productions.

The Bill Monroe Memorial Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival is the proud winner of the 2013 International Bluegrass Music Association’s Event of the Year Award. For more information on the numerous festivals taking place at the park this year, please visit BillMonroeMusicPark.com, facebook.com/billmonroebeanblossom, and Twitter.

The Bill Monroe Bluegrass Hall of Fame is pleased to announce Miss Dixie and Tom T. Hall as their 2018 Hall of Fame Inductees. The award ceremony will be Saturday, September 22, in Bean Blossom, Indiana at the 44th Annual Hall of Fame and Uncle Pen Bluegrass Festival.

Hall of Fame selection is based on making substantial and enduring contributions to bluegrass music, and the Halls have contributed in a variety of ways for a half century.

Songwriting has been their most public contribution, dating back to 50 years ago when Miss Dixie co-wrote songs with Hall of Fame member Maybelle Carter and Tom T. was writing for Hall of Famers Flatt & Scruggs. In 1999 Miss Dixie and Tom T. began writing songs together. Since then, 3,000 have been recorded. Miss Dixie, the most prolific female bluegrass song writer of all time, has had over 500 of her own songs recorded.

The Halls were so successful together, they won the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America’s (SPBGMA) “Bluegrass Songwriters of the Year Award” for 10 consecutive years. At that time they were awarded the Grand Masters Gold and had “their jerseys retired” from the category. In a 10 year period, the Halls averaged over 2.4 songs a month on the Bluegrass Unlimited top 30 song chart. Eleven of the Hall’s songs went to #1, and some months they had as many as five songs at the same time on the chart! In 2004 they were awarded the International Bluegrass Music Association’s (IBMA) “Distinguished Achievement Award” for their lifetime contributions to bluegrass music.

Besides songwriting, the Halls have had a positive influence on the genre by helping young and struggling artists. They started their own publishing company (Good Home Grown Music) and their own record label and studio (Blue Circle Records) at home at Fox Hollow, near Franklin, TN. Often the Halls provided rooms in their home, meals and free studio time to young, up-and-coming artists. They also gave personal encouragement. Miss Dixie felt the bluegrass community was her family, and she treated artists in that way—helping build careers and increasing the number of successful new bands along the way.  

Helping bluegrass was not new to Miss Dixie. As far back as the ‘60s, she started promoting bluegrass groups in the UK and then moved to the States where she promoted groups like The Stanley Brothers, The Lonesome Pine Fiddlers and Bill Clifton for Starday Records.

Tom T. has recorded a number of significant bluegrass recordings: The Magnificent Music Machine, The Storyteller and the Banjo Man, and Tom T. Sings Miss Dixie. Because Tom T. was one of the biggest country music stars of his generation, these recordings not only brought good music to the bluegrass community, they also brought bluegrass into the homes of country music fans not familiar with the genre.  

Although Miss Dixie left us too soon on January 16, 2015, the Halls’ contributions to bluegrass music continue to be felt. Their bluegrass songs still top charts and the artists they encouraged are still flourishing, three years after her passing.

For more information on the , please visit www.billmonroemusicpark.com.

Ralph Stanley II & The Clinch Mountain Boys are proud to announce their new radio single “Raining In My Heart” written by Ralph Stanley II, Alex Leach and Joe Rose. The song is from the band’s self-titled album that has appeared on Billboard’s Top Bluegrass Albums Chart numerous times since its release. Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine refers to the tune as one of the “softer, gentle country sounds” from the album. Radio programmers can download the song at AirPlayDirect or request the file.

The album has already generated a #1 hit on Bluegrass Today's Top 20 Song Charts with “Don’t Point Your Finger” and recently appeared on the publication’s Top 20 Monthly Chart. “The new record has the potential of being one of the best traditional bluegrass records of the year,” said Bluegrass Today.

Music fans can purchase the Ralph Stanley II & The Clinch Mountain Boys album at iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby, www.ralph2.com and more outlets.

Ralph II leads the band on vocals and guitar. He is joined by Clinch Mountain Boys John Rigsby on fiddle and mandolin, Alex Leach on banjo, and Noah Brown on the upright bass. Be sure to check out a live performance by Ralph Stanley II & The Clinch Mountain Boys. Upcoming dates include:

·        March 10 – Clay City, KY

·        March 11 – Fairborn, OH

·        March 24 – Bristol, VA

·        April 12 – Bristol, VA

·        April 13 – Waco, GA

·        April 14 – Folkston, GA

·        April 15 – Zephyrhills, FL

To book Ralph Stanley II & The Clinch Mountain Boys, please contact Moonstruck Management and visit ralph2.com for additional tour dates. For more information on the upcoming Dr. Ralph Stanley Hills of Home Festival, visit drralphstanleyfestival.com for information on the Dr. Ralph Stanley Hills of Home Festival.

For over 40 years, the annual three-day music festival in Southern California, Huck Finn Jubilee, delivered acts from a long list of luminaries such as Ralph Stanley, Alison Krauss, Del McCoury, Punch Brothers, Rhonda Vincent, Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers, Emmylou Harris, Peter Rowan, and more. After a one-year hiatus, the festival will return to Ontario, CA on October 5, 6, and 7 in 2018 under new owners Nikki and Roger.

“It’s important that we honor the tradition of this festival because the community deserves it and we want to take you on the musical journey that we experienced” says Nikki and Roger. The couple, both executives at an experiential marketing firm in Los Angeles, attended the festival in 2016 and were impressed with the music, array of activities for people of all ages and overall positive vibe. When they heard the festival wasn’t going to return in 2017, they purchased the brand and built their dream team of industry experts in hopes of keeping the festival alive and maintaining the high-level of quality its fans and the community deserves.

Entering its 41st year, the 2018 Huck Finn Jubilee will offer the entire festival experience featuring traditional and progressive bluegrass music, local food, craft beer, a unique array of handcrafted arts and crafts, access to beautiful park amenities, camping, fishing and general family fun.

Festival tickets and lineup announcements coming soon.

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Learn more about the 2018 Huck Finn Jubilee at HuckFinn.com

Balsam Range was honored with the “Entertainer of the Year” Award at the 29th Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards held in Raleigh last week. The western North Carolina-based group previously won this award in 2014. Band member Buddy Melton (fiddle, lead and tenor vocals) took home the 2018 IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year Award and Tim Surrett (bass, dobro, baritone & lead vocals) won the Bass Player of the Year Award. The award-winning group also features Darren Nicholson (mandolin, octave mandolin, lead vocals, baritone and low tenor vocals), Dr. Marc Pruett (banjo), and Caleb Smith (guitar, lead & baritone vocals).

Last week, Balsam Range performed as part of "The TRUST" set at The Red Hat Amphitheater which coincided with the new album titled Come See About Me: A Benefit for the IBMA Trust Fund, a collection of songs chosen specifically for this project.

Balsam Range has received over a dozen other International Bluegrass Music Association Awards including the 2017 IBMA Album of the Year Award for Mountain Voodoo released on the Mountain Home Music Company label.

Earlier this year the label released the band’s latest album Mountain Overture that transforms Balsam Range’s most-loved songs from their first decade of recordings and features the Atlanta Pops Orchestra Ensemble. The band also has two new singles: “Hobo Blues” and “The Girl That Invented The Wheel” that includes an entertaining music video.

Balsam Range leaves audiences spellbound while headlining major festivals from coast to coast, selling out venues and appearing multiple times at the Grand Ole Opry. Remaining 2018 tour dates include:

·        Oct 5 – Huck Finn Jubilee, Ontario, CA

·        Oct 11 - Music on the Town, Dandridge, TN

·        Oct 21 – Festival of Mountain Music, Kiawah Island, SC

·        Nov 3 – Roy Chapman and Joe Byers Memorial Bluegrass Bash, Rosman, NC

·        Nov 17 – Historic Earle Theater, Mount Airy, NC

·        Nov 30 – Balsam Range Art of Music Festival, Lake Junaluska, NC

The International Bluegrass Music Association Entertainer of the Year Balsam Range’s ninth album Aeonic debuted at #1 on the Billboard Bluegrass Album Chart, further showing why they’re one of the most vital artists in the roots genre. The album also debuted at #8 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Chart, #26 on the Americana/Folk Chart and #33 on the Current Country Chart.

With arresting songs full of humanity, dynamic performances graced with subtleties, and material that is both personal and profound, Aeonic features music that would be powerful in any genre, but is made all the more compelling through this Western North Carolina band’s acoustic music mastery.

"What an incredible honor to see Aeonic debut on the Billboard chart at #1!" says Buddy Melton, Balsam Range vocalist and fiddle player. "I could not be more proud of the project or of the individuals that worked so hard to make this project come to life. And most importantly, a big thanks to all the supporters! What an awesome way to start off the new year."

Scott Wagner, senior vice president of Crossroads Label Group adds, “We’re very excited for this #1 album debut. In today’s market, they’re not easy to come by. We’re proud of Balsam Range for putting in the time and effort to create music that resonates so powerfully with their audience.”