Sammy Shelor and Mike Hartgrove of Lonesome River Band were invited to perform at last night’s gala honoring Steve Martin with the 43rd American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award. They were featured onstage with comedian/actor Martin Short singing the song, Friend Of Mine.
While Steve was aware of most of the people set to appear, Sammy and Mike were surprise guests. Steve had previously honored Sammy with his Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass Music in 2011, making him the second recipient of the annual award. The honor carries with it a $50,000 cash prize, no small matter in the life of a bluegrass artist.
He and Hartgrove made the trip out to Hollywood with LRB’s manager, Josh Trivett, where they got to walk the red carpet and hobnob with all the movie stars.
Unfortunately, the guys had to hop a red eye back to the east coast for a show today in Dinwiddie, VA, so they didn’t get to congratulate Steve in person, or hit the post-show festivities.
The event was filmed for later broadcast at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. It will air June 13 at 10:00 p.m. on TBS. Also included on the show were notables of film and television like Tiny Fey, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Conan O’Brien, Dan Aykroyd, Jack Black, Kevin Nealon, and Steve Carell among others.
