Bluegrass Ridge is an internationally syndicated weekly half-hour television program featuring bluegrass music videos. It has always had one goal, to share the bluegrass genre with the largest audience possible.
The program is now taking it one step further by adding the music-driven show into rotation on 85 new local affiliate TV stations throughout the United States. These include top markets like New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, Tampa, and all the way to Honolulu, while also airing on affiliates in bluegrass stronghold cities like Nashville, Lexington, Norfolk, and beyond. In addition to the new broadcast areas, the show will continue to air nationwide on satellite/cable networks: Heartland, The Family Channel, RightNow TV, YTA TV, Stryk TV, Fox 8 (Greensboro, NC) and streaming on Country Roads TV.
Bluegrass Ridge features music videos from bluegrass music’s biggest artists like Rhonda Vincent, Ricky Skaggs, Darin & Brooke Aldridge, and IIIrd Tyme Out. Each episode features a special artist interview or a behind-the-scene look at the making of their music video. Daniel and Carolyn Routh of the band, Nu-Blu, serve as the show’s hosts.
“Carolyn and I took over full-time hosting three years ago,” explained Daniel in a phone interview.
Initially, the show launched with varying bluegrass performers as guest hosts, including Nu-Blu.
“When we were contacted about being full-time hosts, we were’’t expecting that to happen! We are very honored to host the show. It’s an awesome opportunity to put bluegrass out on a much larger scale.
People initially thought it was going to be all about Nu-Blu. They didn’t realize this about putting other artists’ material out there. Every week we showcase mainstream and new artists that folks may not know.
The show has been on air for over 15 years. It is syndicated across seven networks and 120 million homes in the US, five countries, and over three million viewers on streaming each month! That’s a huge opportunity to get bluegrass to the masses. Our reach makes it the largest TV show for bluegrass in the world, across all platforms.
Even though it has its roots in countries all over the world, this music serves as a ‘melting pot’ for many cultures. It’s a true history of the United States, and continues to tell the tales of those that live and love this music.
The show grew due to COVID. Networks were streaming it multiple times a week. We are excited to now be moving into local affiliates across all major markets (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX). It is phenomenal.”
The show is produced out of the Routh’s studio in Siler City, NC.
“We were shooting at the Station Inn, then COVID hit and stopped our ability to shoot there, or anywhere. We typically record four episodes at a time. We want to keep it current, so we added the needed gear to our studio so we could keep the artists music out there as they released it.”
Daniel is grateful to Jeff Moseley of CJM Productions in Goodlettsville, TN.
“He’s taught me how to produce television. He worked with us step-by-step to make what he calls ‘good TV.’ It would not have been possible without Jeff being a good teacher, mentor and business man.”
“Bluegrass Ridge delivers to the viewers the music they love,” stressed Moseley. “Now through our alliance with Alex Paen, Telcoproductions/Syndication has escalated our TV viewership to include over 85 broadcast TV markets. This along with our cable, satellite, and streaming partners gives bluegrass music fans worldwide the opportunity to see their favorite artists. We are very excited about this growth and thank our viewers for their loyalty over the years.”
Daniel added, “We are doing more and more on location videos at various venues. We want to get everyone’s music (in bluegrass) out and connect with live shows, doing interviews about festivals and venues is a great way to do this. We encourage festivals to reach out to us and ask about how they can be part of the show.”
Visit the Bluegrass Ridge web site to see where/when it is broadcasted in your area.
“We encourage folks to reach out to their local affiliate. They can receive it with just the flip of a switch.”
The Rouths also encourage artists, established and rising, to submit videos to the show by contacting them through the web site.
“To be able to put out a music that we love, with international roots, yet still true to the history of the American story, we are are truly blessed,” concluded Daniel.
