Category: Events

festivals, concerts, and shows

Hazel Dickens Tribute Show in Fairfax, VA

The DC Bluegrass Union has scheduled a special tribute show on January 24 honoring the life and music of Hazel Dickens.

And in keeping with Ms. Hazel’s passion for female artists, headlining the concert will be Dede Wyland with an All-Star, All-Girl bluegrass band featuring Murphy Henry, Gina Furtado, Lisa Kay Howard-Hughes, Sarah Larsen, and Bianca Bentz.

Though she grew up in West Virginia’s coal country, Dickens lived most of her life in the Baltimore/Washington, DC region. Recognized as an authentic voice for both working people and women’s rights, Hazel is celebrated as an important 20th century songwriter.

The January 24 tribute show will be held at Earp’s Ordinary in Fairfax, VA, starting at 7:30 p.m. Also performing that night will be familiar DC area artists Karen Collins, Shannon Bielski, Emily Day, John Seebach, Randy Barrett, Ann Porcella, Carolyn Eyerly, and Shannon Leigh Reynolds.

$15 tickets can be purchased online, so plan on spending the evening awash in the songs and stories of Hazel Dickens.

Earp’s is a full-service restaurant and bar in addition to a music venue.

Hall of Fame introduces John Hartford Days with Sam Bush

The Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum in Owensboro, KY has announced a new event next month, a two-day indoor concert and workshop event honoring the music and legacy of John Hartford.

Billed as John Hartford Days, and running January 31 and February 1, 2025, the weekend will include jamming workshops, discussion panels on Hartford’s career and output, film screenings, and evening concerts with the Sam Bush Band and special guests.

Sam will perform both Friday and Saturday night, with different guests joining him each time. Guests booked to appear are John’s son, Jamie Hartford, Rodney Dillard, Mike Compton, Alison Brown, Jim Lauderdale, and Showman & Coole from Lonesome Ace Stringband.

An after party at the Museum will also be held both nights following the evening concerts, which will also feature an opening act.

On Friday afternoon they will screen Banjoes, Fiddles & Riverboats: John Hartford and the General Jackson, a documentary which John wrote and in which he stars, and on Saturday will show Ramblin’ with John Hartford, a live performance film from 1980.

All of this, both days, is included in the $99 ticket price for John Hartford Days.

The Hall of Fame has made arrangements with The Hampton Inn & Suites Waterfront, located next door to the Museum, to offer discounted room rates with your ticket purchase.

Full details and ticket purchase options can be found online.

King James Boys at The Gospel Barn

The King James Boys at The Gospel Barn 11/30/24 – photo © Roger Black

The Gospel Barn in Somerset, KY, along with The King of Kings Radio Network, played hosts to a big bluegrass gospel singing on November 30. The show featured The Lindsey Family from Columbia, KY, The Hominy Valley Legacy, that included Reagan Riddle, formerly of the Primitives, and the King James Boys, who have been nominated for Bluegrass Gospel Band of the Year for 2025 at SPBGMA. 

The three bands put on a great show for the fans that came out to the Gospel Barn. 

Many thanks to the Gospel Barn and King of Kings radio for providing a great venue for bluegrass gospel music.

Winter Ensemble Showcase at the Kentucky School of Bluegrass and Traditional Music

Mountain Heritage at the KSBTM Winter Ensemble concert – photo © Roger Black

The Kentucky School of Bluegrass and Traditional Music in Hyden, KY was the place to be on Thursday night, December, 12. Hyden has played host to the Osborne Brothers Hometown Bluegrass Festival for over thirty years. But it is also the home of the Kentucky School of Bluegrass and Traditional Music, which trains students in many aspects of the bluegrass music industry. The school offers certificate, diploma, and Associate Degree programs in various aspects of the industry.

The students, faculty, and staff under the leadership of the Director of the school, Dean Osborne, come together twice a year to entertain the community with their Ensemble Showcases that feature the different groups that have been put together by the students. This year’s showcases featured Mountain Heritage, The Mountain Cats, Rock Opera, and the Rockhouse Ensemble.  

Authentic Unlimited Christmas concert

Authentic Unlimited is getting into the Christmas spirit early with their latest single and a new holiday album drifting about like snowflakes on the winter air. Along with the new music, they’ve also announced that they will be hosting and headlining their first Christmas show this year. 

December 21 the guys are putting on a special seasonal show in Dandridge, TN, at the Field of Dreams Activity Center. The sets will feature a mixture of AU’s award-winning, signature sound, and their renditions of classic Christmas music that are sure to rustle up warm memories for each and every listener. 

Tickets for the event are still available online, but they’re going fast so be sure to get yours while you can. Doors open at 6:00 p.m., and the show begins at 7:00. So gather up your Christmas spirit, and get ready for an amazing evening of music with Authentic Unlimited! This ain’t a show you’ll want to miss!

Ticket and location info can be found here.

Here’s a taste of their Christmas sound, with John Meador singing the now-standard White Christmas by Irving Berlin, which was featured in the 1942 film, Holiday Inn.

You can check out all the Christmas bluegrass we have covered at Bluegrass Today by following this link.

Homeless benefit show at Nashville’s Station Inn

For the past two decades Nashville’s bluegrass community has supported a benefit concert in December to help the region’s homeless people as winter descends. It will be held this year on Friday, December 6 at The Station Inn, the city’s home for bluegrass music for many years.

This annual event, featuring several of the top bluegrass acts in Nashville, was launched by Eddie and Martha Adcock, who have turned it over to Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike, who now serve as hosts. Tomorrow night’s concert proceeds will be donated to Room In The Inn, an organization that provides a variety of services for folks in middle Tennessee who need assistance.

Set to perform are Caroline Owens, Della Mae, Borrowed Mules, David Grier, Shelton & Williams, Mike Mitchell, and Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike. Tickets are only $20, and attendees are requested to also bring along personal toiletry items which will be donated to Room In The Inn as well.

As per usual at The Station Inn, there are no advance tickets, so Nashvillians can simply head down to The Gulch, pay the $20 admission fee, and enjoy a full night of great music while supporting a widely respected regional organization and a fine cause.

Ricky Skaggs Christmas tour starts this week

Perennial bluegrass and country music star Ricky Skaggs begins his annual holiday tour this week, the Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder Christmas.

In most years Ricky had created a Christmas show featuring members of his family, his wife Sharon White, and their children. But this year he is taking his crack bluegrass group, Kentucky Thunder, along on his sleigh.

They’ll perform holiday bluegrass classics, and some of the most beloved Christmas songs in a tightly-paced show.

For Skaggs, this annual December run is something h looks forward to every year.

“This is my favorite time of the year. Not only do we celebrate the birth of the Savior, we also get to play some really fun music. I hope you will come out and see one of our Kentucky Thunder Christmas shows. It’s a joyful time. You’ll love it.”

The Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder Christmas tour stops for 2024 include:

  • December 5 – Tucson, AZ – Fox Theatre
  • December 6 – Scottsdale, AZ – Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
  • December 10 – Richmond, KY – EKU Center for the Arts
  • December 11 – Newport News, VA – Ferguson Center for the Arts
  • December 12 – Huntington, WV – Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center
  • December 13 – Wheeling, WV – The Capitol Theatre
  • December 14 – Jim Thorpe, PA – Penn’s Peak
  • December 15 – Marietta, OH – Peoples Bank Theatre
  • December 18 – Nashville, IN – Brown County Music Center
  • December 19 – Knoxville, TN – Tennessee Theatre
  • December 20 – Louisville, KY – The Louisville Palace
  • December 21 – Germantown, TN – Germantown Performing Arts Center
  • December 22 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium

Further details and ticket information can be found online.

Kody Norris Christmas Show now a flood relief benefit

Every year The Kody Norris Show does a special Christmas concert in their hometown of Mountain City, TN. It’s typically not a big deal, large venue kind of show, and more of a thank you for their neighbors and friends.

But with the widespread devastation in east Tennessee where they live, and throughout much of the Blue Ridge region, they have decided to turn it into a flood relief benefit concert instead this year. So they’ve invited a number of other artists to participate with all proceeds to be donated to a flood relief organization.

Booked to appear with them on December 16 at the First Christian Church Life Center in Mountain City are The Malpass Brothers, The Little Roy & Lizzy Show, Nick Chandler & Delivered, Cutter, Cash & the Kentucky Grass, and Surefire. Doors open at 6:00 p.m., with the show starting at 7:00.

Only 200 seats are available, and though the show is on a Monday night, the early start time should get everybody home at a decent time. Accommodations are also available for those who might want to drive in to see all these terrific acts on a single stage.

Tickets are available now online, or you can purchase them by visiting Nalley’s Shirt Shop downtown in Mountain City.

Hats off to Kody, Mary Rachel, Josiah, and Charlie, and all the other participating artists, for coming together to help their neighbors as we head into Christmas.

Photos from the November ’24 Industrial Strength Bluegrass

Kody Norris Show at the Industrial Strength Bluegrass Festival – photo © Michael Gabbard Photography

Many thanks to the folks at the Industrial Strength Bluegrass Festival for sharing this large gallery of images from their second event this year, held November 7-9 at The Roberts Center in Wilmington, OH.

Photos are a contribution from Michael Gabbards and Eric Popp.

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