But before we get to his photographs, the Flower girls also have a new music video to share, a song written and sung by banjo player Molly Johnson, entitled Stronger. It’s one included on the group’s current release, If I Wait Any Longer, that nicely showcases this young lady’s talents as a singer, writer, and instrumentalist, even while still a teen.
She’s joined by bandmates Danielle Yother on guitar and Madeline Dierauf on fiddle, with Dan Hendricks on bass.
And now, Bryce’s images from last night’s show. We also see Norbert McGettigan III on bass and Ryan Stigmon on steel, both of whom appear on If I Wait Any Longer.
Bluegrass lovers in east Tennessee will have the chance to enjoy a terrific bluegrass concert early next year, while also helping provide funding for hurricane disaster relief in Greene County, at Pickin’ For A Purpose, a one day festival event on January 11.
Top acts like Blue Highway and Lonesome River Band are on the bill for this special benefit show, with all proceeds being donated to AIDNET of Greene County, who are providing assistance with cleanup and rebuilding from a base in Greeneville, TN.
The show starts at noon in the Chuckey-Doak High School auditorium in Afton, TN, with additional performances by Springfield Exit, Tennessee Borderline, Red Camel Collective, and No Joke Jimmy’s. Rather than an admission fee, attendees are requested to simply make a donation upon entry of whatever they can afford.
Food and beverages will be available on site, along with auctions throughout the day, with those proceeds again going to Hurricane Helene relief efforts. Mark Ramsey of the Moonshiners television program will serve as MC.
AIDNET of Greene County can accept direct donations online, and also has an online form where homeowners can apply for help with their personal recovery needs.
Additional details about Pickin’ For A Purpose on January 11 can be obtained by calling or texting 423-823-1808.
Our friend Corey Johnson-Erday with Tune Ridge Media traveled down to north Florida for last month’s Hulaween festival at the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, FL. He shared this gallery of images of Sam Grisman (son of Dawg) and Greensky Bluegrass from the final day of the fest.
Pickin’ Up The Pieces, the all-star bluegrass and Americana benefit concert in Knoxville, TN, organized by teen mandolin wunderkind Wyatt Ellis, turned out to be a fabulous event that is still raising money for flood victims of Hurricane Helene.
Over five hours of live music, and a live stream on WDVX, everyone at Yee-Haw Brewing heard and saw music from Wyatt and the East Tennessee Bluegrass All-Stars (Barry Bales, Gary Davis, Justin Moses, Billy Contreras, and Alex Leach), and special guests Sierra Hull, Cruz Contreras, Tim Stafford, Robinella, Ralph Stanley II, Jay Clark, and others.
All proceeds from this show were donated to Mountain Ways, who are doing yeoman’s work to assist those throughout the Appalachian region who were affected by the flooding. In fact, the QR code generated for the show is still active should anyone wish to add to the money raised at Pickin’ Up The Pieces on October 22.
Many thanks to Erin Morris with Morris Public Relations in Nashville for sharing these photos, taken by Colton Zenni, as well as this video stream from the live event last month.
Well done Wyatt Ellis, Yee-Haw Brewing, Mountain Ways, WDVX, and all the folks who donated their time to perform in order to raise money for their neighbors and friends all along the Blue Ridge and Appalachian Mountains.
Bluegrass & Blue Water Cruise, an operation created by Daniel and Carolyn Routh of Nu-Blu, has announced a new bluegrass jamming opportunity during 2025. We’ve all seen, and perhaps enjoyed, bluegrass cruises that replicate a festival environment aboard a luxury cruise ship, but a jamming event?
Well that’s exactly what their March 2-9, 2025 Caribbean cruise is all about. A beautiful cruise ship from Italian line MSC Cruises, stopping in Belize, Cozumel, Nassau, and Ocean Cay, will be dedicated to jamming, with the option of attending a Wernick Method Jam Class taught by Larry Kernagis for an additional fee.
Cruisers will have eight days aboard the MSC Seaside, with time and space set aside for jams, as well as concert performances from Nu-Blu and Willie Wells & The Blue Ridge Mountain Grass. There will also be picking and jamming workshops scheduled throughout the week while the ship is on the move.
MSC Seaside boasts all the amenities you would expect from a modern luxury cruise ship, so cruisers can enjoy all the food and pampering on the sea, and feed their jamming habit at the same time. It’s also perfect for jammers whose spouse and/or family isn’t as immersed in bluegrass as they are. They can enjoy the pools, spa, fine dining, gym, water park, shows, and even a supervised kids and baby room, while you pick away to your heart’s content.
Pricing starts at $850 per person, with complete details available online, or by contacting Jan Wells by email or phone (803-796-6477, 803-730-1288).
Nu-Blu is also doing a special guided tour of Ireland in August, where travelers can accompany the band as they visit the many sights and sounds of the island nation. Those details can also be seen online.
Bluegrass lovers in North Carolina’s Triangle region have a chance to participate in a benefit concert for Hurricane Helene victims later this month, when the South Granville High School Chorus presents a show with The Barefoot Movement on November 22.
Noah Wall and Tommy Norris, founders of The Barefoot Movement, are Granville County natives and have partnered with their old school to host this show and bring their quirky, original bluegrass and Americana music to Creedmoor, NC, with all proceeds being donated to the Baptists on Mission hurricane recovery fund.
Also performing on the 22 in the high school auditorium will be country rockers Bryan’s Hill, also Granville County natives, and GrassStreet from central North Carolina.
The show is set to run from 7:30 – 10:00 p.m., with advance tickets available online for only $15, $20 at the door. There is plenty of parking at the school, and the auditorium is wheelchair accessible, with seating for wheelchair users as well.
Anyone who would like to donate to this fundraising effort is they are unable to attend the show can do that online, either on the concert web site, or directly to Baptists on Mission.
In other North Carolina hurricane relief news, Lorraine Jordan has announced today that 10% of the proceeds from this weekend’s Bluegrass Christmas in the Smokies festival will be donated to the IBMA trust Fund for bluegrass professionals in the affected states and regions. She will also host a silent auction over the weekend at the festival, where attendees can bid on eight Fender guitars signed by Larry Sparks, Dale Ann Bradley, Larry Stephenson, Loe Mullins, and other festival performers. All auction proceeds will go to flood victims.
Jordan says that she is happy to give people at Bluegrass Christmas in the Smokies a way to help out.
“I’m so excited to once more help out by including the silent auction at our festival. When we did this for the fire victims of the Smokey Mountains we raised around $10,000 and I was able to present it to Dolly Parton on her telethon. It’s a way fans can help out and take home something nice also.”
The auction will also include a mandolin from The Loar, a homemade quilt, a veteran’s blanket, and a pair of weekend festival tickets from a number of events who have donated them for the cause. The weekend festival passes include Cherokee Bluegrass Festival, Marion Bluegrass Festival, Bluegrass in the Blueridge, Jerusalem Ridge, Remington Ryde Bluegrass Festival, Industrial Strength Bluegrass Festival, and Howlin’ at the Moon.
Well done to Noah and Tommy, and all the folks involved in the Granville benefit, and to Lorraine and everyone who has donated for her silent auction!
Sue Malcom of Vancouver, BC was recently inducted by the Bluegrass Music Association of Canada (BMAC) into the Canadian Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. The folks at the Pacific Bluegrass and & Old-Time Music Society (PBOMS) threw a nice reception for her induction on November 4 preceding the monthly Slow-Pitch Jam that she runs with her band, Highrise Lonesome. The event was at the ANZA club in Vancouver complete with cake, guest performers, plaque presentation, and acceptance speech followed by the workshop, and two jams.
The evening kicked off with a short cake-cutting ceremony, followed by the induction led by BMAC Director Linda Thorburn, who detailed Sue’s many credentials which are way too extensive to list here. Next up was a lovely showcase featuring Sue performing songs with old friends Linda Thorburn, Linda Bates, and Bob Underhill.
Lest we think this was all fun and games, Sue then went to work leading her award-winning Slow-Pitch Bluegrass jam. This is an ANZA beginner-friendly and low-pressure monthly jam of bluegrass standards, where she explains jamming etiquette and shares tips and tricks including solos where players of each instrument are grouped together. You can preview the songs from the Slow-Pitch jam on this Spotify playlist. Afterward, there was an open jam in the main hall plus another one downstairs in the ANZA club bar. These PBOMS jams and other events happen every Monday night at the club during the winter, and outside at Trout Lake in the summer. If you find yourself in Vancouver on a Monday night, you should definitely check out the local happenings at the PBOMS website.
I collected some thoughts from Sue’s friends and band members. Dobro player and long-time bandmate Don Fraser had this to say about her teaching abilities.
“Sue has a real ability to encourage and support her students. With her encouragement, I’ve watched them learn to play together, bringing what they’re able to do and push beyond those boundaries to explore harmonizing, soloing, and figuring out which fret that damned pink capo she has lent them (because they forgot theirs) goes on so they can play G shapes.”
Fellow DJ at the Vancouver Co-op Radio Rob McGregor added this.
“Sue Malcolm is an inspiration to all of us in the bluegrass community. Her years of work in the promotion, teaching, and performance of bluegrass have had a profound influence on the fans, students, and musicians of this music that we love. Her induction into the Canadian Bluegrass Hall of Fame is clearly well deserved. Congratulations to Sue on this amazing honor.”
Sue and Dave Lidstone were part of the group who founded PBOMS. Dave talks about her contributions.
“I am struck by Sue’s resourceful and generous character. I recall an early meeting of the bluegrass society board becoming rather rambunctious with deliberations, and when someone asked how we would keep track of things, Sue piped up, ‘I’ve been taking minutes.’
At an early Coombs festival, my morning stupor was set aside when she handed me a coffee and a thick slice of raisin bread lathered in butter.
Over the years she has created performance and teaching opportunities that many would have missed, and she has shared those opportunities with others in our community. I have benefited from such generosity.”
Dave shared this picture of the Pacific Bluegrass and Heritage Society (now PBOMS) board members in the fall of 1981, the first anniversary of the society.
Peter Thompson of Bluegrass Signal who was also part of the PBOMS founders group expanded on her involvement.
“Those of us who haphazardly created Vancouver’s Pacific Bluegrass & Old Time (Heritage) Society owe a great deal to fellow founder Sue Malcolm. She pretty much ‘mothered’ the organization, always welcoming to new attendees, always encouraging in jams — something that became one of her careers — and open stages, always ready to do a few tunes with her then-partner, fiddler Keith Malcolm, and always paying attention to the all little things that ensured the organization’s survival.
She’s remained in leadership roles for the 45 years of the PB&OTS, and is probably the main reason why it continues to thrive. Heck, I think she baked the cake that’s in the photo of the first Board Of Directors, taken in 1981 to celebrate the 2nd anniversary of the organization.”
Sue has played in many bands on many recordings, and her solo album titled Highrise Lonesome, which preceded the band by the same name, is a wonderful collection of covers including a couple of original gems, Highrise Lonesome and Amber Eyes, that she wrote. You can purchase this and her other CDs on the Slow-Pitch website.
Congratulations and thanks to Sue for all of her contributions to the bluegrass scene in Canada.
In addition to all the yummy treats and tasty wine on offer, the 2024 Highlands Food & Wine Festival in Highlands, NC featured jamgrass music all weekend as well. Bryce LaFoon with Lightshifter Studios was there November 9, and captured these photos of performances by Larry Keel & Jon Stickley and Greensky Bluegrass, plus some of the food and drink on display.
Karl Shiflett & Big Country Show at the 2024 Salmon Lake Park Fall Bluegrass Festival
After 47 years of an annual Labor Day Bluegrass Festival, the owners of Salmon Lake Park in Grapeland, TX, took a chance on moving the date to late October in hopes of some much cooler weather. The choice paid off in record numbers as reported by promoter, Julie Tucker.
Some festival goers credit the cooler temps while others credit the lineup Tucker put together for the 48th Annual Bluegrass Festival. Tucker’s business model is to include new national talent every year, showcasing young bands just getting started, including crowd favorites without forgetting the legends.
Karl Shiflett & Big Country made a return appearance this year after being off the road for many years, and was well received. His talented young band members include his son, Kris Shiflett, on bass, Celebrindal Roberts on fiddle, Randy Lindley on mandolin, Bryan Holifield on banjo, and Jacob Roberts on guitar. Salmon Lake Park also welcomed the Grascals celebrating their 20th year, along with new Billy Blue recording artist, Caroline Owens. Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out closed out the festival with an extended set, playing all the fan requests.
In keeping with tradition, the pre-festival activities included visiting the local elementary school and introducing them to bluegrass music.
2025 festivals at Salmon Lake Park will be as follows: 28th Memorial Day Gospel Bluegrass (May 22-24) and the 49th Annual Fall Bluegrass (October 23-25).
