Delta Reign, a Mobile, AL/Pensacola,FL based “delta style” bluegrass band will be coming to Nashville this week to back up a new young talent, “Ruby Jane Smith” who will be performing for some industry folks there this Wednesday, April 4th.
If you haven’t heard of little miss Ruby Jane, you soon will. At just 12 years old, she is drawing some attention and making a name for herself. She has taken on the title of “Mississippi Fiddler”. She is Mississippi state fiddle champion, has won several music competitions, performed alongside many bluegrass greats including Marty Stuart, Rhonda Vincent, Carl Jackson, and many more. She is the youngest fiddler ever to be asked to play the Grand Old Opry. CBS evening news did a feature on her last year. This bold little entertainer is going somewhere!
The Delta Reign band which consists of Pat Murphy on banjo, Benita Murphy on bass and most of the lead, and Norman Jeter on guitar, met up with Ruby Jane and her mother JoBelle Smith, in Hattiesburg, MS last year where they were all performing and developed a personal as well as a musical friendship. Delta Reign’s style of bluegrass is “stretching the boundaries” and Ruby Jane is stretching hers so it was just a natural fit. From there, they have done a few concerts together with Delta Reign backing Ruby Jane for her portion of the show. So when Benita Murphy got a call from JoBelle to go to Nashville for a showcase to help Ruby Jane, it was a “no-brainer”.
So if you are in the Nashville area this week, you might want to drop by “Third and Lindsley” on Wednesday night, April 4th and give a listen to Ruby Jane and Delta Reign. The show starts at 6:00. You can also check out their websites at: deltareign.com and mississippifiddler.com