This post is a contribution from Dave Roye.
I know I am a little late on the SPBGMA update … 3 hours of sleep the past few nights from editing all the photos paid it’s toll on me.
Friday was an incredible evening of entertainment at the showcase stage. After the dinner break, The Circuit Riders kicked off the showcase show with their great harmonies and big sound! I spoke with bassist, Billy Gee after the show and he said they have their latest recording project finished, just need it to be mixed and hoped to have it out soon! If it is half as good as they sounded onstage, it will be a great one!
It was the first time I had got to see Skaggs Family recording artist Melonie Cannon and Tennessee Road and I was blown away energetic show- WHAT A VOICE!
Carolina Road did a great set of Traditional bluegrass, then the highlight for me was to see the lady with the prettiest smile in bluegrass, Lynn Morris play the entire performance of their portion of the show! WHAT A SWEETHEART SHE IS!
James King rocked the house as he always does and another special moment was to see the legendary Curly Seckler come onstage and perform a song with the James King Band. It’s always great to see the 1st generation bluegrass artists still performing.
[Note: I missed the afternoon show of Melvin Goins and Windy Mountain, but there was plenty of talk about how happy he and his brother (Ray) were to be onstage performing together again on their afternoon appearance. (Sorry now that I missed that one). ]
After James King, came the wonderful performance of Randy Waller and the Country Gentlemen. The heart and soul of the music of Charlie Waller most definitely lives in the voice and heart of his son. It was great to hear a few of the old Country Gentlemen tunes and latest cuts off their newly released, Keeper of the Flame and first CD project as the Country Gentlemen since Charlie passed away in 2004.
Larry Stephenson came out and did a great set, then the icing on the cake was BlueRidge with a great set and the end of another great day at SPBGMA – (the jamming continued, but I didn’t stick around much longer after the showcase!)
I may as well cover a bit on the Sunday Awards show… Rarely Herd was the host and Rhonda Vincent was the co-host of the event. The Lewis Family kicked off the show and Little Roy was his typical self – but went into rare form mode later in the show after Rhonda gave him a kiss on the cheek! (Was Hilarious)
I will not go into detail as to who all the winners were, but I was really happy to see my good friend, John Hutchinson take the 2005 Promoter of the Year Award and Tom T. and Dixie getting Bluegrass Songwriter of the Year.
Rarely Herd came out and did a great show of Gospel songs and plenty of comedy! Ronnie Bowman and The Committee, which included the likes of Rob McCoury for one in the band, did a great show. The Grascals took the show to another level with their great performance. Of course, there were award presentations between each act, and the comedy antics of Little Roy and Rarely Herd had every one in stitches with their jokes, and Little Roy being “Little Roy.”
James King and Carolina Road combined their bands onstage for an awesome set of Traditional bluegrass; Cherryholmes came out next and showed why they are IBMA’s 2005 Entertainer of the Year; then Rhonda Vincent and the Rage topped off the evening with a stellar performance!
There were several occasions taken to remember the Scruggs Family and the passing of Louise Scruggs, which made the evening seem just a little more special as everyone was mourning the loss of a bluegrass family member.
All-in-all SPBGMA was a great time for those who attended! I will be posting a couple more hundred photos in the next couple of days and will keep you posted when they are on the site! Thanks to all the folks who let me “blog” them at SPBGMA! That was a lot of fun!
