Doyle Lawson will debut his most recently modified iteration of Quicksilver this weekend at the National Quartet Convention in Louisville, KY. Mike Rogers has joined the band, where he will play bass guitar and sing tenor.
Mike has spent most of the past 10 years in country music, much of it on drums and high harmony with country singer Craig Morgan. But Rogers has had bluegrass in his blood since he was a youngster, and will have his chance to show off his chops at NQC in a few days.
One of the marvels of bluegrass music this past 30 years has been the longevity and consistently high quality of Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. It’s one thing to keep a band on the road for three decades – and a very difficult thing at that. Retaining a high level of musicianship throughout is something else altogether. Lawson has earned critical and popular acclaim over his long career with Quicksilver, with steady turnover being the only constant other than Doyle himself.
Over these 30 years, Quicksilver has been known for three things most particularly: close harmony singing, driving banjo playing, and top notch lead vocalists. Owing to his prominence in the bluegrass biz, Doyle has always been able to find talented young artists, and has introduced us to many of our music’s reigning stars through his band. I just did a quick scan of this year’s IBMA nominees, and there were only a few categories that didn’t include at least one former Lawson hire in its roster.
Top contemporary vocalists Jamie Dailey, Russell Moore, Steve Gulley, Shawn Lane and Lou Reid first came to prominence with Doyle, as did Barry Scott and Darren Beachley. Ditto for banjo hotshots Terry Baucom, Scott Vestal and Jim Mills. Not too shabby.
So… congratulations to Mike Rogers, the latest in a long and distinguished line of Quicksilver inductees. You can folow their upcoming appearances online.
UPDATE 1:05 p.m. – Actually, Mike will be playing guitar with Quicksilver. Current guitarist Corey Hensley is moving to bass.
