Tag: Blue Highway

Pickin’ For A Purpose benefit show postponed until January 18

The big Pickin’ For A Purpose concert, scheduled for tomorrow night (January 11) to provide funding for hurricane disaster relief in Greene County, TN, has been rescheduled, postponed for one week because of the snow and ice storm bearing down on the region.

We have spoken with the concert promoter, who says that they have been able to retain the location at the Chuckey-Doak High School auditorium in Afton, TN for the 18th, and all but one of the booked bands are also able to perform next week.

Scheduled to appear are Blue Highway, Lonesome River Band, Tennessee Borderline, Red Camel Collective, and No Joke Jimmy’s. Springfield Exit, originally booked for tomorrow night, can’t make it next Saturday, but The Grascals are scheduled in their place.

Rather than an admission fee, attendees are requested to simply make a donation upon entry of whatever they can afford. Proceeds will go to AIDNET of Greene County, who are providing assistance with cleanup and rebuilding in east Tennessee from a base in Greeneville following the devastation that followed Hurricane Helene in September.

This is a rare opportunity to see so many fine bluegrass entertainers in one space during the winter months, while also helping out neighbors who suffered loss during the flooding.

Food and beverages will be available on site, along with auctions throughout the day, with those proceeds again going to hurricane relief efforts. Mark Ramsey of the Moonshiners television program will serve as MC.

AIDNET of Greene County can also accept direct donations online, and has an online form where homeowners can apply for help with their personal recovery needs.

Additional details about Pickin’ For A Purpose, now on January 18, can be obtained by calling or texting 423-823-1808.

Lonesome State of Mind – Blue Highway

If there’s one word that could sum up Blue Highway, it’s consistency. The beloved bluegrass powerhouse has maintained a consistent personnel with only a select few lineup changes over its thirty year history. They’ve maintained a consistently high standard with their signature vocal harmonies and distinctive instrumentalism, and they never fail to bring exciting and fresh original material to the table. Lonesome State of Mind, the band’s first studio release in five years, captures all of these consistent elements in spades.

The album kicks off with the title track, Lonesome State of Mind. Cowritten by Tim Stafford and Bobby Starnes, this song was a mainstay of the Bluegrass Today Weekly Airplay Charts in 2023. It’s very easy to see why. Combining a driving melody alongside a captivating story, this song has all the ingredients of a typical Blue Highway song. Along with Stafford on guitar and vocals, Wayne Taylor on bass and vocals, and Shawn Lane on mandolin, fiddle, guitar, and vocals, the band also consists of Jason Burleson on banjo, mandolin and guitar, and Gary Hultman on resophonic guitar and vocals.

The North Side by Shawn Lane, his brother Chad Lane, and Gerald Ellenburg is a haunting track that features Shawn and his son Grayson singing together. As one can expect with family harmony, the two sound extremely alike. This type of vocal harmony is especially appropriate for a song that was inspired by a winter day in Scott County, Virginia where the Lanes spent their formative years.

On The Roof of the World by Tim Stafford is a fictional tale about a Tibetan sherpa that never made it off of Mount Everest and is missing his home. Gary Hultman’s dobro work particularly stands out on this track. It’s obvious that the work of Blue Highway’s original resophonic guitarist, Rob Ickes, has inspired much of his vocabulary on the instrument.

I’ve Had Enough Missouri For A While, by Stafford and Thomm Jutz, is a true standout. It tells the tale of a man who finally discovers after several relocations that he “knows what the problem is and it ain’t geography.” The lyrics are a brilliant example of the songwriting talent contained within Blue Highway. It’s another one of those songs that’s a perfect addition to the band’s growing repertoire. 

Emerson and Bull Moose are both instrumental tracks. The former, written by Jason Burleson, was named for and inspired by the playing of legendary banjoist Bill Emerson. The latter by Shawn Lane is a fine demonstration of his clean, yet powerful approach to the mandolin.

Sleepless Nights, Endless Tears, Broken Heart features Gary Hultman on lead vocals. Cowritten by Stafford and Mark Bumgarner, this traditionally oriented piece is a great match for Hultman’s voice.

Randall Hayes by Stafford and Rick Lang is a dark tale about a man who was murdered, then buried in a shallow grave. This is another one of those songs where the melody fits the lyrical content of the song perfectly.

It would more than likely be tough for any listener to pick a single favorite from Lonesome State of Mind. Blue Highway has shown once again their thorough originality within this release. Every song on this album is a winner. All twelve have earned their rightful place alongside the classic material that fans have come to know and love over the last thirty years.

Welcome Brody Hultman

Gary Hultman, reso-guitarist with Blue Highway, and his wife, Ashley Nale Hultman, banjo player with Loose Strings, are celebrating the birth of their first child.

Brody William Hultman was born on April 15 at 9:53 p.m. at Twin County Regional Healthcare in Galax, VA. He weighed in at 8 lbs, 6 oz, stretching out to 21”.

Mom and son are doing well, and Ashley tells us that, “We are over the moon in love!” with their baby boy.

Many congratulations to Ashley and Gary, and a huge Bluegrass Today welcome to little Brody!

The North Side – new single from Blue Highway

Blue Highway has a new single available from their upcoming Lonesome State of Mind project, their first with new label partners Down The Road Records.

It’s one written by mandolinist Shawn Lane, along with his brother, Chad Lane, and frequent co-writer Gerald Ellenburg, titled The North Side. And to keep it in the family vibe, Shawn’s son Grayson sings harmony.

The lyrics are highly impressionistic, but Lane says they basically tell a story of home.

“My brother, Chad, and I started the song one cold winter day in Scott county, Virginia where we were raised. Yeah, it is on the north face of a ridge.

The song laid around with only half a verse and chorus for a few months. Then, I got together with Gerald Ellenburg and we finished writing it.”

His fellow members of Blue Highway perform on the track as well. Tim Stafford is on guitar, Jason Burleson on banjo, Wayne Taylor on bass, and Gary Hultman on reso-guitar.

Have a listen…

The North Side is available now from popular download and streaming services online. Radio programmers are invited to contact Valerie Smith with Bell Buckle Media to get the track.

Lonesome State of Mind from Blue Highway

Blue Highway – photo by Dean Groover

New music from Blue Highway is always good news, and it’s been roughly three years since we’ve had any. So the release of this debut single from an upcoming album is certainly a bright spot in a chilly December.

It’s a hard driving grasser called Lonesome State of Mind, about a guy who has lost his love after doing all he could to keep things together.

Guitarist Tim Stafford shared a few words about the new track.

“Bobby Starnes and I wanted to write a straight-ahead bluegrass song, and he came up with the title. I was amazed it hadn’t been done yet in bluegrass that I could find. Wayne Taylor is a natural to sing this one, and I’ve always thought he and Shawn have one of the best duets. Also plenty of room in this kind of song for banjo, and I just love Jason’s stuff here. Gary plays a great dobro break and Shawn’s mando solo is stout too. I sure hope folks like it.”

The group is completed by Wayne Taylor on bass, Shawn Lane on mandolin, Jason Burleson on banjo, and Gary Hultman on reso-guitar.

Check it out…

Lonesome State of Mind is available now from popular download and streaming services online.

Tim says that the record is about half finished at this point, with six songs completed. They plan to head back to the studio in January to wrap things up, with an album release on Rounder Records expected later in 2023.

Can’t wait to hear more!

On the Roof of the World drops from Blue Highway

Blue Highway has a well-earned reputation for consistently choosing and recording the very finest new material introduced in the bluegrass genre. With four of the five members on board for the band’s entire run of nearly thirty years, three of them top songwriters, that shouldn’t be surprising, but is a remarkable feat all the same.

This week we finally have a new single from Blue Highway after a wait of three years, certainly compounded by more than 20 months of COVID shutdowns in 2020 and ’21. But let’s not quibble. New music from Blue Highway is always good news.

Rounder Records has released a first track from the band’s next album, one written by guitarist Tim Stafford called On the Roof of the World, which Tim says was inspired by a visit to the NASA’s Earth Observatory web site, and some rumination on the native people of the Himalayan region.

“One of the cool things about bluegrass is that, despite popular imagination, it can effectively carry a wide variety of themes and expression. This song is about mountains and longing for home, but not in the traditional bluegrass sense. It’s told from the point of view of a Sherpa from ‘the roof of the world,’ the Tibetan plateau, who ends up perishing on a climbing expedition to ‘the grand Mother Goddess of the world,’ Mt. Everest.

The melody for the tune came first, and it took some time to find a topic that might fit it best. I was reading an article on NASA’s Earth Observatory website called Winter on the Roof of the World, which mentioned that villagers herded sheep across frozen Lake Puma Yumco in winter, and included a shot of the region from the International Space Station. I knew that were plenty of songs from the experiences of western mountain climbers; why not one from the point of view of native guides?”

Lead vocal on this song comes from Blue Highway bassist Wayne Taylor, supported by Tim on guitar, Shawn Lane on mandolin, Jason Burleson on banjo, and newest member Gary Hultman on reso-guitar.

It’s a dandy. Have a listen.

On the Roof of the World is available now from popular download and streaming services online.

My Favorite J.D. Crowe lick – Jason Burleson

This is a feature we are running to memorialize the creative and musical legacy of the late J.D. Crowe, who we lost just before Christmas. We are calling it My Favorite Crowe Lick, and each episode will feature a prominent bluegrass banjo player sharing both their thoughts about Crowe and his influence, and showing us a lick they learned from his playing that sticks with them.

This time we have Jason Burleson, banjo man with Blue Highway, a true disciple of the ways of Crowe. You may not hear it specifically in his playing, as Jason has developed his own distinct style, perfectly suited to the Blue Highway sound, but he studied J.D.’s music like it was a science.

“Here’s one of my favorite Crowe licks from Tony Rice’s first solo album. This is J.D. at his improvising best. I always loved the way he started in the first position C chord and walked it up to the higher C7 to make it bluesy. His playing on this whole record is maybe my favorite he ever did.

As much as I loved Earl’s playing, I’ll have to say that J.D. has always been my favorite. The first record I ever bought was The Bluegrass Album. His opening pinch and kickoff to Blue Ridge Cabin Home and his playing on that whole record is what made me want to play. I can still go back and listen to that and just marvel at how great it is. He had a way of taking what Earl did, and adding his own personality and Crowe-isms to it and making it his own. His influence on me and my generation of banjo players is immeasurable.

I’ll never forget how nice he was to me every time I got to be around him. He treated me like an old friend the first time I met him, and it really meant the world to me.

Rest easy J.D. Your playing will be studied and enjoyed for generations to come.”

Keep an eye out for future installments of My Favorite J.D. Crowe Lick here at Bluegrass Today. You can watch all of them by following this link.

Blue Highway Fest launches in Virginia

A new two-day bluegrass festival hosted by perennial favorites Blue Highway will debut this fall in southwestern Virginia.

Blue Highway Fest will premiere October 7-8 in Big Stone Gap, a small community of less than 6,000 located in Wise County, near the far western tip of the state. This part of Virginia has suffered greatly from the loss of coal mining jobs, and municipal authorities are hopeful that the festival will help bring more vitality back to the region.

Tim Stafford, guitarist with Blue Highway, tells us that the festival is the brain child of Wise, VA attorney Larry Roberts, a big lover of bluegrass and all sorts of roots music, and great fan of the band. He comes to the event business naturally, as his older brother, Glenn Roberts, now deceased, put on the Wise County Shriner’s Bluegrass Festival during the 1970s, which Stafford says was the first he ever attended.

Big Stone Gap is close to the Tri-Cities of east Tennessee, as well as the bluegrass rich areas of eastern Kentucky and southwestern Virginia which gave us The Stanley Brothers and Jim & Jesse. 

Tim says that plans for this new festival have been in the works for some time, and credits Roberts for getting it done.

“Larry has been a tremendous asset for this whole operation. We met with town leaders and others and started talking about this last year, and have been meeting every week since to hammer down. The town of Big Stone Gap is 100% behind us and is a GREAT partner. We were able to get lots of our ‘bucket list’ folks on board and it’s gonna be a blast.”

That bucket list of artists includes Sam Bush, Del McCoury, Earls of Leicester, Sierra Hull, Seldom Scene, Balsam Range, Larry Sparks, and local hero, Ralph Stanley II. Of course Blue Highway will perform both days as well.

Blue Highway Fest will be hosted in Bullitt Park, located along the Powell River, which offers a variety of recreational activities for when you aren’t listening to music. Rough camping and RV hookups will be available, and food and craft beer vendors will be set up on site.

Tickets will be available soon. Keep an eye on the festival web site for details.

Blue Highway on Mountain Stage in encore presentation this weekend

Good news for Blue Highway fans!

The band’s landmark 2012 appearance on Mountain Stage, West Virginia Public broadcasting’s flagship program, is set to rerun this weekend on the dozens of NPR affiliates that carry the program all over the US. Running now for more than 30 years with original host Larry Groce, Mountain Stage has become one of the most popular folk music radio programs in the country.

We recall how excited the Blue Highway boys were to perform on the show back then, as it was one they had been working on for some time. They all felt like it was a special day for them, and are delighted that it will air again this weekend.

The show features the original edition of the group, with Tim Stafford on guitar, Rob Ickes on reso-guitar, Wayne Taylor on bass, Shawn Lane on mandolin, and Jason Burleson on banjo.

Mountain Stage airs at different times and on different days according to the individual affiliates’ scheduling, so be sure to check your local NPR station’s programming guide, or consult the affiliate list on the Mountain Stage web site. Most affiliates also offer online listening during the broadcast time. The show will be released on Friday, so it should run on your local channel starting that day.

Previous shows are archived online in podcast format, so you can always have a look there for any of your favorite bluegrass, folk, old time, or Americana artists who have appeared on the program.

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