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Cindy Baucom to host Stained Glass Bluegrass on Bluegrass Country

Bluegrass Country, the 24/7 online bluegrass radio service, has announced that Cindy Baucom will be the new host of the popular Stained Glass Bluegrass program, starting this Sunday morning.

The show has quite a venerable history, launching nearly 48 years ago on WAMU, a terrestrial radio station affiliated with American University in Washington, DC. Hosting at the start was Gary Henderson, who also had a Saturday bluegrass program on WAMU, and that after working as a technician all week at NPR. Gary maintained that schedule until 1982 when Red Shipley took over hosting duties, which he continued until 2007 when his health failed, and his long-time assistant Bob Webster became the presenter.

Bluegrass Country entered the scene in 2001, going to a 24 hour online broadcast, which was boosted in 2006 by the station also going out on 88.5 HD2. The following year WAMU stopped broadcasting bluegrass, with all roots and bluegrass programming appearing on Bluegrass Country.

When Bob Webster retired in 2019, the show went to Ivy Sheppard, who hosted from her home studio in North Carolina. And now, it has passed over to Cindy Baucom.

Randy Barrett, President of the Bluegrass Country Foundation which oversees the operation of Bluegrass Country, tells us that they decided it was time for a change.

“Our Stained Glass Bluegrass listeners have enjoyed the sounds of Sunday morning Gospel since 1974 and have been blessed with terrific on-air personalities. We have decided to move in a new direction for the hosting of the show. We greatly appreciate Ivy’s contribution as a deejay, and we wish her the best in future endeavors.”

Cindy Baucom is already among the most popular radio hosts in the US, with her syndicated Knee Deep In Bluegrass program broadcasting each week on 65 terrestrial stations, and another dozen internet stations, including Bluegrass Country. She has been voted the IBMA Broadcaster of the Year twice by her professional peers, and has been inducted into the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame.

Baucom says that she considers it a privilege to take this microphone.

“As a broadcaster, to be to given the opportunity to host a long running show like Stained Glass Bluegrass is a real honor. Just like musicians and singers who eventually find themselves in a band they have always looked up to and admired, when approached to take over this role, I did not hesitate in saying yes. And just as original host, Gary Henderson, established when Stained Glass Bluegrass first went on the air, I will present an array of traditional and contemporary bluegrass Gospel music from a wide selection of artists.

Listeners can also expect a cappella quartet singing, as well as duets and trios. My syndicated show of the past 2 decades, Knee-Deep In Bluegrass continues to do well, and can also be heard on BluegrassCountry.

Because of my passion for sharing the music, I started a career in broadcasting when I was 17 years old.”

And she stayed in radio, working for WKSK in West Jefferson, NC, WKBC, North Wilkesboro, and WFMX, in Statesville. Knee Deep In Bluegrass launched in 2003, distributed nationally by the John Boy & Billy Network. Cindy regularly serves as an MC at major bluegrass festivals, and is married to banjo hero, Terry Baucom.

She will be heard on Stained Glass Bluegrass on Sunday mornings from 6:00-10:00 a.m. on Bluegrass Country, re-airing on Wednesday evenings from 7:00-10:00 p.m.

Bluegrass Country to broadcast live shows from Lucketts

Bluegrass Country has announced that they will begin airing a series of live concerts recorded at The Old Schoolhouse in Lucketts, VA as part of their free, 24/7 music stream online.

For years, bluegrass artists have performed in Lucketts at the Community Center, affectionately known by locals as The Old Schoolhouse, which was its former function. During the winter months when festivals were not running, Lucketts Bluegrass typically offered a live concert each weekend, drawing groups from all over the US who were traveling through northern Virginia.

Of course the shows at the Schoolhouse have been cancelled since last March, but the spirit of these lively performances is being resurrected on Bluegrass Country starting this week.

Every Friday at 4:00 p.m. (EST), you will be able to listen to a live recording of past shows online. These date as far back as 2010, and include sets from Michael Cleveland, Bill Emerson, Larry Stephenson, Danny Paisley, Nothin’ Fancy and many more. More than a hundred concerts will be featured during this series.

Chris Tesky, Bluegrass Country Program Manager, says that they are delighted to broadcast these spirited shows on their feed.

“We’re thrilled to be able to air these live performances from one of the oldest and most fabled bluegrass venues in the country. We’re also very pleased to be working closely with the Lucketts Bluegrass Foundation to make these broadcasts possible.”

Speaking for the Foundation, Karen Capell agreed with that sentiment.

“We’ve been presenting bluegrass shows for more than 45 years. COVID-19 has caused us to go dark temporarily, so broadcasting past performances on Bluegrass Country is a great opportunity to share the music.”

You can access the Bluegrass Country stream online, or by using the free apps available for iOS or Android devices.

The channel is supported by listener donations. Full details about Bluegrass Country, including a complete program schedule and online donation information, can be found online.

Early Days of Bluegrass reissue to benefit Bluegrass Country

In the early days of Rounder Records, the then fledgling label released a highly-celebrated series of LPs under the title, The Early Days of Bluegrass. A total of ten albums were produced on vinyl starting in 1975, consisting not of recordings by icons not Bill Monroe or The Stanley Brothers, but taken instead from 45 and 78 rpm records by lesser known artists who also contributed greatly to the foundations of bluegrass music.

These seminal tracks featured songs from people like Jim Eanes, The Sauceman Brothers, The Lilly Brothers, Connie & Babe, Red Allen, The Lonesome Pine Fiddlers, The Bailey Brothers, Stoney Cooper and Wilma Lee, and many others. 153 cuts were included on those ten LPs, which have now been remastered, and assembled into a six-CD box set created with a special purpose.

The newly packaged edition of The Early Days of Bluegrass was a special passion project for Bill Nowlin, one of the founders of Rounder, with the proceeds being donated to Bluegrass Country radio to help ensure their continued existence as a free, 24/7 bluegrass music channel online. Nowlin financed this reissue himself, with thanks expressed to Dick Spottswood, who originated bluegrass programming at WAMU-FM in Washington, DC, and who chose most of the material that was assembled for the initial LP releases. Bluegrass Country lived until recently as part of WAMU, but has since split off and is run as a non-profit entity of its own.

Available for purchase from the Bluegrass Country web site, the box set is offered for $60 for the six audio CDs and a booklet with extensive liner notes. Also available is Nowlin’s 2019 book with the same name, a 200 page paperback with even more detailed notes about the artists and the tracks, along with many never-before-published photos. It sells for $15.

Anyone with an interest in the history of bluegrass music will want both the box set and the book in their personal library. Distribution of this set is somewhat limited, with only Bluegrass Country and a few specially-chosen outlets, like The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys, offering it for sale. A complete track listing can be viewed online.

The Early Days of Bluegrass is also offered as a gift for new sustaining members of Bluegrass Country. Full details can be found on the site.

BluegrassCountry live from World of Bluegrass

BluegrassCountry, the 24/7 streaming radio service from Washington, DC, is down in Raleigh once again, broadcasting almost live from IBMA’s World of Bluegrass 2019.

They are calling it “almost live” because even though they will be recording live performances and interviews today and tomorrow on site, they will actually go out on a 30-minute delay.

World of Bluegrass registrants are invited to attend the sessions in real time, staged in Room 201 at the Raleigh Convention Center. Those unable to be there in person can listen worldwide at www.bluegrasscountry.org, from from 1:00 – 5:30 p.m. this Wednesday and Thursday. The lineup features a nice mix of established acts and up-and-comers, with a wide range of interpretations of bluegrass including arch traditionalists right up to the most modern practitioners.

The broadcast schedule for their Showcase of Bands is as follows:

Wednesday, September 25

1:00 – 1:25 Mike Mitchell
1:30 – 1:55 David Davis & the Warrior River Boys
2:00 – 2:25 Williamson Branch
2:30 – 2:55 Kevin Prater Band
3:00 – 3:25 Colebrook Road
3:30 – 3:55 Scott Slay & the Rail
4:00 – 4:25 ClayBank
4:30 – 4:55 Garrett Newton Band
5:00 – 5:25 The Wooks

Thursday September 26

1:00 – 1:25 Tom Mindte & Mason Via
1:30 – 1:55 Alan Bibey & Grasstowne
2:00 – 2:25 Amanda Cook
2:30 – 2:55 Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers
3:00 – 3:25 Laurie Lewis
3:30 – 3:55 Carolina Blue
4:00 – 4:25 George Jackson
4:30 – 4:55 Tellico
5:00 – 5:25 Circus #9

So set your HD Radio to 88.5 FM HD2 in the DC listening area, or go to bluegrasscountry.org online, for a perfect overview of what is being presented at World of Bluegrass this year.

Those wanting to see these artists live in BluegrassCountry’s remote IBMA studio should note that the schedule above is off by a half hour. Artists will appear on site 30 minutes earlier than the schedule indicates.

Ivy Sheppard Show comes to Bluegrass Country

Back in the 1960s, people used to refer to James Brown as the “hardest working man in show business.” He earned that moniker for his high energy stage performance, with dance moves that would wear a normal man out in short order.

There’s no question who is the hardest working DJ in bluegrass radio. That title goes to Ivy Sheppard, whose new program, The Ivy Sheppard Show, debuted this morning on Bluegrass Country. Her show will air from 7:00-10:00 a.m. (eastern), Monday through Friday, on the live, online station based in Washington, DC. Ivy tells us that the program “is predominantly contemporary bluegrass, with an old-time tune thrown in here and there for good measure.”

This new effort gives her 10 shows each week, between Bluegrass Country, Radio Bristol, and WPAQ in North Carolina. Sheppard also hosts Stained Glass Bluegrass and Born In The Mountain on Bluegrass Country, which air on weekends, covering bluegrass Gospel and traditional mountain music, respectively. On top of that, you can hear her on Saturday afternoons at WPAQ, and with Born In The Mountain on Radio Bristol.

When we asked Ivy when she had time to rest, she said that she would do more shows if anyone asks!

All are produced in her studio in Mount Airy, NC. Several are pre-recorded, but The Ivy Sheppard Show is produced live each morning.

Sheppard is a true expert on bluegrass and old time music, something she has studied for most of her life. Proficient at all the instruments used in our music, she also performs with the South Carolina Broadcasters.

Bluegrass Country has also announced a few more changes in their broadcast schedule as of today. The Michelle Murray Show is moving to 6:00-7:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and Born In The Mountain will air on Saturdays from 8:00-10:00 p.m. In its old Wednesday spot will be Bluegrass Breakdown, from Nashville.

Saturday mornings will now feature the Lee Michael Demsey Show from 7:00 to 10:00, followed by a rebroadcast of the Brad Kolodner Show from 10:00 to 1:00. The complete weekly schedule can be found online.

Bluegrass Country operates 24/7, and can he heard online at bluegrasscountry.org, and on HD Radio at 88.5FM Channel 2 in the DC Metro region. The station operates commercial-free, and is supported by donations from listeners. Find out how you can help online.

Ivy Sheppard to Stained Glass Bluegrass

At the beginning of this month (June 2018) Ivy Sheppard took over the microphone as the host of the Bluegrass Country Foundation’s flagship program Stained Glass Bluegrass, the Sunday morning bluegrass Gospel show that’s been on the air for more than 40 years.

While there hasn’t been any official statement, her name has been added to the program’s webpage.

Ivy Sheppard had this to say as she was about to takeover …….

“A couple months ago Gary Henderson notified Bluegrass Country that he’d be retiring and they asked me if I’d like to take over Stained Glass Bluegrass and Mighty Mossy Monday. I’ve long been a fan of Gary’s shows, so I was happy to accept the offer. I think we have a similar sensibility about the music. Those are both long standing shows on the station with loyal followings and I hope I can keep a similar feel while making them my own.”

Sheppard’s radio career began by accident when a friend invited her to be on his old-time music show on WPAQ, the legendary AM station in Mount Airy, North Carolina. She went back the following week. Then, in the third week he telephoned to say that he would not be there and he asked, ‘could she do the show by herself?’ He never returned and from there on Sheppard never looked back. Bringing the music that she loves to her radio audience has become an obsession for her, fuelled by a relentless search for rare records and field recordings.

She also hosts Born in the Mountain on Bluegrass Country, sharing a broad and eclectic mix of bluegrass, old time, and Gospel music with her listeners.

Sheppard is a talented musician in her own right, playing two-finger and clawhammer banjo, and fiddle with the Roan Mountain Hilltoppers and, currently, with The South Carolina Broadcasters.

Stained Glass Bluegrass – incidentally named by Craig Oliver, who was a news producer/host at WAMU at the time – was started in June 1974 by previous incumbent Gary Henderson and has been on air at WAMU FM and, starting January 1, 2017, utilising services provided by the Bluegrass Country Foundation, in constant production for nearly 44 years.

Stained Glass Bluegrass can be heard each Sunday morning from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. EDT, and it is repeated on Wednesday evenings starting at 7:00 p.m. EDT.

Bluegrass Country is listener-supported radio, playing bluegrass, old-time and Americana music 24/7. Its programs can be heard on 88.5 FM HD Channel 2 in the Washington, D.C. area, while streaming worldwide on their website and through free smartphone apps.

Bluegrass Country Radio losing a DC presence

Bluegrass Country Radio, which kept bluegrass alive in the Washington, D.C., area after WAMU decided to end its bluegrass programming, is losing one of its main outlets in the capital region.

As of June 21, Bluegrass Country won’t be found on its familiar 105.5 FM frequency around Washington. The signal for that frequency is owned privately and was not part of the deal when the Bluegrass Country Foundation took over programming from WAMU. The new station couldn’t reach an agreement to continue using the signal.

Bluegrass programming will continue to be streamed at bluegrasscountry.org and over apps for mobile devices, as well as on 88.5 FM HD Channel 2. The change will affect about one-third of Bluegrass Country’s listeners who primarily listen to 105.5, the foundation said in a press release this morning.

“While the loss of 105.5 FM will be frustrating for a group of our listeners, we will work hard to help them make the transition to new HD and Internet listening modes,” said Foundation President Jeff Ludin.

HD radios provide better sound quality and an expanded signal range, but special radios are needed. The radios are becoming more common, though, as they are included as standard features on more and more new cars. And some home models are available at reasonable prices.

The availability of the terrestrial radio signal was seen as a key part of the effort to take over bluegrass programming from WAMU, foundation leaders said during negotiations earlier this year. But when negotiations with the private owner of the transmitter went south, the board and the station staff quickly shifted gears to try to educate those who will lose the signal.

More information is available at bluegrasscountry.org.

Bob Webster is back on Air

Those of us who remember with fondness Bob Webster’s stint on WAMU will be pleased to know that he is back on air.

Webster has joined the crew at Rockingham County Radio for his own three hour program commencing at noon this Wednesday, May 6, 2015.

He left WAMU’s Bluegrass Country at the end of 2012 after 10 ½ years of broadcasting, primarily the Stained Glass Bluegrass program, and retired to his hometown of Burlington, North Carolina.

However, as Webster relates ……

“…… there is no cure for the bluegrass infection and I am happy to say I’ll be back on the air every Wednesday beginning at noon for three hours at Rockingham County Radio. If you’re in the listening area in Rockingham County you can listen on 1420 or 1490 AM, or you can hear the web stream at www.RCR24.com.

We’re calling the program Bluegrass for Lunch and I’ll feature a lot of Gospel numbers the first hour, followed by two hours of straight ahead bluegrass.”

Webster has been a bluegrass fan from the days of the Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs TV show that he watched while growing up in his native North Carolina. While on Navy active duty in the Washington D.C. area, he discovered Gary Henderson’s shows on WAMU. During the late 1970s, he called in with the correct answer to one of Henderson’s bluegrass trivia questions and won tickets to a bluegrass event.

He became the engineer for the Sunday morning Gospel show Stained Glass Bluegrass with Red Shipley in 2002. In January 2007, Shipley began sharing his microphone with Webster. Upon Shipley’s retirement in September 2007, he became the natural successor to host Stained Glass Bluegrass and become the show’s third host.

For those in the Eden, Reidsville and Wentworth tune into WLOE 1490AM and for those in the Madison, Mayodan and Stoneville areas tune into WMYN 1420AM.

Rockingham County Radio claims to be North Carolina’s first AM radio network with WLOE 1490AM, Leaksville, first going on air on December 20, 1946.

You can send requests and good will messages to Bob Webster at Bob@RockinghamCountyRadio.com.

Raleigh concert airs tonight on WAMU’s Bluegrass Country

During last year’s IBMA World of Bluegrass, WAMU’s Bluegrass Country and Raleigh’s WUNC hosted a special, invitation-only concert at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, located a few blocks from the Raleigh Convention Center where most of the IBMA events were occurring.

You had to be somebody, or know somebody, to get tickets to this reception, which featured live performances from Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, and The Spinney Brothers. Most of the tickets went to WUNC donors and Raleigh big wigs, and the public was not invited.

For those who think they remember the show, this isn’t the one broadcast live from Raleigh during IBMA week, though it occurred the same night in that same location. That one featured Raleigh and North Carolina-based artists, and was held in a different part of the Science Museum.

Anyway… I say all that to say this. Bluegrass Country will air the unheard concert from IBMA tonight, from 7:00-9:00 p.m. during their Open Mic program. 30 minute sets from each of these stellar bluegrass acts will be included, recorded live on stage.

You can hear it via live streaming online at bluegrasscountry.org, on HD radio in the DC market at 88.5-2, or at 105.5 FM. This show has been aired perviously on North Carolina Public Radio, but never before on WAMU.

Don’t forget that Bluegrass Country is a listener-supported station, and your donations keep bluegrass, old time, and Americana broadcasting 24/7. If you enjoy the show, consider making a one-time or ongoing contribution.

Snow Day video from Claire Lynch

Through our good friends at WAMU’s Bluegrass Country, we are able to share this video from a performance at the station earlier this month by The Claire Lynch Band. The show was hosted by Katy Daley, and filmed in their new facility in Washington, DC.

The song is Snow Day, which will be included on Claire’s holiday-themed project due late this Summer on her own label. It’s a duet between fiddler Bryan McDowell and herself with a fun, swingy beat, and is a perfect song for folks along the east coast who are scanning the horizon this morning for Mr. Plow.

Claire agreed to allow the video to be posted online until March 15, so watch it while you can!

Mark Schatz is on bass, and Matt Wingate on guitar. The mini-set in the WAMU studio was filmed by Peter Swinburne and Inhak Kim, with Gary Henderson tracking audio.