After the unfortunate announcement yesterday that the Bluegrass Island Festival in Manteo, NC would be canceled for the rest of the weekend, the Cherryholmes had a decision to make. Many fans were anxiously awaiting one of the family’s few reunion shows since they disbanded in 2011, and four of the six family members had already arrived in the area, looking forward to reuniting for the audience. Well, this is show business after all, so “The show must go on!”
Skip, Cia, Jere, and Sandy Cherryholmes will be performing a Cherryholmes & Friends Show in Garner, NC at Lorraine’s Coffee House & Music on Saturday for all of the fans who came to Outer Banks in order to see the talented family. Unfortunately, BJ and Molly Cherryholmes will not be performing, as they are out on the road with Dailey & Vincent and Mountain Heart respectively, and travel plans had not placed them in NC before the unfortuante weather.
Skip Cherryholmes, the family’s stellar guitarist and current member of Sideline, offered up these details about the show.
Cherryholmes regrets to announce that the Reunion show scheduled for the Outer Banks Bluegrass Island Festival this weekend has been cancelled due to drastic weather. The entire Cherryholmes Family sends out their apologies to everyone that made plans to attend the show. Things are in the works to try to reschedule the reunion, and we appreciate everyone’s patience while we work out all of the details. We will get the word out as soon as something is confirmed. In the meantime, we would like to announce that at least 4 of the 6 family members, along with some special guests, will be doing a Cherryholmes and Friends performance at Lorraine’s Coffee House & Music in Garner, NC Saturday night, and invite everyone to come for an evening of family fun and music! Thank you so much for your understanding, and a huge thank you to Corey Hemilright and the entire Outer Banks gang for their hard work. Prayers go out to the team as they get all of the attendees safely on the road and close things down before the weather sweeps them over.
For folks who had planned on attending the Outer Banks Bluegrass Island Festival this weekend, Cherryholmes & Friends seems like a fun alternative! And being so close to the Raleigh area, perhaps folks who make it into town early for IBMA week will be able to catch this fun and memorable show.
When Cory Hemilright launched his bluegrass festival on the Outer Banks of North Carolina a few years ago, everyone familiar with weather on these flimsy barrier islands in late summer wondered how long it would be before bad weather would affect this large outdoor event. Hurricanes and nor’easters are often features of the September and October forecasts, whose driving rain and high winds can wreak havoc on the beach communities that line the shores of the Outer Banks.
The festival’s debut in 2012 saw simply beautiful weather, though a bit of rain resulted in moving some of the shows indoors. The clouds cooperated agin the next two years, abut an ugly storm bearing down on the islands this weekend has forced their hand.
Today it was announced that while Thursday’s show will go on as scheduled, all events for Friday and Saturday have been cancelled. This includes the highly-anticipated reunion concert from Cherryholmes, and the big Boomgrass fireworks display that has been a highlight each year.
The following statement was released earlier today:
We regretfully inform you that we have decided to cancel the next two days of the festival after thoroughly examining the weather situation based on the information we have received. The show will continue through this evening. Anyone who has purchased tickets for Friday or Saturday will receive a rain check valid for the next 2 years. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and hope you’ll join us next year. Although there is disapointment our first concern is for the safety of everyone on Bluegrass Island.
Events all along the North Carolina and Virginia coasts are being cancelled for this weekend, when end-of-the-summer festivals and happenings are regularly celebrated. Hopefully these communities will escape serious damage and injury as the storm makes landfall.
The Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival has a wealth of amenities to brag about. I mean, an outdoor festival in October, in North Carolina’s beautiful Outer Banks, with a stage backed up to the water… Throw in top talent and a Boomgrass fireworks display on Friday night and you’ve got what it takes for a weekend of fun, sun, and bluegrass music.
Over the weekend the folks that manage the festival had two big announcements to share. First, that 2005 IBMA Entertainer of the Year Cherryholmes will reunite for a show at the festival next year! The family band were headliners throughout the first decade on the 21st century, with members now dispersed among a number of top touring acts. Having them all together again on stage after breaking up in 2011 is something to look forward to in 2015.
Cherryholmes got started in bluegrass by accident, so to speak. They were a close-knit, home-schooling family living in Los Angeles, CA when tragedy struck. In 1999, eldest daughter Shelly died unexpectedly, leaving a big hole in the hearts of Jere and Sandy Cherryholmes and their five young children. To try and brighten everyone’s spirits, they took the kids to a nearby bluegrass festival, and it occurred to Jere that starting a family band might be the perfect way to bring them all together in a joyful manner.
And so they did. 15 year old Cia Leigh took up the guitar, and B.J. (11) started learning fiddle, as did 7 year old Molly. Skip (9) worked on mandolin, as did Sandy, with Jere playing bass. Soon Cia switched to banjo, and Skip moved to guitar. The oldest son, Tyson, was not involved as he he was pursuing a career in the US Air Force at the time.
The plan was to just do this for fun, but it turned out that the kids had natural musical ability, and quickly blossomed into capable pickers and singers. Next thing you know, they were in demand on the festival circuit, and in 2002 they sold the family home, bought a tour bus, and began traveling the length and breadth of the United States. After a couple of successful, self-produced records they signed with Ricky Skaggs’ label in 2005, and released four fine projects over the next five years.
During that time Cherryholmes pushed against the edges of bluegrass convention, both with their music which the young artists were turning towards a more modern sound, and with their stage presentation which involved more movement than was the norm in bluegrass, and the use of electrified instruments. Molly and Cia both developed a unique fashion sense which also helped give the band a contemporary look and feel.
But by 2011, the intense schedule was taking its toll on mom and pop, and the kids were yearning to move ahead in music on their own. Cia married and now performs in a singer/songwriter duo with her husband called Songs of the Fall. B.J. is playing fiddle with Dailey & Vincent, and Skip is a member of Lou Reid & Carolina and Sideline. Molly is working on her own style of electronic dance music, and occasionally playing second fiddle with B.J. in D&V.
But in October 2015, they’ll be putting the band back together for this one-time-only performance. You can bet that their many, many fans will be excited to learn this news. VIP tickets can be reserved now by calling (252) 473-3192.
Also announced is a second festival under the same management, the Norris Creek Pig Pickin’. It will debut over the 2015 4th of July weekend in Louisburg, NC, on the mainland not far from Raleigh or Rocky Mount. Details about the lineup, tickets, and directions can be found online.
B.J. and Skip Cherryholmes have announced the members of their new band, which will bill as Cherryholmes Brothers.
Skip will be on guitar, and B.J. on mandolin and fiddle. Joining them will be Gena Britt Tew on banjo, Jamie Harper on fiddle and mandolin, and Travis Anderson on bass. Gena is a terrific singer as well as a crackerjack banjo picker, and is sure to join the boys in sharing lead and harmony vocals.
The only date they show so far is in January 2012, but you can bet that will start filling up quickly. Until they have a web site up and running, you can keep an eye on Cherryholmes Brothers on Facebook.
We posted earlier this month with word that Skip Cherryholmes, late of his family’s blockbuster band, was on the hunt for a new gig. Well it appears that the family ties are still strong, and Skip has decided to form a band with his brother.
“B.J. and I have started our own group! It’s going to be a good mix of hard driving ‘grass and some original material. Got some fantastic players on board, and we’re gonna hit it hard!
I’ll be launching a website sometime in the near future, and people can reach me by email until then.”
Skip will be on guitar, and B.J. on mandolin and/or fiddle. More details are promised soon.
Skip Cherryholmes asked us to pass along this info about his immediate plans following the dissolution of the band.
I’ve been asked many times by Cherryholmes fans “What are you going to do now?”
Obviously I’ve taken a short break from the road, getting married and working on some construction projects on the side. Now that I’m on the other side of the craziness I want to get back out there! I’ve got some side gigs lined up, and anyone interested in a guitar player please contact me! I’m definitely open to play some gigs!
We wrote last month about the final live performance of Cherryholmes, the powerhouse family band that rocked the bluegrass scene this past few years. After 10 years of running the roads, and seeing the quartet of talented siblings grow into young adults, the Cherryholmes family made the decision to take a step back and pursue their separate interests.
As young adults are wont to do, the kids are heading in different directions. Skip has married and moved to North Carolina where he is working in construction, Cia is considering musical opportunities and working with Sherri Clark Media, and B.J. is looking at working in musical productions in Myrtle Beach, SC.
The youngest of the four, Molly, is the first to hit with new music. She has spent much of the past year completing a short-form EP of her original songs, titled Corporation Insania. It’s quite a step beyond bluegrass music, putting her in a keyboard-centered pop setting, with percussion.
We have made special mention of Molly’s songwriting before on Bluegrass Today, and remarked on her unique and compelling voice. It’s a dark and somewhat smokey sound, immediately recognizable, and quite unlike any others that come to mind. Will she find success in this crowded contemporary music market? That’s to be seen, but if not, it won’t be for lacking in talent.
Don’t go checking out Corporation Insania looking for anything like the Cherryholmes vibe, but if you have enjoyed Molly (now M.K.’s) contributions to the band, you are liable to find something here to like.
Yesterday, two powerful bluegrass families were united by marriage. Skip Cherryholmes and Stephanie Dilling were married on Friday (May 27) in North Carolina.
Skip was a member of Cherryholmes from the day they started to their final show earlier this month, and Stephanie is the daughter of Steve Dilling, long time banjo player with IIIrd Tyme Out.
We hope to get more details about their happy day, and share them on Bluegrass Today.
Cherryholmes has had quite a run of late. Over the past ten years, we’ve watched them go from a cute family bluegrass band of teen siblings, to a writing, touring and recording powerhouse of serious pickers and singers with their own ideas about how the music should be played.
The group formed in 1999 as a family-bonding exercise after Jere and Sandy Cherryholmes lost their oldest daughter Shelly when she was only 20 years old. Before long they found themselves performing informally around southern California, and by 2003 they had their first guest spot on the Grand Ole Opry.
In January of 2011, after 7 albums, 4 Grammy nominations, an IBMA Entertainer of the Year award, and thousands of miles on the road, they announced that Cherryholmes would disband in the Spring.
Our buddy Tim White spent a few minutes with Jere and Sandy this past Saturday at HoustonFest in Galax, VA, the site of their final performance. Tim had featured the band previously on Song Of The Mountains, the nationally syndicated PBS program he hosts from nearby Marion, and asked Sandy if they had ever anticipated such a run of success when they started up.
“No… we had no plans on having a band. That’s probably the part of our experience that’s different from most family groups. We took these little kids we had, and tried to teach them bluegrass because we thought that they could actually play it. We figured that if they could all learn a chord or two, we could have a family jam.
We just wanted to do something that would bring them closer to us, and help them get over some of the rough spots back then, when they lost their sister. We never dreamed of anything more than that.”
So why bring it all to an end?
Sandy: “We talked about all this a while back, and it was a mutual decision. We are a traditional family. I’m a stay-at-home mom; we are home schoolers. We raised our kids to be family people, and we realized along the way that we were going to have a conflict in values within our own family. As our family grows, we can’t make them do something we felt was not right.
I mean if you have girls that end up getting married at some point, you can’t tell them that they are going to tour with you and their husbands are going to have to stay home, because I would never have done it.
And we also realized that they may have a different vision. They were children when we signed on to this, and now they’re adults. One of them is married, one is getting married in a couple of weeks, and Jere just got the idea that we need to put this on the table for them and ask ‘What do you guys want? We can’t just keep tying you guys up year after year if it’s not what you really want to do.’
He went and talked to them and said ‘I think we need to rethink this,’ and they all ended up agreeing with him. So we set a date.
They’re excited – they get to go off and be on their own. And were excited – we get to be alone for the first time in years and years.”
Tim: How do you feel about it, honestly. How does it make you feel?
Jere: “It’s bittersweet. It’s been totally engulfing for Sandy and I this past 8 years, especially managing a business. I drive the bus, and have put 675,000 miles on it. We had to always be planning a year and a half out, making all the arrangements, and then having the anxiety of knowing that you can’t replace band members. Our sound is our sound, and it can only be played by us. Nobody wants to pay for the Cherryholmes with a whole bunch of other people in the band!
It’s a shocker in a way, that we’re not going to have this to do, but we’re at peace with it. Everybody’s going to be involved in music in some way, shape or form. Even Sandy and I are going to find people to play with us just for fun.”
Tim reminded them that “just for fun” what they said the last time he and Sandy started playing.
Sandy: “Who knows? This could get exciting! There are a lot of artists who were doing the pop stuff back in the ’80s, and now they’re our age and are doing Americana. So we’re going to hunt them out! You never know what we’ll do.”
And what about younger members of the clan?
Sandy: “They all have their own things. Molly’s working on a different kind of music she’s trying to promote. She has some connections back in California she might pursue, and she’s gung ho. She wants to do music.
BJ may be going to work in one of those theaters in Myrtle Beach. They’ve called him and he’s going out there this week. If it works out, he may end up getting a job in a really nice theater.
Cia doesn’t really have any set plans, and Skip is getting married and doing construction, but he may do some bluegrass on the side.”
But all of this could change. Every week when I talk to them they have a different thing they’re doing.”
Tim: Any last thoughts or comments as you bring Cherryholmes to a close?
Jere: “I just want to take time to sincerely thank people. Fans are hard to come by, and we have so many. We actually call them friends – we don’t like to call them fans. They’ve been so supportive… given their love to us. And energy… If there is energy flowing from the audience onto you, it energizes you, and you can put out even more. I’m sure that most of the inspirational performances we’ve ever done were because we had such a great audience.
We do appreciate everyone in the industry and in our fan base that have been such a friend and a support. We are deeply thankful for that.”
Sandy: “I just want to say thank you to everyone who has encouraged the family along the way. And the professionals who have had faith in us and encouraged us – not the least of which Ricky Skaggs, and Skaggs Family Records. He’s been wonderful, wonderful to us.”
Jere: “And Allen Mills!”
Sandy: “Allen Mills is who got us here. He’s the one who got us to Galax the first time. Him and Dempsey back in 2000, 2001… they met us here both years. And he’s the one who planted the seed and said in ’02 that if you decide to leave and come out east, you call me and I’ll help you, and this is one of the places he brought us, in Galax.
Jere: “I know in some kinds of music it’s kind of cutthroat, and people don’t want to see you succeed. In this kind of music, everybody wants everybody to do the best. And so the professionals we met along the way – Rhonda Vincent, James King, Larry Cordle, and people like that – have always been so encouraging. If they have something, they want to share it with you, and then you can take it and do what you do with it. I think that’s a real tribute to this kind of music.”
Tim: What about reunion shows in the future?
Sandy: “We’ve had a lot of requests already. We will have an active web site to keep everyone updated about what we are all doing, and any shows we might do together.”
And so it ends. So long, Cherryholmes. It was great while it lasted.
Cherryholmes has had quite a run of late. Over the past ten years, we’ve watched them go from a cute family bluegrass band of teen siblings, to a writing, touring and recording powerhouse of serious pickers and singers with their own ideas about how the music should be played.
The group formed in 1999 as a family-bonding exercise after Jere and Sandy Cherryholmes lost their oldest daughter Shelly when she was only 20 years old. Before long they found themselves performing informally around southern California, and by 2003 they had their first guest spot on the Grand Ole Opry.
In January of 2011, after 7 albums, 4 Grammy nominations, an IBMA Entertainer of the Year award, and thousands of miles on the road, they announced that Cherryholmes would disband in the Spring.
Our buddy Tim White spent a few minutes with Jere and Sandy this past Saturday at HoustonFest in Galax, VA, the site of their final performance. Tim had featured the band previously on Song Of The Mountains, the nationally syndicated PBS program he hosts from nearby Marion, and asked Sandy if they had ever anticipated such a run of success when they started up.
“No… we had no plans on having a band. That’s probably the part of our experience that’s different from most family groups. We took these little kids we had, and tried to teach them bluegrass because we thought that they could actually play it. We figured that if they could all learn a chord or two, we could have a family jam.
We just wanted to do something that would bring them closer to us, and help them get over some of the rough spots back then, when they lost their sister. We never dreamed of anything more than that.”
So why bring it all to an end?
Sandy: “We talked about all this a while back, and it was a mutual decision. We are a traditional family. I’m a stay-at-home mom; we are home schoolers. We raised our kids to be family people, and we realized along the way that we were going to have a conflict in values within our own family. As our family grows, we can’t make them do something we felt was not right.
I mean if you have girls that end up getting married at some point, you can’t tell them that they are going to tour with you and their husbands are going to have to stay home, because I would never have done it.
And we also realized that they may have a different vision. They were children when we signed on to this, and now they’re adults. One of them is married, one is getting married in a couple of weeks, and Jere just got the idea that we need to put this on the table for them and ask ‘What do you guys want? We can’t just keep tying you guys up year after year if it’s not what you really want to do.’
He went and talked to them and said ‘I think we need to rethink this,’ and they all ended up agreeing with him. So we set a date.
They’re excited – they get to go off and be on their own. And were excited – we get to be alone for the first time in years and years.”
Tim: How do you feel about it, honestly. How does it make you feel?
Jere: “It’s bittersweet. It’s been totally engulfing for Sandy and I this past 8 years, especially managing a business. I drive the bus, and have put 675,000 miles on it. We had to always be planning a year and a half out, making all the arrangements, and then having the anxiety of knowing that you can’t replace band members. Our sound is our sound, and it can only be played by us. Nobody wants to pay for the Cherryholmes with a whole bunch of other people in the band!
It’s a shocker in a way, that we’re not going to have this to do, but we’re at peace with it. Everybody’s going to be involved in music in some way, shape or form. Even Sandy and I are going to find people to play with us just for fun.”
Tim reminded them that “just for fun” what they said the last time he and Sandy started playing.
Sandy: “Who knows? This could get exciting! There are a lot of artists who were doing the pop stuff back in the ’80s, and now they’re our age and are doing Americana. So we’re going to hunt them out! You never know what we’ll do.”
And what about younger members of the clan?
Sandy: “They all have their own things. Molly’s working on a different kind of music she’s trying to promote. She has some connections back in California she might pursue, and she’s gung ho. She wants to do music.
BJ may be going to work in one of those theaters in Myrtle Beach. They’ve called him and he’s going out there this week. If it works out, he may end up getting a job in a really nice theater.
Cia doesn’t really have any set plans, and Skip is getting married and doing construction, but he may do some bluegrass on the side.”
But all of this could change. Every week when I talk to them they have a different thing they’re doing.”
Tim: Any last thoughts or comments as you bring Cherryholmes to a close?
Jere: “I just want to take time to sincerely thank people. Fans are hard to come by, and we have so many. We actually call them friends – we don’t like to call them fans. They’ve been so supportive… given their love to us. And energy… If there is energy flowing from the audience onto you, it energizes you, and you can put out even more. I’m sure that most of the inspirational performances we’ve ever done were because we had such a great audience.
We do appreciate everyone in the industry and in our fan base that have been such a friend and a support. We are deeply thankful for that.”
Sandy: “I just want to say thank you to everyone who has encouraged the family along the way. And the professionals who have had faith in us and encouraged us – not the least of which Ricky Skaggs, and Skaggs Family Records. He’s been wonderful, wonderful to us.”
Jere: “And Allen Mills!”
Sandy: “Allen Mills is who got us here. He’s the one who got us to Galax the first time. Him and Dempsey back in 2000, 2001… they met us here both years. And he’s the one who planted the seed and said in ’02 that if you decide to leave and come out east, you call me and I’ll help you, and this is one of the places he brought us, in Galax.
Jere: “I know in some kinds of music it’s kind of cutthroat, and people don’t want to see you succeed. In this kind of music, everybody wants everybody to do the best. And so the professionals we met along the way – Rhonda Vincent, James King, Larry Cordle, and people like that – have always been so encouraging. If they have something, they want to share it with you, and then you can take it and do what you do with it. I think that’s a real tribute to this kind of music.”
Tim: What about reunion shows in the future?
Sandy: “We’ve had a lot of requests already. We will have an active web site to keep everyone updated about what we are all doing, and any shows we might do together.”
And so it ends. So long, Cherryholmes. It was great while it lasted.
