Ivy Sheppard Archives - Bluegrass Today

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.

Radio Bristol: Live Today from Joe’s Basement

Two of the top collectors and historians of early country and mountain music in the eastern US will be live together this afternoon on Radio Bristol.

Ivy Sheppard will make a trek to the home of Joe Bussard for a special live edition of her radio program, Born In The Mountain, in his basement. Joe is legendary for his extensive collection of old 78 rpm records, and he and Ivy will talk about his many treasures, and spin a few on the show starting at noon today (EST). In fact, they will be combining Ivy’s program, which typically airs in this time slot (noon to 2:00 p.m.) with Joe Bussard’s Country Classics, which would normally be broadcast on Tuesdays from 6:00-8:00 p.m. on Radio Bristol.

So tune in from noon to 3:00 today and hear it all. If you live in the Bristol, VA area, you can catch it over the air at 100.1 FM, and listeners elsewhere can hear it via online streaming.

And just for today’s special live show, the station will set up a multi-camera video shoot in Joe’s basement that will be simulcast on Facebook live. They’ll even be taking live requests from Facebook viewers.

This will be a special program for fans of Appalachian music of the earliest vintage. Don’t miss it if you are one!

Ivy Sheppard for Mayor!

Does your town have a banjo player as Mayor? Well the folks in Mt Airy, NC have the opportunity to make that happen on November 7.

Ivy Sheppard is a radio host and producer on WPAQ, who performs with the South Carolina Broadcasters. She’s also an avid record collector, and serious student of Southern history and Appalachian culture. Though she’s only lived in Mt Airy this past five years, she’s well versed in the traditional ways of the Appalachian people. And she’s running for Mayor in the upcoming election.

Sheppard is positioning herself as someone who understands the need to hold fast to the old ways, while also looking for new ideas to help the citizens of this small city of 10,000 succeed in a global economy. As an old time musician and broadcaster, no one can doubt her bona fides regarding the traditional folkways, and she feels her experience as a small business owner/operator offers insights into how things work in 21st century markets.

But are the conservative folks in Mt Airy ready for a Mayor with spiky blond hair? We asked Ivy whether she thought her unusual career and appearance might be a drawback.

“I have been overwhelmed by the positive support I’ve gotten. It really has been interesting and neat; no matter what happens, we’ve started a discussion about getting younger people involved in city government.

I was walking through Wal-Mart the another day, and this woman came up and hugged me.”

Her name recognition is already strong given her high profile on the radio. Folks around town are mighty proud of their hometown station, and its 70 year history of supporting traditional mountain music.

“A lot of people in town know me from playing music, and from being on the radio. Even there I do things the old time way. I’m not pushing buttons to play music from a computer. I’m playing 78s, through tubes to tape.

There are new ways to preserve this old music, and we should be able to do the same thing with the traditional Appalachian culture we love.

I see a lot of green ‘Ivy for Mayor’ signs in people’s yards, so I think we’ve got a shot.”

She says that she’s not a total newbie when it comes to politics and governance.

“I studied political philosophy as an undergrad, but never really thought I would do anything with it. When we moved to town, I made friends with the previous mayor, who was a DJ at the rock and roll station that WPAQ shares space with. We talked a lot about her job as Mayor, and it started to dawn on me that I could do this.

One of the most interesting things about this campaign is that I have made it my business to learn as much as I can about city governance. And having some new ideas is a good thing as well.”

Ivy is running against David Rowe, who was elected when the previous Mayor stepped down for personal reasons. But she says she isn’t so much running in opposition to Rowe, who she described as a very good man, but to offer an alternative to voters.

“I’m enjoying the heck out of it. I’m on this super high intensity crash course – it’s fascinating. We just had a tour of our city government the other day. We have a great team working for the city!

I see myself staying involved no matter what happens, and the music community has really embraced this.”

And of course she’s got a bluegrass-themed campaign song.

Despite the light-hearted jingle, Sheppard is truly interested in helping the city adapt, and thinks that preservation and progress can go together.

“Decisions that we make today are really for ten years down the road – we can’t just accept the status quo. You don’t have to get rid of everything old when you try to move forward.”

Even if you can’t vote for her next month, you can make a donation to the campaign online.

Though it’s not something we often get the chance to do, Bluegrass Today enthusiastically endorses Ivy Sheppard for Mayor of Mt Airy, NC!