Jamie Harper Archives - Bluegrass Today

Two new little Grascals in July

Last month was a joyous one for the Grascals family, as two members of the band, guitarist/vocalist John Bryan and fiddler Jamie Harper, welcomed new baby boys!

Jackson Oliver Bryan came first, born to John and Ashlynn Bryan on July 5 at 7:32 a.m. in Wilkesboro, NC. He weighed in at 7 lbs 13 oz, stretching out to 21.75”. Jackson was welcomed home by his big brother, Arlie.

Then on July 31, Stetson Tate Harper was born to Jamie and Lakyn Harper at 4:29 p.m. in Lebanon, TN. He made his appearance at an even 7 lbs, and 20” long. He is Jamie and Lakyn’s first child.

Moms and babies are both home and well, with proud new dads to attend them.

Many congratulations to the Bryans and the Harpers, and a great big Bluegrass Today welcome to both Jackson and Stetson!

Jamie Harper to The Grascals

Jamie Harper – photo by Lakyn Harper

The Grascals have announced that Jamie Harper has joined the group on fiddle. In a not-so-subtle nod to the age of the founding members, they also pointed out the 2024 will be Jamie’s 20th anniversary of being a professional musician, just as The Grascals celebrate their 20th as a band.

Congratulations all around!

Jamie had been performing as a member of Sideline, and has made the move to The Grascals with the retirement of Sideline. Before that, Harper worked with Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice.

Grascals founding mandolinist Danny Roberts says of their latest hire…

“We are really excited to welcome Jamie Harper to The Grascals. Harp’s amazing fiddle playing and energy fits us perfectly, and we are looking forward to the future of The Grascals with Jamie Harper in it!”

There is a renewed excitement among The Grascals these days, with the return of fellow founder Jamie Johnson on guitar and vocals. “Original Jamie” is back after dealing with an addiction issue, and is excited to welcome “new Jamie” into the group.

“It’s always a little scary moving forward after a band member change, especially when a great player and best friend move on. But, it’s all in God’s timing and not ours, and Jamie ‘Harp’ Harper has come on board and brought his great fiddle playing and singing to us, along with his awesome stage presence and we couldn’t be happier. Harp already fits us like an old catcher’s mitt, and we’re really looking forward to growing our friendship and making some great music memories together.

Welcome to The Grascals, Harp – let’s do this thing!”

For his part, Harper is rarin’ to go!

“Next year will mark 20 years of me being able to travel and play music professionally. In that time, I’ve had the pleasure to perform with and meet so many wonderful people, and in this new season of my life I am absolutely thrilled to be joining The Grascals!

Making music and traveling with these consummate professionals is going to be a blast, and I am so excited for what the future holds. Thanks so much to Jamie, Danny, Terry, Kristin, and John for the opportunity to come on board and be part of The Grascals!”

The Grascals have a busy spring and summer season shaping up, so keep an eye on their web site to see when you can catch them close to you.

Christmas Bluegrass Toy Drives

I think we all enjoy buying toys for Christmas, even if we don’t have small children of our own. We can all recall the excitement of finding a new toy under the tree as children, and the fun of watching our children and grandchildren discover that same joy on Christmas Day.

Of course, there are always some children whose families don’t have the means to purchase gifts, and some children who are separated from loved ones at Christmas. There are Good Samaritan organizations who collect toys for such young folks almost anyplace you look, often the local fire, police, or service organizations. We found a couple going on this month with a specifically bluegrass flavor for people in southwest Virginia and central Tennessee.

There is one scheduled for this Saturday (December 12) in Galax, VA at Creek Bottoms Brews, sponsored by Camp B Chord, an outfit that will be familiar to anyone who attends the city’s Old Fiddlers Convention each summer. They can always be found there playing driving bluegrass into the wee hours of the mornings, in the key of B, don’t you know.

Music will be provided by a band of young bluegrass all-stars: Keith McKinnon from IIIrd Tyme Out, his brother Kevin, Jason Davis and Jamie Harper from Junior Sisk & Rambler’s Choice, and Eli Johnson and Stephen Burwell from Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver.

There will be no charge to attend the show, other than a new toy which will be donated to the Brenner Children’s Hospital in Winston-Salem, NC.

You can count on hearing some great music, and having a fun time with some of our top young grassers.

In addition, Bluegrass Underground and Cumberland Caverns are collecting toys for donation to the Toys for Tots Drive for the Warren County Rescue Squad in Tennessee. New toys and cash donations can be dropped off at Cumberland Caverns, or mailed to them at:

1437 Cumberland Caverns Road
McMinnville, TN 37110

Cash donation can also be made online.

Not only will you have the certainty of helping bringing some Christmas cheer to less-privileged children, each new toy or donation of $5 or more will also enter you into a drawing to win one of three prize packages for Bluegrass Underground tickets, along with accommodations and restaurant passes for shows in 2016.

To be entered in the drawings, toys or donations must be received by December 19.

Full details about the prize packages can be found online.

Old Pal – Jamie Harper

The sideman project has become a staple of the bluegrass recording world, in a way that doesn’t even exist in most of the popular music industry. Can you imagine Miranda Lambert’s bass player expecting her to sing a couple of songs on his solo project, and then including one of the songs in her show?

But this happens regularly in bluegrass. Maybe that’s because bluegrass presents bands as on a nearly equal footing with the band leaders, not on the back line, in the dark, laboring without recognition.

Fiddler and vocalist Jamie Harper is the latest young grass sideman to produce their own solo album, Old Pal, released today on Mountain Fever Records. It’s full of the lively, aggressive, and utterly infectious sound that defines today’s contemporary bluegrass, highlighting Harper as an agile bowman, band leader, and assembler of bluegrass talent.

The supporting musicians consist primarily of members of Junior Sisk & Rambler’s Choice, with whom Harper currently performs, and Doyle Lawson’s Quicksilver. But they are all pickers and singers close to Jamie’s age, and players he has grown up with as they all became professional calibre musicians.

The vocals especially stand out, with Harper choosing from among the most vibrant young singers in bluegrass. Eli Johnson and Dustin Pyrtle work with Doyle Lawson,jun and each turn in an impressive lead vocal or two, and provide harmony vocals throughout. Daniel Salyer is also featured on one of his compositions, Till I Was Gone, reminding us why he may yet be one of the most celebrated male voices (and writers) in our music.

Harper sings a pair of tracks himself, Ronnie Bowman and Timmy Massey’s Enough On My Mind, and Goodbye Old Pal, a big number for Bill Monroe back in the day. They both get an energetic reading here; Jamie even lays out a solid Monroe-style yodel on Old Pal.

Junior also contributes a pair of tracks, Larry Sparks’ Goodbye Little Darlin’, and Bill Monroe’s Remember The Cross. He demonstrates why bluegrass fans consider Sisk a traditional music superstar, as does Marty Raybon on This Heart Of Mine, recorded in the ’70s by New Grass Revival. These two can always be counted on to deliver the deep soulfulness, and you can bet they bring it here.

But don’t forget the hot picking! Jamie includes three instrumentals that show off his fiery fiddle, and the skills of his studio band which include Jason Davis on banjo, Keith McKinnon on guitar, Kevin McKinnon on mandolin, Kameron Keller on bass, and Josh Swift on reso-guitar. Old Joe Clark and Cotton Eyed Joe get a rip-roaring traditional treatment, while the less well-known Booth Shot Lincoln takes a more stately pace.

In an interview, Jamie shared a few thoughts about his vision for Old Pal.

“I’m really excited about this record and I couldn’t be more pleased with how it turned out. I really wanted an overall band sound and having grown-up with most of the artists on this album, it just came natural. I wanted to do songs that featured the fiddle but at the same time not make it overly dominant. I’ve always enjoyed the supporting role for the good of the song versus being a heavy instrumental focal point and I’m really thankful for all these guys to get in the studio and make it happen.”

Every track is tight as a drum (or a banjo head?), and is performed with an intensity that draws you instantly into the song. Youth and talent are an attractive combination, yes?

Well done, Mr. Harper.

Look for Old Pal wherever you purchase bluegrass music, from Jamie’s web site, or at any Junior Sisk & Rambler’s Choice live performance. Radio programmers can download a copy from Airplay Direct.

Jamie Harper to Junior Sisk

Well, that didn’t take long.

Just a few days after coming onboard to fill in, Jamie Harper has been welcomed as the newest member of Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice. Jamie stepped in this past weekend when long time Ramblers Choice fiddler Billy Hawks left the group.

It looks like he did well, as Junior announced Jamie as his new fiddle man last night.

Harper, who has worked previously with Michelle Nixon, Carrie Hassler, and Donna Hughes, is looking forward to traveling with Junior.

“I’m very excited to be out there with Junior and Ramblers Choice. The caliber of music these guys deliver is top notch bluegrass. Plus, they’re an absolutely great bunch of guys to travel with.”

Junior has a busy schedule booked for this summer, so it shouldn’t be hard to catch him somewhere over the next few months.