Tag: Josh Grigsby & County Line

Kevin Strouth to Josh Grigsby & County Line

Mandolinist Kevin Strouth has been announced as the newest member of Josh Grigsby and County Line, from Virginia’s Northern Neck. Kevin will also play some guitar and sing harmony with the band.

He joins current bandmates John Grigsby on guitar and lead vocals, Crystal Grisby on vocals, Mark Baker on reso-guitar, Taylor Parks on banjo, and Ryan Holder on bass.

Strouth grew up in Fairfax City, Virginia, living now in Marshall, west of DC. He has been playing bluegrass since he was 13, and had been performing of late with The Old Time Way and Clearcut. 

Grigsby says that he has fit right in to their contemporary and original bluegrass sound.

 “We could not be happier with the configuration of this band right now. The energy and eagerness of these guys is amazing. At Kevin’s first gig, you would have never known he had not ever practiced with the band, but he came right in as if he had performed with them for years.”

Here is the band earlier this year at Cabin Fever, before Kevin joined the group, doing one of John’s compositions, You Can Call Me Lonesome. 

For his part, Strouth is enjoying his time with the band.

“Playing with Josh Grigsby and County Line feels great. They are great pickers, great singers and great friends! What more can you ask for?”

Grigsby et al have a pair of albums to their credit, Love Life and Misery and Ruby Lane Memories, both available from the band online.

Taylor Parks to Josh Grigsby and County Line

Josh Grigsby and County Line, a rising traditional bluegrass band from Virginia’s Northern Neck, has announced the addition of Taylor Parks on banjo.

The group is centered around the singing of the husband-and-wife team of Josh and Crystal Grigsby, who grew up around bluegrass music along the Chesapeake Bay. They have a pair of self-produced albums to their credit, and a busy schedule of performances between Richmond and the DC region.

Parks, only 18 years old, has been playing banjo for the past 10 years. Like Josh, he grew up in a bluegrass loving family, and hails from a spot on Virginia’s Eastern Shore called Modest Town. Taylor’s father, Wes Parks, played with bluegrass band No Spare Time, so young Taylor was able to absorb the music as a child. As a teen he began exploring his own interest in the music, and has become a fine picker.

He says that he feels fortunate to be given this opportunity.

“Josh’s vocals are top of the line and everyone in the band has made me feel welcome.”

And Josh feels the same.

“Taylor fits the band like a glove and his style of playing will complement our music well. Seeing young people dedicated and in love with bluegrass music is always encouraging, as they are the future of the genre.”

Taylor joins Josh Grigsby on guitar, Mark Baker on reso-guitar, Ryan Holder on bass, David Lewis on mandolin, and Crystal Grigsby on harmony vocals.

Here’s video of the group earlier this month in Powhatan, VA on a Flatt & Scruggs classic.

You can learn more about Josh Grisgby and County Line by visiting them online.

New look for Josh Grigsby & County Line

Josh Grigsby has been performing bluegrass from Virginia’s scenic Northern Neck region for the past eight years with his band, County Line, which also includes his wife, Crystal, on harmony vocals. With his strong tenor voice and traditional bluegrass sound, they have been earning plaudits all over the state, with two albums already to their credit.

For the 2021 season, Grigsby has some new pickers on board. Doug Cherrington has joined to play mandolin and lead guitar, Dylan Burgess will be on banjo, and Ryan Holder on bass. They join Josh on guitar and Mark Baker on reso-guitar.

All three newcomers are experienced grassers, even Dylan and Ryan who are still young men. Doug lives in Sandston, VA and has worked as a magazine writer, recording artist, singer, songwriter, producer, and music instructor. Dylan comes from Danville, VA, where he had played with Jus’ Cauz, winners of the 2018 Virginia State Championship bluegrass band. Ryan, who lives in Sussex, VA, has played previously with The Kody Norris Show, The Honakers, and the Rappahannock Crossing Bluegrass Band.

Like everyone in the bluegrass world, Josh is eager to get back to performing again.

“I’m stoked to perform on stage with this great bunch of energetic, hard driving, and dedicated musicians. We are all excited to ‘get the show on the road.'”

County Line is working on material now for a new Gospel album. Keep an eye on their web site for updates, and to see where they will be performing tis summer.

Carolina In The Pines from Josh Grigsby & County Line

For their latest single, Josh Grigsby & County Line have reached back to 1975 to reprise a song that was ubiquitous throughout the mid-to-late ’70s, Carolina In The Pines. Michael Martin Murphy wrote the song, and his recording of it captured a great deal of attention in the US and Canada. John Denver was huge at the time, and this song delivered some of the flavor that Denver had made his trademark, and the addition of a five string banjo on the track made it stand out at the time.

Bluegrass groups at the time adopted it immediately and it became a parking lot favorite in no time The song came around again in 1985 when Murphy re-released a new version, and it moved up the charts once again. No doubt this classic song is part of the reason why Murphy was welcomed by the bluegrass community when he took a grassy turn in 2009 with his Buckaroo Blue Grass album and tour.

These days, Carolina In The Pines is less often played, making it a perfect time for the boys and girls of Country Line to bring it back. They open their version with the triplet banjo lick that John McEuen had played way back when.

Josh Grigsby & County Line is Josh on guitar and lead vocals, Judge Parker on banjo, Robert Kidd on bass, Mark Mills on lead guitar, Whitney Perkins on reso-guitar, and Crystal Grigsby on harmony vocals. They perform primarily in the central Virginia region.

Carolina In The Pines is available for download purchase from your favorite download sites, and to radio programmers at AirPlay Direct.

New look for Josh Grigsby and County Line

Josh Grigsby and County Line, based in Virginia’s Northern Neck, has added two new members to the group.

Mark Mills has come aboard to play lead guitar and share in the vocal duties, and Whitney Perkins is now with the group on reso-guitar. Both hail from Chesterfield, VA.

Perkins has only been playing since 2010, studying under Pete Smith, and won a scholarship from the Virginia Folk Music Association in 2011. She studied for two years in the ETSU Bluegrass, Old Time and Country Music program and favors the dobro stylings of Josh Graves.

Mills is an old hand in the bluegrass world, playing both guitar and mandolin. He spent 15 years with Copper Ridge and had played previously with New Spring Grass and JC Hale & the Blu Fescue.

Grigsby and County Line are celebrating the release of a new album this summer, Ruby Lane Memories, which contains a mix of band originals and lesser-known bluegrass favorites.

The group consists of Josh Grigsby on guitar and lead vocals, Crystal Grimsby on vocals, Judge Parker on banjo, Robert Kidd on bass, with Mark Mills on guitar, and Whitney Perkins on reso-guitar.

You can find out more the band online.

Josh Grigsby & County Line new Virginia champs

The past weekend at the Chesterfield County Fairgrounds, the Virginia State Bluegrass Championship Contest was hosted by the Virginia Folk Music Association. Prizes were awarded for bands, vocalists, and instrumentalists alike.

Bragging rights for top band go to Josh Grigsby & County Line, from Virginia’s northern neck region. The band’s three vocalists also took the top spots in the Male Vocalist category, and Josh’s wife Crystal might have placed in Female Vocalist had the category not had to be cancelled for lack of necessary registration.

In addition to Josh on guitar, County Line consists of Chris Westcott on guitar, Frankie Ballowe on mandolin, Robert Kidd on bass, and Judge Parker on banjo, with Crystal singing harmony. In 2014 they were winners of the  band competition at the Bluegrass by the Bay Festival in Gloucester, Virginia.

Their debut album, Changes In The Tide, has been recently released and plans are being set now to start work on a second, tentatively titled Ruby Lane Memories.

 

You can learn more about the group online or on Facebook.

The Virginia State Bluegrass Championships have been held since 1947 when they were sanctioned by the Governor as the official state competition. All entrants must be legal residents of Virginia, and substantial cash prizes are awarded to the top three finishers in 8 categories.

The final results for 2015 are as follows:

Bluegrass Band

  1. Josh Grigsby and County Line
  2. Changing Lanes
  3. This Time Last Year

 

Male Vocalist

  1. Josh Grigsby
  2. Chris Westcott
  3. Judge Parker

 

Guitar

  1. Jeremiah Gilmer
  2. Avery Welter
  3. Dennis Elliott

 

Banjo

  1. Charlie Payne
  2. Jeremiah Gilmer
  3. Ethan Edwards

 

Fiddle

  1. Avery Welter
  2. Blake Brewington
  3. Devona Cristobal

 

Mandolin

  1. Jeremiah Gilmer
  2. Ethan Edwards
  3. Frankie Ballowe

 

Dobro

  1. Travis Chambers
  2. J.W. Carpenter
  3. Devona Cristobal

 

Information about the 2016 Virginia State Bluegrass Championship will be posted soon online. The competitions are always held in early October.

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