RBR Entertainment Archives - Bluegrass Today

Ben James signs with RBR, releases Teardrops in Tennessee

Fresh off a successful stint with the final edition of Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, and newly ensconced as a member of Dailey & Vincent, Ben James has been announced as the latest artist to join the family at RBR Entertainment.

A debut single with the label is available as well, Teardrops in Tennessee, a song he wrote, and recorded alongside some of Nashville’s hottest pickers and singers.

People have been moved by Ben’s vocal prowess since he appeared on the scene, especially on Gospel quartets he sang with Quicksilver. You won’t forget having heard him sing.

James says that he is very happy to be working with Chris Myers and Billy Droze at RBR, and shared a few words about the first single.

“I am very eager to be teaming up with RBR. They have some great artists and are making big moves in the business. RBR is a team of folks who care about the artists and put them first in all that they do. I am looking forward to what is ahead with RBR.

Teardrops in Tennessee is a song that I wrote driving across the TN/NC line. I wanted to give folks a hard driving bluegrass tune with an old school feel. Vocals aside, the instrumentation on this track blew my mind. Some of the best musicians out there laid down some exceptional work on this song, and I’m excited to see how people react to it.”

It is a very strong cut, a sentiment echoed by producer Josh Swift, likewise a Quicksilver alum.

“When Ben sent me his demo for Teardrops In Tennessee, my immediate thought was, ‘This is ’90s bluegrass on steroids.’ It reminded me of a song that I would have loved to have heard my bluegrass heroes sing. So, my goal as producer was to try and capture that same ’90s feel, with added modern recording techniques. I could not be more pleased with the outcome. The guys absolutely played/sang their tails off!!!”

The guys in question include Trey Hensley on guitar, Ron Stewart on banjo, Aubrey Haynie on fiddle, Aaron Ramsey on mandolin, Josh Swift on reso-guitar, and Ben Issacs on bass. Swift and Mike Rogers sang vocal harmonies.

Listen for yourself…

Teardrops in Tennessee is available now from popular download and streaming services online. Radio programmers will find the track at AirPlay Direct.

Ralph Stanley II to RBR Entertainment, with strong new single

Ralph Stanley II has signed with RBR Entertainment, and completed work on a new project for the label with creative director Billy Droze.

We have long felt that II’s finest recording to date has been his single album with Lonesome Day Records in 2008, This One is II, produced by Randall Deaton. Judging by the debut single from this latest effort, we may be able to expect something similar in short order.

Ralph say that he couldn’t be happier with his new record company.

“I am really excited about working with the team at RBR Entertainment. They have taken me in and made me feel at home. Billy really brought out the best in me. He was patient and encouraged me through the whole recording process.”

For the first single, they have chosen a new song called Back To Virginia, written by Billy Droze, Jim Parker, and Eddie Wilson. It calls upon the historic family into which Ralph II was born and raised, and was composed with his father, Dr. Ralph Stanley, and his uncle Carter Stanley in mind.

“When I hear this song, I think a lot about my dad and I think the listener will think about their loved ones who have passed on as well. Personally, I believe this is the best song I’ve ever recorded, both in song quality and my performance.”

II is supported here by Jason Roller on guitars, Greg Martin on bass, Tim Crouch on fiddle and mandolin, Scott Vestal on banjo, and Josh Swift on reso-guitar and background vocals. Billy Droze produced the track.

Have a listen…

Can’t wait to hear more from this project.

For now, Back To Virginia is available from popular download and streaming services online. Radio programmers will find the track at AirPlay Direct.

Love Someone Like Me from Zach Top

Young bluegrass singer on the rise Zach Top has chosen a song deeply associated with a pair of iconic artists for his latest single for RBR Entertainment. But this promising artist has the skill to pull it off, assisted by his top flight Nashville band.

Love Someone Like Me is released in tandem with Zach’s eponymous debut EP. The song was big some years ago in country, written by Holly Dunn and Radney Foster, and a decade later in bluegrass so it should be well familiar to anyone who follows either genre.

Zach and his fellow pickers were all born after this one was popular, so it was something new when they discovered it.

“This song was originally recorded by Holly Dunn in the ’80s, and then New Grass Revival covered it in the ’90s. We heard their version, started playing it live, and people just loved it. From that, we knew we HAD to include it on this project. The arrangement on this song is so fun. We had a blast recording it and I think that really comes across in the final product.”

Supporting Top, who sings lead and plays guitar, are Maddie Denton on fiddle, Calib Smith on banjo, Zion Napier on mandolin and Wyatt Harmon on bass. Denton and Smith sing harmony vocals.

Have a listen…

Love Someone Like Me, and the full Zach Top EP, are available now from popular download and streaming services online. Radio programmers can get the tracks at AirPlay Direct.

Chris Davis to RBR Entertainment, new single

RBR Entertainment has announced the signing of Grascals guitarist and vocalist Chris Davis to the label, and have released a first single today from an upcoming album.

Chris has been active in bluegrass for many years, working alongside some of the biggest names in the music. Playing mandolin or guitar, he has worked in the touring bands of Larry Cordle, Melvin Goins, Larry Sparks, Junior Sisk, and Marty Raybon, and even did a stint with country artists Diamond Rio when former New South mandolinist Gene Johnson had to miss several weeks for health reasons. And it was as a vocalist that gained him notoriety, and his ability to make any ensemble sound better when singing harmony.

So why now for his own record? The answer is as simple as out is obvious.

“I’ve been playing bluegrass music as long as I can remember, and I just felt the timing was right to do a solo project.”

Billy Droze, President of RBR, agrees with the timing, and sings the praises of the newest signee.

“Chris is a perfect fit for RBR Entertainment. He is an awesome vocalist, phenomenal player of many instruments and just an all around cool dude. We are very excited to have him be a part of the RBR family.”

You can see the truth of Billy’s comment in this first single, Down South in New Orleans, written by the team of Jim Anglin, Jack Anglin, and Johnny Wright. This is the same crew that wrote Ashes of Love, which was a hit for Johnny & Jack, i.e., Johnny Wright and Jack Anglin, in 1951. The song became a staple in the rock and pop music world when it was recorded by The Band in the film version of their live concert as The Last Waltz.

Davis provides a rollicking treatment with both bluegrass and New Orleans jazz elements, by including an accordion playing in unison with the fiddle, giving the track an unmistakable flair.

Chris says that the song made its mark on him many years ago.

“When I was a youngster, a band from Southern Ohio called ‘The Powell Brothers with Red Spurlock recorded the song. My dad had the record and I just loved the song. I thought, ‘if I ever get a chance to record it, I would.'”

Chris plays guitar and sings the lead, supported by Ron Stewart on banjo, Jame Seliga on mandolin, Tim Crouch on fiddle, Josh Swift on reso-guitar, Jeff Taylor on accordion, and Greg Martin on bass. Swift adds backing vocals.

It’s a real humdinger.

Down South in New Orleans releases today from popular download and streaming services online. Radio programmers will find the track at AirPlay Direct.

Misty – Don Rigsby tackles pop classic for new bluegrass single

Nobody would ever challenge Don’ Rigsby’s bluegrass credentials. Anyone who has toured and recorded with legends like The Bluegrass Cardinals, J.D. Crowe & The New South, and Lonesome River Band has got to be on the short list for the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. Throw in his stellar solo career, his work with The Band of Ruhks, Longview, Flashback, and his many contributions to albums by other acts, and you have a true bluegrass artist of note.

So don’t be fooled when you learn that his latest single from RBR Entertainment is a recording of the pop and jazz standard, Misty. Knowing Don, you would expect a thoroughly bluegrass treatment, and that’s exactly what you get.

This classic song has gotten a lot of attention since it was first recorded in 1954 as an instrumental by its composer, pianist Erroll Garner. But when it hit the radio with Johnny Burke’s lyrics sung by Johnny Mathis four years later, Misty became a pop culture phenomenon. Artists as big as Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Sarah Vaughan have covered the song, and it even got a prior grassed up arrangement in 1975 by country funny man Ray Stevens, for whom it became a signature song, much as it had for Mathis.

Rigsby says that it was that ’70s cut that initially grabbed his ear.

“There’s two things about this song. The first being, when I heard the Ray Stevens version of Misty, I felt like it was really good music, and the musicianship on his version, even as a child, really knocked my socks off. The second thing is, when I was a teenager, about 19, I had a little regional band and we recorded this song way back then, like over 30 years ago. I liked our version of it, but I always felt there was just more to the song.

I always wanted to revive the song if I could ever find the right vehicle, and the timing was right. With the vision of [co-producer] Billy Droze, and the caliber of the musicians he got to play on the record, the time was right to give the fans another shot at hearing it. I think the fans will love this bluegrassy take of a country version of a jazz song.”

And he isn’t kidding about his backing musicians. With Don on mandolin and vocal, Jason Roller plays guitar, Scott Vestal is on banjo, Tim Crouch fiddle, Josh Swift reso-guitar, and Greg Martin bass.

Check it out…

Misty from Don Rigsby will be available soon from popular download and streaming services online. Pre-saves are enabled now.

Radio programmers will find the track at AirPlay Direct.

6 Feet Under and Still Going Down from Tommy Buller

Tommy Buller – photo © Barbara Potter

RBR Entertainment has a new single this month for Tommy Buller, the third from an upcoming album and follow-up to I Still Call It Home, which did well on our Bluegrass Today Weekly Airplay chart in 2020.

Buller is an artist who grew up as a grasser, playing with his family band in Nebraska, before taking musical detours into both blues and mainstream country, only to return to his first love. In fact he pursues both country and bluegrass these days, with the influence of each clearly showing in the other. He is Tommy in the bluegrass, and Tom in the country.

His latest track is 6 Feet Under and Still Going Down, one Tommy wrote with Bart Hansen about a guy who is definitely dealing with hard times, losing at love, and still sinking lower by the day.

Buller says that this one shows his ease in switching genres.

“This song was originally written for a country music project that I’m a part of. I thought, if we speed this up a bit, it would be a great bluegrass song.”

He is supported here by Frank Rische on guitar, Greg Martin on bass, James Seliga on mandolin, Tim Crouch on fiddle, Ron Stewart on banjo, and Josh Swift on reso-guitar. Josh also handles harmony vocals.

Check it out in this lyric video.

6 Feet Under and Still Going Down from Tommy Buller is available now from popular download and streaming services online. Radio programmers will find the track via AirPlay Direct.

Bone Dry – debut single from Jimmy Yeary

RBR Entertainment in Nashville is very excited about today’s debut single from Jimmy Yeary. So much so that they have scheduled a special live event tonight on Facebook to kick things off.

Jimmy’s is a familiar face on the country and Gospel side of Music City. As a songwriter he’s penned hits for Joe Diffie, Rascal Flatts, Kenny Chesney, and Martina McBride. Not forgetting his bluegrass roots, his songs have also been cut by Balsam Range, Dan Tyminski, and Sammy Shelor. As a vocalist he’s been called on to sing lead for Shenandoah when Marty Raybon was working in bluegrass. In the beginning, Yeary came to Nashville to sing, but lost out on a record deal when personnel changes at Atlantic Records froze him out of a release. But he’s made quite a name for himself as a songwriter, and has a great new bluegrass single with RBR, one he wrote with Will Robinson.

Long before Nashville, Jimmy was a bluegrass boy, playing and singing with his family’s band. He became acquainted with Ronnie Bowman in the ’90s while spending a few months playing mandolin with Lonesome River Band when Dan Tyminski left for Alison Krauss. The two remain close friends, and Ronnie will appear on the upcoming Yeary bluegrass record as well.

Bluegrass also brought Jimmy his greatest life achievement. When he was only 15, he chanced to meet a pretty young girl who was singing with her family band at a festival in Kentucky. He fell for her on the spot, but as teenagers living in different parts of the country in 1985, romance was not in the cards. That was a young Sonya Isaacs, and when they met again 20 years later, he closed the deal. He and Sonya are now happily married, with three young children at home.

When we spoke with him this morning, Yeary spoke of how good it felt to be back singing and playing bluegrass music. This new single is one called Bone Dry, which had once been slated for a country album. He told us that even when he was composing for country hitmakers, he was still in grass mode.

“I always write these songs bluegrass, and then the artists take them and do with them what they want. When this song was written, I was with Atlantic.. part of the reason I lost the deal with them was that they said I sounded too bluegrass!

One day Billy Droze asked me why don’t we do a bluegrass record. This music really puts a smile on my face, and I love that this one is a bluegrass song.

I always like to find a way not to be mean and spiteful with someone who broke my heart. Bone Dry came after a breakup, and I didn’t want her to know how I had been affected by it.

It says what I want to say to a girl without telling her. She can hear it on the radio.”

On the track, Jimmy sings and plays guitar, supported by Josh Swift on reso-guitar, Matthew Davis on banjo, James Seliga on mandolin, Greg Davis on bass, and Jason Roller on guitar. Dan Tyminski and Don Rigsby sing harmony.

Tonight at 7:00 (EDT), Yeary and friends will perform a virtual concert on Facebook, featuring music from his upcoming RBR album, and songs from his talented guests. On hand will be Dan Tyminski, Billy Droze, Sonya Isaacs, and others to celebrate the release of Bone Dry.

The show will be broadcast from the Yeary Chapel, a horse barn on Jimmy and Sonya’s place which they have meticulously converted into a chapel. Prior to the COVID-19 restrictions, they held monthly sessions there with singing, testimony, and devotionals. These were quite popular with Nashville music industry folks, and they hope to bring them back soon.

Bone Dry is available now as a single wherever you stream or download music online. Radio programmers can find the track at AirPlay Direct.

RBR Entertainment joins forces with Billy Blue Records

Jerry Salley of Billy Blue Records with Billy Droze and Chuck Allen Floyd of RBR Entertainment

RBR Entertainment, a small Nashville record label specializing in bluegrass music, has announced a deal with Billy Blue Records and The Orchard for distribution.

RBR is an artist-centered label managed by bluegrass singer and songwriter, Billy Droze, who serves as President and head of A&R. His partner is longtime industry pro, Chuck Allen Floyd, Vice President and head of legal affairs.

This new agreement reached last week between the two labels ensures that music from all the RBR artists, including Zach Top, Tommy Buller, Marija Droze, and Billy Droze, will enter into the distribution channels established by Billy Blue with The Orchard.

Richard Gottehrer and Scott Cohen launched The Orchard in 1977 as a vehicle for independent artists to achieve distribution parity with the major labels. Since that time, the company has grown tremendously, opening a European division and eventually being sold to SONY Music Entertainment. They handle distribution now for music, video, and live television around the world, and offer licensing opportunities to their audio clients for films and television.

Droze is psyched to have this team working with the label, for himself and the other artists in the stable.

“RBR Entertainment is so excited about this next step in the growth of our company! We have a huge amount respect for Billy Blue Records and everyone involved!”

This new agreement goes into effect right away, giving RBR Entertainment and their artists a big leg up in the music industry.

Zach Top and Modern Tradition to RBR Entertainment

Billy Droze, Maddie Denton, Zach Top, and Chuck Allen Floyd at the Modern Tradition signing

Here’s a pair of names you may not recognize, but which you can expect to hear about a good deal in coming months.

First up is RBR Entertainment, a new bluegrass label in Nashville run by singer/songwriter Billy Droze and Chuck Allen Floyd, a veteran Music City attorney with experience as an artist as well. They have launched RBR to function as an artist centered record company, and have big plans for the future. Their first signee has been Marija Droze, Billy’s wife, whose current single, Listen To Your Heart, has been appearing on our Bluegrass Today Weekly Airplay chart of late.

Then there’s Zach Top, an up and coming young grasser, with a smooth voice and a long, lean look. He comes from Washington state, where he learned to play and sing, with a very engaging contemporary bluegrass sound. He and his band, Modern Tradition, have just inked an agreement with RBR Entertainment and will have a debut single released around Labor Day. Some may remember them under a previous band name, MashTag, back a couple of years ago.

As strong a vocalist as Zach is on his own, Modern Tradition is equally stout, consisting of some of the most powerful young pickers and singers in our music. Maddie Denton on fiddle is Top’s musical partner in the band, and has already made quite a name for herself. Since 2008, she was won 14 state fiddle championships, along with the grandaddy of them all, the Grand Masters in 2016. She also sings harmony, along with banjo picker Calib Smith, from Indiana. Zion Napier is on mandolin, who has demonstrated his chops with a number of bands, and Wyatt Harman, a widely experienced bass played from St Louis.

Here are a couple of examples of Zach and Modern Tradition in action. This one comes from the 2018 Wide Open Bluegrass festival in Raleigh, doing one Zach wrote called Forget You.

And Zach yodeling out the classic Bill Monroe number, Rain and Snow.

Zach and Maddie are budding stars in bluegrass, as are all the members of the group, and it will be exciting to hear what they produce with Modern Tradition. Their music is crisp and grooving, and they are a lot of fun to watch on stage.

You can learn more about them online.