Region's Living Musical Heritage to be Featured on Mountain Stage
--- Bill Hartley <hartley@...> wrote:

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 12, 2006

Contact: Bill Hartley, BCMA

(276) 645-0111


hartley@...

Region's Living Musical Heritage to be Featured on
Mountain Stage

Bristol, VA-TN (June 12, 2006) During the weekend of July 22-23, the
Birthplace of Country Music Alliance, with contributing support from
The Crooked Road: Virginia's Heritage Music Trail and Virginia
Tourism Corporation, will be hosting Mountain Stage, for a
celebratory weekend acknowledging Bristol's designation as "the
Birthplace of Country Music." Both shows start at 7:00 PM and
admission is $18 for adults, $15 for seniors/students, and children
under 12 admitted free. Tickets may be purchased at the Paramount
Center for the Arts Box Office or by calling (423) 274-8920.

Mountain Stage will record two radio shows and at least four public
television productions. Mountain Stage, a production of West Virginia
Public Broadcasting, is a two-hour radio show recorded before a live
audience that has established a long tradition of featuring national
and international acts in almost every style of music. Mountain Stage
can be heard weekly on over 100 Public Radio
International affiliates throughout the United States, Voice of
America, and XM Satellite Radio. The television program has been
carried on over 200 PBS stations nationwide.

"The fact that Mountain Stage is coming to Bristol reinforces the
incredible tourism appeal of Appalachian traditional music and
culture so prevalent in southwestern Virginia," said Alisa Bailey,
president and chief executive officer of the Virginia Tourism
Corporation. "Mountain Stage will showcase the region's talented
musicians on a national level and strengthen our efforts to promote
to tourists The Crooked Road: Virginia's Heritage Music Trail, an
itinerary of significant sites and events that interpret old-time and
bluegrass music."

Artists confirmed for the shows include Roni Stoneman, Darrell Scott,
Rambling Jack Elliott, Ollabelle, and Reagan Boggs for Saturday
night; with Ralph Stanley, Yonder Mountain String Band, Tim O'Brien,
Dale Jett, Odetta, and Chris Thile performing Sunday evening. "Our
goal is to work with the local community putting
together programs that reflect where country music has come from and
some of the directions it is taking," commented Larry Groce, host and
artistic director.

Seventy-nine years ago, in a warehouse in downtown Bristol, Ralph
Peer made the first recordings of the Carter Family and Jimmie
Rodgers. These Bristol Sessions marked the beginnings of commercial
country music, and have been called the "Big Bang of Country Music"
by historians. The influence of these recordings has been felt
around the globe, including a wide variety of musical genres. It was
for these reasons that Congress declared Bristol,
Tennessee-Virginia the "Birthplace of Country Music" in 1998.

"Mountain Stage has done an excellent job representing the diversity
of styles of music that originated or were influence by our region,"
commented Bill Hartley, Executive Director of the Birthplace of
Country Music Alliance. Hartley noted that the line-up features
Grammy award winners, as well as emerging artists from the region.
"After people enjoy the shows, we hope that they come to our region
to listen to, learn about, and experience our living musical heritage
first hand."

Support for the event is provided by The Crooked Road: Virginia's
Heritage Music Trail and the Virginia Tourism Corporation. Additional
support is provided by Holiday Inn Bristol Convention Center,
Courtyard Marriott, Bristol Lodging, the Bristol Convention and
Visitor's Bureau, WCYB TV, WETS FM, and the Bristol Herald Courier.

The Birthplace of Country Music Alliance is a non-profit organization
dedicated to telling the story of the living musical heritage of the
Appalachian mountains and the cultural traditions that sustain it.
The BCMA is funded in part by grants from the
Virginia Commission for the Arts and the Tennessee Arts Commission.
For more information, call (276) 645-0111 or visit online at
www.birthplaceofcountrymusic.org
# # #

Editor's Note: Below is brief biographical information about each of
the artists performing. Images of these artists may be obtained by
contacting Bill Hartley, Executive Director, Birthplace of
Country Music Alliance by e-mail at
hartley@...

SATURDAY, JULY 22

Roni Stoneman - Dubbed "the first lady of the banjo," Roni Stoneman
may be best known for her role as Ida Lee, the gap-toothed,
banjo-playing lady from "Hee Haw." But she's also a fine musician and
the current custodian of the musical heritage of her father, Ernest
V. "Pop" Stoneman, who had the first million-selling hit in country
music with the song "The Sinking of the Titanic," and also had the
first country music radio show. Many put the Stoneman Family Band -
of which Roni was a member - in the same league with the Carter
Family in the pantheon of country music pioneers.

Darrell Scott - Best known as a songwriter for Garth Brooks and as a
sideman for singer/songwriters like Guy Clark and Tim O'Brien, Scott
is a Grammy-nominated artist, an award-winning songwriter and a
first-call session musician. The multi-instrumentalist excels on
dobro, mandolin and guitar. Scott's original tunes blend bluegrass,
country, zydeco, folk, jazz, and pop influences with personal lyrics.


Ramblin' Jack Elliot - At 75, Ramblin' Jack Elliott is one of the
most colorful characters in "folk" music. While his commercial
success has been marginal, he's been in the thick of the American
folk scene since he traveled the West with Woody Guthrie in the '50s
and subsequently laid the groundwork for Dylan's style of talking
blues. In 1961, after returning from six years in Europe, Elliot
visited Guthrie in the hospital and was introduced to a young Bob
Dylan. (In the mid-'70s, Elliott joined Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue
and was featured in Dylan's film "Renaldo and Clara." Elliott
was also an influence on folksinger Pete Seeger. Among the many other
musicians Elliott befriended was Jerry Garcia. Elliott often
performed opening sets for Garcia's bands and occasionally sat in
with the Grateful Dead. As of late, Elliott has been getting his
due; 1996's South Coast earned a Grammy for "Best Traditional Folk
Album" while guests lined up for 1998's "Friends of Mine." A
documentary about Elliott, "The Ballad of Ramblin' Jack," and its
soundtrack appeared in 2002, while he released "I Stand Alone" in
2006.

Reagan Boggs - A native of southwest Virginia, Reagan Boggs made the
pilgrimage to Nashville while still in her teens. There, she
showcased her songs and fronted blues, country and rock 'n' roll
bands. Her latest release is titled "Never Looking Behind" and has
been described as "an amazing collection of country-oriented gems."

Ollabelle - Drawing both inspiration and materials from a deep well
of rural American roots music--including gospel, blues, bluegrass,
and country--Ollabelle reimagines these sounds for contemporary
audiences, honoring the spirit and substance of the original sources
while allowing this music to live and flourish in a post-modern era.
Hailing from New York City, the six musicians decided to call their
group "Ollabelle," inspired by the spirit and sound of the
traditional country singer, Ola Belle Reed. The album they recorded
combined traditional blues, gospel songs, classics, group-penned
originals composed and performed in the spirit of roots Americana.

SUNDAY, JULY 23

Dr. Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys - An influential
figure in American music, Ralph Stanley has recorded more than 200
albums since he and his brother Carter founded the Stanley Brothers
in 1946. Inspired by the dark emotions of Appalachia, their
haunting mountain melodies made them stand apart from other bluegrass
bands. When Carter Stanley died in 1966, Ralph carried on, and the
Clinch Mountain Boys grew to be one of the most respected outfits in
bluegrass. His music had a direct influence on Dwight
Yoakam, Emmylou Harris, the late Keith Whitley and Ricky Skaggs.
While he has long been revered by folk, bluegrass and country
enthusiasts, thanks to the success of the film "O Brother, Where Art
Thou?", Stanley has become a star. In 2002, he won Grammys for "Best
Country Male Vocalist Performance" and "Album of the Year" (for his
part in the O Brother collection). He was profiled in The New Yorker
by novelist David Gates and is the central figure in the D. A.
Pennebaker/Chris Hegedus documentary "Down From The Mountain." In
January, 2000, Stanley became the first artist to be inducted into
the Grand Ole Opry in the new millennium. He holds the "Living
Legend" award from the Library of Congress and was the first
recipient of the "Traditional American Music Award" from the National
Endowment for the Humanities. It was only fitting that Stanley was
chosen to be the closing act for the 2002 Down From The Mountain
Tour, a sold-out series of concerts inspired by the success of the O
Brother, Where Art Thou? album.

Odetta - Raised in Los Angeles, Odetta's deep husky voice influenced
artists including Janis Joplin and Joan Armatrading. She developed
her strong folk style performing in west coast coffee houses in the
early '50s. She moved to New York in 1953 and, thanks to appearances
with Pete Seeger and Harry Belafonte, became recognized nationally.
She began recording solo albums in the mid-'50s and has been touring
and recording ever since. Odetta has performed with Count Basie, poet
Langston Hughes, Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan era. The bassist on her
early Vanguard recordings is Bill Lee, father of film maker Spike
Lee.

Yonder Mountain String Band - Formed in Colorado, the Yonder Mountain
String Band was formed to fill an opening slot of Boulder's Fox
Theater. The quartet - featuring banjo player Dave Johnston,
mandolinist Jeff Austin, bassist Ben Kauffman and guitarist Adam
Aijala - quickly developed a following among bluegrass fans and jam
band fans as they worked the bar and club circuit in the West,
eventually landing shows at larger venues. In 2006, the group
released both a live and a studio recording.

Tim O'Brien - Wheeling, WV native Tim O'Brien came to prominence with
the Colorado-based bluegrass band Hot Rize, and its tongue-in-cheek
country-Western alter ego, Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers. Since
Hot Rize disbanded, O'Brien has been recording with his group
the O'Boys, solo and with his sister Mollie. His last record, The
Crossing, about the Irish immigration to North America, was inspired
by the stories of his Irish great-grandfather. His current release,
Two Journeys, described as "alternately melancholy and magical,"
explores ancient Irish folk, old time Appalachian music and bluegrass
mutations. O'Brien has two new releases Fiddler's Green and Cornbread
Nation and is featured on the cover of the October
2005 issue of Bluegrass Unlimited magazine. In 2006, O'Brien won his
first Grammy, with his release "Cornbread Nation" winning for "Best
Traditional Folk Recording,"

Chris Thile - A relative newcomer, mandolinist Chris Thile came to
prominence in the band Nickel Creek, but had been turning heads with
his stunning playing since he was 12. In 2001, Thile was named
"Mandolin Player of the Year" by the Instrumental Bluegrass Music
Association while the band was honored as Instrumental Group of the
Year. In 2002, Thile appeared on "Mountain Stage" with Bela Fleck
and, in 2004, Thile, and Sara and Sean Watkins teamed up with Led
Zeppelin's John Paul Jones and Elvis Costello sideman Pete Thomas to
tour as The Mutual Admiration Society.

Dale Jett - The son of Janette Carter and the grandson of A.P. and
Sara Carter, Dale Jett is a third generation member of the legendary
Carter Family. Singing, and playing guitar and autoharp, Jett
regularly emcees and performs at weekly shows at the Carter Family
Fold along with his wife and longtime friend Oscar Harris.

Bill Hartley

Executive Director

Birthplace of Country Music Alliance

PO Box 216

Bristol, TN 37621

office: 276.645.0111

fax: 276.645.0036

e-mail: hartley@...

website: http://www.birthplaceofcountrymusic.org



Jim Hady
East Tennessee

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