Time is ticking and May 6 is almost here. Mark it as a date in Bluegrass History.
Why the big fuss? May 6, 2008 marks the date 16 year old mandolin prodigy Sierra Hull releases “Secrets,” her first solo album on Rounder Records.
Sierra is a one of a kind, pure gem with an astounding talent for playing our beloved Bluegrass. The technical knowledge she possesses for Mandolin and Guitar is decades
beyond her years.
But wait, it gets better. The girl sings with emotion, phrasing and intonation that I can only compare to the singing on Alison Krauss’ 1987 album “Too Late To Cry.” To tell the truth, I have not heard a young female in the Bluegrass genre since Alison’s ‘87 release with more promise than Miss Hull.
“Secrets” does not disappoint the hype surrounding its release. Co-Produced by Hull and Ron Block of Alison Krauss and Union Station fame, the album is incredible. Yes, “Secrets” is jam packed with great pickers. Sierra and Block recruited some help from the guys in Union Station, Tony Rice, Chris Jones, Jim
VanCleve, Stuart Duncan, Rob Ickes, Jason Moore and Cory Walker, an incredible 18 year old banjo picker that also plays in Sierra’s band Highway 111.
The real story here is Sierra herself. There is not a track on this album I do not love. It’s the first album in a while where I have not found myself using the fast forward button on the old CD player. Just one listen to the songs “The Hard Way,” and You’ll fall in love with this album. The song is mature, mellow, tasteful and beautiful.
The tune “Hullarious,” written by Sierra, is a lesson in flawless mandolin picking. Another beautiful song on the album, written by Sierra and Stacey Hull is “Two Winding Rails.” It is another testament to this young lady’s seemingly endless talent.
Obviously this is an album I believe everyone should have on the shelf and in the CD player. Sierra Hull is the real deal. “Secrets” is the first stepping stone of what I believe to be a future legend.
I am so looking forward to listening and watching Sierra Hull’s career blossom.
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Music Review: Mandolin prodigy‘s talent belies her age
Staff and agencies
05 May, 2008
By TOM GARDNER, For The Associated Press
Sierra Hull, "Secrets" (Rounder): Combine the angelic voice of Alison Krauss with the fiery mandolin picking of Rhonda Vincent and you have the sound of Sierra Hull on "Secrets."
She hits the ground running on the title track with a vicious mandolin lick followed by her driving vocal. It‘s the only cut that includes all four members of Union Station — Dan Tyminski on vocals, Block on guitar and vocals, Barry Bales on bass and Jerry Douglas on
dobro.
The lone ballad amid the 13 tracks is a lovely version of "The Hard Way," far softer than Keith Urban‘s grittier one. Hull also delivers a snappy bluegrass update of "Everybody‘s Somebody‘s Fool," which Connie Francis took to No. 1 almost a half century ago. Hull dodges the youthful temptation to oversing or overplay and instead leads what amounts to a track-by-track jam session with some of the most talented musicians in bluegrass. It‘s dominated by her mandolin and vocal dynamics few artists of any age ever master.
Merlefest: Festival Notes
A Great American Music Festival And Its Host At The Crossroads
Featuring many KCA artists!
by Derek Halsey
…. After a long night of campground music, fellowship, and fun, I wake up and clear the cobwebs, grab a bite to eat, and hit the shuttle busses again to take in a new day’s music. Saturday is the most crowded of festival days, with the music schedule filled to the brim. My first stop is the Creekside Stage where I take in the mandolin workshop. Onstage is Ronnie McCoury of the Del McCoury Band, the ever-present
Peter
Rowan, Dan Tyminski of
Alison Krauss and Union Station fame, James Nash of the
Waybacks, long time bluegrass great Tony Williamson, 16-year old prodigy
Sierra
Hull, New Grass Revival founder Sam Bush, and about five other pickers - you get the picture. At what rock concert or festival do you find the best rock musicians hosting a workshop where they show the fans how to play better and take questions about playing their respective instruments? It doesn't happen…..
Click here
to read more.
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Sierra Hull spreads her wings: bluegrass music news
If you read The Tennessean — or if your manager does — you can become a star.
That's the lesson we've learned from 16-year-old Sierra Hull, who landed the part of the Rev. Billy
Graham's sister, Catherine, in the movie about him that's being shot here.
In February, I ran a column announcing that a movie on a young Billy Graham would be shot in Middle Tennessee. In that column, music supervisor Anastasia Brown said she was looking for a young girl with a voice like
Alison
Krauss. I asked people who knew of interested girls to send me packages containing photos and CDs. I received several armfuls of packages that I forwarded to Anastasia.
Claire Armbruster of Nashville's Keith Case & Associates saw the item and immediately thought of one of her firm's clients,
Sierra. Click here
to read all about it!
Dynamic on stage, down to earth off stage, Dan
Tyminski has the voice, instrumental chops, and charisma to be counted
among the most recognizable and popular male vocalists on todays bluegrass
and country music scenes. Yet his demeanor low-key and laconically sly
ensures that all the accolades are the product of his own innate gifts.
Since 1994, his ace instrumental skill
(mainly on guitar, but also on mandolin) and burnished, soulful tenor
singing has been a key component of Alison
Krauss and Union Station, arguably the most visible and successful
bluegrass band in the modern era. Prior to that, he rose to national
prominence as a member of bluegrass favorite, the Lonesome
River Band. Click here to read
entire article.
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BLUEGRASS GREAT
DAN TYMINSKI TO RELEASE SOLO ALBUM ON ROUNDER RECORDS
Nashville, TN – March 24, 2008 – One of the most revered artists in bluegrass, Dan Tyminski, will release WHEELS on Rounder Records on June 17. Marking Tyminski’s sophomore album as a solo artist and his first effort for Rounder, WHEELS is the follow up to his critically acclaimed 2000 release CARRY ME ACROSS THE MOUNTAIN (re-issued on Rounder Records). Rolling Stone called Tyminski “one of the genre’s biggest talents…” and went on to say that “Tyminski helps push bluegrass to the front line.”
Click here
to read entire article.
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Steep Canyon Rangers
Go National
Asheville bluegrass band continues its rise to the top
by Carol Mallett Rifkin, take5 Correspondent
March 21, 2008
The Steep Canyon Rangers have transcended from a college act to national status, hitting number two on the bluegrass charts with their new CD “Lovin’ Pretty Women” in February and making appearances at the Grand Ole
Opry. They are home this weekend for a show at one of their favorite Asheville venues, the Orange Peel. Mandolin player Mike Guggino has been a member of the group from the start and spoke recently about their first 10 years as a band.
Click here
to read entire article.
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Sierra Hull is an Inspiration
Bluegrass Music News- March 11, 2008:
It is rare that a young musician will take that spark of wonder that first inspired them to cradle an instrument and cultivate it to the point of full-blown virtuosity. Rarer still is for that virtuosity to emerge as just one facet of a well-rounded musical intelligence. Only sixteen years old as of this writing, Sierra Hull displays instrumental facility and musical maturity well beyond her age with Secrets, her national debut album. Hull began playing mandolin at age eight, and quickly became noted on the national festival scene for her fluid, inventive picking - winning several mandolin and guitar championships in the process.
Click here
to read entire article.
Every once and a while, a bluegrass prodigy comes along that just stands above the rest. Ricky Skaggs was one. Alison Krauss was another. We've watched as Chris Thile perfected his music. These are the young artists that keep the music alive for at least another generation. Their music is just a notch above the norm - sometimes many notches. Such is the case with 16-year old Sierra Hull who, along with Union Station's Ron Block have produced Secrets on Rounder Records. I've been listening to the music on this debut release for a couple of days now and, well, it is sincerely amazing.
Sierra is getting a big boost from Alison Krauss and her band, Union Station. Most of the musicians on the album are Union Station members. Ron Block even co-produced the album. But, the artists on the album are not limited to just Union Station. You'll also find Tony Rice, Stuart Duncan, Jim
VanCleve, Rob Ickes, Chris Jones, Jason Moore and 17-year old banjoist Cory Walker who, by the way, is also in Hull's own Highway 111 band. With all this outstanding talent, you would expect an outstanding album. It's no secret that this group of artists are some of the best.
Click here for the entire article.
Alison Krauss Nominated for the 2008 Grammy Award in the Best Female Country Vocal Performance for:
Simple Love
Track from: A Hundred Miles Or More: A Collection
[Rounder Records]
Alison Krauss & Robert Plant Nominated for the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On) [Rounder Records]
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Despite
the march of time and age, The Fairfield
Four soldiers on
By Steve Wildsmith
of The Daily Times Staff
It’s been more than 60 years, but
Isaac “Dickey” Freeman still
remembers the exact amount of money he
received from his first gig with the
legendary gospel group The Fairfield
Four.
“My first check was for $468.75,”
Freeman told The Daily Times this week,
his deep voice booming through the phone
line during a Wednesday interview.
“I’d never made that much money at
one time, so I was kind of excited over
that. I wasn’t used to that much money
in my pocket from one program. I was at
the hotel that night, but I didn’t
sleep because I was just so happy and
excited about it.”
Click here
to read entire article.
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Fairfield
Four: Veteran Nashville gospel act sticks to the old stuff
by Bradley Hanson, Metro Pulse, Knoxville, TN
For many music fans, the Fairfield Four is the overalls-clad African-American gospel group featured on the otherwise bluegrass- and old-time-dominated soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou? The group’s stripped-back, a cappella rendering of the traditional song “Lonesome Valley” stood out even on an album brimming with masterful performances. Legendary bass singer Isaac Freeman says O Brother put the Fairfield Four in touch with a new generation of fans eager for enduring musical experiences.
“I would say after we did the O Brother soundtrack thing, there were a lot of young people that came out to hear us sing,” Freeman says. “They came out to see what it was like in the ‘40s and ‘50s. They’ve never heard it before and they’re elated over it. They look at us surprised and say, ‘I can’t see how you guys been doing it for so many years.’ It’s a great experience.”
Click here
to read entire article.
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Bradley
Walker: 'You get lost in his voice'
and nothing else matters’
BY Tom Netherland
Hearald Courier
Hear Bradley Walker. He sings as if
channeling such hard-core country
baritones as Carl Smith and Lefty
Frizzell.
But Walker also sings bluegrass. He
knows the music of Bill Monroe and Jimmy
Martin, as reflected on his aptly titled
debut solo album, “Highway of
Dreams.”
“The first time I heard him I
stopped,” said Larry Gorley, organizer
of Pickin’ at the Paramount, scheduled
for two shows on Jan. 26 at the
Paramount Center for the Arts in Bristol
Tennessee. “Bradley is an
attention-getter when he sings.”
Every song this golden voice sings is a Crowd Favorite, right? Her music and songs are always special and favorite and this project is no different. Her sweet gentle, girl-next-door spirit controls that voice we all instantly recognize and she leaves us fully satisfied with her songs- she "owns" them once they fall from her lips. These tunes are all your favorites and I have to say that I adore each one for different reasons.
Click here to read more.
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Watch
behind the scenes footage of the making
of “Raising Sand” with Alison
Krauss and Robert Plant.
Claire
Lynch: Bluegrass,
Swing, Cajun, Country, and Folk From One
Of The Best
A FolkWax Reprint
This review originally ran in FolkWax issue #342 on 10/18/2007
Crowd Favorites
Rounder
FolkWax Rating: 10 out of 10
Claire Lynch has some pretty high-powered fans; Linda Ronstadt and Kathy Mattea are among those who praise the quality and character of Lynch's voice. She's got a fine ear for songs, which she not only sings, but believes, too. The intricacies of jealousy, quiet moments of affirming faith, celebrating new love, celebrating the birth of a child: those daily events are all here, well told and gracefully presented. The collection opens with a train song -- there has to be one, of course, as Lynch is a Bluegrass singer -- and "Train Long Gone" is a fine part of that genre, hard driving and, in Lynch's hands, a tale of a woman thinking of a lover whose left with just a bit of wryness to temper the sorrow. Click
here
to read entire article.
Alison Krauss received four nominations including Female Vocalist of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year for Alison Krauss and Union Station Featuring Jerry Douglas, and two nominations in the same category of Musical Event of the Year, with John Waite (his first CMA Awards nomination) on “Missing You” and with Vince Gill on “The Reason Why.” Douglas was also nominated for Musician of the Year. Krauss last won the Female Vocalist of the Year category in 1995. She has been nominated in the category five times including each year from 2002-2005.
Expectation surrounds the Female Vocalist of the Year category. Rounding out the list with
Krauss is Martina McBride, Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert and Reba McEntire. This marks Lambert’s first nomination in this category, and McBride and McEntire are tied with the most wins in the Female Vocalist category in history.
Click here
to read the full list of nominees for the categories
mentioned above.
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Americana
Music Awards Instrumentalist of The Year
Nominee GURF
MORLIX
Gurf
has performed on the fundamental
Americana records of Lucinda Williams,
Mary Gauthier, Slaid Cleaves, Ray Wylie
Hubbard, Jim Lauderdale, Butch Hancock,
Don Walser, Blaze Foley, Peter Case,
Trish Murphy, Mojo Nixon, Jimmy LaFave,
Eliza Gilkyson...(the list goes on and
on).
In
his unassuming way, Gurf Morlix has
spent the majority of his life and
career in the shadows -- as a top-notch
producer, songwriter, and sideman, Gurf
has been the "man behind the
curtain" for the amazing records of
the stars and legends of music.
And though he's enjoyed the mystique
that comes with the "behind the
scenes" lifestyle, every soul he's
touched has soared to incredible
heights...and NOW is the time for Gurf
to be recognized.
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The
18th Annual International
Bluegrass
Music Awards will be held at the Grand Ole Opry, Oct 4th at 8:30 pm!
Wow
Baby; Hunter Berry with Tony
Rice, Doyle Lawson, Dan
Tyminski, Marty Stuart, Bobby Osborne, Bryan Sutton, Adam Steffey,
Jason Carter, Buck White, Sally Sandker, Sonya Isaacs, Keith Williams, Rhonda
Vincent, Buddy Spicher, Ronnie Stewart, Darrin Vincent, Bob Moore & Tom
Roady (artists); Upper Mgt. Music (label), Darrin Vincent (producer)
Alison Krauss & Union Station have gone with an arty stage set for the first
time in memory, with a map of Tennessee backdrop—or Europe, depending upon the
correctness of one’s eyeglasses prescription (though it’s a near certainty
that the framed paintings on the wall were birds—presumably indigenous to
Tennessee or Europe—though one may have been a Picasso). Click here
to read entire article.
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Americana
Masters Series
This new series presents the
award-winning music of Sugar Hill’s Americana Masters. Researched and compiled
from the artist’s body of work on Sugar Hill Records, these tracks were culled
from radio chart toppers, fan mail, downloads, and songs and tunes that are
recurrent favorites at live performances.
The series is designed to
provide longstanding fans with a collection of favorites. For new fans, this
series offers concise entry into the artistic output of these seminal
artists—with liner notes that can help them to discover more and to delve more
deeply into the artist’s catalog.
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss Album Raising
Sand Set for Release October 23
August 2007
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, two of the most
distinctive vocalists in modern music, recently put the finishing touches on
Raising Sand – their astonishing new collaborative album. Set for release
October 23 on Rounder Records, the album was produced by T Bone Burnett and
recorded in Nashville and Los Angeles with a stellar cast of supporting
musicians, including guitarists Marc Ribot and Norman Blake,
multi-instrumentalist Mike Seeger, drummer Jay Bellerose, and bassist Dennis
Crouch. Plant is quick to define Raising Sand as more a band record than a duet
record, as it puts the two great singers in a variety of vocal and instrumental
combinations – from songs featuring two-part brother-style harmony throughout
to solo features for each. Though they come from entirely different traditions,
Alison Krauss and Robert Plant create an amazing, unexpected, and entirely new
sound when they sing together. Click here
to read entire article.
