The Cherryholmes Ride Again

This week, we're rebroadcasting a very special entry in the Studio Special series featuring the Cherryholmes. It's a rebroadcast of a program which originally aired late last year. The next broadcast of this program airs tomorrow [Sunday] afternoon at 6:00 P.M. E.T.

If you're not familiar with the series, the Studio Special is the show where the bands join me in studio for an hour of live music and conversation. There's nothing canned as the bands bring their instruments and what you hear are versions of their songs unique to XM.

This particular show is especially interesting because it marks the first time I had ever heard Molly sing a lead vocal. Although I'm quite familiar with her harmony singing, on this edition of the Studio Special, she lends a stunning lead vocal to "When The Savior Reached Down for Me." It's a song they've never recorded, and you'll have to listen to this week's SS to hear it.

Another highlight of the show was when they threw out a possible title for a future instrumental album. I thought it was quite clever. I'm not going to reveal it here--you'll have to listen to find out what it was!

As always, if you can't listen tomorrow, the complete listing of rebroadcast times is here.

Williams & Clark Track-By-Track

Thursday, I got to record an interview with the Williams & Clark Expedition in anticipation of a Track-By-Track show built around their newest release.

Their current album is titled Brand New Set of Blues. Kimberly Williams, Blake Williams, Bobby Clark, and Wayne Southards joined me in studio to talk about the new disc, which was released May 15.

Most of the songs on the new CD are original to the group. But as good as the songs are, and as nice as the harmonies may be, what really knocks me out about this project is the instrumental work. Blake Williams is a veteran of such groups as Lester Flatt's Nashville Grass and Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys. Both Blake and Bobby Clark spent a decade or more in Mike Snider's band on the Grand Ole Opry. For my money, they've never sounded better. Of course, the vocals are really fine.

Look for the TBT sometime in late July/early August, but in the meantime, get this CD. You'll enjoy it.

Infamous Stringdusters Rebroadcast Today

A rebroadcast of our Infamous Stringdusters Track-By-Track airs late this afternoon at 6 ET. Travis Book, Andy Hall, and Chris Pandolfi came by to track the album with me a few days ago, and that show premiered just over a week ago.

If you can't hear the show today, check out the earlier post--the full rebroadcast schedule is included.

Don't Miss This One

Over the weekend, I was out in the car and happened to catch some of the Studio Special with Country Current when it was rebroadcast.

It had been quite a while since I had listened to that show. We recorded and originally broadcast it last summer, and since then (as they say) a lot of water has gone under the bridge. But there in the car, it occurred to me what an exciting and talented band these U.S. Navy guys were (and are).

You really need to catch this show--if for no other reason than it's one of Wayne Taylor's last appearances with the group (he retired from the Navy a few months after the broadcast). That aside, however, this show features some absolutely incredible music. You won't be disappointed.

The next broadcast is tonight at Midnight ET (9:00 P.M. Pacific). If you cant hear that one, it will also air Thursday afternoon at 3:00 E.T. As always, the full schedule is here.

CMA Music Fest Bluegrass?

The CMA Music Festival (formerly known as Fan Fair) begins next week--June 5 to be exact. Country music fans from all around the world will come to Nashville to see the currently-hottest acts in the music perform on stage. They also come with the hope of meeting--or at least seeing up close--some of their favorites.

What does this mean for bluegrass? Not much, really. For years--indeed, for much of its history--bluegrass has been only a small part of CMA Music Fest. Back in the day when Fan Fair was held at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds, there was always a bluegrass show staged--usually headlined by Bill Monroe--to kick off the festival, but it was poorly attended. I emceed several of those shows during the '80s and '90s, and remember well the great music and relatively small crowds. I always attributed that to the fact that the shows weren't promoted well, and also that there were often competing events which drew attendees away.

CMA Music Fest is now held in downtown Nashville. Although there is still very little emphasis on bluegrass, the good news is that it is still represented. In fact, it's represented well. This year's all-bluegrass show, which takes place on Thursday the 5th at 2:00 P.M., features The Steeldrivers, Mountain Heart, Dan Tyminski, and Sierra Hull. Now that's a strong lineup. If that's not enough, the Grascals will be appearing on another show (not bluegrass-only) on Sunday the 8th at 11:45 A.M.

The best part is that both of these shows are free--you don't have to be a registered CMA Music Fest participant to see them--and they'll be held on the Chevrolet-sponsored show just outside of the Sommet Center at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Broadway. Just walk up and enjoy the music. And if you can't be there in person, Bluegrass Junction will be broadcasting the Thursday show live, and the Sunday show on a delayed basis.

In an age when many of country music's biggest stars eschew CMA Music Fest for more lucrative concert appearances elsewhere, it's interesting that some of the best bluegrass has to offer will be out in force. I think that's good for bluegrass and the CMA.

Memorial Day at the Junction

'Hope you're having a great holiday weekend. Today being a holiday, I won't be around taking a requests as I usually do on Monday; however, we've scheduled some special programming this afternoon.

Starting at 3 PM ET, we've pulled a couple of very special Track-By-Track shows out of the archive. Larry Cordle is first up as we play through Took Down and Put Up, which was just out when the show originally aired late last year. Then, at 5 PM ET, it's Claire Lynch, who was my guest in September when we tracked Crowd Favorites. More info on these two shows can be found in my earlier post.

Also--don't miss Country Current on the Studio Special. That show airs again tonight at 8 ET.

Finally, and on a personal note, today we remember those Americans who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our liberty. Take a moment to honor their memory by thanking a serviceman or woman today for their service to our country.

Infamous Stringdusters Rebroadcast Today

A rebroadcast of our Infamous Stringdusters Track-By-Track airs this afternoon at 4 PM ET. Travis Book, Andy Hall, and Chris Pandolfi came by to track the album with me a few days ago, and that show premiered this past Tuesday morning.

If you can't hear the show today, check out the earlier post--the full rebroadcast schedule is included.

Thanks, Ted!

New Hampshire listener Ted Lehmann, a "retired English teacher/college professor who has a number of interests and enthusiasms," has taken the time to plug this site and profile your humble reporter on his own blog. If you'd like to read his article, you'll find it here.

Some of you may already read Ted's writings, which can be found at http://tedlehmann.blogspot.com/. He obviously is passionate about bluegrass and always provides some insightful comments about and reviews of bands he's seen and heard.

Thanks, Ted, for the notice, and for being such an avid supporter of bluegrass.

By the way, do you have your own blog or website? Feel free to plug it by posting a comment to this post! --K.

Memorial Day Weekend at the Junction

Summer unofficially kicks off this weekend, and we're filling it with hot bluegrass and special features!

This week's Grassroots, which airs at 3 PM ET Fridays and 10 PM ET Saturdays, includes a tribute to Mac Wiseman, who's celebrating his 83rd birthday May 23. We'll be playing all the songs from his very first solo recording session, which took place on his birthday in 1951. In addition, Grassroots this week includes songs from pre-bluegrass giants Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family, as well as lots of classic bluegrass from the 1940s through the '80s.

The Studio Special for this week features (appropriately for the Memorial Day weekend) the U.S. Navy Bluegrass Band, Country Current. It's a live-in-studio set with one of the really great bands to ever play the music. Air times are 8 AM ET Friday, 11 AM ET Saturday, and 6 PM ET Sunday. The full schedule is here.

The Infamous Stringdusters are featured again at 4 PM ET Saturday afternoon as we rebroadcast the Track-By-Track show with them which premiered this past Tuesday. More information is in my earlier post.

Sundays just wouldn't be the same without Gospel Grass, which airs at 7 AM and 9 PM Eastern each Sunday.

Finally, don't forget the special afternoon of archived shows we've planned for Monday starting at 3 PM ET. Larry Cordle and Claire Lynch are featured, and more details can be found here.

Have a great weekend, and thanks for listening to Bluegrass Junction!

Country Current on the Studio Special

In honor of Memorial Day, we've called in the Navy!

The U.S. Navy's bluegrass band, that is. As a special tribute to the holiday, we're presenting a special encore broadcast of our Studio Special with Country Current from last summer. Wayne Taylor, who is now retired from the Navy, brought this exceptional band (which included Keith Arneson, Pat White, Frank Solivan II, and Joe Wheatley) into the studio for an hour+ of live music and conversation.

Don't miss this very special show from the Studio Special series, premiering Friday, May 23 at 8:00 A.M. E.D.T. Rebroadcast times are listed in my earlier post.

Memorial Day Backtrackin'

Since I won't be around on Memorial Day for the afternoon show, I thought we'd spend that time by looking back at some of our favorite interviews.

Starting at 3 PM ET, I'm going to re-run our Track-By-Track show with Larry Cordle, which was originally broadcast late last year. It ended up being an in-depth interview covering a broad range of topics, including some of Larry's personal insights, as well as a lot of information about Took Down and Put Up, which had just been released at the time. We played the entire album, and had a great time.

Then, around 5 PM ET, we'll replay another Track-By-Track, this time with Claire Lynch. That show originally aired last fall, when Claire's Crowd Favorites was just out. Because Crowd Favorites consists mainly of songs from earlier in Claire's career, the release of that disc gave us an opportunity to talk about where she had been in her career, and she shares some poignant moments.

Studio Special Air Times

Perhaps the most-asked question about our programming is, "When does the Studio Special air?"

Well, it's actually quite simple. Each week's cycle of broadcasts begins on Friday at 8:00 A.M. with the new show for that week. Following the initial Friday broadcast, we repeat the same show five times over the next week, in different time slots, so people on different schedules and in different time zones can have a chance to hear the show.

Here's the complete schedule:

Friday, 8:00 A.M. (premiere)
Saturday, 11:00 A.M.
Sunday, 6:00 P.M.
Monday, 8:00 P.M.
Tuesday, Midnight (technically Wedesday morning)
Thursday, 3:00 P.M.

Remember, all times are Eastern.

And that's all there is to it!

Sierra Hull Encore Wednesday

We've scheduled an encore broadcast of my interview with Sierra Hull for late Wednesday afternoon at 6:00 P.M. E.D.T.

Sierra was on the afternoon show last week and it was neat to get to know her a bit better. We chatted for quite a while and listened to songs from her new album, Secrets. It was a great visit. Check it out!

Sierra's website: www.sierrahull.com.

Studio Special with Honi Deaton & Dream

This week's Studio Special features Honi Deaton & Dream. Be sure to catch the show tonight at 8 PM Eastern.

If you can't listen then, it will also air tomorrow night at Midnight ET, and again on Thursday afternoon at 3 PM ET.

The full listing of times the Studio Special airs can be found here. A list of some of the upcoming guests can be found on our website.

Request Monday at the Junction!

I hope you'll take the time to call or email in on Monday when we open the afternoon show to requests. For nearly two years, we've been calling Monday afternoons "Request Monday."

As you probably know if you're a regular listener to XM's Bluegrass Junction, my show airs weekday afternoons starting at 3:00 Eastern. I always dedicate each Monday to all requests--meaning that every song played is picked by folks who call or email in.

Our toll-free number, which we start answering at the beginning of the show, is 866-267-0375. The email address is bluegrassjunction@xmradio.com.

Sometimes I get asked why a request doesn't get played. There are several reasons:

1. The song isn't available to us. Although XM's library includes tens of thousands of bluegrass titles, we don't have everything. If the song's not there, we can't play it. Often, however, if you request a song that I know we ought to have, I'll obtain a copy of it and we'll play it on some future show.
2. We just don't have time. We get far more requests each week than the 50 or so slots we have to fill.
3. The artist has been played recently. Although a particular artist might just be your favorite of all time, he/she/they might not be liked as well by someone else. Therefore, we live by the time-honored radio rule of "artist separation," meaning that we always try to put some space between songs by the same artist. On special occasions, however, we may "feature" an artist and play two or more of their songs close together, but there normally is a reason for us doing so. Sometimes, on Mondays, I find that several folks will have requested the same artist, and I'll do a "twin-spin"--two songs by the same artist back-to-back.
4. The song doesn't fit the "flow" of the program. This is kind of hard to understand, but we have to take into account the fact that most listeners don't call in and only listen casually. Thus, if we're playing lots of slow songs together, or songs about a certain subject, or of a certain mood, or songs that sound the same, the program can get pretty dull in a hurry. My job is to try and make it sound interesting while playing your requests. It's a balancing act, and not every song "fits" in the order it is requested. Sometimes, folks will call and I won't play their request until two hours later (or not at all) because I'm looking for the right "spot" for it. On another occasion, a request might fit in as soon as it's called in. A lot of it has to do with plain old luck.

Thanks for your understanding, but more importantly, thanks for listening every week. I appreciate your requests!

This Weekend at the Junction

Our weekend programming is highlighted by Honi Deaton & Dream aboard the Studio Special. That show aired this morning at 11:00 and will be on again tomorrow at 6:00 P.M. E.D.T. If you don't listen to the Studio Special shows, that's where we invite bands into our studios to play live. Honi and her group were more than equal to the task, and did an outstanding job. I was extremely impressed. Other air times are Monday at 8:00 P.M., Tuesday at Midnight, and Thursday at 3:00 P.M. All times are Eastern.

Tonight's edition of Grassroots, which airs at 10:00 Eastern, features some tasty tracks by the Osborne Brothers, Flatt & Scruggs (from Carnegie Hall), and the Delmore Brothers, to name a few.

Finally, don't miss Gospel Grass. It's three hours of bluegrass gospel, heard every Sunday at 7:00 A.M. and 9:00 P.M. Eastern.

Sommet Center Studios in Progress

Occasionally, I get asked how the new XM studios are coming. In case you don't know, XM's Nashville folks are about to move into new office/studio space in the downtown arena, the Sommet Center (where the NHL Predators play) in a few weeks. The new place will include eight studios, along with office and reception space.

Well, pictures speak louder than words, so check out these, which were taken in late April of the studios in progress. Joyce Rizer, our own "Producer J.," posted them for us.

I took some shots myself this morning, which I've now posted in the Bluegrass Junction photo album. Click on "Sommet Studios Construction" and you'll see them, along with my comments in the captions.

Infamous Stringdusters Track-By-Track

You don't want to miss this one...a Track-By-Track preview of the new Infamous Stringdusters CD, which is simply titled The Infamous Stringdusters. The album won't be released until June 10, but we'll be playing through the entire CD this Tuesday morning at 8:00 A.M. E.D.T. The best part about it is that Travis Book, Chris Pandolfi, and Andy Hall joined me for the taping of this show and, as usual, their comments were interesting and insightful.

This is the 'Dusters' second release for Sugar Hill Records. It's interesting that there is no unique title for this album--usually, a band will release a self-titled release, if they do one at all, as their first disc. The guys told me that they felt titling the album The Infamous Stringdusters seemed appropriate because with this second release, their sound had matured and they had "gelled" as a group, both from a performing and writing standpoint.

I couldn't agree more. As much as I liked Fork in the Road, this disc knocks me out. It probably will do the same for you, too. I'd be interested to know your thoughts.

By the way, if you can't listen on Tuesday, catch one of the rebroadcasts. Here's the schedule:

Saturday, May 24 at 4:00 P.M.
Wednesday, May 28 at 6:00 P.M.
Thursday, June 5 at Midnight (or Friday, June 6 for you "Monk"-types)
Tuesday, June 10 at 3:00 P.M.

All times are Eastern.

More information on the album, including a couple of clips, is here.

New Photo Gallery

Along with the new blog comes a new photo gallery!

Featured are more than 40 pictures from guests who have stopped by our studio for interviews, special events, and Studio Special broadcasts. Click on the picture of Dailey & Vincent to get into the "Bluegrass Junction Guests" album, where you'll see thumbnails of the photos, then click any picture for a closer look. You can even leave comments, if you like.

I hope to be adding more pictures (and albums) as time goes on. Check it out!

Welcome To The Blog!

Well, I've finally done it...I've gone and created a blog.

Actually, I've hesitated to start one because I'm afraid I can't measure up to all the great ones which are already out there, but I guess I finally decided to take the plunge. Why? Because I truly love my work, and I love keeping in touch with folks who listen to what I do every day and who care about bluegrass music.

In this forum, I hope to provide information on a somewhat-regular basis about the goings-on at Bluegrass Junction, the bluegrass channel for XM Satellite Radio. Since you've taken the time to come here, I also want to give you a behind-the scenes peek at what we do at XM--a bit more than you get just by listening--in an effort to make you feel like you're more a part of the family. In addition, I'm sure I'll also be offering some of my thoughts about the current state of bluegrass music, the artists, and the songs. I don't expect for these writings to be too much about me personally (that would be too boring--trust me!), but I hope you'll forgive me if in this first post I share a little about my background, so we can get to know each other better.

I was born in 1961 right here--more or less, that is--in Nashville. Since radio people tend to be nomads--moving from place to place, up and down the dial--I'm fortunate to have spent most of my career close to home. In fact, the farthest away I've worked in radio is Murfreesboro, Tennessee, which is about 30 miles south of Nashville. My earliest radio ambitions were centered around the station I still consider one of the greatest in the history of broadcasting, Nashville's own WSM. I always wanted to work there, and in 1982, when I was just 20 years old, I was lucky enough to land a part-time job there.

Part-time led to full-time, and I ended up staying around WSM for nearly 21 years, during which time I served as board operator, announcer, producer, music director (for the station's satellite network in the '80s, the Music Country Radio Network), program director, and operations manager. My favorite job of all at the station, though, was announcer for the Grand Ole Opry. I first did that in 1985 (yes, I was only 23!) and was part-time on the Opry staff until 1991, when the legendary Grant Turner passed away. From then on, I was on the Opry every week until 2003.

Other things I've been privileged to do over the years include hosting two different sydicated shows--The Grand Ole Opry Minute for WSM and Classic Country Gold for my own syndication company. I was on the air for Sirius Satellite Radio (the dreaded competitor!) when they first signed on in 2002 (while still working at WSM), and joined the staff of XM on October 31, 2005.

Well, enough about me. Thanks for reading this and I look forward to visiting with you again soon!