New Chart Posted

As you may have noticed, our latest edition of Bluegrass Junction's Top Tracks & Albums has been posted. This month's "leaders" are:

Top Tracks:

1. "Sweet Carrie" / Dailey & Vincent
2. "Through the Window of a Train" / Blue Highway
3. "Here Comes That Feeling Again" / Grasstowne
4. "Cabin Down Below" / Gibson Brothers
5. "Alison's Band" / Charlie Sizemore

Top Albums:

1. Keep on Walkin' / Grascals
2. Good News / Charlie Sizemore
3. Deep in the Mountains / Longview
4. The Room Over Mine / Danny Paisley & The Southern Grass
5. The Road Headin' Home / Grasstowne

You may have noticed that the Grascals' album debuted at #1 this month, and Danny Paisley's new effort checks in at an impressive #4. This might bear some explanation.

The "Top Tracks" chart is based on the recording's general popularity based on several factors, including

• Chart activity (on other charts, such as those published by Bluegrass Unlimited, Billboard, and Bluegrass Now)
• The age of the track (How long has it been out?)
  
• Radio airplay on outlets other than XM
• Listener requests at XM
• The artist(s)'s overall profile, reflected by bookings, reviews, and listener popularity
• The "fit" of the song into the overall programming scheme of Bluegrass Junction

While this isn't meant to be an exhaustive list, you get the idea that some songs are played more than others on the channel based on factors like these. The tunes judged to fit more of these criteria for the current month get a higher position; those which fit fewer for that month rank lower. You get the idea.

The "Top Albums" chart, on the other hand, is purely based on Bluegrass Junction airplay. Since our programming is made up of tracks which, in turn, make up albums, artists which have more tracks which fit the criteria shown above get more play for their albums, and this chart reflects this. Also, if in a given month we feature a particular album in a special program, such as a World Premiere (as was the case with the Grascals) or a Track-By-Track show, the broadcast/rebroadcasts of that show, combined with the "routine" airplay that album may receive, will typically push an album up the chart, if only temporarily.

I hope you find this info helpful. I realize some of you may not really care about all this, so let's all remember, it's about playing great music! To me, all of these songs and discs are terrific and represent the best bluegrass has to offer.

Click here for the complete chart.