Pinecastle Records Reopens Under New Ownership

The bluegrass label Pinecastle Records has been reactivated by its new owner, physician Dr. Lonnie Lassiter.

One of the leading bluegrass imprints, the company was closed last February because of the health issues of its previous owner, Col. Tom Riggs. Lassiter purchased the company from the Riggs family in August, and the label began rebuilding a roster this fall.

The first new signee is the North Carolina band Nu-Blu. Pinecastle is headquartered in Columbus, NC. Award-winning, Knoxville-based Dobro player Phil Leadbetter has re-signed with the company.

In addition to Lassiter, the new Pinecastle staff includes Matt Hood as VP of Public Relations, bookkeeper Kim Jolley, Ethan Burkhardt as VP of operations and executive assistant Macy Gibbs.

Pinecastle was originally founded in 1989. Its 250 releases to date include albums by such Nashville mainstays as The Osborne Brothers, Jim & Jesse and Kristin Scott Benson. This year’s Emerging Artist winner at the IBMA awards is Middle Tennessean Josh Williams. When the label closed, he moved from Pinecastle to Rounder Records.