Chapter 348

The bluegrass demographic looks like it is becoming more diverse than ever. Judging by the crowd at the 21st annual International Bluegrass Music Awards at the Ryman (9/30), bluegrass still skews somewhat older. But more than ever, the genre’s fans were hard to pigeonhole. Thin young people mingled with heavyset seniors. Cowboys sat next to hippies, progressives were alongside rednecks. The audience included fans from Europe, Australia and Japan as well as a tiny smattering of African Americans.

No matter who they were, there was no consensus about proper award-show attire. Garb ranged from t-shirts and bluejeans to evening gowns and brocade wraps, from sport coats to sport shirts. Within yards of one another were a middle-aged guy in khaki shorts and a woman roughly his peer in a strapless floor-length gown with a pouffy organza stole.

No matter who they were or what they wore, they were treated to a triumphantly musical, 3 1/2 hour show. Let’s state the obvious: This is one genre where you have to be able to really play and really sing.

Dierks Bentley and an all-star bluegrass assemblage were a great show opener with “Fiddlin’ Around.” Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver did a lickety-split, harmony-drenched version of Paul Simon’s “Gone at Last.” What a brilliant cover idea. Dailey & Vincent’s version of The Statler Brothers’ “Elizabeth” was perked up when Statler Jimmy Fortune walked out in mid-song to take over lead vocals on the song he wrote.

The Claire Lynch Band’s cover of Bill Monroe’s “My Florida Sunshine” was embellished with crisp triple fiddles, including Michael Cleveland’s. Celebrating the 10th anniversary of O Brother Where Art Thou were Alison Krauss & Union Station (“Valley to Pray”), The Whites (“Keep on the Sunny Side”) and Dan Tyminski (“Man of Constant Sorrow”). Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out did “Carolina’s Arms.”

The Del McCoury Band were tighter than tight on “Hello Lonely.” The Sam Bush Band did his co-written “The Ballad of Stringbean and Estelle.” Earl Scruggs, 86, led on acoustic guitar when he performed “You Are My Flower” with Gary Scruggs singing lead, plus Randy Scruggs, Jon Randall, Dierks and Rob Ickes accompanying. Earl is the last surviving architect of the bluegrass sound. I, for one, got teary eyed.

The evening was studded with outstanding collaborations. In addition to the Dierks, Claire and Scruggs events. The Josh Williams Band teamed with fleet-fingered Tony Rice on The Delmore Brothers chestnut “Blue Railroad Train.” Darrell Scott fronted Blue Highway to sing his “Bleeding for a Little Peace of Mind.” The evening’s finale was The John Hartford String Band joined by Alison Brown, Tut Taylor, Sam Bush, Tim O’Brien, Peter Rowan, Jerry Douglas and Jamie Hartford for “Gentle on My Mind.” Let the record show that all of these performances were greeted by wild ovations.

Winners? Winning biggest were Dailey & Vincent, with trophies for Entertainer, Vocal Group, Recorded Event and Album. But not far behind were Michael Cleveland (Fiddler, Instrumental Group), Josh Williams (Emerging Artist, Guitarist), The Gibson Brothers (Song, Gospel Performance) and Adam Steffey (Mandolinist, Instrumental Performance).

Many were IBMA repeaters, Steffey has won Mandolin Player of the Year five previous times. Rob Ickes continued his dominance on Dobro. He has won 11 prior IBMAs, including the last five years in succession. Michael Cleveland has won on fiddle eight times previously. Kristin Scott Benson of The Grascals won her third straight Banjo Player of the Year honor. This was Dailey & Vincent’s third consecutive win as both Entertainer and Vocal Group. Marshall Wilburn repeated his 2009 win as Bass Player.

But Russell Moore was a first-timer as Male Vocalist. The Gibson Brothers’ trophies were their first since winning Emerging Artist in 1998. Claire Lynch hasn’t won Female Vocalist since way back in 1997.

“Wow: That’s absolutely sweet,” said Male Vocalist Moore. “This has sucked every bit of the spit outta my mouth. Shoot, I’ll even thank the ones who didn’t vote for me. Everything’s good.” “My very first cut when to Number One, and that’s amazing to me,” said awestruck Song of the Year winner Chet O’Keefe (“Ring the Bell”).

Josh Williams did not have an album out this year, so he was clearly shocked to win Emerging Artist. “Oh my gosh, I love you guys so much,” he said before choking up. “I can’t tell you what this means to me. This is truly a dream come true.” He and his wife are expecting a baby in December, and he thanked his unborn son.

“It’s indeed a great honor to feel bona fide,” said Claire. “You are my family. I’m truly delighted and grateful.” When Dailey & Vincent Sing The Statler Brothers won Album, Jamie Dailey said, “This was my dream record. I listened to The Statler Brothers from the time I was a 9-year-old kid. I really wanted to do this tribute record.”

“We are touched beyond words,” he added when picking up the Entertainer trophy. “We are all brothers and sisters in this business.”

That sentiment was echoed by Steffey: “One thing about this music that I would not trade for anything, and that’s the friends I’ve made. I love this music.” He was humbled by his win, stating, “If you walked in a mandolin store and there were 31 flavors like Baskin Robbins, I’d be vanilla. I don’t think there’s anything special about what I do.”

Louise Scruggs was inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame by Eddie Stubbs. “Mom didn’t let that Man’s World define her,” said Gary. “She did as much as anybody, maybe more, to elevate bluegrass music,” added Randy. I’ll be more blunt. There would not be a bluegrass industry if it were not for Louise Scruggs, who passed away in 2006. It was a poignant touch that she and Earl first met at the Ryman.

John Hartford was inducted into the Hall by Tim O’Brien. “John represented the past, the present and the future of all music, and he was one of ours,” said Tim. “He was a special combination of wise and childlike.” Tim concluded by quoting “Gentle on My Mind,” saying, “I can still see you in my memory, by the rivers, on the backroads, ever smiling, ever gentle on my mind.” Hartford died in 2001, and Tim sang the song at his funeral.

“The only thing that could make this better would be if Dad could be here. He would know what to say,” said daughter Katie Hartford Hogue. As it turned out, he did. John left behind a quote that says, “Bluegrass is America’s last small town. Everybody knows everybody. And you don’t have to lock your doors.”

The show was ably hosted by Jerry Douglas, Sharon White and Cheryl White. At one point, Jerry donned a long silver wig to mock the locks of Ricky Skaggs. Presenters included Kenny & Amanda Smith. Recalling their first date, Kenny quipped, “She said the three words that would melt the heart of any man: ‘You wanna pick?’” Presenters Eddie & Martha Adcock referenced his headline-making recent brain surgery wherein he played his banjo during the operation.

Also taking the stage to hand out honors were Michael Martin Murphey, Hazel Dickens, Peter Rowan, The Grascals, Buck White, Aussies The Davidson Brothers, Dan Tyminski, Missy Raines, Melodie Cannon, humorous Rodney Dillard and Alison Krauss.

For a complete list of winners click HERE.

Kenny Chesney is celebrating the 20th No. 1 single of his career today (9/28), just as his new album hits streets. “The Boys of Fall” currently sits atop the Mediabase and BDS charts, and has already peaked on MusicRow’s Country Breakout chart.

Though it’s been 14 years since Chesney achieved his first No. 1, the veteran star admits that the excitement of having a hit single never goes away. “I was on a photo shoot in Puerto Rico when I had my first No. 1 record with ‘When I Close My Eyes,’” he remembers. “When I heard today that ‘The Boys of Fall’ became my 20th No. 1, it made me very happy to know the feeling is the same.”

“The Boys of Fall” is the first single from his new album, Hemingway’s Whiskey, out today via BNA Records. He is promoting the release with numerous national television appearances, including CMT Invitation Only, Good Morning America (9/28), The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (10/1), and The Ellen DeGeneres Show (10/4). He spent all day yesterday at ESPN’s studios talking about football, and his Boys of Fall single and documentary.

Chesney is also on the new edition of Walmart Soundcheck, taped July 22 at Nashville’s Blackbird Studios (see below).

Last week’s article “Appraising The Strategic Value of Airplay For Indie Artists,” featuring Tom Baldrica, generated a number of heated responses. One person who has been connected with Indie careers and was especially passionate about the challenges outlined in the article had a lot to say, but wished to do so anonymously. We agreed, let’s call him Mr. X.

Baldrica cautioned, “You’re out of your mind to play the national chart game as an independent.” Mr. X agrees. “Baldrica sure pulled the curtains back on this subject. The country music economy is probably a Top 15 or Top 10 marketplace. When you get to those numbers you might start to see sales. It goes back to something I heard Joe Galante say on some panel a while ago. Talking to an artist he said, ‘I can take you to the audience, but I can’t make the audience take you.’ I can’t think of a better line to describe what happens. Between nowhere and No. 25 there’s not a lot of difference on the monitored chart. I’ve had promoters get us to No. 45 and say ‘congratulations.’ But realistically, congratulations on what? The record wasn’t played in morning drive or mid-day, in fact it was completely invisible. So tons of money later there’s little to show.”

But Mr. X is a bit stoic about the fight to break an indie artist. “You know what? Knowing the chart facts of life isn’t likely to keep most people from doing anything any differently,” X says. “The allure of the Nashville dream is so bright and blinding, you could write this article and pin it on every door in America, but there still will be another crop of people coming to Nashville saying, ‘I’m different. It only applies to all those people that weren’t good enough’.”

In last week’s article Baldrica also suggested that independents might be better served working toward a regional approach. But Mr. X takes exception to this idea. “The problem is while it sounds good to build a story regionally, it’s actually used against you and it then becomes impossible to break out nationally. For example great acts that were branded regional such as Jack Ingram, Pat Green and Cross Canadian Ragweed. This is a major label game and that’s a fact. As an industry we need to admit it’s far more label focused than artist, or song focused. If it was based on the song, then you would have more acts in the Top 20 actually selling records. The inherent monopoly of the majors makes it easy for them to chart a Top 20, even if it has almost no relation to audience acceptance. Miranda Lambert sold over a million units before she ever had a Top 15, which means the chart didn’t reflect her audience acceptance. While the chart does launch more careers than any other vehicle, the monopoly of the majors allows for a lot of misses, too.”

And indies also get shut out of a lot of exposure opportunities according to Mr. X. “The majors dug this pond and we’re just asking to fish in it. But they own the fishing rights and as an independent you are relegated to the corners of the pond. Rarely, you might pull in a big fish, but mostly you are just net casting for minnows. We’re trying to say, ‘Our music is good enough to be a part of the system,’ but it’s not our pond. You can’t believe the leverage the majors have. Opportunities for valuable added exposure from vehicles such as Award shows or duets with artists on major labels, for example, are completely shut out for us. I don’t want to sound bitter, but these are just the facts. If there is any frustration in my voice it is the romance they put around a great song, and not near enough emphasis on the leverage of the label which is the reality of the actual forces needed to get to the starting line.”