September 13th, 2008
Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out

Chris Stuart opines, “They have their own brand of bluegrass: unmatched quartets and trios, masterful lead singing, dead-on rhythm, tasteful fills, lyrical solos, and great songs. From stage left to right they are a complete band - perhaps the most complete band of the past two decades.”

Other industry folks agree. The band has won seven consecutive IBMA Vocal Group of the Year awards, plus Russell Moore’s two IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year awards and seven Male Vocalist Of the Year awards from the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America (SPBGMA). Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out are SPBGMA’s reigning Bluegrass Band of the Year, and have received more than 50 industry awards in all.

Success for Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out happened nearly overnight after forming in 1991. Founding member Russell Moore (guitar), along with Steve Dilling (banjo), Wayne Benson (mandolin), Justen Haynes (fiddle), and Edgar Loudermilk (bass) are creating a new tradition in modern bluegrass music.

- Russell Moore, originally from Pasadena, Texas, and now living near the foothills of the north Georgia mountains in Cumming, became a member of Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver in 1985. After six years and seven recordings with Quicksilver, he left to form IIIrd Tyme Out, and has since left an indelible mark on bluegrass music.

- Steve Dilling was born on a Puerto Rican Air Force base and grew up in North Carolina, where he and Wayne Benson often jammed together. Before joining Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out in 1993, he was a member of The Bass Mountain Boys and The Lonesome River Band.

- As mentioned, Wayne Benson is also from North Carolina, and played with Livewire before joining 3TO in 1992. In 2004, Wayne joined the John Cowan Band, spending three years and two albums with them until returning to

Russell Moore & Third Tyme Out in May, 2007. He’s also recorded solo albums, instructional DVDs, plays on many sessions, and lends his name to one of Gibson’s Artist Signature Series mandolins.

- Justen Haynes is from Virginia, and first played (at age 9!) in the gospel bluegrass band Sonrise. His other bands before 3TO include the Virginia State Orchestra and Michelle Nixon & Drive.

- A relative of the Louvin Brothers, Edgar Loudermilk played with Rhonda Vincent & The Rage and Marty Raybon & Full Circle before joining Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out.

October 25, 2008
Del Williams Band

“The vocal blend of that band is divine, heaven-sent, the way it used to be ... Those young pups he has on banjo and fiddle, had they lived 50 years ago and in the East, would have rotated in Monroe's band. I would walk out of the holler on my peg leg, in a driving snowstorm, to hear The Del Williams Band.” (Art & Margaret Mangiers) Son of the late, legendary Vern Williams, Del’s musical approach remains solidly connected to the brilliant genius of his father's band (in which he spent three decades as a member); his individual style can best be described as pure bluegrass, mixing power and soulfulness with the unabashed worship of the melody and feeling of an honest song. And he’s got a hot band with Danny Van Meter and Paul Lee.

November 15th, 2008
The Stairwell Sisters

San Francisco’s all-gal old-time teardown, The Stairwell Sisters, play a deep and rowdy repertoire of timeless tunes plus a solid standing of smart, original material that is winning praise on a national level. The Stairwell Sisters lay down concerts and square dances for counter-culturalists everywhere, infusing the old music with intoxicating energy and soul. The stairwell has never sounded better.

December 6th, 2008
Eric Thompson and Kleptograss

A prominent fixture on the Bay Area acoustic music scene from his early 1960s teen years in the Black Mountain Boys (with Jerry Garcia) and the New York Ramblers (with David Grisman) to his tours and recordings with Blue Flame Stringband, Bluegrass Intentions, and Suzy Thompson.

Borrowing freely from any musical style that grabs his eclectic ear, Eric plunders the mountain musics of Appalachia and Puerto Rico, the insular sounds of Ireland and Greece, funky jug band and blues, the swing of Django Reinhardt and Bob Wills, and more, leading a band of fellow musical gypsies — who happen to be the crème de la crème of Bay Area acoustic music — who paint a passionate pastiche of tune and timbre viewed through bluegrass-tinted glasses.

Kleptograss also includes multi-instrumentalist and two-time Grammy Award nominee Jody Stecher, Scott Nygaard, one of the most inventive guitarists in the bluegrass/acoustic music scene. Rounding out the band are champion fiddler Paul Shelasky and Paul Knight, a veteran bass player who has played and recorded with some of the best and who is responsible for RBA’s unmatched sound.

January 17th, 2009
Charlie Sizemore Band

Charlie Sizemore was raised on Puncheon Creek in Magoffin Country in Eastern Kentucky. The son and grandson of banjo players, he became fascinated by the sounds of bluegrass and mountain music as a child. His first instrument was the fiddle, which he began playing when he was six years old. A few years later, Charlie played lead guitar for regional favorite Lum Patton before touring the eastern U.S. with the Goins Brothers Band. At the age of sixteen Charlie joined Ralph Stanley's band as lead singer, replacing Keith Whitley. Nine years and more than a dozen Stanley albums later, Charlie formed his own band.

The Charlie Sizemore Band has toured for a dozen years and made seven critically acclaimed albums. Over the years, he has built a large following among fans and performers alike.

February 7th, 2009
Claire Lynch Band

By any measure, the Claire Lynch Band is high on the bluegrass world's A-List, with musicians whose accolades include International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Female Vocalist of the Year and two Grammy nominations for Best Bluegrass Album (Claire); two IBMA Guitar Player of the Year awards (Jim Hurst); and two IBMA Bass Player of the Year awards (Mark Schatz).

February 28th, 2009
Blue Highway

At the 14-year mark, Blue Highway is indisputably one of the most esteemed and influential groups in contemporary bluegrass. The band's eight exceptional albums and compelling live performances give proof to the stellar reviews, Grammy nominations, and numerous awards earned by the band since it first took the stage on December 31, 1994. With a deep bench of virtuosic songwriters, vocalists and instrumentalists, Blue Highway's hallmark is an unwavering commitment to the ensemble, the “democracy of the band” that makes Blue Highway a powerhouse.

Individually, Jason Burleson (banjo, guitar, mandolin), Rob Ickes (Dobro), Shawn Lane (mandolin, fiddle, vocals), Tim Stafford (guitar, vocals), and Wayne Taylor (bass, vocals) are masters of their respective roles. Together, in Stafford's words, they are “a democracy in the best sense of the word”: five gifted artists selflessly merging their talents into a seamlessly brilliant group sound. As a result, the band moves from strength to strength, more mature and impressive with each new album.

March 21st, 2009
Mac Martin & the California Travelers

Since 1954(!), Mac Martin has led a powerhouse traditional bluegrass band in the Pittsburgh area. Although he has rarely toured outside of western Pennsylvania, his many recordings and distinctive approach have won him a dedicated audience among fans of traditional bluegrass throughout the world. He has had his songs recently recorded by Longview, James King, Bob & Danny Paisley, Open Road, and King Wilkie, among others, and some of Northern California's most experienced bluegrass musicians -- Butch Waller, Kathy Kallick, Keith Little, Paul Shelasky, and Lisa Berman — once again will accompany this truly legendary bluegrass musician.

April 25th, 2009
Laurie Lewis and the Right Hands

The Sacramento News called her "as fine a singer as anyone on the acoustic music circuit, anywhere in the world." Billboard praised her ability to "successfully walk the high wire above esoteric country, combining elements of bluegrass and pure country to form her own seamless mix." Or as American folk icon Utah Phillips put it, "Whatever country music is supposed to be, she's at the center of it."

The Right Hands? Why that's Tom Rozum, Craig Smith, Todd Phillips and Scott Huffman. You could spend a whole page talking about them!