The songs listed are the top 10 beginning August and running through the end of 2008.

Horsetooth Hoedown’s Top 10

1. Jimmy Martin – Run Pete Run, Best of the Best – Jimmy Martin – King of Bluegrass, 2000.
2. Del McCoury Band – Breadline Blues, Moneyland, 2008.
3. Larry Sparks – Roving Gambler, Best Loved Bluegrass, 2008.
4. Chris Henry – James River, Monroe Approved, 2006.
5. Larry Stephenson Band – How High Is That Mountain, Thankful, 2008.
6. Grasstowne – Grasstowne City Limits, The Road Headin’ Home, 2008.
7. Del McCoury Band – Moneyland, Moneyland, 2008.
8. Laurie Lewis & The Right Hands – Alaska, Live in Austin, 2004.
9. Lonesome Mountaineers – Lord Won’t You Help Me, 10 Years of European World of Bluegrass, 2008.
10. Bluegrass Album Band – Down the Road, The Bluegrass Album, Vol. 3: California Connection, 1983.

Photo by Tim Timberlake.

Colorado bluegrass group Hot Rize will share the stage with other non-bluegrass artists as part of the Third Annual RootsFest, presented by Swallow Hill at Ellie Caulkins Opera House in Denver.

Rootsfest will be held in celebration of Swallow Hill’s 3oth anniversary as a nonprofit organization in support of roots music. As Swallow Hill’s biggest event of the year, the festival will take place on Saturday, March 28.

The festival is formerly known as the Denver Folk and Roots Music Festival.

Both Hot Rize and Swallow Hill are approaching their 30th anniversary, although Hot Rize’s dynamics have changed since their years among the top of the bluegrass circuit. Bryan Sutton, one of the most renowned bluegrass guitarists of the younger generation, is the newest member of the band.

Sutton essentially is the replacement for Hot Rize’s original guitar player Charles Sawtelle who passed away in 1999.

Hot Rize, especially Sawtelle, has an important history with Swallow Hill; Sawtelle Studios was created by Swallow Hill in 1998 and specializes in producing acoustic music by Colorado musicians. Tim O’Brien, Hot Rize’s mandolinist and vocalist, learned much about music at Swallow Hill before Hot Rize formed in Boulder in 1989.

Hot Rize has only performed on rare occasions since the rebirth of the band with Sutton as guitarist. Their most recent concert was at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco on October 4.

The band currently has no other events on their schedule, according to their Web site and jambase.com.

Other acts at the Third Annual Rootsfest include Leo Kotkke and Shawn Colvin.

Rounder Records and Skaggs Family Records tie with two records up for nomination each. The other record, Del McCoury Band’s Live at the 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, was released by MunckMix, a live music recording and marketing company.

Below is the list of albums nominated for the 51st GRAMMY Awards’ Best Bluegrass Album nomination:

Cherryholmes III: Don’t Believe

Produced by Skaggs Family Records, this album was released on Sept. 30, 2008 – the deadline for the 51st GRAMMY Awards eligibility.

The album features a Nashville-based sound as this family band pushes the boundaries of traditional bluegrass.

Del McCoury Band - Live at the 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

Del McCoury Band performed at the 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Fais Do Do stage (pictured left) on April 27, 2008. 

The album is produced by MunckMix.

 Earl Scruggs - The Ultimate Collection: Live at the Ryman

Earl Scruggs and his family and friends performed at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn. in the summer of 2007.

The album, produced by Rounder Records, features several Scruggs classics.

Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder – Honoring the Fathers of Bluegrass

Skaggs Family Records produced Kentucky Thunder’s Honoring the Fathers of Bluegrass: Tribute to 1946 and 1947. The album is dedicated to Bill Monroe and other fathers of bluegrass including Earl Scruggs, who is featured on the c.d.

Dan Tyminski – Wheels

Dan Tyminski has received much critical acclaim for his latest album, Wheels. Tyminski, who plays mandolin with Allison Krauss & Union Station, became even more popular after 2000 with his rendition of Man of Constant Sorrow, featured in the movie Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?

Mark Vann playing his electric banjo.

The Mark Vann Foundation will host their Sixth Annual Mark Vann Foundation Holiday Benefit Show on Saturday, December 6 at the Boulder Theatre in Boulder, Colo.

Mark Vann was the popular banjoist with Leftover Salmon, a Colorado-based bluegrass jam band currently switching in and out of hiatus. Vann died of cancer in March of 2002 at his home near Boulder.

Vann won the Telluride Bluegrass Festival banjo competition in 1989 and later that festival met Drew Emmitt and Vince Herman, then of the Left Hand String Band. Vann joined the band, which later evolved into Leftover Salmon.

Both Emmitt and Herman will perform at the benefit concert in different groups. Emmitt plays mandolin with his band Emmitt Nershi Band with Bill Nershi from the String Cheese Incident.

Vince Herman, the front man of both Leftover Salmon and his current project Great American Taxi, will have a dominant presence at the event, as he so often has at many musical gatherings. He will perform with Great American Taxi, featuring fiddler Tim Carbone from Railroad Earth.

Several other bluegrass-based acts will perform in supporting slots of Great American Taxi and Emmitt Nershi Band. For a complete list of the performing bands, visit the Boulder Theatre’s Web site.

Zac Mathews

Matthews will not continue the rest of Hot Buttered Rum’s tour, including the New Years Eve show scheduled in Denver.

Speculations are that Mathews has left to make room for a much larger rhythm instrument: the drums.

“Think about it, the band has a lot more potential with a drummer and a pianist,” said Kyle McCabe, a resident of Santa Cruz, Calif. and long-time fan of Hot Buttered Rum.

McCabe’s comment was in reference to the San Francisco Bay Area-based band’s potential of success and popularity.

He also referenced the parallel between the band and the String Cheese Incident, who, as the band aged and progressed, inched farther away from bluegrass and more into experimental jam music.

McCabe expects that Hot Buttered Rum will hire a drummer and possibly a keyboardist.

Hot Buttered Rum has been together for the better half of a decade. The members of the band are long-time friends and seem to have made a group decision about Matthew’s departure.

“I hope you will share in a feeling of excitement for me and for HBR as we journey forward along separate paths. I continue to be an advocate for HBR’s success, and eagerly await the new songs that my brothers and their future collaborations will yield,” said Matthews in his message released over the band’s Web site.

McCabe emphasized his confidence that Matthews will move on to further musical endeavors, as stated in his departure letter to fans.

“I also expect this time of change to recharge my own creative reservoir for music and other endeavors. I look forward to channeling many incredible connections into fruitful collaborations.” – Zac Matthews.

Click here to read Zac Matthews’ letter on Hot Buttered Rum’s Web site.

David Parmley & Continental Divide's new album, 3 Silver Dollars, will be released Feb. 10, 2009.

Guitarist/vocalist David Parmley and his band Continental Divide are anticipating the release of their latest album, 3 Silver Dollars.

Pinecastle Records will release 3 Silver Dollars on Feb. 10, 2009.

The album features 12 tunes, all with a unique sound and underlying traditional tones.

The title track is written by Tom T. Hall, one of the most successful bluegrass songwriters in bluegrass history. The title track - the first on the album - sticks out from the others.

Parmley’s firm vocals fill each tune and while the vocals play a dominant role in the album’s composition, the instrumentals are not overshadowed.

Banjo player Dale Perry displays solid picking in every song with original solos that demonstrate his affinity for Scruggs-style banjo, yet still showcase his modern sound. His experimental usage of the Scruggs tuners adds an interesting element to several of the songs. His guitar finger picking is also on point.

Continental Divide features mandolinist Ron Spears wrote the two original tunes on the album, adding even more to the diversity of the album’s sound. His tunes, “Carolina Rain” and “God Reached Down”, are both stuffed with complicated bluegrass dynamics. “God Reached Down” is an especially fun tune, as the vocal harmonies take over on the album’s last track.

Overall, this album demonstrates fine bluegrass craftsmanship, but does seem to lack a certain spark. The tracks are all very different and feature new bluegrass sounds, but the energy is absent and inconsistent.

Recommended tracks are:

• Three Silver Dollars
• She’s Lying in the Cold Cold Ground
• God Reached Down
• Ain’t gonna Let You Drag Me Down
• Windsborough Cotton Mill Blues

Preview the album’s tracks by clicking here.

The season begins with what seams to be the fall trading deadline before various winter holidays and celebrations. The summer festival season parallels the playoffs in sports, with the International Bluegrass Music Awards acting as the super bowl.

Here are some of the bluegrass trades and acquisitions of this year’s bluegrass trading season.

Junior Sisk Seeks New Mandolin Player

Junior Sisk and Rambler’s Choice is seeking a replacement for their current mandolin player, Chris Harris, who will be leaving the band in January.

If you live in or are willing to move to Virginia, slam the mandolin and sing a lonesome tenor, Rambler’s Choice is a prime option. Rambler’s Choice already has several tour dates lined up for 2009.

Rhonda Vincent Signs New Banjo and Guitar Players

Rhonda Vincent, one of the most respected female bluegrass artists and leader of The Rage, announced the departure of Rage members Kenny Ingram and Darrell Webb.

Former Grascal Aaron McDaris will hold down the banjo and 22-year-old Ben Holson joins The Rage from Ricky Skaggs’s group Kentucky Thunder. The new group is set to record a guestless album – a first for Vincent and The Rage.

Webb Leaves The Rage for Michael Cleveland’s Flamekeeper

Within two weeks of his departure from Rhonda Vincent and the Rage, Webb landed the lead vocal and guitar spot with Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper. Webb’s first show with Flamekeeper will be December 26 at the Grande Ole Opry.

“We had the opportunity to play together again at a recent event and things just fell into place,” stated Cleveland, pictured to the left. “He is a great talent and we are thrilled to have him in the band!”

Rick Allred Back With The Larry Stephenson Band 

Larry Stephenson has reunited with banjo player Rick Allred, the original banjo player for the Larry Stephenson Band when it began 20 years ago. Allred came aboard after Kristin Scott Benson departed as the banjo player for the Larry Stephenson Band.

“I’m looking forward very much to working with Rick again,” said Stephenson, who sings lead and plays mandolin. “He’s one of the best that’s ever played banjo with me.”

Grascals Pick Up Banjoist Kristin Scott Benson

Kristin Scott Benson, winner of the 2008 Banjo Player of the Year IBMA award, has said goodbye to the Larry Stephenson Band and hello to the Grascals. The change comes at an exciting time for Benson, who just released a solo album titled Second Season.

Benson, pictured to the left,  will arrive as part of the Grascal squad following the departure of former banjo player Aaron McDaris, who is now with The Rage.

New Bass Player For Punch Brothers

The Punch Brothers have added new bass player Paul Kowert, 22, in the wake of founding bass player Greg Garrisson’s departure. Kowert came to the Punch Brothers following a fall tour with mandolinist Mike Marshall. He has also studied bass at the Curtis Institute of Music with virtuoso Edgar Meyer. The acquisition comes as no surprise, as Meyer may well have had a hand in the negotiation after he and Chris Thile recorded a duo album earlier this year.

Kowert joins Chris Thile on mandolin, Noam Pickelny on banjo, Chris Eldridge on guitar and Gabe Witcher on fiddle. The Punch Brothers are already touring with Kowert. Check their Web site for tour dates.

Gibson Brothers Recruit Recent Graduate Joe Walsh

The Gibson Brothers have picked up recent Berklee College of Music graduate Joe Walsh as the newest member of the band, following the retirement of mandolinist Rick Hayes. Hayes has retired from the band to create more time for his up-and-coming mandolin company, Hayes Mandolins.

Walsh was the first student to study mandolin at Berklee, where bluegrass musicians are becoming more popular every year. His first performance with the band will be Jan. 2, 2009 at the New Years Bluegrass Festival in Jekyll Island, Ga.

Cottage Music: 2009 Alaska Bluegrass Cruise

Cottage Music’s 2009 Alaska Bluegrass Cruise is a seven-night cruise departing from Seattle, Wash. on Aug. 1. The cruise, which travels through such towns/cities as Alaskan capital Juneau, Ketchican and Skagway, features several top-notch bluegrass artists as well as musical workshops.

The 2009 Alaska Bluegrass Cruise will feature Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, who will be performing at the cruise as part of the band’s 30th anniversary tour. Past cruises have included 2008 IBMA female vocalist of the year Dale Ann Bradley and super-group Blue Highway, whose latest album Through the Window of a Train has been at the top of bluegrass charts since it’s release in February.

The cruise follows the famous Alaskan Inside Package route on The Norwegian Star – part of the Norwegian Cruise Lines fleet.

Prices range from $1,585 to $2,150.

Rhonda Vincent Bluegrass Cruise

This eight-day cruise, leaving Jan. 31, 2009 from Fort Lauderdale, Flor, sales to such Caribbean destinations as Antiqua, Tortola, St. Thomas, San Juan and Nassau. 

The 2009 Rhonda Vincent Bluegrass Cruise leaves from Fort Lauderdale, Flor. on January 31.

The cruise will feature host Rhonda Vincent with her band The Edge, as well as Seldom Scene, The Wells Family and several other groups. 

The event is organized by Vincent’s husband, Herb Sandker. Sandker is proclaimed a “bluegrass cruise specialist” according to the cruise’s Web site. 

As the cruise is approaching quickly, prices vary. Call 800 593 8803 for details. 

ETA 11th Annual Bluegrass Cruise

Entertainment and Travel Alternatives, Inc, a tourism company that specializes in theme cruises, will host its 11th Annual Bluegrass Cruise during the last week of February, 2009. The cruise embarks from Miami and sails into the Caribbean, stopping at several different hot spots along the way.

The cruise will feature such acts as Grasstowne, Cherryholmes, Bradley Walker and others.

Several types of rooms have sold out, however, there is still plenty of availability. Rates range from $1,333.64 to $1743.64. Visit the official Web site for more details.

Earl Scruggs, an 83-year-old bluegrass legend well known for inventing the three-finger banjo style, released his latest album on November 18. 

The album, The Ultimate Collection / Live at the Ryman, features Scruggs’ sons and long-time members of the Earl Scruggs Revue, Gary (bass and vocals) and Randy (guitar).

Other musicians include John Gardner (percussion), Hoot Hester (fiddle), Rob Ickes (resophonic guitar), John Jorgenson (mandolin) and Jon Randall (guitar and vocals).

Rounder Records released the tangible version of the album after its digital release on Sep. 30, 2008. The album was recorded in the summer of 2007, when Earl and his band of family and friends headlined the Ryman Auditorium for the first time.

The album features many of his famous banjo instrumentals such as Earl’s Breakdown and Foggy Mountain Breakdown, as well as classic numbers You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere and Sittin’ On Top Of The World.

The Ultimate Collection / Live at the Ryman includes:

1. Salty Dog Blues
2. Borrowed Love
3. Earl’s Breakdown
4. Streamlined Cannonball
5. You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere
6. Soldier’s Joy
7. In The Pines
8. Doin’ My Time
9. Sittin’ On Top Of The World
10. Sally Gooding
11. Foggy Mountain Rock
12. You Are My Flower
13. Bound In Jail All Night Long
14. Black Mountain Blues
15. Step It Up And Go
16. Ballad Of Jed Clampett
17. Foggy Mountain Breakdown
18. Lonesome Ruben

The cruise will feature:

• More than 20 hours of live performances.
• A bluegrass Idol talent competition.
• Bluegrass workshops and seminars.
• Informal jamming with the stars.

Of course, what would a bluegrass event be without 24 hour room service, a casino, a health spa and plenty of activities to keep the youngsters satisfied.

The event seems to be tailored to the older bluegrass crowd (not sure if there is a different one) and the bill lacks well known bluegrass acts, for the exception of the event’s special guest – Grand Ole Opry Star and Country Music Hall of Fame member Charlie Louvin.

Either way, it’s a cruise … with bluegrass music … How could it get any better (besides adding the Del McCoury Band)?