GRAMMY Awards Release Best Bluegrass Album Nominees

The GRAMMY Awards released their nominations December 1 for the 2009 GRAMMY awards on February 8. Recorded projects must have been recorded between Oct 1, 2007 and Sept. 30, 2008 to be eligible for the 51st annual awards ceremony.

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?

Bluegrass Cruise: More Options Than One

After researching more on bluegrass cruises, the Bell Buckle Cruise is only one of four different established bluegrass cruises. Below is a summary of the other cruises.

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.