KET Offers Special "Bluegrass Week" Programming!

The 18th season of KET’s Emmy-nominated musical series Jubilee—which offers viewers a front-row concert seat to the best traditional and contemporary bluegrass, folk and blues music from Kentucky’s summer music festival scene—launches June 10 at 8/7 pm on KET as the marquis event in KET’s special “Bluegrass Week” programming.

“Bluegrass Week” airs June 8-14 across KET’s family of channels, featuring a smorgasbord of bluegrass specials including profiles and concerts with some of the genre’s biggest stars.

First, Jubilee’s new season kicks off with “Masters of Bluegrass,” which showcases legendary players Del McCoury on guitar and vocals, Bobby Osborne on mandolin and vocals, J.D. Crowe on banjo, Bobby Hicks on fiddle and Jerry McCoury on bass and vocals. The foursome was recorded during their performance at the 2013 Festival of the Bluegrass at the Kentucky Horse Park. “Masters of Bluegrass” airs Tuesday, June 10 at 8/7 p.m. on KET and Saturday, June 14 at midnight/11 p.m. on KET2.

Immediately following, Powerful: Bill Monroe Remembered, a new documentary of Bill Monroe—“The Father of Bluegrass Music”—is another “Bluegrass Week” must-see. Airing Tuesday, June 10 at 9/8 p.m. on KET and Saturday, June 14 at 10/9 p.m. on KETKY, the program shares reminiscences of more than 60 musicians who played alongside Monroe over the years as part of his Blue Grass Boys, including Del McCoury, Byron Berline, Peter Rowan and many others. Through fond memories, the veteran pickers honor the legendary musician’s legacy and lasting influence on the genre. The program is a production of the Owensboro, Ky.-based International Bluegrass Music Museum’s Video Oral History Project.

Then, viewers can tune in for two, special back-to-back live Jubilee performances to catch the magic of live bluegrass music in concert. Jubilee Live: Best of Bluegrass: Steep Canyon Rangers, airing Wednesday, June 11 at 9/8 p.m. on KET2, spotlights the Grammy- and IBMA-winning group live in performance at Paulie’s Toasted Barrel in Lexington.

Next, Jubilee Live: Best of Bluegrass: Dale Ann Bradley, airing Thursday, June 12 at 5:30/4:30 p.m. on KETKY, captures the magic of five-time IBMA vocalist of the year Bradley as she performs live in Lexington’s Thursday Night Live downtown concert series. The Jubilee Live programs are produced in partnership with Lexington’s 2014 Best of Bluegrass (BoB) Week. Both BoB Week concerts will also be streamed live at KET.org/live. KET is the media partner for BoB Week.

Other “Bluegrass Week” program highlights include:

• Headwaters: Real Stories from Rural America: The Ralph Stanley Story, a profile of the legendary crooner, airs on KETKY Sunday, June 8 at 9/8 p.m.; Thursday, June 12 at 11/10 p.m.; and Saturday, June 14 at 5/4 p.m.

• In Performance at the Governor’s Mansion “Bluegrass Royalty,” with performances by bluegrass legends Sam Bush, the Goins Brothers and Windy Mountain, and J.D. Crowe and the New South, airs Monday, June 9 at 8/7 p.m. and Tuesday, June 10 at midnight/11 p.m. on KETKY

• Red Barn Radio Live “Misty Mountain String Band,” featuring songs from the group’s 2013 debut album Went to the Well and more, airs Wednesday, June 11 at 7/6 p.m. on KETKY

• Woodsongs: “60 Years of Bluegrass with Bobby Osborne,” featuring songs from Bobby Osborne’s long career as well as his new album New Bluegrass & Old Heartaches, airs Wednesday, June 11 at 11/10 p.m. and Saturday, June 14 at 7/6 p.m. on KETKY and Friday, June 13 at midnight/11 p.m. on KET

• A Kentucky Treasure: The J.D. Crowe Story, an intimate portrait of the Kentucky-born Bluegrass legend, airs Monday, June 9 at 9:30/8:30 p.m. on KET2 and Saturday, June 14 at 8/7 p.m. on KETKY

• Sounds of Our Heritage, an annual concert of Morehead State University’s Kentucky Center for Traditional Music showcasing traditional, country and bluegrass music, airs Sunday, June 8 at 10/9 p.m. and Saturday, June 14 at 9:30/8:30 p.m. on KETKY and Wednesday, June 11 at 10:30/9:30 p.m. on KET2

• Jubilee Bluegrass Special II, featuring sights and sounds from the 2002 Festival of the Bluegrass with performances by IIIrd Tyme Out, Rhonda Vincent and the Rage, Seldom Scene, Dry Branch Fire Squad and many more, airs Friday, June 13 at 6:57/5:57 p.m. on KETKY

• Young Musicians Celebration of Traditional Music, with performances from youth pickers at the 2nd annual Young Musicians Celebration of Traditional Appalachian Old-Time and Bluegrass Music Showcase, airs Thursday, June 12 at 10/9 p.m. on KETKY.

Then, the talent keeps coming throughout a jam-packed Jubilee summer season, which delivers performances by bluegrass legends and up-and-coming fan favorites alike. Bands to be showcased include Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, The Boxcars, New Town, Coaltown Dixie, Blue Highway, Town Mountain, Kentucky Blue, Laurel River Line, The Grass Stains, Dry Branch Fire Squad, The Moron Brothers, Dale Ann Bradley, The 23 String Bang, Bluegrass Collective, Lonesome River Band and The Seldom Scene. Beginning June 10, new episodes of Jubilee air Tuesdays at 8/7 on KET and Saturdays at midnight/11 pm on KET2.

Jubilee is a KET production. Nick Helton is the producer/director and Teresa Day is the executive producer.

KET is Kentucky’s largest classroom, serving more than one million people each week via television, online and mobile. Learn more about Kentucky’s preeminent public media organization on Twitter @KET and facebook.com/KET and at KET.org.