New Convention and Awards Show Coming for Bluegrass and Old-Time Music!

The Appalachian Cultural Music Association, (ACMA) will be announcing a new convention, awards show and conference for bluegrass, old time and Americana forms of music. The event is titled the "ACMA's Blue Ridge Acoustic Uprising".

Officials from the ACMA will formally announce this new event and location and answer questions at a press conference to be held at the association’s Mountain Music Museum in Bristol, VA this week on Thursday, October 18th at 1:45 pm.

The press conference will also be open to the public and live music will be presented.

Birthplace of Country Music Museum To Be a Reality!

At at press conference this morning the Birthplace of Country Music announced that fundraising for the Birthplace of Country Music Museum is now complete and construction will begin on the former Goodpasture Motors building, located on the corners of Moore and Cumberland Streets in Historic Downtown Bristol, VA,  the first of November. 

The expected completion date for the project is August 2014, just in time for fans coming to the twin cities for the summer race at Bristol Motor Speedway and Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion.

Birthplace of Country Music Alliance will also begin re-branding efforts, and will go by their registered trademark "Birthplace of Country Music". 

Junior Sisk Inducted Into Virginia Folk Music Hall Of Fame

Virginia native, Junior Sisk was honored by his home-state and colleagues during a ceremony in Chesterfield, Virginia on Friday, September 14th.

Sigrid Williams of the Virginia Folk Music Hall of Fame presented Sisk with a plaque during a performance by his band, Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice, officially honoring Sisk as the 2012 Virginia Folk Music Hall Of Fame Inductee.

Mountain Music Documentary to be Released!

Bristol, VA- The Appalachian Cultural Music Association will release a documentary to the public on Sunday, September 30^th at 3:00 pm at the ACMA Pickin’ Porch located on the upper level of the Bristol Mall in Bristol, Virginia. There will be plenty of live bluegrass and old time music at the event to celebrate the project’s release.

“Our documentary has been 18 months in the making and is a very interesting look at the history of our region’s role in the birth of country, bluegrass and old time music”, states John Necessary, president of the non-profit organization.

Lonesome River Band In Tall Corn

 

Mountain Meadow Farm Corn Maze Opens Labor Day Weekend

A Rendition of the Lonesome River Band 30th Anniversary Logo
Highlighted in this year’s “Corn Acoustics!” Corn Maze Design

The 8th Annual Chinquapin Festival kicks off “Corn Maze Days” during Labor Day Weekend at Mountain Meadow Farm in Meadows of Dan, VA. Music, blacksmithing demonstrations, farm animals, crafters and a unique interactive play by Once Upon a Blue Ridge highlight the festival along with the corn maze seasonal opening.

The F.A.R.M. Team will be performing on Monday with other local bands during the weekend.  This year’s corn maze design celebrates the 30th anniversary of Lonesome River Band.

60 DAYS TO SAVE THE TV SHOW - Song Of The Mountains!

 Bluegrass and Old Time Music television show shown on PBS needs your help to fund 24 episodes for the next season recorded during 2012

Song of the Mountains is asking for support from our fans to guarantee we will have complete funding for the upcoming season of the Song of the Mountains television show.  We've been filming some amazing performances throughout this 2012 season that we know you won't want to miss! 

So we'd be grateful if you'd pay a visit to Kickstarter.com and show your love for Song of the Mountains by making a pledge and becoming a backer to help us meet our goal.  We only get the funds if we meet our goal so it is critical that we get your pledge asap

Junior Sisk To Be Inducted into Virginia Music Hall of Fame

Junior Sisk will be inducted into the Virginia Music Hall of Fame during the Virginia Folk Music Association’s 13th Annual Jumpin’ Bluegrass Festival held September 13-16, 2012 at the Chesterfield, Virginia County Fairgrounds. Junior joins a long list of previous Hall of Fame members including Roy Clark, Mother Mabelle Carter, Mac Wiseman, The Statler Brothers, Patsy Cline, Tony Rice, Bill Yates, Larry Stephenson and Sammy Shelor.

Junior will receive his Hall of Fame Honor on Friday, September 13th and will take the stage with his band, Ramblers Choice for what is sure to be a memorable performance.

For more information on the Virginia Hall of Fame, Please visit the Virginia Folk Music Association website.

Virginia State Tourism Honors Old Time Bluegrass!

According to the Virginia Tourism Corporation, the City of Galax will be getting some "LOVE" from the state tourism office.

The city is one of eleven locations in the Commonwealth to be chosen by the state agency to make a giant "LOVE" art to bring more families into Virginia.

More than six feet tall and 16 feet long, the artwork will feature 24 fiddles framed in boxes, in testament to old time bluegrass music.

According to the tourism  corporation, the artwork will be in the center of Historic Downtown Galax, mounted on a brick wall.  The unveiling will be this Saturday, June 9th, during the city’s annual Leaf & String Festival.

Loudoun Festival to Benefit Student Scholarship Fund!

All profits from Festival provide scholarships for deserving local students

LONESOME RIVER BAND will headline the 3^rd Annual Loudoun Bluegrass Festival on May 12, 2012 at the Loudoun County 4H Fairgrounds, just outside Leesburg, VA. The event takes place from 10:00 am – 9:00 and features numerous bands, BBQ, open jam sessions, kids’ shows, workshops, plus pickin’ contests with cash prizes. The Loudoun Bluegrass Festival is presented by Rotary Club of Dulles International Airport. All profits help pay tuition for deserving local students who otherwise could not afford college.

Lonesome River Band is lead by Virginia Country Music Hall of Famer, Sammy Shelor who is a 4-time winner of the International Bluegrass Music Association Banjo Player of the Year Award, and most recently won the Steve Martin Award for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass which was presented on the Late Show with David Letterman last November.

Infamous Stringdusters Relocate to New Headquarters

The official hometown of the Infamous Stringdusters is no longer Nashville, TN according to a story published today in their new hometown newspaper.   The Charlottesville, VA Daily Progress is reporting that three of the band members now live in Charlottesville and have officially adopted the town as the band’s new headquarters.  The band’s management company, The Artist Farm is already located in Charlottesville.  

According to the newspaper, “Nashville is very tried and very true to its roots. But Charlottesville is a bit more accepting of those who like to play outside the box.”

Virginia Country & Bluegrass-Music TV Show Goes National On RFD-TV

The “Virginia Dreams” of a group of Virginia country and Bluegrass music artists will soon take “Center Stage” on national TV. 

“What we hope to do is showcase our local talent to the world,” said “Virginia Dreams Center Stage” host Tim Spears, who announced today that the country-music TV showcase will debut on RFD-TV in January.

Virginia Dreams is also the new record label that recently signed the national bluegrass act Nothin’ Fancy who will be one of the first acts along with Loose Gravel to appear on the show nationally on RFD-TV.

According to Virginia Dreams spokesperson Tammy Hemp, Nothin’ Fancy is scheduled to appear on the show nation-wide on RFD-TV on January 15th at 7:30 ET and the show will repeat on January 19th at 6:30.   The group will sing their version of the 1970 Credence Clearwater Revival Hit “Lookin’ Out My Back Door” and the Peter Rowan classic “Panama Red” both of which are on Nothin’ Fancy’s lasted self-titled CD on the Virginia Dreams Label. 

Bluegrass and Country Artists in Virginia Get New Advocate!

VACM or Virginia Awards Country Music is a  new organization aimed at promoting country, gospel and bluegrass music in Virginia.  The new entity will also promote the artists who are adding to the state’s rich musical heritage.

According to founder and President, Tim Spears, “We think there’s a whole lot more stars to come from Virginia. If you think about it, all the way from Winchester down into Bristol, Nashville knows that this is one talented area,”.   VACM is currently accepting applications for membership and nominations for its inaugural awards in 2012.

Individual artists and bands can qualify for awards across the country, gospel and bluegrass genres.

Mountain Music Museum Gets Recognition!

ACMA Mountain Music Museum to be named an 

Affiliated Venue of The Crooked Road

The ACMA Mountain Music Museum in the Bristol Mall in Bristol, Virginia, will be presented with a banner acknowledging them as an official Crooked Road Affiliated Venue. 

Virginia Country Music Hall of Fame to Open Real Physical “Hall”

Virginia Country Music Hall of Fame to open real physical “hall”at the Chesterfield County Fair Grounds!

                    

In 2005, when Allen Mills, of the legendary bluegrass band Lost and Found, was inducted into the Virginia Country Music Hall of Fame, there was no physical “hall” to commemorate legendary Virginians like Patsy Cline and the Stanley Brothers.                         

The future museum of the
Virginia Country Music Hall of Fame 

Beginning Saturday, June 11,  all of that changes thanks to the efforts of members of the Virginia Folk Music Association (VFMA).  Chesterfield County, VA will become the host site of the museum, thereby developing a place to preserve folk music memorabilia and memories accumulated over the last century. An extension of the VFMA, which was chartered in 1947 as a non-profit, volunteer organization to promote and preserve Virginia’s heritage music, the hall of fame museum will be housed in a small building at the Chesterfield County Fair Grounds.   The "Hall-of-Fame" commemorates artists and musicians from the Commonwealth for their life-time achievements in Appalachian music: folk, bluegrass, and gospel.