Videos, New Music, Feature Stories for EPR Artists!

We've had a full week of news from the East Public Relations camp and are beaming with excitement!

The Spinney Brothers have released a sneak peek to the first single from their upcoming CD, Tried and True, due for release in the fall. "Gonna Catch a Train" is the first single that will roll into radio stations on July 8th. Here's a sample track for you to enjoy: 

We announced a few months ago that Michael Cleveland & Flamkeeper have signed with Compass Records and we are thrilled to announce "Fiddlin' Joe" has been sent to radio stations as the first single from their upcoming CD, On Down the Line, due for release July 22nd. A special performance video has been posted to coincide with "Fiddlin' Joe."

The International Bluegrass Music Association has posted a recent "Backyard Bluegrass Sessions" video featuring Joe Mullins & Junior Sisk with their hit single, "Wild Mountain Honey," from their duet project on Rebel Records, Hall Of Fame Bluegrass! The song is currently #1 on Bluegrass Unlimited's Top 30 Songs chart for June and the CD, has spent 5 months on the National Bluegrass Survey Top 15 Albums chart and is currently #5! 

Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out were recently featured in the Gainesville Sun news in promotion of the band's performances in Florida this weekend. In the article, Russell Moore speaks of the allure of bluegrass music: “It was the natural acoustic tones of these instruments. It’s not the electrified, whole band with a great big set of drums that kind of take away from the subtleties of acoustic music. And it was just how approachable the musicians and singers were where I was growing up. You couldn’t get close to a country artist if you went to see them. But I could walk right up to a (bluegrass) band warming up, getting ready to go onstage, listen to what they were doing. And that was very intriguing.”

Read the entire article written by Bill Dean here. 

Catch A Show This Weekend!

The Spinney Brothers

June 20th - Bean Blossom, IN - Bill Monroe Bluegrass Festival

June 21st - Tottenham, Ontario, Canada - Tottenham Bluegrass Festival

June 22nd - Tottenham, Ontario, Canada - Tottenham Bluegrass Festival

Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper

Friday, June 20th - Bean Blossom, IN - Bill Monroe Bluegrass Festival

Saturday, June 21st - Franklin, NC - Historic Cowee School Bluegrass Music Concert Series

Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers

Thursday, June 19th - Bean Blossom, IN - Bill Monroe Bluegrass Festival

Friday, June 20th - Charlotte, MI - Charlotte Bluegrass Festival

Saturday, June 21st - Ligonier, PA - Laurel Highlands Festival

Sunday, June 22nd - Cedarville, OH - Dewine Ice Cream Social

Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out

Saturday, June 21st - Winter Garden, FL - Garden Theater

Sunday, June 22nd - Gainesville, FL - Thomas Center

June News from The Spinney Brothers Includes New Music!

New Pictures, New Website, New Music - A Sneak Peek!

We've been hard at work finishing up our new CD forMountain Fever Records and of course that means as we're completing the recording process, new photos and a new website become the next focus. The photo above should serve as a sneak peek into what the new CD packaging will look like as well as an updated look on our website to be revealed later this year. Don't we look all slicked up and citified? Never fear, our hearts are still firmly planted in tradition and we hope that it shows with our new music. We've got songs written by Bill Castle, Pete Goble, Ed Hamilton, Edgar Loudermilk, Paula Breedlove and even a couple from us! We can't wait to share it with you and expect to have our first single hitting the airwaves on July 8th! What's that? You can't wait, either? Well, then…give "Gonna Catch A Train" (written by Ed Hamilton) a listen and let us know what you think. Listen Here!

Caught In The Act!

We love it when friends and fans capture us on stage via video and recently several folks have shared these videos with us. If you haven't caught one of our shows in person lately, check out these performances to get an idea of what we've been up to on the road. 

 

"I Want My Dog Back" - Silver Dollar City

 

"Grandpa's Way Of Life"

 

"Get Down On Your Knees And Pray"

Fan Photo Of The Month

This month's fan photo comes all the way from Buster Moore in North Carolina. Buster snapped this picture at the Central Virginia Bluegrass Festival in Amelia and had this to say: "I saw these guys in Amelia, VA for the first time and they were AMAZING!! Great show, presentation, interacted with the audience well, and just plain talented. Got to spend some time talking with them between sets and they were very cordial and friendly. I hope they come back next year. I'll wear my 'I Want My Dog Back' shirt with pride!" 
 
 If you've got a photo you'd like to share, please post it on the band's Facebook page and we just might choose it for a future "Fan Photo Of The Month!"

Current Charts!

We want to give a great big THANKS to all the DJs who have given our No Borders CD so much airplay and of course to the fans for making those requests. Currently, No Borders has been on Bluegrass Unlimited's Top 15 Albums chart 11 months and is sitting at #9 for the month of June. Additionally, "I Want My Dog Back" has been on the BU Top 30 Songs chart for 8 months and is this month's #8 song!

EPR Artists and the Latest News!

On The Charts!
The Spinney Brothers are still riding high with their latest CD, No Borders! The album has spent 11 months on the Bluegrass Unlimited Top 15 Albums chart and is sitting at #9 for the month of June. In addition, the tongue-in-cheek fan favorite, "I Want My Dog Back" climbed to #8 on the BU Top 30 Songs chart!

Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers have the #3 song on the Bluegrass Today Weekly Chart with their latest single "The Last Parade!" In addition, Joe is riding high on the charts with duet partner, Junior Sisk and their Hall Of Fame Bluegrass! CD. "No Doubt About" is #13 on this week's Bluegrass Today Chart while they've hit #1 for the month of June on Bluegrass Unlimited's Top 30 Songs chart with "Wild Mountain Honey!" The album is #5 on the BU Top 15 Albums chart for June.

Blake Williams was honored to join up with some former Blue Grass Boys for a new version of Bill Monroe's "Southern Flavor" on Becky Buller's new project. The single was released just a few weeks ago and made its debut on this week's Bluegrass Today Songs chart coming in at #17. Be sure to check out "Southern Flavor" and the new CD from Becky at her website.

New Music Coming Soon!
Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper have new music hitting the airwaves this month! "Fiddlin' Joe" written by Mark "Brink" Brinkman will be the first single from an upcoming CD on Compass Records with the complete project titled On Down The Line expected to hit the streets on July 22nd!

The Spinney Brothers will also have new music later this year on Mountain Fever Records. The yet to be titled release should hit radio in August.

Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers will celebrate the release of Another Day From Life on Rebel Records in the fall. The projects first single, "The Last Parade" is receiving rave reviews and is available for download at iTunes and Amazon with 100% of the proceeds going to the Patriot Guard Riders, Inc.

In The News!
Blake Williams has been busy with his Master of Ceremonies duties recently and enjoyed a great week in Auburn, AL for the Bluegrass On The Plains Festival. You can catch him at other festivals this year including Milan, Michigan, Sparta, Tennessee and Wilmington, Ohio. To book Blake Williams at your event, contact him through his Facebook page or East Public Relations.

Speaking of Sparta, TN, the city's annual music event, Liberty Square: A Lester Flatt Celebration will take place on Saturday, October 11th. In addition to music by Balsam Range, Blake Williams, & Friends, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper and Darin & Brooke Aldridge, the city of Sparta will also make some special dedications in memory of Lester Flatt who would have been 100 years old on June 19th of this year. The event will also be a featured in an upcoming issue of Celebrations magazine. For more details, check out the event website at www.spartatn.com/lesterflatt or the Facebook page.

Shows This Weekend!
Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out:
Friday, June 13th - Lexington, KY - Festival Of The Bluegrass
Saturday, June 14th - Bean Blossom, IN - Bill Monroe Memorial Bluegrass Festival

Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper: 
Friday, June 13th - Lexington, KY - Festival Of The Bluegrass
Saturday, June 14th - Elizabethtown, KY - Kentucky State Championship Old-Time Fiddlers Contest

Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers: 
Friday, June 13th - Lowville, NY - Tug Hill Bluegrass Festival
Saturday, June 14th - Lexington, KY - Festival Of The Bluegrass

Catch A Show This Weekend!

Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out

Friday - June 6th - Nashville, TN
CMA Music Festival
Durango/WMS Music Spot
3:30pm Performance
4:00pm Autograph Session

Saturday - June 7th - Elkton, KY
Goose On The Lake Music Festival
7:30pm Performance

Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper

Saturday - June 7th - Greenfield, IL
Bluegrass On The Lake
Performances beginning at 1:00pm

Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers

Saturday - June 7th - Frenchburg, KY
Menifee Mountain Memories Festival

Look How Far We've Come…

When I was a kid, traveling rarely included an overnight stay anywhere. I remember Mama would beg Daddy for what seemed like months, to go to the coast - a 3 1/2 hour drive from our little home in Dale, Texas to Port Aransas. But finally, without any notice at all, Mama would wake me up early on a Saturday morning and say, "Hurry! Get ready! Daddy's taking us to the coast!" I remember being so unbelievably excited to be going somewhere. Anywhere! But especially to the coast. That drive down seemed like 8 hours long instead of 3 1/2. When we finally arrived, Daddy would drive right up on the beach to the water's edge (do they even let you do that anymore?) and we'd pile out and head for the water. After playing all day, sand stuck in every crevice of our body, we'd pile back in the car and drive straight home. That ride back seemed like 3 1/2 DAYS!

Growing up in Texas meant that we had to drive a long way to get anywhere. 4 hours here, 8 hours there, just to see family was commonplace. Daddy had a routine: put the ice chest in the car, put the family in the car, and head out. There were no thoughts of stopping at a McDonalds for anything. If we had to eat or go to the bathroom, a roadside park was the stop of choice. And I'm not talking about the nice "rest areas" with indoor plumbing. I mean a Road Side Park - where you literally parked beside the road and if you were lucky, there was a picnic table with a cover over it. And the bathroom? The bathroom was a wooden a-frame ladder that carried you over the fence to a path that led you behind a mesquite tree (shrub) where if you were REALLY lucky, no one else had been before you in the last week.

Occasionally Daddy would treat us. He'd stop off at a big grocery store - the biggest he could find because the ones in our town were not so big and Daddy loved a BIG grocery store - and buy a block of cheddar cheese, a stick of summer sausage, and a quart of milk. That meant when we got to the roadside park, instead of the regular bologna or salami that we usually ate on these excisions, Daddy would pull out his "old-timer" pocket knife, open it up, wipe it on his pants leg, slice the cheese, slice the summer sausage, wipe it off on his pants leg again and put it away. And the quart of milk was passed around to all of us to drink from. It's funny, as an adult, I can now afford to stop at Logans for the occasional 6oz sirloin with salad and all-you-can-eat rolls, but I swear, the memory of that summer sausage and cheddar cheese is making my mouth water like it was just yesterday. I can almost feel that hot Texas breeze rush across me as I sat at on that roadside table. How I wish I could go back in time to that very moment when a stop off at a roadside park in south Texas was the biggest treat in the world to our little family.  But that was then…

Marrying a professional road musician was a real learning experience. His bag was always packed and sitting against the wall in our bedroom. I finally asked him after about 6 months if he was planning on going somewhere and he laughed and said, it's just easier to never unpack. Fast forward to when he and I started traveling together in our own band. It was my first taste of true road life and all of a sudden, I knew exactly what he meant. Even though our bags are now tucked away in closets when we're home, we still keep them stocked and ready to go at a moments notice.

Today I've been getting our clothes ready and ironing shirts for Blake as he is the MC for a large bluegrass festival in Auburn, Alabama this week. This is the first time I've packed for a festival in 13 years that our band isn't actually playing and it's been a different experience for us. Usually, we'd hit the road and play a couple shows at a festival and then head for the next town for the same routine. It's been rare for us to stay at the same place for more than 2 days with our band. But this time, Blake is working 4 days so we are preparing to set up shop at the same place for the duration. And, we will be staying in an RV on-site. Aside from a few short (and humorous) months when our band traveled in a Class C, I've not ever camped out for any length of time in an RV. It'll provide all the luxuries of home including a kitchen, TV and living room and I have to admit, it'll be nice to be staying somewhere other than a motel. Not only are the accommodations going to be different, but we're taking our time on the trip down and are planning on stopping off at the Ikea store in Atlanta - something I've been wanting to do for a couple years now. And it will be nice to reconnect with a lot of folks we've become friends with over the years, both fans of our music, and friends and colleagues in other bands. But oddly, the thing I am looking most forward to about this trip, is finding a great big grocery store where I can buy a stick of summer sausage and a block of cheddar cheese, then hopefully find a picnic table at the campsite where I can recreate a little part of my childhood and reflect on how far we've come. But really, how good I had it.

The only thing I won't miss - is the lack of indoor plumbing!

On The Road This Week!

Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out

Wednesday 5/21 - Nashville, Tennesse
Music City Roots

Thursday 5/22 - Coeburn, VA
Ralph Stanley Music Festival

Friday 5/23 - Snow Camp, NC
Little John's Mountain Music Festival

Saturday, 5/24 - Floyd, VA
Chantilly Farm Bluegrass Festival

The Spinney Brothers

Wednesday through Friday 5/21 - 5/23 - Branson, MO
Silver Dollar City's Bluegrass & BBQ

Saturday 5/24 - Hillsboro, OH
Amvets Post 61 Bluegrass Festival

Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper

5/23 - Curryville, MO
Back 40 Bluegrass Festival

5/24 - Branson, MO
Silver Dollar City's Bluegrass & BBQ

Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers

Thursday 5/22 - Hillsboro, OH
Amvets Post 61 Bluegrass Festival

Friday 5/23 - Coeburn, VA
Ralph Stanley Music Festival

Saturday 5/24 - Nashville, TN
Grand Ole Opry

For Your IBMA Awards Consideration…

 Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers

Joe Mullins - Banjo, Vocals

Duane Sparks - Guitar, Vocals

Mike Terry - Mandolin, Vocals

Evan McGregor - Fiddle, Vocals

Randy Barnes - Bass

Album - Hall Of Fame Bluegrass

Recorded Event - Hall Of Fame Bluegrass 

Junior Sisk & Joe Mullins

Song - “Wild Mountain Honey” (Arthur Smith)

Gospel Performance - “I’m So Happy”

 www.RadioRamblers.com

Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper

Michael Cleveland - Fiddle, Vocals

Josh Richards - Guitar, Vocals

Nathan Livers - Mandolin, Vocals

Glenn Gibson - Banjo, Dobro, Vocals

Tyler Griffith - Bass, Vocals

www.FlamekeeperBand.com

Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out

Russell Moore - Guitar, Vocals

Wayne Benson - Mandolin, Vocals

Justen Haynes - Fiddle, Vocals

Keith McKinnon - Banjo, Vocals

Blake Johnson - Bass, Vocals

www.IIIrdTymeOut.com

The Expedition Show

Blake Williams - Banjo, Vocals

Wayne Southards - Guitar, Vocals

Kimberly Williams - Bass, Vocals

Alex Hibbitts - Mandolin, Vocals

Album - Stormy Horizons

Song - "Stormy Horizons" (Iris Franks & Ira Louvin)

www.TheExpeditionShow.com

The Spinney Brothers

Allan Spinney - Guitar, Vocals

Rick Spinney - Banjo, Vocals

Gary Dalrymple - Mandolin, Vocals

Terry Poirier - Bass, Vocals

Album - No Borders
Recorded Event - "I Wish That I Could Have Met Carter" with Ralph Stanley II

Song - “Grandpa’s Way Of Life” (Mark “Brink” Brinkman)

Song - “I Want My Dog Back” (Tom T. and Dixie Hall)

www.SpinneyBrothers.com