Knoxville, TN-based bassist Matt Wallace has spent most of his career as a sideman, supporting such artists as Paul Williams, Audie Blaylock, David Parmley, and Terry Baucom, among others. After a fine solo debut back in 2014, Wallace is back to head up another album – Close the Door Lightly from Huckleberry Records. With support from many of bluegrass music’s greats, this is a top-notch record that deserves plenty of airplay.

Wallace has released several singles in anticipation of the album’s release, including a cover of the Bluegrass Cardinals’ classic, Back Away. Ron Stewart’s banjo is a highlight of this track, with a bouncy opening and strong backing throughout. It’s a fun, solidly traditional song that does the Cardinals proud. Another early single was Midnight Fire, an update of the Steve Wariner track from the 1980s. Stewart’s banjo again guides the song, helping add a driving rhythm to the tale of a couple who knows they shouldn’t be together, but find each other hard to resist. Wallace sings lead on both of these songs, offering even, straightforward vocals that fit the songs well.

Another Steve Wariner song gets the bluegrass treatment on Where Did I Go Wrong. It finds the singer lamenting the loss of a woman who he didn’t give quite enough attention. “I know I’d won the battle, if I’d known there was a fight.” It’s a great addition to the “sad songs that sound happy” bluegrass collection, with Jeff Partin’s dobro particularly of note. Similarly bright-sounding is Love Reunited, originally from the Desert Rose Band. Jonathan Maness offers smooth lead vocals, while solos from Brian Stephens and Alex HIbbitts on mandolin are standouts.

Several of the songs here veer into classic country territory. The steel opening from Sydney Spiva on Once More sweeps the listener straight to the 1960s, ushering in perfect harmonies from Don Rigsby (lead), Darren Nicholson (baritone), and Wallace (low tenor). Rigsby is one of the best high leads in modern bluegrass, and he hits every note spot-on here. Please Search Your Heart is recorded in a similar style, with Tim Crouch’s fiddle complementing the steel guitar nicely. Wallace’s lead vocals here are excellent, filled with emotion as he begs, “Please search your heart, don’t tell me goodbye.”

Alex Hibbitts contributes mandolin and harmonies throughout the album, but also wrote of the strongest songs here – opening track Hills I Used to Roam. Co-written by Hibbitts and Ben Poteat, this track could serve as a master class in how modern traditional bluegrass should sound. The song tells a fairly simple story – the singer misses his home and the girl he left there – but everything just seems to click to make this a standout track, particularly the soulful lead vocals from Blue Highway’s Wayne Taylor, and Tony Rice-inspired lead and rhythm guitar from Brian Stephens.

Wallace has given listeners plenty of good stuff here, particularly for those who enjoy the melding of traditional bluegrass and classic country. Banjo fans will also have many bright spots throughout the album, because Ron Stewart’s picking is simply the meanest. For those who haven’t heard of Wallace, or perhaps just think of him as a solid bass man, Close the Door Lightly is excellent evidence to prove his many bluegrass strengths.

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For many of the current generation of bluegrass guitar pickers, their biggest influences can be directly traced to the school of Tony Rice. Brock Ealey, on the other hand, found his love for guitar rooted in the Clinch Mountain sound. Ealey, the guitarist for Tennessee-based band Clearview, has based his playing in the style pioneered by George Shuffler, and essential to more than half a century of mountain bluegrass – crosspicking. In fact, crosspicking is so key to Ealey’s sound that he has recently partnered with SAGA Musical Instruments to create his own Blueridge signature model guitar – the BR-240BE, also known as the Crosspick Deluxe.

Ealey is no newbie to Blueridge, having played several Blueridge guitars throughout his career, and serving as an endorsing artist for Blueridge since 2018. According to Ealey, David Gartland with SAGA first approached him in 2022 about creating his own signature model. Over the past few years, they have worked to brainstorm, and create Ealey’s vision for what would become the Crosspick Deluxe.

 “Anyone that has been around me, or heard me performing with a flat-top guitar over the last ten years or so, would tell you I play so much lead guitar in the traditional mountain style of ‘crosspicking,’ much like George Shuffler, James Alan Shelton, Junior Blankenship, Ralph Stanley II, and other are known for,” Ealey says, explaining that Gartland used that knowledge to come up with the specific model name. “He came to me with the ‘Crosspick Deluxe’ idea. I absolutely loved the idea and vision he had for that. I was honored then, and always will be, to be recognized and highly regarded by many as a great crosspicking style guitarist in bluegrass music.”

Beyond that, Ealey says he was able to provide input on the specifications for the signature model. “I chose everything from tone woods to bracing, decorative features, top shading, color, etc.,” he says. Those features include an Adirondack spruce top, mahogany back and sides, pre-war style Adirondack bracing, an ebony fingerboard and bridge, bone bridge pins, and a bone nut and long vintage saddle.

The BR-240BE retails for $2,500, including shipping and a deluxe gig bag. They are available for order exclusively through Ealey and are made to order.

Those interested in more information, or in purchasing, can contact Ealey through Facebook or email. 

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It can be tough when a longtime member of an established band leaves, especially when it’s a musician with a long and storied pedigree such as Terry Smith, who played his last show as bass man for The Grascals on May 31. However, any time there’s a fine picker prepared to take over, fans and band members can rest a little easier knowing that their brand of music is in good hands. With Smith’s retirement, The Grascals find themselves in an excellent position, welcoming Kyle Perkins as the group’s new bass player.

Perkins, a Kentucky native who spent time with J.D. Crowe & the New South before playing bass for more than a decade with the Kenny & Amanda Smith Band, is known for his precision and control when performing. “God has blessed me with the gift of music, and I am so thankful to have been a part of so many of my favorite bands in bluegrass,” Perkins says. “I’m excited yet humbled about joining the Grascals!”

The current Grascals are full of nothing but praise for him. According to Jamie Johnson, although the band hated to learn that Smith was planning to retire, they quickly came to a consensus that Perkins was the man for the job. “Kyle is the definition of a professional musician with his taste, tone, and timing; he is a perfect fit!” Johnson says. “We welcome Kyle, and can’t wait to spend this next chapter of The Grascals journey with only our second bass player!”

Kristin Scott Benson is in agreement. After meeting Perkins almost twenty years ago during a stint with the Larry Stephenson Band, she says that she knew immediately he was someone to take seriously. “From the first downbeat, I realized he was special,” she says. “I don’t think there was much discussion about who we were gonna hire when Smitty told us he was gonna leave. Kyle was everyone’s immediate choice.”

Smith is looking forward to retirement, but knows he is leaving the band in good hands. “I love The Grascals, and will surely miss them and the fans. We’ve had adventures that people dream of having,” he says. “I thank the good Lord for this life, and I’m looking forward to the next chapter in retirement with my sweet wife LuAnn, the kids, and the grandkids. Kyle will knock it out of the park!”

Perkins, who counts Terry as one of his bass heroes, plans to honor Smith’s style as he joins the band. “No one can fill his shoes, but I’m very grateful to be chosen by Danny, Jamie, and the band to stand where Smitty stood. I will do my best to keep Smitty’s slap-bass legacy alive!”

While he will still be filling in select dates with Kenny & Amanda Smith, and performing with central Kentucky-based group Throwdown Thursday, Perkins will officially start his tenure with the Grascals June 6 at Farm Jamb in Bagdad, KY.

Visit The Grascals’ website to keep up with their schedule for the rest of the summer!

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Bobbi and Don Day at the 2023 July Starvy Creek Bluegrass Festival,
with new owners, Aaron and Amy McDaris – photo by Tammy Harman

The Starvy Creek Bluegrass Festival, once managed by Don and Bobbie Day on their family farm in Conway, MO, has been purchased by banjo player Aaron McDaris, of Rhonda Vincent & the Rage. 

After the 2022 festival season, the Day family felt compelled to end things on a high note, and decided to close their longtime festival. After learning the news, Aaron approached the Days about taking the helm and maintaining the same level of integrity and entertainment.

McDaris tells us the first time he was there, at age 13, he was hooked. “I loved everything: the bands, camping, jamming, and meeting new friends,” he says.

Since we first reported that the Starvy Creek Bluegrass Festival would undergo a change in management in July 2023, things have gone exceptionally well. This last weekend at the 50th Annual Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America (SPBGMA) Convention in Nashville, Tennessee, McDaris accepted the award for Bluegrass Promoter of the Year.

“We’re excited about our 40th anniversary festival season at Starvy Creek,” says McDaris. “We’re pleased and excited to announce that we’ve been able to purchase the festival park, and we plan to keep the festival going for as long as we can.” 

The upcoming July and September festivals promise to increase involvement from festival attendees as well. McDaris plans to incorporate several new activities designed to encourage youth in bluegrass at a place where he, too, was inspired to play music as a youngster. 

I attended this festival for the first time in 2024, and was thoroughly impressed. Starvy Creek is one of the best festivals in the nation, and it looks like it will only continue to improve. Congratulations to the McDaris family! 

For more information about Starvy Creek and the upcoming festivals, please visit the festival online.

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Many of central and eastern Kentucky’s bluegrass favorites will come together this Saturday, November 2, at Meadowgreen Appalachian Music Park at Pickin’ for Styx, a benefit for beloved bluegrass superfan Allen “Styx” Hicks. Known throughout Kentucky and beyond for his front-row presence and concert photography and videos, Hicks has been fighting adenocarcinoma over the past year, and the folks at Meadowgreen have planned a full day of music to raise money for his medical expenses

Music will begin at 2:00 p.m., and will include performances by the West Liberty Mountain Boys, Billie Renee & Cumberland Gap, the Meadowgreen Trio, the McLain Family, Hammertowne, and the Rickey Wasson Band. An auction will also be held and the concession stand will be open. All proceeds from the event will go directly to Styx. 

While Styx has had a rough few months, spending a good portion of 2024 in the hospital, he told me this week that things are looking up for him. His cancer hasn’t spread since August, and he’s not currently experiencing any symptoms. He will be able to start chemotherapy in the next month or so, and enjoyed last weekend’s Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out concert that opened Meadowgreen’s 2024-25 season.

Rickey Wasson, owner of Meadowgreen Park, would love to help out Styx as much as possible. “Styx has been a great supporter of bluegrass music, and now we have a chance to give back some love to him at this time of need,” he said. “Please join us at Meadowgreen Appalachian Music Park on November 2 to help him out.”

Tickets for Pickin’ for Styx are $20, can be purchased online, and will be available at the door. Meadowgreen is also accepting donations from anyone who can’t attend and would still like to contribute.

Meadowgreen Appalachian Music Park is located in Clay City, KY. For more information, to purchase tickets, or to make a donation, please visit their web site.

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LIke most guitar players, I’ve used all sorts of capos throughout my life. I currently own vintage spring-activated Eltons (think Jimmy Martin/ Larry Sparks/ Doyle Lawson), large clunky Hamiltons (that can be improved with a couple pennies – IYKYK), Kysers (both with and without the peg puller), clamp style Shubbs, 20-plus-year-old Paiges, super slick McKinney-Elliots (ala Tony Rice), a Virginia-made homemade yoke-style capo, and I’m positive if I looked hard enough, I could find an el-cheapo rubber-band style capo in the extra bedroom where my small but mighty musical hoard lives.

Until recently, I thought I had all the capos I needed, and had definitely picked a favorite amongst the bunch. However, the PaigePro Capo I received from Bryan Paige might have just changed my mind. The game changer for me was how the capo seemed to give my instrument a different gear when in use. Simply put, it sounds better. The PaigePro creates an undeniable clarity and voicing that is simply better than all the other capos that use rubber, leather, felt, or old-school cork material to press the strings against the fingerboard.

Their yoke-style capo design is new and the company has applied for two patents. The first patent is for the way the strings are pressed down; there are six individual pieces made of a high-tensile plastic similar to a Blue Chip pick. I believe this is where the tonal clarity comes from. The material that touches the strings does not dampen the sound. Secondly, the company has applied for a patent involving their unique screw mechanism used to tighten and loosen the capo.

Even though the cost (ranging from $180 to $280) is likely to deter some musicians from making the purchase, it is probably worth the investment, especially for serious pickers. Over the last couple of months as I’ve used the capo extensively. I’ve waited for something to break, but it continues to impress. Each time I use the PaigePro, I’m excited.

Well done, Paige!

For more info on the capo please see the article previously published here or visit Paige’s website.

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The Dr. Ralph Stanley Memorial Day Weekend festival held on Smith Ridge in McClure, Virginia, has celebrated the music of the Stanleys for more than 50 years. With Ralph Stanley II at the helm, an additional festival, held annually on the same site in August, arose three years ago to celebrate coal miners. 

According to Stanley, the Annual Coal Miners Appreciation Festival, planned this year for August 10-12,  is intended to be a welcoming place for everyone that enjoys bluegrass and mountain music while also celebrating the work and way of life for many people in the region where the festival is held. 

“I want coal miners, their families, and everyone who works in the coal mining industry, to have a place where they can go and visit with each other, reminisce, and have a good time,” Stanley said. 

This year, miners are being offered deeper discounts on tickets, a true act of appreciation for their contributions to the area. Anyone who works in the mining industry – current and retired miners, coal truck drivers, etc. – will receive $10 off their ticket price.

Anyone interested in purchasing tickets and/or camping reservations can contact Sandy Cole at 606-226-1885. For more information, visit the festival online.

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After a fairly lengthy absence from the bluegrass scene, Dan Tyminski began a long-awaited return to touring and recording recently, both on the road with the Dan Tyminski Band, and with the release of a Tony Rice tribute EP last summer, on which he collaborated with quite a few bluegrass all-stars. Now, he’s back with his first full-length bluegrass effort in fifteen years. Backed up by his excellent touring band, and having co-written nine of ten tracks on the album, God Fearing Heathen is a fine re-introduction to Tyminski’s strong grasp of modern bluegrass music.

I was a little hesitant when the first single was announced as a bluegrass revision of his smash EDM hit, Hey Brother, a collaboration with Swedish DJ Avicii from 2013, afraid that it would simply be an acoustic re-tread of the original. Although Tyminski’s vocals and phrasing are (obviously) very similar, along with the general melody of the song, the band has done a commendable job turning the track into a rushing, pulsating bluegrass number, guided by Jason Davis’s powerful banjo and strong fiddle from Maddie Denton. The harmonies are note-perfect, as well – a nice substitution for the more electronic sounds of the original. 

Tyminski’s rich, instantly-recognizable vocals are the centerpiece of the album, allowing him to deftly make his way through songs that lean toward a more Americana, singer-songwriter vibe as well as straightforward, traditionally-influenced grass. Never Met a Stranger is an upbeat, fiddle-led track filled with drive and a similar feel to the arrangement of Hey Brother. Penned by Tyminski, Luke Dick, and Jaida Dreyer, it’s a positive ode to a life spent traveling, featuring the opposite point of view of the usual lonesome bluegrass rambling song. Never Comin’ Home is classic-sounding Dan T, with angry instrumentation backing the story of a heartless woman leaving: “I called her mama, but the number done got changed. Guess it didn’t take her no time to go and run down my good name.” Harsh!

A more upbeat, bouncy look at heartbreak is Occam’s Razor, in which Tyminski takes issue with the philosophy that the most likely explanation is the simplest one. It’s very cleverly written, with Tyminski’s main complaint against Occam that he “was a friar, unaffected by the games a woman plays” – obviously, in the singer’s mind, making his theory moot. Also on the more fun-sounding side of things (and one of my favorite tracks on the album) is Ode to Jimmy, one of the best tribute songs I’ve heard in quite a while. The titular Jimmy is, of course, the King of Bluegrass himself, JImmy Martin, described to a T by Tyminski: “he played high and lonesome, beat that guitar half to death. A paisley coat, houndstooth hat, and old Red 7 on his breath.”

The title track, which Tyminski wrote with Ira Dean, is a thoughtful rumination on just exactly who will end up in heaven. It’s a stark, stripped-back track with Tyminski’s earnest vocals accompanied only by guitar. As Tyminski admits to not quite living up to typical Christian standards, he also asserts his belief: “I could have stood in the darkness and loaded the gun, but I prayed holes in the knees of these old faded jeans for a place up in heaven for a God-fearing heathen like me.”

Though it’s great to hear Tyminski singing bluegrass again, a special mention surely needs to go to his band. In addition to Davis and Denton, Tyminski is backed by Gaven Largent on dobro, Harry Clark on mandolin, and Grace Davis on bass. Simply put, this is one of the tightest bands playing today, and they’re just as strong live as they are on this album. In particular, Jason Davis’s banjo work truly helps hold the album together – a constant, driving presence that helps elevate the music here. His work on this album helps make a good case for a Banjo Player of the Year nomination.

Overall, God Fearing Heathen is firing on all cylinders all the way through. Strong song choice, excellent musicianship, and Tyminski’s awesome vocals combine for a top-notch release. 

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In a recent conversation with Joe Mullins about his latest album, Let Time Ride, he told me, “I’ve never been more excited to lead a group of musicians than I am now.” I have to say, I agree with those sentiments. Let Time Ride, recently released by Billy Blue Records, is hands-down the best album ever released from Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers, and the musicians here truly make all the difference. With fresh songs and arrangements, several solid lead vocalists, and the strong traditional-style bluegrass Mullins is known for, there’s not a misfire on the album. 

The title track is a top contender for my favorite on the album. Written by Mullins’s daughter-in-law, Santana Mullins, several years ago while she was a student at ETSU, it’s a toe-tapper guided by Mullins’s banjo and Chris Davis’s warm lead vocals. It quickly takes listeners through several stages of life for the song’s narrator as he embraces growing older and the life changes he encounters. Another fine track, and one which Mullins says may be his favorite here, is the Gospel number, The Glory Road. Written by Marty Stuart, Paul Martin, and Harry Stinson, it’s a newer song with a classic first generation feel. Mullins has one of the strongest vocal groups currently performing in bluegrass music, and this track allows them to show off in full force. Davis and McIntosh trade off lead vocals throughout the song, while Mullins adds in a crystal-clear tenor. 

Another unique vocal arrangement can be found on Play the Wildwood Flower, written by Conrad Fisher. It’s a sweet love song that Fisher wrote after hearing the story of a woman who agreed to marry a man because he could play Wildwood Flower. Though it’s definitely a bluegrass song, autoharp from guest Lizzy Long and the brother-duet style vocals on the chorus add an old-time flavor. Also with a vintage feel, or as Mullins put it, “it sounds like it was written 150 years ago,” is Forsaken Love from Canadian folk/old-time duo Pharis and Jason Romero. Whereas the original has a haunting, stripped-down arrangement, Mullins has mixed fairly straightforward bluegrass instrumentation with vocals that are again reminiscent of old-time country brother duets. 

Several songs here were released as early singles, including the radio hit, Big City. Written by Paul Williams when he was a staff writer for Decca Records, it was recorded by several country artists, including Ernest Tubb, in the 1960s. The Radio Ramblers have kicked the tempo up quite a few notches and added some hot percussion from Mike Rogers – sort of a later-career Jimmy Martin vibe. Another well-received single was I’ve Been Down That Road, a classic country weeper featuring McIntosh on lead vocals. From the all-star writing duo of Jerry Salley and Larry Cordle, it’s an outstanding track on an album packed full of well-written songs. Jason Barie’s triple fiddles and solid bass from Randy Barnes help enhance the country feel. 

I’ve always enjoyed albums from Mullins and the Radio Ramblers, but Let Time Ride has me truly excited. It’s one of those rare albums that can be listened to from start to finish, and then started over, again and again. Mullins told me that this lineup of the band has inspired him so much, and the crisp arrangements and excellent song selections here make that obvious. I’m looking forward to what the Radio Ramblers have coming next – which Mullins hinted was a Christmas release, as well as more hardcore traditional bluegrass. 

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There have been plenty of events in bluegrass music history that live on as legendary, even magical, moments when the genre was changed forever. From Earl Scruggs’s debut at the Opry as a Blue Grass Boy to Carlton Haney’s first bluegrass festivals, many of these events have been studied, written about, and analyzed in depth by musicians and scholars alike.

One night not quite as scripted as these, but arguably just as impactful on the development of bluegrass, took place in 1970 when Ralph Stanley first met Ricky Skaggs and Keith Whitley. Mountain Movers Theatre Company, based in Louisa, Kentucky, is currently staging a production of When I’m Gone, a new musical by Canadian playwright Michael Ross Albert, that sets out to chronicle that night and the life-changing effects it had on all those involved. As a die-hard Stanley fan, I definitely didn’t want to miss out on the play’s recent run at the Jettie Baker Center in Clintwood, Virginia, just several miles from Stanley’s homeplace on Smith Ridge.

First things first: the music was excellent. With musical direction by Don Rigsby (who also offered a fine interpretation of both Curly Ray Cline’s fiddling and his stage presence), there was no doubt in my mind that When I’m Gone would offer up a strong sampling of Stanley classics. The musicians portraying the Clinch Mountain Boys (in addition to Rigsby, the group featured Robert Maynard as Jack Cooke and Chris Smith as Roy Lee Centers) were a top-notch band, and had obviously studied the nuances of the Stanley sound. The younger generation of musicians appearing as Keith Whitley, Ricky Skaggs, and Dwight Whitley (Andrew Rigsby, Justin Lemaster, and Gibson Davis, respectively) were also in fine form, and were certainly believable as teenage traditional bluegrass aficionados.

Danny Davis’s performance as Ralph Stanley is also of note, not just for his Stanley-style banjo skills, but for his ability to capture the sound and cadence of Stanley’s voice while both singing and talking. I’ve heard many Ralph Stanley impersonations over the years, but Davis’s portrayal was remarkable, perfectly encapsulating Stanley’s folksy, soft-spoken stage presence and his high lonesome vocals. 

The play itself, on the other hand, was not quite as attention-grabbing as the music. The promotional materials for the play very obviously describe it as a dive into the story of the night Skaggs and Whitley were “discovered” by Stanley – the moment that jump-started the careers of two of the most influential modern-day bluegrass and country musicians to ever stand on stage. In reality, that event simply serves as a backdrop for the intertwined personal struggles of the characters who find themselves at a honky tonk bar in Fort Gay, WV, on New Year’s Eve. There’s an overarching theme that Stanley’s music can change lives, but instead of focusing on Skaggs and Whitley, it almost considers them an afterthought (we don’t even hear Stanley’s conversations with them, just his recap of inviting them to Coeburn to visit him the next weekend). 

Instead, the audience hears from two lovers torn apart by the Vietnam War draft, an alcoholic con-man, a widow drowning her sorrows in beer and other women’s husbands, and (somewhat implausibly) Skaggs’s high school English teacher, who has traveled to the bar to stop Skaggs from throwing his life away on traveling in a bluegrass band. The main characters, the husband-and-wife bartender and waitress, work their way through his cheating and drinking, her desire to pursue a singing career, and the loss of their young son several years before the events of the play. It’s a compelling, well-written script that often has multiple storylines being acted out on stage at once, but is it truly the story of Skaggs and Whitley’s big break? Not at all. 

The music is integrated into the plot, with each character in the bar taking the lead for a verse or two of a song that – sometimes more tightly than others – matches the conflicts they are facing. For instance, the soldier preparing to head to Vietnam confronts his fears of dying overseas with a solo in Pray for the Boys, while another character who regrets not being home on the day her mother died offers a touching rendition of Memories of Mother. Other songs don’t quite fit with the context of the scene around them, however, such as the lovers reuniting and sharing a tender dance to the sound of Harbor of Love.

A casual bluegrass fan may not have minded the bluegrass history being relegated to the background. However, for someone like me, who specifically attended hoping to soak in the feeling of actually being there on one of bluegrass music’s most legendary nights, When I’m Gone didn’t quite live up to expectations. I could have gladly listened to the faux Clinch Mountain Boys all evening, but I was a bit disappointed in the play as a whole. 

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