LATEST NEWS: Lonesome River Band & Doyle Lawson release new albums

New Album, Chronology, Volume One
by Lonesome River Band

First of Three Albums Commemorating Band’s 30th Anniversary


February 28, 2012 (Nashville, TN) -- Rural Rhythm Records is proud to announce today's new album release, CHRONOLOGY, VOLUME ONE by the award-winning LONESOME RIVER BAND. The album is the first of three 8 song EPS releasing this year commemorating the band’s thirty year milestone. “Lonesome River Band has donewhat few bands have done, continuously reinvented itself through the years, staying both popular and relevant,” sai d Keith Lawrence (Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer and Bluegrass Notes Reviewer).

The CHRONOLOGY series features updated versions of many of the Lonesome River Band’s most popular songs during each decade with the talents of Virginia Country Music Hall of Famer and four-time IBMA Banjo Player of the Year, Sammy Shelor (Banjo); Brandon Rickman (Harmony Vocal, Guitar); Mike Hartgrove (Fiddle); Barry Reed (Harmony Vocal, Bass); and Randy Jones (Lead Vocal, Mandolin). CHRONOLOGY, VOLUME ONE was produced by Lonesome River Band and includes the tracks:

1. Close the Door Lightly When You Go (E. Anderson) – first single release
2. The Old Man In the Shanty (John Michael Green)
3. Laura Jean (Jim Burns)
4. The Game Is Over (David Carroll)
5. Mary Ann (Johnny Stills, Lonnie Treat)
6. I’m Afraid To Love You Anymore (Jimmie Skinner)
7. Hobo Blues (Billy Smith)
8. Angeline The Baker (instrumental)

Fans can tune into WSM Radio today at 9:00 AM (Central) when host Bill Cody welcomes Sammy Shelor and Brandon Rickman to the show. On Wednesday Shelor will be appear on WorldwideBluegrass.com with host Terry Poirier at 10:30 AM (Eastern) and later in the day with live in-studio interview with hosts Jay Allen and Sherry Boyd on WBRF Radio in Galax, Virginia at 8:00 PM.

Lonesome River Band has two previous #1 albums on Rural Rhythm, STILL LEARNING and NO TURNING BACK, that topped album and single charts such as Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine, Bluegrass Music Profiles Magazine, Cashbox Magazine, Power Source Magazine, Roots Music Report Top 50 Bluegrass, SiriusXM Bluegrass Junction Most Played Tracks and Most Played Artists, and many more. They were also involved in two live album projects for the label including: the recently released A BILL MONROE 100TH YEAR CELEBRATION – LIVE AT BEAN BLOSSOM, produced by Sammy Shelor; plus THE ALL-STAR JAM – LIVE AT GRAVES MOUNTAIN, produced by Mark Newton, that received four 2010 International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) award nominations including one for ALBUM OF THE YEAR.

In November 2011, the Lonesome River Band with special guest, Steve Martin performed on The Late Show with David Letterman in celebration of Sammy Shelor’s award for The Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass. Martin and Shelor sat down with the late night host who proudly displayed the award followed by an incredible performance of “Molly” (NO TURNING BACK) by band members, Brandon Rickman (lead vocals and guitar), Mike Hartgrove (fiddle), Barry Reed (bass and harmony vocals), Randy Jones (mandolin and harmony vocals) along with Steve Martin and Sammy Shelor on banjo.

Stay tuned for upcoming announcements regarding CHRONOLOGY Volumes Two and Three including details on a big event celebration scheduled for later this year. For more information on the Lonesome River Band including upcoming tour dates, please visit LonesomeRiverBand.com.

Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out
Top FOUR Charts at #1

NASHVILLE, TN (January 30, 2012) -- The hit album Prime Tyme by Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out continues to garner further acclaim, securing the #1 spot on Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine's Top 15 Album Chart in the February 2012 issue. The power group has also soared to #1 on Bluegrass Unlimited's Top 30 Songs Chart with their single, "If Your Heart Should Ever Roll This Way Again," with another song "Pretty Little Girl From Galax" beginning its climb on the chart at #30.

Give Russell's pretty girl from Galax some room to fly, as she's already topped Bluegrass Today's weekly National Airplay Chart at #1. The single "Pretty Little Girl from Galax" reigned at #1 for the week of Jan 20, 2012, with the group's "Whippoorwill" only a fast two-step behind at #4.

This success follows the momentum gained in December, as Prime Tyme topped the Top 10 Album Chart of Bluegrass Music Profiles Magazine at #1. Four singles from the group's Rural Rhythm Records release also charted on the Bluegrass Music Profiles Top 30 Hot Singles Chart, marking the first time 4 singles by one group ever soared to grace the chart simultaneously.

Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out are making waves on radio even in the nation's capitol, as the band and their Prime Tyme album were a hot topic on Washington, D.C.'s WAMU Radio on Saturday, January 28, 2012. Russell Moore was interviewed by radio show host Lee Michael Demsey on the Bluegrass Unlimited Top 30 Countdown, a show making its splashing debut on April 25, 2009, and since airing on the last Saturday of each month on WAMU Bluegrass Country, American University Radio's HD Channel 88.5-2.

Radio hosts in high places aren't the only ones heralding the group, as the group's label Rural Rhythm Records shared on January 26:
"Not only are fans and radio hosts singing the praises of Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, but critics certainly agree. Jerome Clark of Rambles.net raved, 'These guys do not disappoint, really, on any level. They're pros, they play marvelously, and they know good songs when they hear them,' with Jack Bernhardt of Raleigh's News & Observer saying, 'Moore and the band are in prime form throughout, a testament to the years and the miles of near-constant touring, recording and performing before legions of the most loyal fans in 'grass.”

With a 20th Anniversary Celebration of IIIrd Tyme Out in the works for June 2 at the acclaimed "Bluegrass Underground" in McMinnville, TN, the most loyal fans in 'grass have a banner year to look forward to in 2012 from Russell, Steve, Justen, Edgar, Donnie and Wayne. Warmest congratulations to Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out on their sterling success in real Prime Tyme!

Nashville, TN (January 25, 2012) -- Moonstruck Management is proud to announce two of their premiere artists have garnered an impressive 10 total nominations in the upcoming 38th Annual SPBGMA Awards to be held at Nashville's Sheraton Music City Hotel on Sunday, February 5, 2012, at 7:30 pm CT.

Bluegrass Legend Doyle Lawson carved a niche in the nominations with his band Quicksilver with five nominations, while the chart-topping Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out also garnered five SPBGMA nods. Lawson and Moore are both nominated for the coveted and prestigious Entertainer of the Year honor, but otherwise, Moonstruck's two elite bluegrass groups do not share nominations in the same categories.

Doyle Lawson is nominated individually as Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year (Traditional), and Mandolin Performer of the Year. Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver are nominated as a group for Gospel Group of the Year (Traditional), and for Bluegrass Album of the Year for the high-energy "Drive Time" on Mountain Home Records.

Russell Moore also received an Entertainer of the Year nod, as well as a nomination for Male Vocalist of the Year (Contemporary). Russell Moore and IIIrd Tyme Out garnered three nominations as a group, receiving nods in the categories of Vocal Group of the Year, Bluegrass Band of the Year (Overall), and the prestigious Entertaining Group of the Year.

Moonstruck is proud to represent Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver and Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, and extend warmest congratulations to these sterling groups on their 10 amazing and well-deserved SPBGMA nominations.

Doyle Lawson photo courtesy Mike Lane, www.mlanephoto.com. Russell Moore receiving 2010 IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year Award, photo by Roy Swann. Press release courtesy Sherri George.

December 28, 2011:

The tour combines National Anthem performances at major sporting arenas with Children’s Hospital visits in the same cities or regions. The tour is the first of its kind in any genre, and expands in 2012 from the southeast region to nationwide in scope.

The tour kicked off on January 11, 2011, as Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (DLQ) brought the house down in Knoxville’s Thompson-Boling Arena with an Anthem performance at the Tennessee Vols home SEC Men's Basketball game with Florida.

“Audience response was overwhelming,” said tour coordinator Sherri George, “from sound check forward. ESPN’s commentators even stopped their pre-game prep to call out, ‘Who ARE THEY? That’s incredible!’”

“Singing the National Anthem at the UT-Florida men’s basketball game was a blast,” said Lawson. “Fans shook our hands and voiced their approval as we made our way back to our seats to watch the game. Many commented that it was the best version of our National Anthem they had ever heard. I was honored to do it!”

While the chance to watch some of the country’s best hoops in VIP seats is quite a perk, helping hospitalized children is the real driving force behind the tour. “Doyle really has a soft spot for kids,” said Lawson’s manager Josh Trivett. “After we visited Children’s Hospital of Alabama in 2009, their celebrity program coordinator Sherri George and I put our heads together and came up with the idea for this tour. She and I both have sports industry backgrounds, and we wanted a creative and fun vehicle to keep Doyle involved with helping kids. This tour does it all!”

“It’s a win-win for everyone: Doyle, the kids, and teams and arenas where DLQ performs the National Anthem,” Trivett continued. “Plus, it’s unique and a total blast for everyone. No one has ever put together a tour quite like this before, so we’re excited for the exposure Bluegrass will be getting in front of huge sports arena audiences, and we’re really pumped for the help we get to be to kids in the hospitals.”

The tour is geared to help meet the emotional needs of hospitalized children and their parents, while raising awareness of the service and emotional miracles Child Life Departments render daily within Children’s Hospitals nationwide. Some hospital visits will be scheduled to occur during special celebrations of National Child Life Month in March.

“Child Life Departments work to help ease the emotional stress and trauma of children who are hospitalized,” said tour coordinator Sherri George. “Doyle’s music works fabulously with that objective in mind, from the fun toe-tapping numbers like ‘Sadie’ and ‘Gone at Last,’ to gospel songs with a powerful, touching message like ‘Help Is On the Way.’ We had amazing experiences with DLQ on their first visit as they sang ‘Help Is on the Way’ a cappella all over the hospital in Birmingham. The impact Doyle and his band have to touch lives and hearts, and to provide comfort, is the reason we’re doing this tour.”

“Sometimes it may work to do the hospital visits same day as the arena performances,” said Lawson’s manager Trivett, “and sometimes we may need to visit on another day. The big thing is that we make it happen for the kids.”

“We did a Main Lobby concert for the hospital in Birmingham our first time there, then room-to-room visits,” said Lawson. “We stayed seven hours singing and saying hello to all the kids the hospital wanted us to see! But what a great way to spend a day. Good feeling, and we look forward to more days like that as we do this Tour.”

An arena stop in Knoxville will be the first order of tour business in 2012 as Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver step onto the hardwood of Thompson-Boling Arena to perform our National Anthem for the Tennessee-Florida game on January 7 at the University of Tennessee. Arena performances for NCAA Men's Basketball during the early months of 2012 will include Auburn Arena in Alabama for the Auburn-Kentucky game on January 11 and Vanderbilt's Memorial Gymnasium for the Vandy-Florida game on February 28 in Nashville. DLQ performed their first Stadium National Anthem as part of the Tour on October 29, 2011, at Vanderbilt Stadium for the Vandy-Arkansas game, and will perform their first Speedway National Anthem at Charlotte Motor Speedway during 2012. Children's Hospital visits during the upcoming year will include cities such as Birmingham, Charlotte, Nashville, and Knoxville.

“I’m very excited about partnering our efforts to develop this Tour,” said Lawson. “I love children and am very patriotic. I’m really proud and honored to be able to combine helping hospitalized children with honoring our great country – and doing both through my band’s music. It’s a special opportunity, and I’m excited to be part of such a great project.”

For more information on Doyle Lawson and the Children's Hospital and Arena Tour, go to www.doylelawson.com.

Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver performing at Levine Children's Hospital in Charlotte prior to their singing our National Anthem at Time-Warner Cable Arena for the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats-Dallas Mavericks game on February 5, 2011. Video and press release courtesy Sherri George.