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Grasstowne is now a few days into their summer tour of Scandinavia. The band is finishing up a week in Finland, and will be heading to Norway later this week. Fearless leader (and mandolinist) Alan Bibey has promised to send us updates and photos as time and internet service allow. Here's his first report: "We [...]
With Dustin Pyrtle hopping aboard the Quicksilver Express, Grasstowne is pleased to announce that Blake Johnson is their newest member, playing guitar and singing lead. Blake lives in Roxboro, NC and has been playing guitar since he was ten years old. His musical upbringing is a familiar one in the bluegrass world. He got his [...]
Many singer-songwriters spend most of their career without having their songs cut by a hit artist. Some, however, enjoy great success. Perhaps it would be wise of us (myself included) to take note of the work of songwriters like Ray Edwards. A recent Rural Rhythm release, Portrait of a Bluegrass Songwriter, showcases some of Edwards’s [...]
Veteran bluegrass mandolin player Alan Bibey of Grasstowne does it the old-fashioned way—and doesn’t mind telling you why. He took a few minutes to explain between sound check and Grasstowne’s November 29 performance in the North Brevard Shrine Center in Titusville, FL. Bibey is both relaxed and excited about the night’s performance, but part of that [...]
A debut single from the upcoming Grasstowne CD on Mountain Fever Records, Grasstowne 4, has been released to radio. This is their first project with Mountain Fever, having just recently signed with the Virginia-based label. The single is a collaboration between Grasstowne and Ronnie Bowman, who sings lead on This Old Guitar And Me, written by [...]
Not long ago we posted news that Justin Jenkins would be leaving Grasstowne to join up with American Drive, the newly-formed band built by the members of J.D. Crowe & the New South. Justin and Grasstowne bandleader Alan Bibey spoke with us on Saturday at IBMA's World of Bluegrass, where we learned that those plans have [...]
Grasstowne has announced that they will henceforth be represented by the Andrea Roberts Agency. Band leader Alan Bibey had been managing their dates, but told us that with their 2013 schedule picking up, he wants to turn booking over to someone who can devote more energy to the task. They join Ronnie Reno and Flatt Lonesome [...]
Grasstowne is about to head back in the studio to get started on a new project for Rural Rhythm. Mandolinist and band leader Alan Bibey told us that a debut single would be released by IBMA, with the full project due early in 2013. "We can't wait for everyone to hear the new stuff. It [...]
Portrait Of A Bluegrass Songwriter is due July 31 from Ray Edwards, on Rural Rhythm's new Sage Brush Music imprint. Sage Brush was formed specifically to showcase talented songwriters in bluegrass, and got its unofficial launch with Look To The Light: Songs From The Pen of Rick Lang in 2010. Portrait Of A Bluegrass Songwriter will be the [...]
When I was learning to play banjo in the mid-1970's, one of the first albums I bought was the two-album live recording from the Bill Monroe's Bean Blossom festival, which became one of my favorites and a great source of material to learn from Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt, Jim & Jesse, Jimmy Martin, and many [...]
