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We got a note this week from Josh Shilling with Mountain Heart, telling about what a blast they had jamming and hanging out with The Earls of Leicester while they were in Utah. Are there two string bands more at the opposite ends of the bluegrass spectrum than those two? Anyway... Josh said that Jerry [...]
I make no bones about it. Gettysburg is my favorite festival. I look forward to the twice a year trips there, in May and August, even though I’m rarely able to swing more than a day or two because of the pesky day job. This past weekend was no exception. I was only able to [...]
Bluegrass fans everywhere can rejoice because Jerry Douglas did something for purely selfish reasons. He wanted to hear more Flatt & Scruggs music. He couldn’t find it on the radio. He didn’t hear it at festivals. And he couldn’t find musicians to play it with. So he put together his own band – the Earls [...]
The last set of the night at the Red Hat Amphitheater on Friday, at Wide Open Bluegrass, was heaven. Billed as the Wide Open Jam, that was a rather modest description. It was the pinnacle. It was a fine Loar, or a fine pre-war Martin. It was as good as it gets. Period. Maybe that [...]
Mid-week here at IBMA's World of Bluegrass, we had a lengthy and deeply personal chat with Rob Ickes and Jerry Douglas about their relationship with reso-legend, and good friend, Mike Auldridge. The specific topic for our discussion was the recent release of Three Bells, a triple dobro project featuring Douglas, Ickes and Auldridge, recorded shortly before Mike's [...]
If you stumbled here through a Google search for information about British bluebloods, you landed in the wrong place. But if you’re looking for bluegrass royalty, here it is. Musically, the Earls of Leicester, some of the best pickers of this or any other generation, are direct descendants of Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs and their [...]
Three Bells is an absolute rarity in the world of recorded music. It's quite seldom that a new project conveys so much joy, so much love among the musicians, and for the instrument they share in common. Conceived as a chance for dobro buddies Jerry Douglas and Rob Ickes to play together some more with Mike Auldridge as [...]
Can a group of Nashville bluegrass superpickers recall the power and precision of Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys in their prime? That's the question Jerry Douglas is asking with his upcoming album with The Earls of Leicester. The Earls include Jerry along with Shawn Camp, Tim O'Brien, Charlie Cushman, Barry Bales, [...]
Jerry Douglas' next project is something of a departure for him. Typically a decidedly forward-loooking artist focused on new music, the Dobro master is turning his gaze back to the 1950s for The Earls of Leicester, a Flatt & Scruggs tribute project he has organized with a group of Nashville grassers. This superstar collaboration, which features [...]
The International Bluegrass Music Association has today announced that country singer Lee Ann Womack and reso-guitar superstar Jerry Douglas would serve as hosts for the 25th Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards. The awards presentation will be held October 2, 2014 at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh, NC. During the program, [...]
