"Grascals Live at Sellersville Theatre" - Oct. 24,2013 - A Review

Live at

A friend and I really enjoyed the Grascals tonight at Sellersville Theatre in Sellersville,Pa. We got lost on the way up, but there was an opening act, so we got there right on time. I have been trying to catch them for the last 3 years, but things always came up, not tonight. They put on a delightful show tonight doing some numbers I had not heard before. The crowd was excited and enjoyed the show. Looks like there was a new fiddle player in the fold, his nickname is Redbone. Don't ask me. He did a fine job on his third weekend with the band.
They started out the show with "Mystery Train" on all cylinders. They had some news about a new CD in the works. Kristen sounded great on banjo, she is more fun live than on CD, that young lady can really play. They played a combination of their own songs from their last few CDs and some bluegrass covers. There was a real poignant moment when Jamie was singing "Road to Surrender", from their last CD. He got thru the first verse , and he just lost it, froze up on the stage , He walked off for a second and came back and finished the song, it was a real moving moment, if you know that song , the crowd was yelling out encouragement. It was a real special moment. They really put on a great performance. They finished the show with "Up this Hill and Down ", It was a real stellar performance!!

www.grascals.com

The Grascals : Top Spins on Bluegrass Junction

The Grascals: Top Spins on Bluegrass Junction

Life Finds a Way is Most Played Album, Includes Most Played Single

NASHVILLE, TN --- The Grascals' latest album, Life Finds A Way, topped the Sirius XM Bluegrass Junction Chart this week with the highest number of plays. Additionally, the single, "Pretty Melody," which appears on the album, also enjoyed top spin status for a single.
“We want to thank the fans who listen and the good folks at Bluegrass Junction for playing,” Jamie Johnson says. “We sure love making the music, and it’s really sweet when folks respond so enthusiastically.”

To listen, tune into Bluegrass Junction (channel 61) on Sirius XM radio or visit www.siriusxm.com/bluegrassjunction

The multiple IBMA Entertainer of the Year award winners and multiple Grammy nominees are at their harmonious and instrumental best with Life Finds a Way (Mountain Home Records). The band is currently touring in support of the new project, sharing bluegrass classics and new music from the album. Band member, Kristen Scott Benson, just picked up yet another nomination as Banjo Player of the Year in the upcoming International Bluegrass Music Association annual awards.
The Grascals recently made their 125th appearance on the stage of the world renowned Grand Ole Opry.
For more on The Grascals, visit www.grascals.com
ABOUT THE BAND

Among the most beloved and acclaimed bands on the bluegrass scene, The Grascals have been repeatedly honored for their work. Named Instrumental Group of the Year at the 39th Annual SPBGMA Awards earlier in 2012, the group previously brought home three SPBGMA awards in 2011: Instrumental Group of the Year; Mandolin Performer of the Year (Danny Roberts) and Banjo Performer of the Year (Kristin Scott Benson). In 2010, they were named SPBGMA’s Bluegrass Band of the Year. The Grascals have also received the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Emerging Artist of the Year award (2005) and Entertainer of the Year award (2006, 2007). Kristin Scott Benson is the three-time winner of the IBMA’s Banjo Player of the Year Award (2008, 2009 & 2010). They’ve been twice nominated for Grammy Awards.
The Grascals joined Hank Williams, Jr. for numerous shows on his Rowdy Friends Tour throughout 2010, and headlined over 150 shows at State Fairs and on the Bluegrass festival circuit as well. The Grascals continue to enjoy extensive media exposure on a variety of outlets, including NPR’s Mountain Stage, RFD-TV, CMT, GAC, The Grand Ole Opry, Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon, FOX & Friends, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, The Country Network (TCN) and both CBS’s Early Show and The Talk.

MEDIA CONTACT FOR INTERVIEWS, REVIEW COPIES:

claire ratliff

laughing penguin publicity

po box 140396 | nashville, tn 37214

615.476.3200laughingpenguin@comcast.net

www.penguinpublicity.com

 

"Road To Surrender" - The Grascals

"Second Season" - Kristin Scott Benson - A review

                  
Kristen Scott Benson was making CDs before she joined the Grascals. This is her second recording, it is with Pinecastle Records. She produces it and has a lot of help on the disc with singing, instrument playing ,and inspiration. It is definitely traditional Bluegrass,  with the help of artists like Wayne Benson, Larry Cordle, Mickey Harris, Sally Jones, Cody Kilby (one of my favorite bluegrass flat pickers), Larry Stephenson, Jim Van Cleve , (fiddle player with Mountain Heart) and last,but not least , Josh Williams (previously with Rhonda Vincent's Rage.)

   Kristen  writes some of this material, some is other's songs and some is public domain. It is a very high quality recording and some tight versions of some great bluegrass music, You would not think it was a banjo players CD, she really does not put herself in the spotlight more than anyone else. I like that she writes a  little blurb about each song recorded. Lots of mandolin and fiddle on the CD and Cody Kilby plays his own style of bluegrass guitar. They do an Instrumental by Bill Emerson called "No Steering, No Brakes", which I like a lot, it is mellow, but upbeat and just a great Bluegrass song.


   "No Southern Comfort" - This is a sad ballad song, sung by Josh Williams. Very good delivery and plenty of bluegrass licks,and nice high lonesome harmonies.  "Far Enough Away" is a slow paced instrumental written by Kristen. It shows the quiet side of banjo playing which you do not really hear very much. Some nice licks by Cody Kilby too, love his guitar playing.  Jim Van Cleve plays some very musical fiddle. She has an incredible mix of musicians here.


   Well, I would like to leave some to your imagination, but if you like bluegrass music, I don't see how you you couldn't like this. When Kristen becomes a Grascal she turns it up a notch and her banjo playing is more treble sounding, like a bluegrass banjo usually sounds. She does a lot more Scruggs type pickin with The Grascals. This is very good though.



--
God Is Good
www.countryreviews.blogspot.com

The Grascals On GAC

TUNE IN ALERT
Multi-award winning bluegrass artists, THE GRASCALS, appear on GAC-TVs Headline Country this week! The band recently celebrated the release of their latest CD, Life Finds A Way (Mountain Home Music) with a “blue carpet” event at the SiriusXM Music City Theater in Nashville.

Check http://www.gactv.com/gac/program_guide/ for complete listings.


HEADLINE COUNTRY on GAC
Thursday, 4/19  - 8 p.m. Central and Midnight
Friday, 4/20 - 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Central
Saturday 4/21 - 9:30 a.m. Central

Keep up with The Grascals at www.grascals.com



MEDIA CONTACT
claire ratliff
laughing penguin publicity
po box 140396 | nashville, tn 37214
615.476.3200
laughingpenguin@comcast.net
www.penguinpublicity.com

"Life Finds A Way" - The Grascals - A Review

Well, The Grascals just inked with their new label "Mountain Home", and they waste no time releasing a new CD. They had been with Rounder Records for a number of recordings, even had their own imprint, "BluGrascal Records" for a couple of CDs. This new CD has a bit of a different flavor to it, with a more country sound to their mix than usual, They still have their Bluegrass roots to the sound, maybe it is just the recording style, more of a modern, contemporary sound, following a real Bluegrass sounding CD in their Andy Griffith Tribute EP.

   The Grascals still are Jamie Johnson, guitar and vocals, Danny Roberts, mandolin, Kristin Scott Benson, Banjo and guitar, Terry Smith ,vocals and bass, Terry Eldredge, vocals and guitar, and last,but not least, Jeremy Abshire on fiddle.
Their vocals and harmony's are excellent and moving. They have a real good selection of songs, a couple of covers and some real good new original songs and a few songs by friends. Some interesting artwork on the cardboard sleeve. The sleeve has several folds in it for pics and testimonies. Nice liner notes by Tom T Hall and his wife Dixie. It makes for some interesting reading.

   My favorite song on the CD is a cover by James Taylor, "Sweet Baby James", When Terry Eldredge goes into that with the beautiful pedal steel in the song, it really hits me emotionally and takes me back to when I was just getting out of High School, had always loved that song, The Grascals do a real emotive job on it and I really like Jamie's and Terry's  vocals. They do a nice upbeat Bluegrass jam called "Eleven,Eleven" which is a very good instrumental take. I really like their other cover song too, "Mystery Train" had always been a song that I had liked through the years. Nice mandolin on the song.

   Jamie does another original ballad that I love, "Pretty Melody", A very melodic song about a couple of school kids that ended up being life mates. Kristin's banjo is more restrained than usual on this CD, but she does some really sweet melodic parts here. The title song "Life Finds A Way" is another Grascals song that is a very melodic mid tempo ballad. The lyrics are great. The last song on the thirteen track disc is a beautiful gospel number called "Road To Surrender". This CD seems to be a real reflective type of musical creation. There are a couple of drinking songs that seem a bit out of place, but maybe, they are trying to break the serious vein of a lot of the songs. The instruments seem to be more in the background than usual, and the tones are not real crisp, but more on the mellow side. I would have loved to hear the award winning Kristin tear up a banjo break on a song or two.

    Grascal fans will love this, I enjoyed it alot, maybe it will bring some new fans. I love this mix of musicians and hope they stay together. Check it out.

   www.grascals.com
   www.crossroadsmusic.com      

"Computers, Social Networks, and the lack of Great New Bands and Artists"

 Being a Baby Boomer, I grew up in the Golden Age of American Music. The 60s and 70s brought out a lot of great new artists, genres and music which still shines today on CDs. In the era of  records, you had to be good to get a record deal, because making a good record required a big label studio ,real A and R people and a scene that was incredible in lots of ways.

  In Memphis, you had Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash. You had a heavy influence of English musicians starting with the Beatles who propelled rock music to a new level. You had Cream, The Who and The Rolling Stones as iconic groups.

   In Nashville, music row and The Grand Ole Opry was in full flight with artists like Patsy Cline, Chet Atkins, and a thriving business which is alive now, more than ever.

  Artists had something to say or express with their music; the first protest musicians who were not afraid to use music and lyrics as a tool to protest Vietnam War. There was a generation that were not afraid to go against the grain and let their message out. Country Joe and The Fish with "It's 1,2,3 What are we fighting for". It was a time of questioning what was going on and protest and "4 Dead In Ohio" by Crosby,Stills,Nash and Young was a true story song that was a great song in it's own merits.

    They were part of the west coast hippie movement including the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service , Jefferson Airplane and a Spanish guitarist named Carlos Santana. This movement had a life of it's own.

  Meanwhile, Down South, We have the new southern Rock scene with many great bands featuring Lynyrd Skynrd, the Allman Brothers Band and the Marshall Tucker Band. I am just dancing around the periphery here with these groups, there were so many more important bands.

   So, What's going on Today? A lot of the same artists releasing new music from Thirty Years ago. And We have the computer and the vanishing CD. Along the way, We started with Records, to Eight track tapes, cassette tapes (which I still Like), to CDs and now the ipod with it's mp3 format. A generation of young folk who have grown up listening to mp3s, They can't appreciate what the Baby Boomers like myself had ,growing up with full bandwidth analog music. Music will always survive, in what form, that is the Question.

A Tease From the Grascals. - Kristin Practicing in Studio

 This is a snippet of Kristin Scott Benson practicing with Grascals for their new CD, the song is called "Pretty Song".  It is a candid shot of studio time and how they work, notice, she is not playing her Gold colored banjo that she uses in show, but another one that probably sounds better to her, I don't know banjos, so I can't really say why she made the choice. One thing that I do know, I think she is one of the best banjo players in Bluegrass, that has proved itself in awards she has won, looking forward to their new CD. Hope there is some lead guitar on CD.

Grascals Featured in GACTV'S 12 Days of Country Cookies

Nashville, TN (December 12, 2011) -- The Grascals head in to the holiday season full of good cheer and, well, pie. "We're just full of it," laughs the group co-founder Jamie Johnson. "El's wife, Catherine Lundy-Eldredge, makes a mean Upside Down Apple Pie, and we've been doing some serious taste-testing!" The dish is so delightful that GACTV.com is including the recipe in their 12 Days of Country Cookies (& Treats) feature, and fans can grab the recipe for this down-home dessert at www.gactv.com/gac/pac_ctnt/text/0,,GAC_26058_104272,00.html or from http://www.grascals.com/.



Grascalites who want to see more of their favorite band can catch The Grascals' November 7 performance (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3b1qbrIHGg) on THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH CRAIG FERGUSON. The audience loved the group's version of "Louisiana Saturday Night," and it's the perfect Christmas Eve entertainment for Bluegrass lovers since December 24 falls on a Saturday this year.





Learn more about these engaging entertainers at http://www.grascals.com/

Welcome to the Country, country pedals

Country music that is. Compressors are big in the country scene.

Charlie Daniels,Wynonna,Montgomery Gentry, and The Grascals set to perform at Lipscomb University's 'Operation Yellow Ribbon' Event March 29,2011

CHARLIE DANIELS, WYNONNA, MONTGOMERY GENTRY AND THE GRASCALS SET TO PERFORM AT LIPSCOMB UNIVERSITY'S 'OPERATION YELLOW RIBBON' EVENT MARCH 29, 2011




Gen. Tommy Franks announced as keynote speaker



NASHVILLE (Feb. 16, 2011) – Charlie Daniels, Wynonna, Montgomery Gentry and The Grascals are set to perform for 'Operation Yellow Ribbon' at Lipscomb University March 29, 2011. General Tommy Franks (Ret.) has been confirmed as the keynote speaker, and the Center for Deployment Psychology will be featured at the Symposium for university administrators.



Operation Yellow Ribbon features a daylong symposium sponsored by Lipscomb University and featuring experts from the Center for Deployment Psychology (CPD), Challenge America, Not Alone and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The day will be filled with clinical as well as non-clinical approaches to working with veterans and developing a better understanding of this unique population. Another focus of the symposium is to bring together university administrators, certifying officials and others who work with student-veterans to discuss best approaches in creating veteran-friendly campuses as thousands of veterans across the country are enrolling in universities through the Post 9/11 GI Bill.



Capping off the day’s events, Franks will address attendees at Lipscomb’s Allen Arena. Musical appearances by Charlie Daniels, Wynonna, Montgomery Gentry and The Grascals are scheduled for the evening event at 7 p.m. in Lipscomb’s Allen Arena.



“Our goal is to provide an informative day for those who work with veterans at universities across the country to help equip them with knowledge and expertise to make their campuses more accessible and friendly for veterans. By partnering with the Center for Deployment Psychology we want to help educate university counseling teams so they can offer programs that adequately serve our veterans as they reintegrate home and adjust to university life,” said David K. Hughes, Lipscomb University assistant dean of students and director of the Yellow Ribbon Program.



Admission to the symposium is open to any university representative or administrator who works with student-veterans or coordinates Yellow Ribbon programs on their campuses. Registration is $75 per person, which covers all activities, materials, meals and VIP tickets for the concert. For more information or to register visit http://www.yellowribbon.lipscomb.edu/   or call 615.966.5176.



Tickets for the evening event only will go on sale for $10 on Feb. 18 at the Lipscomb University box office. Call 615.966.7075. Members of the military and their families will be invited as guests of the events corporate sponsors. Proceeds from the event benefit Lipscomb University’s Yellow Ribbon Program.



Lipscomb’s Yellow Ribbon Program offers eligible Post 9/11 GI Bill veterans and their family members an undergraduate degree tuition-free or a graduate degree tuition-free or at a greatly reduced tuition rate.



The Center for Deployment Psychology (CPD) is a non-profit, tri-service center funded through a grant awarded by the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences to train military and civilian behavioral health providers.



'Operation Yellow Ribbon' Event produced by David Corlew & Associates in conjunction with Lipscomb University.

Cracker Barrel and The Grascals Celebrate #1 Debut On Billboard Bluegrass Chart

Search Amazon.com for grascalsCRACKER BARREL AND THE GRASCALS CELEBRATE #1 DEBUT


ON BILLBOARD BLUEGRASS CHART



Exclusive CD “The Grascals & Friends - Country Classics with a Bluegrass Spin”

also lands on five other charts including Country,

Heatseekers, and Billboard Top 200



LEBANON, Tenn. (January 19, 2011) Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and The Grascals are pleased to celebrate the #1 debut of The Grascals & Friends - Country Classics with a Bluegrass Spin on the Billboard Top Bluegrass Albums chart (issue date January 29, 2011). The album also entered the Billboard Top Country Albums chart at #26, the Heatseekers chart at #2, the Independent chart at #15, the Billboard 200 at #113, and the Top Current Billboard 200 at #108.



The album has 13 country music songs. The Grascals bring their own bluegrass style to the tunes and bring the different tracks to life with eight of their friends, including Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley, Charlie Daniels and Dolly Parton. The track, “I Am Strong,” was written by Grascals band member Jamie Johnson and his wife Susanne Mumpower-Johnson along with Jenee Fleenor after The Grascals visited the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® and were inspired by the stories and power of the children being treated there. “I Am Strong” is powerful in its message and in its artistic vision and brings together vocals from all of the artists who also appear separately with The Grascals on other tracks on this CD. In honor of the children and this song, Cracker Barrel is donating a percentage of the proceeds. The CD is now available exclusively at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® and online at crackerbarrel.com.



"This is just icing on the cake ... like Cracker Barrel gravy on the biscuit!” said bass player Terry Smith. He added, “The relationship has been so great thus far. Hopefully the sales and great partnership will continue in kind. Also, I wish Friday fish fry was seven days a week!"



"This is something we've looked forward to for so long,” said mandolin player Danny Roberts. He added, “It's doing so well, so quickly. The added bonus of it benefiting St. Jude makes it all the better.”



“This is a great achievement and we congratulate The Grascals,” said Chris Ciavarra, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Cracker Barrel. “We are very pleased to see the strength of this CD’s debut and think that it speaks to quality of the music, the authenticity of the musicians, and it shows what a good fit this is with our guests.”



The Grascals, fresh off of a year packed with over 150 shows, are in the running for 10 of the 37th Annual SPBGMA Awards including Instrumental Group of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year, Bluegrass Band of the Year, and Entertaining Group of the Year. In addition, the Grascals’ new video, “I Am Strong” featuring Dolly Parton, premiered in mid-December on AOL.



The Grascals & Friends - Country Classics With A Bluegrass Spin is the latest in Cracker Barrel’s exclusive music program, which features numerous projects. In November of 2010, Cracker Barrel released Smokey Robinson’s Now & Then which features six of his current songs and live versions of six of his classics that were recorded last year. It debuted at #19 on Billboard magazine’s R&B chart and has been nominated for Outstanding Album in the 2011 NAACP IMAGE AWARDS. September saw the release of the self-titled Rodney Atkins, which includes four #1 hits, and also the release of Mandy Barnett’s Winter Wonderland, which offers up all the authentic sounds of the holiday traditions so many of us cherish. In July, the company released Craig Morgan’s That’s Why-Collector’s Edition, and in May the release of Wynonna’s Love Heals debuted at #7 on the Billboard Magazine Top Country Albums chart. February’s release of Dailey & Vincent Sing the Statler Brothers debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top Bluegrass Albums chart, where it spent nine weeks in the top position and 18 weeks overall in one of the three top positions since its release on February 1st. Releases in 2009 included November’s Songs of Love and Heartache by Alan Jackson, September’s release of an exclusive new version of The Foundation by the Zac Brown Band, August’s George Jones’ release of A Collection Of My Best Recollection, May’s release of Montgomery Gentry’s For Our Heroes, which debuted at #5 on Billboard Magazine’s Top Country Albums chart, and March’s release of Dolly Parton’s Collector’s Edition of Backwoods Barbie, which debuted at #9 on that chart. Over the last few years, Cracker Barrel has released exclusive CDs with Bill Gaither, Kenny Rogers, Ricky Skaggs, Aaron Tippin, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Josh Turner, Amy Grant, Sara Evans, and Charlie Daniels.



About Cracker Barrel

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store provides a friendly home-away-from-home in its old country stores and restaurants. Guests are cared for like family while relaxing and enjoying real home-style food and shopping that’s surprisingly unique, genuinely fun and reminiscent of America’s country heritage…all at a fair price. The restaurant serves up delicious, home-style country food such as meatloaf and homemade chicken n’ dumplins as well as its signature biscuits using an old family recipe. The authentic old country retail store is fun to shop and offers unique gifts and self-indulgences.



Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (Nasdaq: CBRL) was established in 1969 in Lebanon, Tenn. and operates 597 company-owned locations in 42 states. Every Cracker Barrel unit is open seven days a week with hours Sunday through Thursday, 6 a.m. – 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 6 a.m. - 11 p.m. For more information, visit crackerbarrel.com.







Media contacts

For Cracker Barrel

Julie Davis / (615) 443-9266

jdavis@crackerbarrel.com



Webster & Associates, LLC

Kirt Webster / (615) 777-6995 x230

kirt@websterpr.com



For The Grascals

so much MOORE media

Martha Moore (615) 746-3994

somuchmoore@charter.net

"I Am Strong" - The Grascals