Jul

Haven't seen the new video? Click on the picture to watch video.

 

Jul

Listening to a Grascals album is as emotionally cleansing as getting drunk with your therapist. There's always that bracing balance between abandon and introspection and the feeling afterward that something transformative has happened.

Certainly that's the case with the band's fourth collection, The Famous Lefty Flynn's. As in projects past, Lefty is an alluring amalgam of pop, country, gospel and straight-on bluegrass.

The Grascals current configuration includes four founding members, Jamie Johnson, Danny Roberts, Terry Smith and Terry Eldredge, and two more recent additions, the brilliant fiddler Jeremy Abshire and the award-winning banjoist Kristin Scott Benson.

Like the Osborne Brothers, their beloved musical godfathers, the Grascals stand apart from other bluegrass groups in their willingness -- nay, eagerness -- to take chances. Their lead single (and music video) from Lefty is a propulsive workup of the 1966 Monkees pop hit, "Last Train to Clarksville." Then there's the polar opposite, a heart shattering version of Steve Earle's "My Old Friend the Blues."

Jul

Grascals also set to headline 26th Annual MACC Festival on Wednesday;
23rd Annual Country Rendez-Vous Festival in France Friday

Nashville, TN -- The Grascals' version of the classic '60s pop smash, "The Last Train To Clarksville" is set to premiere worldwide on AOL Music / The Boot (http://www.theboot.com/) today. The video for their current country and bluegrass radio single was directed by Marcel Chagnon (Clay Walker's "She Won't Be Lonely Long"), and was filmed at several Nashville locations in late June.

"We are always looking for ways to bring our music to the people," says Grascals vocalist Jamie Johnson.  "This is a historic day for bluegrass music.  With the premiere of our video, this is the first-time ever AOL has premiered a bluegrass artist's music video and we are honored to be able to be the first."

A bright 1966 Dodge van co-stars with the band and is featured throughout the video. Quick close-ups of each Grascal, mixed with fast-frame action, keep the tempo pumping. Director Marcel's choice of 12 and 48 frames-per-second shooting give the final edit an intentional, stop-motion feel reminiscent of 1960s and '70s home movies, mixed with modern elements.

The single, the first release from their newest CD, THE FAMOUS LEFTY FLYNN'S, shipped to country radio in June, but is already a proven hit on the bluegrass charts.  "Last Train To Clarksville" currently holds the #2 spot on the Bluegrass Music Profiles July Chart and is #20, on the July Bluegrass Unlimited Chart. THE FAMOUS LEFTY FLYNN'S is currently #3 on the BILLBOARD Top Bluegrass Albums Chart,  #2 on the Bluegrass Unlimited Chart and #1 on the Bluegrass Music Profiles Top 10 National Bluegrass CD Chart.

Grascals On Tour
The Grascals will open the 26th Annual Musician's Against Childhood Cancer (MACC) Festival (also known as the Bluegrass Classic) in Lockbourne (Columbus), Ohio on Wednesday, July 21st  (http://www.bluegrassclassic.com/).  Friday, July 23rd they will headline the 23rd Annual Country Rendez-Vous Festival in Craponne-sur-Arzon, France (http://www.festivaldecraponne.com).

Jul

By John Dunn
Times Record (Fort Smith, AR) •  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it • http://www.swtimes.com/

Unlike its country cousin, bluegrass has more clearly defined parameters that have kept it largely unaltered for seven decades.

That's not to say bluegrass is a stagnant genre. Because its borders have not been breached by outside forces (i.e., pop music, fads, marketing trends) as country music's walls have been, doesn't mean bluegrass is stuck in a sepia-toned yesteryear. On the contrary, bluegrass, much like jazz (also an acquired taste for many), remains dynamic and ever-evolving. It's as open today to experimentation (within reason) as when the Osborne Brothers featured drums and electric instruments on their 1968 top-40 recording of "Rocky Top." Shortly thereafter, "newgrass" pioneers - like New Grass Revival - borrowed heavily from rock, jazz and blues for their repertoires, without losing traditional bluegrass' driving, high, lonesome sound.

Count The Infamous Stringdusters and The Grascals among contemporary bluegrass bands that pay homage to bluegrass' roots and craftily push the envelope without bursting the bluegrass bubble. The Stringdusters' third disc, "Things That Fly," is an ambitious work that attempts to broaden the band's scope with a strong dose of progressivism.

Jul

HANK WILLIAMS, JR. to be joined by various artists including JAMEY JOHNSON, ERIC CHURCH, GRETCHEN WILSON, LEE BRICE, COLT FORD, JOSH THOMPSON, SUNNY SWEENEY and THE GRASCALS

Nashville, TN- Country music icon Hank Williams Jr. announces the continuation of The Rowdy Friends Tour with a variety of special guests to join him on stage including Jamey Johnson, Eric Church, Colt Ford, Gretchen Wilson, Lee Brice, Josh Thompson, Sunny Sweeney and The Grascals. The shows will start in Evansville, Indiana, on September 17th, and will conclude in Raleigh, North Carolina, on October 23rd.

Sept 17 - Evansville, IN - Roberts Stadium - w/ Eric Church, and Sunny Sweeney

Sept 18 - Roanoke, VA - Roanoke Civic Center - w/ Eric Church and Sunny Sweeney

Sept 24 - New Orleans, LA - New Orleans Arena - w/ Eric Church, Gretchen Wilson, and Lee Brice

Sept 25 - Macon, GA - Macon Coliseum - w/ Gretchen Wilson and Lee Brice

Oct 1 - Birmingham, AL - BJCC Arena - w/ Jamey Johnson, Colt Ford, Josh Thompson, and The Grascals

Oct 2 - Little Rock, AR - Verizon Wireless Arena - w/ Jamey Johnson, Colt Ford, Josh Thompson and The Grascals

Oct 8 - Columbus, OH - Schottenstein Center - w/ Jamey Johnson, Colt Ford, Josh Thompson, and The Grascals

Oct 9 - Fairfax, VA - Patriot Center - w/ Jamey Johnson, Colt Ford, and Josh Thompson

Oct 15 - Southaven, MS - DeSoto Civic Center - w/ Jamey Johnson, Colt Ford, Josh Thompson, and The Grascals

Oct 16 - Jackson, MS - Mississippi Coliseum - w/ Jamey Johnson, Colt Ford, Josh Thompson, and The Grascals

Oct 22 - Reading, PA - Sovereign Center - w/ Jamey Johnson, Colt Ford, and Josh Thompson

Oct 23 - Raleigh, NC - R.B.C. Center - w/ Jamey Johnson, Colt Ford, and Josh Thompson

Tickets for the shows announced will go on sale throughout July and August, check local venue box office locations as well as TicketMaster.com and TicketMaster locations.

The Rowdy Friends Tour 2010 is co-produced by Red Mountain Entertainment and Blue Deuce Entertainment.

Jul

Jamie Johnson, Danny Roberts, Dierks Bentley, J.D. Crowe, Kristin Scott Benson,
Terry Smith, Jeremy Abshire and Terry Eldredge photo by DLIMAGE/DL-IMAGE.COM

From Country Weekly,  published July 12, 2010 by Bob Paxman

The Grascals took hold of the stage, Thursday, July 8, for Spring Mountain Farms Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman in Nashville and blazed through a more than 90-minute set that featured both individual and group virtuosity, doses of good humor and a couple of unexpected surprise moments.

Following their stellar opening act, J.D. Crowe and the New South, the six-member Grascals-lead vocalist Jamie Johnson, guitarist Terry Eldredge, banjo player Kristin Scott Benson, fiddler Jeremy Abshire, mandolin player Danny Roberts and upright bassist Terry Smith-served up selections from their latest album, The Famous Lefty Flynn's, along with past favorites like "Me and John and Paul" and "Keep On Walkin'." The group does a sterling job of mixing up the selections and segueing seamlessly from one tune to another. Plus, each member gets the chance to show their instrumental solo prowess, from the tasteful picking of Kristin Scott Benson to the revved-up mandolin playing of Danny Roberts and a lesson in slap bass by Terry Smith.

Jul

Jul

(Pictured l-r at Riverstone Farm) -The Grascals- Jamie Johnson, Kristin Scott Benson, Terry Smith, Terry Eldredge, Danny Roberts and Jeremy Abshire (Credit: Martha Moore).

 

Jul

There are no new albums entering the chart this period, but three CDs have returned: Rodney Atkins' It's America (back at No. 59), the Grascals' The Famous Lefty Flynn's (No. 61) and Brantley Gilbert's A Modern Day Prodigal Son (No. 68).

Read the full article on cmt

Jul

Shoot Video for “Last Train To Clarksville” during epic heat wave

Nashville, TN — The Grascals kept their cool as a 100-plus degree heat wave hovered over the mid-state during an all-day video shoot for their current country and bluegrass radio single, “Last Train To Clarksville.” Directed by Marcel Chagnon (Clay Walker’s “She Won’t Be Lonely Long”), the piece was filmed at several locations, including Cummins Station/The Gulch, Lower Broadway and at Franklin, Tennessee’s Riverstone Farm.