The concert will feature many top performers in the Bluegrass, Old Time, Celtic and Americana music. On the schedule to perform are The Lost and Found, Melvin Goins, Don Rigsby, the Darrell Webb Band, The VW Boys, Raymond McLain, Whitetop Mountain Band, No Speed Limit, the Jeanette Williams Band, Wayne Henderson and Friends, Tennessee Skyline, Sigean, The Hillbilly Gypsies, Cana Ramblers, Vinny Ringrose, and Ethan Ferguson.

The concert will be in an “Opry Style” format with bands performing two songs each. All bands are donating their time and talents to this cause. Food will be available. Sound support will be donated by Sound Check Music of Bristol, Virginia. Tickets are only available at the door. A suggested donation of $10 is appreciated to support the Forrester Family. Rita Forrester’s friends and musicians who have performed at the Fold will present this concert. For information please visit www.mountainmusicmuseum.org or call 276-645-0035.

Early on Sunday morning December 6, 2009 flames destroyed the home of Rita and Bob Forrester on the A.P. Carter Highway near Hiltons, Virginia. Rita and her son Tyler escaped the flames but Bob did not make it out alive. Rita’s oldest son Justin, who lives nearby is safe as well. Everything the family owned was lost in the fire including both of the family automobiles and a family pet.

Rita is the granddaughter of A.P. and Sara Carter of the original Carter Family and her mother was the late Janette Carter who founded the Carter Family Fold in the 1970s. Rita is the director of the Carter Family Fold, which promotes and preserves bluegrass and old time music on the grounds where the original Carter Family lived and raised their families.

Your prayers and support are desperately needed immediately to uplift and help the Forrester family at this time.

If you cannot attend the concert, an account has been set up by friends and supporters for donations. No amount is too small in this time of need for this family. Please send contributions to:

The Rita Janette Forrester Fund
c/o BB&T Bank
110 Gateway Plaza
Gate City, VA 24251

The Principles Quartet

For the better part of an hour these wonderful folks picked and sang a number of timeless Gospel tunes, each one delivered in perfect harmony and backed up by some of the finest instrumental work you’ll ever find.

Although they are billed as a quartet, there were actually 6 singers and musicians onstage, and each of them made a great contribution to the success of the evening’s performance.

If you happen to live anywhere near their northeastern Tennessee home, I highly recommend that you check out one of their performances. And even if you don’t, they do a fair amount of traveling so there is a good chance they’ll be coming to a church or event near you!

Click here for more information about The Principles Quartet.

One of Bluegrass Music’s brightest stars, Rhonda and her outstanding band tour the world throughout the year, bringing their amazing blend of powerful vocals and lively instrumental work to small towns and big cities, and they are always welcomed by standing-room-only crowds of devoted fans.

This will be Rhonda’s second appearance on “Song Of The Mountains”, and if it’s anything like the first one, it will surely be a night of great fun and wonderful family entertainment! “Song Of The Mountains” is taped at the beautiful and historic Lincoln Theatre in Marion, Virginia – smack dab in the center of the region where Bluegrass Music was born and plays such an important role in our daily lives.

More information can be found on these websites:

Rhonda Vincent
Song Of The Mountains
The Lincoln Theatre
Marion, VA

All of the songs featured on the CD were written by well-known writers/performers of Gospel and Country music including Bill and Gloria Gaither, Dottie Rambo, Larry Gatlin, Jim Ed Brown and Sonya Isaacs.

The Isaacs sing with a level of enthusiasm and perfectly blended family harmonies that are rarely matched in the genre, and on “Naturally: An almost a cappella collection”  those amazing harmonies come through loud and clear without having to compete with a lot of background instrumentals. If you enjoy hearing Bluegrass Gospel performed at its most masterful level, you owe it to yourself to check out this wonderful CD.

For more information on The Isaacs and “Naturally: An almost a cappella collection”, click here to visit their website.

As one of the most successful entertainers in music history, Ricky has performed alongside and been backed up by some of the most accomplished musicians on the planet. But on Songs My Dad Loved he lays it all on the line by going it alone with nothing but his own talents and charisma to keep his legion of fans captivated and well entertained. My guess is he’ll do it exceptionally well.

Songs My Dad Loved is scheduled for nationwide release on September 15.

Although Bluegrass singers and musicians are among the most talented in the business, most of them find it almost impossible to achieve the level of commercial success enjoyed by their counterparts who work in other genres. The few who have managed to break out and achieve fame and fortune have done it primarily by branching out into Bluegrass’ closest “relative”: Country Music.

Several of Country’s biggest stars began their musical careers in Bluegrass including Keith Whitley, Marty Stuart, Ricky Skaggs, Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, Patty Loveless, Alison Krauss and others. Many of these fine performers returned to their Bluegrass roots after becoming Country Music stars.

The video below features Alison Krauss and Union Station performing “A Living Prayer” on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Everyone who holds even a passing interest in Bluegrass is very familiar with Rhonda and her amazing vocal and instrumental talents as well as her numerous accomplishments in the business. Well, now her daughters Sally & Tensel Sandker are ready to make their own marks on the world of music.

(L-R) Sally Sandker – Dan Salyer – Tensel Sandker

For the first time in months, Cheria and I had an opportunity to attend last Thursday’s Pickin’ Porch Show where we enjoyed an absolutely fantastic show featuring these two extremely talented young ladies and their band The Next Best Thing. For over an hour we sat watching and listening as they picked and sang one great Bluegrass and Classic Country song after another as well as several of their own original tunes. And every one of them was performed to perfection!

Who knows what the future holds for these wonderful young entertainers, but it’s quite clear that their famous mom passed on more than enough of her talent to enable them to go just as far as they choose to go in the music business.