We are thrilled to announce that The Kickin Grass Band will be performing for the second year in a row at MerleFest, one of the largest music festivals in North America located in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. The band will perform on Friday April 26th and Saturday April 27th, 2013. Lynda was also asked to judge the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest. This is a wonderful festival and we are so excited to return! Thanks again to our fans and to the MerleFest staff!
The Kickin Grass Band would like to say THANK YOU to all of the wonderful DJ’s across the world that have been playing tracks from our new album, ‘Walk With Me’. The feedback has been terrific. If you are longing to hear some KGB then give your local radio station a call or email and request your favorite song! Or, better yet, you can purchase your very own copy of our albums by visiting our website, www.kickingrass.com or by going to www.amazon.com . And if that’s not good enough, you can see the band perform live this Friday night at The Haw River Ballroom in beautiful Saxapahaw, NC. This will be an amazing show with the band playing the entire album ‘Walk With Me’ from start to finish for the first set and then finishing the night up with all of your Kickin Grass favorites. We hope to see you there!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Label Contact:Katrina Lamberto, Superfan Records
Phone: (919) 272.8309
E-Mail: kgb@superfanrecords.com
Walk With Me Propels The Kickin Grass Band Beyond Bluegrass Boundaries New Album Released July 24, 2012 on Superfan Records; Features Stellar Lineup
RALEIGH,NC (June 20, 2012) – Superfan Records today announced the release of the Kickin Grass Band’s newest album, Walk With Me. This is the band’s first full-length album since 2008 and the first to feature the current lineup. The album tells a nuanced musical story of grief, exploration, hard-won acceptance and understanding as only a close-knit veteran ensemble can. Walk With Me is scheduled for release on July 24, 2012.
The Raleigh-based Kickin Grass Band is known for their unique bluegrass style—equal parts vintage and nouveau. On Walk With Me, the group delightfully stretches and builds each song beyond the edges of their firm footing in bluegrass. By following their muse down complementary paths of Old-time, Americana and folk, the Kickin Grass Band has created an album that will appeal to abroad roots music audience.
Half of the songs were penned by signature vocalist and main songwriter Lynda Dawson, with assists from newest members fiddle player Pattie Hopkins and banjo player Hank Smith. The remaining coversongs were chosen to spotlight the personalities of the individual band members, but also to play on their strength as a cohesive unit. Vocals are passed back and forth between Dawson’s soaring lead on five of the tracks, Hopkins’s bluesy sound on two, bass player Patrick Walsh’s ethereal tenor on two, and mandolin player Jamie Dawson’s retro-tinted lead on one, with tasteful harmonic seasoning throughout. Even with shifts in instrumentation, arrangement, narration and guest players, there remains a distinctive Kickin Grass Band sound that threads the tunes together, creating a colorful, mosaic tapestry of an album, and an expertly-crafted package of rootsy Americana-style bluegrass.
The band deliberately approached this project as a full-length record. Walk With Me presents an exploration of life’s passages, a close-to-home chronicle of heartbreaking loss and hopeful beginnings. Band members endured 3 years of ups and downs that started with the loss of Walsh’s wife to an excruciating battle with ovarian cancer, crested with the birth of beautiful daughter to the Dawsons, and then took another plummet with the sudden and unexpected death of Jamie Dawson’s brother.
“These were life-altering events for all of us, both individually and as bandmates and close friends,” explains Lynda Dawson. “We felt strongly that we needed to capture and express the emotional journey we had endured through our music, especially now that we’re on the other side looking back.”
To take in the album as a singular experience is to travel with the group from a questioning uncertainty to an understanding acceptance. The message: the big answers may be beyond our grasp, but our communal search for them binds us together. If you look hard enough you may just find an answer — and a comfort — in the people who walk with you.
Walk With Me was recorded and co-produced by Jerry Brown at the Rubber Room, with artwork and design by Gamil. The album will be released by Superfan Records on July 24, 2012, at iTunes, Amazon MP3, Amazon Marketplace, CD Baby, and brick and mortar stores serviced through the Super D Distribution network.
Hi-res press photos, album art and additional information at www.superfanrecords.com/kickingrass
For full review copies, more information and interviews contact:
Katrina Lamberto
Superfan Records
(919)272-8309 |kgb@superfanrecords.com
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Upcoming Kickin Grass Band shows:
06/29/2012 | Cary,NC | Page-Walker Arts & History Center Garden Featuring PineCone Bluegrass Music Camp Students
07/01/2012 | Wilmington, NC | Poplar Grove Plantation Festival
07/08/2012 | Durham, NC | Festival for the Eno
07/22/2012 | Williamston, NC | Martin County Auditorium
07/26/2012 | Raleigh, NC | Quail Ridge Books & Music *CD Release In-Store Performance & Signing*
07/27/2012 | NewBern, NC | Bear Town Market & Beer Garden *Eastern NC CD Release Show
07/28/2012 | Raleigh, NC | Pour House Music Hall *CD Release Party*
07/29/2012 | Saxapahaw, NC | Haw River Ballroom *CD Release Show*
08/03/2012 | WindGap, PA | Appalachian Fiddle & Bluegrass Festival w/special guest BeckyBuller
08/04/2012 | WindGap, PA | Appalachian Fiddle & Bluegrass Festival w/special guest BeckyBuller
08/06/2012 | Thomas, WV | The Purple Fiddle w/special guest Becky Buller
08/07/2012 | Broadway, VA | Plan B w/special guest Becky Buller
08/08/2012 | Asheville, NC | The Grey Eagle w/special guest Becky Buller
08/11/2012 | Robbinsville,NC | Stecoah Valley Performing Arts Center w/special guest Becky Buller
Additional tour details at www.kickingrass.com/tour
From The Piedmont Council of Traditional Music:
The International Bluegrass Music Association announced its plans today to move its World of Bluegrass events to Raleigh, North Carolina for the next three years, 2013-2015. World of Bluegrass Week includes the four-day IBMA Business Conference, the International Bluegrass Music Awards Show, and the three-day Bluegrass Fan Fest. The annual industry summit/bluegrass family reunion draws over 16,000 fans, artists, and music industry professionals from around the world for the week-long event, with an estimated 8,000-10,000 coming from outside the region. World of Bluegrass provides opportunities for showcasing, professional development, and networking at the largest concentrated week of powerful, live bluegrass music on the planet.
The following World of Bluegrass dates have been announced, with the option for a five- or seven-day event each year:
September 23 – 29, 2013
September 29 – October 5, 2014
September 28 – October 4, 2015
Image, from left to right: Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane; IBMA interim Executive Director Nancy Cardwell; IBMA Board of Directors Vice Chair Jon Weisberger; NC Banjo Player Terry Baucom; IBMA Board Member & Knee Deep in Bluegrass Radio Host Cindy Baucom; IBMA Board Member & PineCone Executive Director William Lewis; Raleigh Convention & Visitors Bureau CEO Denny Edwards. Photo credit: Jamie Dawson, Kickin Grass Band
Thursday April 26th- Welcome Stage 1:30pm
Friday April 27th- Welcome Stage 8:30am
Friday April 27th- Welcome Stage 11:30am
Saturday April 28th- Welcome Stage 9:15am
Saturday April 28th- Welcome Stage 1:00pm
Sunday April 29th- Welcome Stage 10:00am
Sunday April 29th- The Plaza Stage 1:45pm
The Kickin Grass Band is proud to announce that we have been chosen as featured artists of Reverbnation, yippee!! Reverbnation is the platform that we use to stay in touch with you, our fans, and industry professionals as well as other amazing musicians. If you are a musician, fan or in the biz you should check out www.reverbnation.com and become a member. Best of all, it’s Free! of course, while you are there, be sure to become a fan of the band!
In more exciting news….only 9 days till Merlefest 2012 and The Kickin Grass Band is playing! We have been working towards this opportunity for 10 years and are extremely excited! We will be welcoming festival goers at the ‘welcome stage’ next to the festival entrance area on Thursday at 1:30pm, Friday at 8:30am and 11:30am, Saturday at 9:15am and 1:00pm and Sunday at 10:00am and will also play on the Plaza stage on Sunday at 1:45pm. Check out www.merlefest.org for ticket information and details, see ya there!
In Music,
The Kickin Grass Band
www.kickingrass.com
That’s right! We are in Memphis, TN at Folk Alliance and are having a great time! Thanks to Bil VornDick, Benji Rogers, Jed Carlson, Mike Gormley and all who have lent us their time and knowledge. We are looking forward to our official showcases tomorrow starting at 9:45pm in the Nachez Room. If you are in Memphis, come on out!
And, The Kickin Grass Band is on the list!!!!
Here’s the press release from Merlefest.
WILKESBORO, N.C. (November 1, 2011) — MerleFest 25, presented by Lowe’s and slated for April 26 – 29, 2012, is proud to announce the initial lineup for the music festival’s 25th year. The four-day event, which USA Today described as a “happy, family friendly festival that’s loved by musicians who come to play and those who come to add their energy by listening, as well,” will once again take place on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. MerleFest is an annual homecoming of musicians and music fans, gathering to celebrate the memory of musician Eddy Merle Watson, beloved son of American music icon Doc Watson.
The initial lineup reflects the diversity and quality of performers that have become the hallmark of the four-day festival. MerleFest is known for its unique mix of traditional, roots-oriented music from the Appalachian region, including bluegrass and old-time music, and expanded to include Americana, blues, country, Celtic, Cajun, cowboy, zydeco, rock and many other styles that Doc Watson has referred to as “traditional plus.”
“This year’s initial lineup will bring back a little nostalgia for the core MerleFest audience, those fans who return year after year to hear the traditional sounds of roots music. We have some of the leading names in the music industry, of today and yesteryear, lined up to perform at the historic 25th festival,” says Ted Hagaman, director of the festival. “The MerleFest 25 lineup is made up of many of the artists who have helped make this festival the premier, internationally-recognized event that it has become. And, we are thrilled to welcome back that core fan base that has been with us for the ride all along… and welcome a whole new generation of fans to experience the music, moments and memories that make MerleFest so special.”
Click http://merlefest.org/content.aspx?id=7573 for the complete Line-up.
The Kickin Grass Band is thrilled to be playing the 12th Annual Desert Bluegrass Festival in Tuscon, Arizona. We arrive Friday October 28th to judge the band competition, play two sets on Staurday, hold a songwriters workshop and play one last set Sunday before heading back to Raleigh, just in time for Halloween! Boo!
We are also pleased to announce that Pine Cone (Piedmont Council for Traditional Music) and The Carolina Theatre in Durham are our partners in hosting the Kickin Grass Band 10 Year Anniversary Event January 14th at the Carolina Theatre! This is an event you won’t want to miss. Tickets are now on-sale through Ticket Master, The Carolina Theatre Box Office or Pine Cone. Check out http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0E0047439C805D70 or http://www.carolinatheatre.org for ticket information.
We are excited to be playing the Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival tomorrow, October 7th at 5:15pm. We will play on the Grove Stage. This is a wonderful music festival held twice a year in beautiful Chatham County, NC. We hope to see you there! Also, Lynda will be playing a childrens set at the Dance Tent with her new project Little Root at 3:00pm.
Here's the Shakori Hills Schedule