VIA PRESS RELEASE | Bluegrass Now! to premiere nationally on PBS through March 2020. Debuts on February 29, check local listings for air date specific to each market.
Ever since Bill Monroe stormed out of Kentucky 75 years ago with a hot new take on traditional tunes, bluegrass music’s metric drive and high lonesome sound has thrilled and inspired audiences around the world. That bluegrass high energy and soulfulness was captured live in December of 2019 at the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky for Bluegrass Now!, a nationally televised PBS special premiering Saturday, February 29. Featuring hosts Rhonda Vincent and Jim Lauderdale and an all-star cast, Bluegrass Now! is a masterful homage to bluegrass across genre, gender, and generations.
Bluegrass Now! features performances reflecting the many facets of bluegrass music as performed by an array of today’s leading artists. Hosts Rhonda Vincent and Jim Lauderdale welcome Alison Brown, Becky Buller, Dan Tyminski, Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, Missy Raines, Molly Tuttle, and Bluegrass Hall-of-Famer Larry Sparks into the theater at the beautiful Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum.
Featuring full band performances, Bluegrass Now! presents rare and dynamic vocal pairings coupled with instrumental duets showcasing masters of art and instrument. “This feels like a homecoming as many of today’s most prominent bluegrass artists make a pilgrimage back to the source of the music to document their own musical journeys,” remarked Chris Joslin, Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum Executive Director. “If bluegrass music is Kentucky’s gift to the world, Bluegrass Now! feels like Christmas morning.” From stunning up and comers to beloved Hall of Famers, Bluegrass Now! celebrates musical milestones and the breadth of the genre.
“Excitement continues to build on the successful first year of the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum,” said Mark Calitri, president of Visit Owensboro. “Hosting this nationally televised PBS special event drives home the message that Owensboro is Kentucky’s music city.” Bluegrass Now! is produced by Todd Jarrell (Bluegrass Underground, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band 50th Anniversary, Havana Time Machine, Songwriting With Soldiers) and underwritten by Kentucky Department of Tourism and the Marilyn and William Young Foundation.
Bluegrass Now! features the following performances:
“Muleskinner Blues” – Rhonda Vincent & The Rage
“Like I Could” – Rhonda Vincent & The Rage
“Take Me Back to West Virginia” – Larry Sparks w/ The Rage
“High on Kentucky” – Dan Tyminski
“I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow”– Dan Tyminski
“Iodine” – Jim Lauderdale w/ Becky Buller
“I Feel Like Singing Today” – Jim Lauderdale w/ Alison Brown, Becky Buller
“Girls’ Breakdown” – Alison Brown, Becky Buller, Missy Raines, Molly Tuttle & Rhonda Vincent
“Allegheny Town” – Missy Raines w/ Alison Brown, Becky Buller, Missy Raines, Molly Tuttle & Rhonda Vincent
“Shiver” – Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen
“Mountain Heartache” – Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
“Son of a Ramblin’ Man” – Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
“Henryville” – Becky Buller w/ Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
“The High Road” – Molly Tuttle
“Take the Journey” – Molly Tuttle
“Swing Low Sweet Chariot” – All Star Finale
