The Scene IBMA Awards: Final Nominations    Grasstowne has been nominated for the Emerging Artist of the Year award and Jason Davis' solo project, "Steppin' Out," has bean nominated for Instrumental Album of the Year.  Also, Phil Leadbetter gets a nomination for Dobro Player of the Year.  The IBMA awards show will be held at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, October 2nd, 2008.     IBMA Awards: Round 2    The 2nd round IBMA candidate nominations are in. We REALLY need your votes to get to the final ballot. Grasstowne is eligible in almost all categories. Please remember, this is ONLY 2nd round, and not the final ballot: ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR SONG OF THE YEAR ("DIXIE FLYER") ALBUM OF THE YEAR ("THE ROAD HEADIN' HOME") INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR / JASON DAVIS ("STEPPIN' OUT") EMERGING ARTIST OF THE YEAR MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR / STEVE GULLEY BANJO PLAYER OF THE YEAR / JASON DAVIS BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR / JAMEY BOOHER DOBRO PLAYER OF THE YEAR / PHIL LEADBETTER GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR / STEVE GULLEY MANDOLIN PLAYER OF THE YEAR / ALAN BIBEY Please give us consideration when filling out your 2nd round ballots. You MUST be a professional member of the IBMA to vote. If you are not, you can join the IBMA at: http://www.ibma.org Thanks for all the support of the band!!!! "Roads" CD #1 Again!   "The Road Headin' Home" has once again hit the number #1 spot on another music chart. This time it is The Roots Music Report which is a huge chart for roots music. The album has been on this chart for nearly a year, but just moved to the #1 spot last week.      New Sponsor Announced   We are very proud to announce that we are now a proud sponsor of KEL Microphones.  KEL Mics are made in Canada, and are the best mics we have ever used.  We are very happy to be working with KEL Audio.   SPBGMA Award Nominees Announced   The SPBGMA nominations have been announced for 2008, and Grasstowne shows up in 11 categories! VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR BLUEGRASS BAND OF THE YEAR GOSPEL GROUP OF THE YEAR (Contemporary) ALBUM OF THE YEAR (The Road Headin' Home) SONG OF THE YEAR (Dixie Flyer) MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR (Steve)  BANJO PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Jason)  BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Jamey) DOBRO PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Phil) MANDOLIN PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Alan) The awards show will be held on Sunday, February 3rd in Nashville, TN.   All SPBGMA Nominees for 2008   Solo Project From Jason Davis   Jason Davis' new CD, "Steppin' Out" from Pinecastle Records is now available for purchase in the Sound Gallery!  Mp3 samples are also available!    Also, check out the Bluegrass Blog article here.   "Road" CD Tops Charts!   The #1 bluegrass CD in America is "The Road Headin' Home!!" After just four months on the Bluegrass Unlimited charts, the CD has taken over the top spot for December!  The single "Dixie Flyer" has moved up to #5.   GT Welcomes New Sponsors!   We are very happy to have Dunlop USA and Saga as new sponsors of Grasstowne.  Both of these are major musical supply companies and are both known worldwide.  Please check their websites and support them if you can.  We are looking forward to a long relationship with both of them. A Few Of Our Sponsors At IBMA   We would like to invite all our fans to visit the GHS Strings / ETA Bluegrass Cruise booth during IBMA Week in Nashville, TN. Come by and find out why you need to join us on this once in a lifetime criuse on the world's largest cruise ship! New Segment - Road Journal  GT would like to invite you to stop by their new "Road Journal" section where you can read first-hand "road reports!"  Visit by clicking here or use the menu to the left.   Gulley CD Makes Chart Debut At #4 Steve Gulley's solo project, "Sounds Like Home," has debuted at #4 on the Roots Music Report and this week (8/19) has moved up to the #3 spot.   Phil Leadbetter Nominated For IBMA Award Uncle Phil has once again been nominated for the Dobro Player of the Year award!  The IBMA Awards show will be held in Nashville, TN on October 4th and hosted by Sam Bush.  The show will once again be broadcast LIVE by XM Satellite Radio. "Road" CD In Stores Now! The new Grasstowne CD "The Road Headin' Home" is in stores and available everywhere really good music is sold!  The project, along with others, is also available here in the City Limits.  Visit the Sound Gallery to get your copy today!! Grasstowne Enters BMP Charts At #1 The new Grasstowne CD has debuted on the Bluegrass Music Profiles Chart at #1 and the single "Dixie Flyer" has debuted at #2. The CD is scheduled for release on 8/7.  Second Round List Of Award Candidates Grasstowne has made it to round 2 of the IBMA Awards balloting process in many categories: VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR EMERGING ARTIST OF THE YEAR MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR:   STEVE GULLEY BANJO PLAYER OF THE YEAR:   JASON DAVIS BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR:   JAMEY BOOHER DOBRO PLAYER OF THE YEAR:   PHIL LEADBETTER MANDOLIN PLAYER OF THE YEAR:   ALAN BIBEY The 2nd round will determine the final nominees in each category.  We will have further updates as the process rolls on. "The Road Headin' Home" Is Headin' Towards You! Grasstowne's new CD "The Road Headin' Home" is now available to ship.  All orders placed prior to today (April 28) will be shipped ASAP!   This project is only available at the web site or at all concerts beginning May 4th. The actual street date is Aug. 7th, 2007.  1500 copies were sent out to radio yesterday and should be in the rotations early next week.   Grasstowne Set To Perform At Fanfest 2007 Grasstowne has been selected to perform at this year's IBMA Fanfest on October 5th during the 2007 World Of Bluegrass event in Nashville, TN.  They have also been selected as a "Showcase" band!  The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) hosts a week long series of events each year that include a four day business conference, the Bluegrass Music Awards Show, and the Bluegrass Fanfest.  This year's festivities will take place October 1 - October 7.   Jamey Booher Joins Grasstowne Grasstowne welcomes its new bass player to towne!  Jamey Booher will join the group beginning April 9th and will be the permanent upright acoustic bass player.  Jamey resides in East Tennessee. You can read more about Jamey in the Players section. New Sponsor Announced Grasstowne's latest sponsor to come on board is one of the best cabin rental providers in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee.  Sunset Cottage Rentals can help with all of your cabin/condo rental needs with over 250 units.  Please stop by their web site for a visit and you'll see what we mean! Welcome aboard Sunset!!   Jason Davis Solo Project Jason Davis is in the studio working on a new banjo solo CD for Pinecastle. He is recording at Riverside Audio in NC. The CD should be completed sometime this summer. Also, Jason will be on the cover of an upcoming issue of Banjo Newsletter. Hear Dixie Flyer.... Right Now!   Check out the new Pinecastle web site and get a listen to Dixie Flyer by Grasstowne!! The Road Headin' Home That will be the title of the new CD that is currently being mixed and should hit the streets in June. Photography work has been completed by photographer Christian Lange. Stay tuned to this site for more info as it becomes available! Grasstowne Single Sent To Satellite Radio "Dixie Flyer" from the new Grasstowne CD has been mixed and shipped to Sirius and XM Radio. It will also be shipped to Prime Cuts Of Bluegrass to be included in their May edition. Gulley's Solo Project Coming In April "Sounds Like Home" will be released to the public on April 17th. Originally set for a February release, the new CD will now have a chance to be promoted to radio and retail outlets. Grasstowne In March Edition Of BMP  Phil Leadbetter and Steve Gulley talk to Bluegrass Music Profiles magazine about forming the new band and what fans can expect.   Meet Lizzie Lou!  Grasstowne Mascot? On their way to Bloomingdale, GA to see Grasstowne in concert, the Ross' bought a new puppy. A cute little dog at that! Once the guys took the stage and broke into "Lizzie Lou", the little puppy had a name! Jimmy Ross says, "This photo was just after her first bluegrass concert and she was named during Grasstowne's first song 'Lizzie Lou'. Thanks guys!" Alan Bibey Mandolin Player Of The Year  Congrats to the 2007 Mando Player of the Year, Alan Bibey! Alan picked up the award Feb. 4th in Nashville, TN at the 33rd annual SPBGMA Awards Ceremony.     In The Studio!  The band will be in the studio this week (1/15) to begin recording for their first project.  This CD should be released in June and available to radio by May.  Stay tuned here and in the Towne Forum for updates!    Grasstowne Members Part Of All-Star Jam Steve and Phil will be performing at the 2nd Annual "Pickin At The Paramount" which will take place at The Paramount Theater in Bristol, TN on January 20th 2007. The all-star jam features many of today's best known musicians and singers. More info at: http://www.bluegrassroad.com/news.htm Pinecastle Records Signs Grasstowne Grasstowne signed a 3 project deal with Pinecastle Records last week.   Leadbetter had this to say; "We are very excited to get things rolling! Pinecastle has always been good to me during my career, and they have been the same with Alan. It just seems like the natural place to be. They have a great staff, and are working hard to be one of the top bluegrass labels ever. We sure appreciate their interest in us, and also the priority they have given to this new group!"   Grasstowne will be working on their first project in early January, and should have it out by festival season. Looking like a release sometime in late June. Stay tuned for more details!! Grasstowne Hires Banjo Player Jason Davis One week after forming the new band Leadbetter, Bibey, and Gulley bring in Jason Davis to play banjo.   Jason is from Ford, VA and has worked with Bibey in the past.   You can learn more about Jason in the "Players" section.   The four musicians got together on Dec. 14th to make it official and hold a rehearsal.