I’m Leaving Lonesome in the Rearview is his latest for Mountain Home Music, the first release since his most recent album, Lonesome Trails and Tall Tales.

Darren says that he likes this new track, if he does say so himself.

“I’m very proud of Leaving Lonesome in the Rearview. It’s another leaving song from the minds of Charles Humphrey III and myself — a great midtempo bluegrass song with Kristin Scott Benson and Deanie Richardson leading the charge musically, and my band mates, Kevin Sluder and Avery Welter, blistering the harmony vocals as always.

I’ve always heard when respect is no longer being served, it’s time to get up from the table. That’s the story in this breakup song. Hope you all enjoy this ‘down in the middle’ bluegrass offering!”

It’s brilliant cut, as we have come to expect from Nicholson since his exit from Balsam Range four years ago.

Give it a listen.

I’m Leaving Lonesome in the Rearview is available now from popular download and streaming services online, and to radio programmers via AirPlay Direct.

The post Leaving Lonesome in the Rearview from Darren Nicholson appeared first on Bluegrass Today.

OK… not really, but the Real Estate Investment Trust, Ryman Hospitality Properties, which controls the Opry Entertainment Group, owners of the Opry, the Ryman Auditorium, WSM Radio, and other properties in Nashville, has contracted with Morgan Stanley & Co to examine the possibility of selling its 70% share in the companies.

With such a large majority share in the offing, the price tag is thought to be in the one to one-and-a-half billion dollar range, so check your retirement funds to see if you might be in the running to own some of the most valuable commodities in the country and bluegrass music world.

The REIT isn’t directly saying that their shares are for sale, but is definitely sending out feelers that it is open to selling or exchanging them.

New ownership could have a major impact on tourism in Nashville, and the legacy of such long established brands. One never knows if such a change would be for good or ill, or if the possible sale reflects strength or weakness in this sector.

We will keep an eye on this, and report what we can find as the process plays out.

The post Grand Ole Opry/Ryman Properties on the market appeared first on Bluegrass Today.

Following the death of co-founder and longtime CEO Mickey Gamble in April, Crossroads Music has announced new leadership for the business and its associated record labels: Horizon Records, Sonlite Records, Mountain Home Music Company, and Organic Records.

Scott Wagner has been named President/CEO and Jon Weisberger Chairman of the Board, dividing Gamble’s overseeing of the company across their two desks. Both have years of experience in different aspects of the music industry, and look forward to carrying on the success that Crossroads had seen under Mickey’s leadership.

Wagner has two decades of experience with the company, and more years in the record business before joining them. He has served as Senior Vice President, Vice President of Sales and Label Operations, and Director of Sales at Pamplin Music Group, and as a National Account Executive for WEA Christian. Scott also held the positions of Regional Sales and Marketing Director at EMI Christian (now Capitol Christian) and Territory Representative at Spectra Distribution.

He says that he intends to pursue the same ethic that has been followed for years at the company.

“Crossroads has always had a commitment to great music, great artists, lasting relationships, and forward thinking. As we look ahead, I’m focused on continuing that legacy and creating opportunities for the next generation of artists and industry leaders. I’m excited to continue to work alongside our team as we build on our strong foundation.”

Weisberger’s time in music has been on the performing and songwriting side, and as a studio producer, broadcaster, and journalist. He has twice been named the IBMA Songwriter of the year, and has a Grammy nomination on his list of credits. For 16 years Jon played bass for Chris Jones & The Night Drivers, and served 11 years on the Board of Directors of the IBMA. He came onboard at Crossroads in 2019 as A&R Director.

Jon says that he hopes to follow Gamble’s lead with this new title.

“Mickey Gamble, who held both of these positions, was a commanding figure, not only at Crossroads but in the wider bluegrass and southern gospel worlds. Among other things, he believed strongly in music’s ability to foster community, building a company committed to supporting a wide-ranging roster — a family, he often said — of legends, leaders and developing artists in the southern gospel, bluegrass, folk and Americana fields. Like Scott, I look forward to continuing that work with the talented and dedicated people we have here at Crossroads.”

More information about Crossroads Music can be found online.

The post New leadership for Crossroads Music appeared first on Bluegrass Today.

Many thanks to the team at the Bill Monroe Music Park & Campground in Bean Blossom, IN for sharing these photos from the 60th annual Bill Monroe Bluegrass Festival, held June 17-20 last month.

They report a record turnout for 2026 despite rough weather the first day, with blue skies dominating the rest of the week. In change of audio were David and Traci Chichester of GBS Sound, with attendees praising the stage sound, and everyone enjoying the selection of food trucks on site.

Staff and management at the Park hope everyone will check out their four annual festival events, and make plans to join them this year or next.

The post Photos from Bean Blossom 2026 appeared first on Bluegrass Today.

Through the years, he served internships as a sideman, working for a time with Melanie Canon and with Larry Stephenson, but has elected since to focus on his own career under his name, primarily recording what he has composed.

Recently signed with Mountain Fever Records, Slaughter has a new single, Child of the Mountain, which he wrote with Tim Stafford.

A native of Florida, now living in Alabama, he notes the irony of his passion for the Appalachian region, something he developed while in graduate school in southwestern Virginia.

“I have a kinship with the mountains, though I didn’t grow up in Virginia or the Carolinas, and I believe that the mountains get inside your soul and really provide a direction to your life. I brought this idea to Tim Stafford, and he jumped on it, and being one of my favorite writers, he did what he does best.”

Shannon sings lead and plays guitar, supported by Ronald Inscore on mandolin, Trevor Watson on banjo, Michael Cleveland on fiddle, Gary Hultman on reso-guitar, and Cliff Bailey on bass. Trevor and Cliff provide the harmony vocals.

It’s a thoughtful song, as you would expect from these two, tastefully and impeccably performed.

Have a listen.

Child of the Mountain is available now from popular download and streaming services online, and to radio programmers via AirPlay Direct.

The post Child of the Mountain from Shannon Slaughter appeared first on Bluegrass Today.

The IBMA Foundation, the philanthropic, educational, and academic side of the International Bluegrass Music Association, has announced two new members of its Board of Directors.

Celebrated artist Sierra Hull and educator Dr. Obie Paul Byrum have both joined the Board, and Trisha Tubbs, president and board chair of the Foundation, says that the Board is delighted to have them.

“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Sierra and Paul to our leadership team. Sierra’s historic artistic achievements and deep roots in our community inspire music lovers worldwide, and Paul’s extensive background in global operations, strategy, and non-profit committee work provides invaluable expertise. We are grateful to have them join our Board of Directors. Their leadership will be vital as we continue to grow and work toward a brighter future for bluegrass music, advancing our efforts in bluegrass education, arts and culture, literary work, and historic preservation.”

The Foundation provided these thumbnail biographies of the new Directors.

Sierra Hull is widely regarded to be a master of her instrument; A six-time GRAMMY nominated artist and songwriter, recognized for her most recent projects, A Tip Toe High Wire (2025), 25 Trips (2020) and Weighted Mind (2016), she is also the seven time recipient of IBMA’s Mandolin Player of the Year, the first woman to ever receive this distinction. A pioneer for acoustic music throughout her already impressive multi-decade career, she has graced the country’s most iconic stages, including Carnegie Hall, the Grand Ole Opry, and the White House. Her virtuosic abilities have garnered respect from genre-defining trailblazers, friends, and collaborators such as Alison Krauss, Sturgill Simpson, Eric Clapton, Dolly Parton, Béla Fleck, Steve Martin, Brandi Carlile, Dave Matthews, Cory Wong, Billy Strings and more. Originally hailing from Byrdstown, Tennessee, her unique sound is rooted in bluegrass, and she is widely considered one of acoustic music’s most inventive artists.

Obie Paul Byrum, Ph.D., is a Professor of Practice, Management, and Supply Chain at East Tennessee State University, where he teaches strategy, leadership, and supply chain courses. He also brings senior executive leadership experience in global sourcing, operations, compliance across multinational organizations, strategic planning, risk management, and governance. Paul currently serves on the IBMA Foundation’s Arnold Shultz Fund Advisory Committee and is an alumnus of the 2011 Leadership Bluegrass class. He founded WoodSongs Dalton, a community-based concert series supporting charitable causes.  A longtime bluegrass supporter and musician, he enjoys playing banjo, upright bass, and mountain dulcimer and has been active in community-based music initiatives.

They join the current Board of Directors, which includes:

• Kissy Black
• Sam Blumenthal
• Katy Daley
• Laurie Greenburg
• Susan Newberry
• Matthew Royles
• Mona Salyer
• Mark Schuster
• Alan Tompkins
• Trisha Tubbs
• Paul Schiminger
• Lillian Werbin
• John Young

The Foundation is managed day-today by Executive Director Cassie Wright.

In a recent statement, the Board also expressed their gratitude to outgoing Directors who have reached their maximum length of term, Wendy Tyner, Michael Hall, and Peter Salovey.

More information about the IBMA Foundation, its valuable work, and how you can donate to keep it going, may be found online.

The post IBMA Foundation welcomes new Board members appeared first on Bluegrass Today.

The 5^th annual Abingdon Fiddlers Convention continued on Saturday, June 25, with youth individual and band competitions beginning at 11:00 a.m. Following the awards ceremony for the youth contestants, various adult competition categories began and continued through the afternoon and evening.

G. Nicholas Hancock was on hand to capture some of those activities and other scenes with his camera. 

The post Even more photos from the 2026 Abingdon Fiddlers Convention appeared first on Bluegrass Today.

Heard that one before?

Well, that’s the story of Summer Brooke Morgan, née McMahan, of Mountain Faith. She started out as a precocious teen singer and fiddler with her dad, brother, and cousin beside her when Mountain Faith launched from Sylva, NC in 2000. Her vocal talent quickly won her and the band renown, with record contracts and touring opportunities laid before them.

Their’s made for a perfect small town success story, as Summer, her brother Brayden, and her dad, Sam, all worked during the day at the family’s tire shop and convenience store in Sylva, and they cleaned up and headed out on the weekends to sing bluegrass and bluegrass gospel music.

Then in 2015, an audition for America’s Got Talent on NBC brought them national attention, as did several subsequent weeks on the show, where they played grassed-up arrangements of pop hits. Their obvious musical skills, together with the charm of their story, made them an instant hit, and even after being eliminated from the show, Summer and Mountain Faith found themselves on big stages that had never been open to them before.

There they were performing the national anthem at NFL games; Summer hired on as a sideline reporter with ESPN. Everything was moving fast.

Once COVID shut things down in 2020, the band dissolved and Summer began recording as a solo artist. Then in 2022, she and Chace Morgan were married, and a daughter, Winslie, came in 2025. Touring was off the table for a time.

But Summer is back, as is Mountain Faith, with a new single, one she wrote about the storytelling tradition in her family.

We’ll let her tell the tale.

“After coming off the road in 2020, I never fully felt ‘finished.’ Over the last five years I have found myself dreaming of performing again. I’ve missed it terribly, and am so thankful for the opportunities that have opened up so far!

The latest song I’ve released is called I Come From Storytellers. It’s so special to me. Every word is true.

I was sitting there one day thinking about all of the different storytellers throughout my family history. My grandpa told us stories every night by a lamp in the living room when we would stay with them way up in the mountains. All the women in my family wrote stories that had been passed down, and always wrote sentences on the back of pictures so no one would ever forget where the picture was from/what was going on that day. I had great aunts that also wrote stories on behalf of others and some that even wrote music!

That must be where my storytelling came from, I just tell them in a different way! That’s what that song talks about.

I have more new music to come, and I’ll still be traveling with the Mountain Faith guys!”

It’s a lovely song, full of family reminiscences, so if you’ve enjoyed Summer’s music in the past, this one will grab you as well.

Check it out.

I Come From Storytellers is available now from popular download and streaming services online. Radio programmers may contact Summer via Facebook for an airplay copy.

The post I Come From Storytellers from Summer Brooke appeared first on Bluegrass Today.

The opening track Good Ol USA, was co-written by Kody along with Larry Chunn. With its catchy melody and bouncy rhythm, this song is symbolic of one’s patriotism. It also serves as the introduction for the current lineup of the Kody Norris Show, which consists of Kody on guitar, Mary Rachel Nalley-Norris on fiddle and mandolin, Charlie Lowman on bass, and Hayden “Jim” Hensley on banjo. Jason Barie also guests on this project providing twin fiddling to Mary Rachel.

The title song Spirit of America was penned by the late Aubrey Holt. From its narrative revolving around the working class people of this country, this is an excellent example of Holt’s ability to tell a story through song.

Pretty much all of the Kody Norris Show’s releases carry great examples of Kody as an interpreter of favorites within the traditional bluegrass canon. A Purple Heart by Curly Seckler is a perfect case in point. Norris delivers the song with strong conviction, making it one of the high points of this recording.

Declaration of Independence is a stout instrumental written by Mary Rachel. With incredible fiddle work from her and Michael Cleveland as well as driving banjo from Ron Stewart, this is a really captivating tune.

The last two tracks, Battle of New Orleans and Do Unto Others, are both fun in different ways. The former by Jimmie Driftwood was a massive country hit for Johnny Horton in 1959 and is performed here with great gusto. As with several other selections on this project, Gregg Lohman is featured on percussion. The latter by James Randolph is a fast paced number with a great message about how each one of us should treat our fellow man.

In a time where the USA is filled with division, strife, and uncertainty, The Kody Norris Show has brought forward a vibrant collection of music that gives us all a reason to celebrate.

The post Spirit of America – The Kody Norris Show appeared first on Bluegrass Today.

A few years ago, I suggested the playing of Mad Libs, specifically Mad Libs with a bluegrass theme. If you’re not familiar with Mad Libs, it’s a word game that has been around for decades. You buy booklets which contain various stories or short essays, for which you supply words to fill in the blanks that are left in each story. One person writes them in, while the others provide the words, not having any idea what the context of those words might be.

For example, if you presented the Gettysburg Address opening with the following words left blank, you might get this:  (number) score and (number) years ago, our forefathers (verb, past tense) forth, on this (noun), a new (noun), (verb, past tense) in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all (plural noun) are created (adjective).

After your friends or family members supply the new words, you might end up with the following:

68 score and 9 years ago, our forefathers jumped forth, on this buzz saw, a new grapefruit, dredged in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all sausages are created sticky.

Mad Libs sells booklets of these with various themes, so you have “Movie Mad Libs,” “Halloween Mad Libs,” “Beach Mad Libs,” etc. To my knowledge, they’ve never had a “Bluegrass Mad Libs” so I’ve decided to do it for them. The last time we did this, we used a harmless recap of the IBMA World of Bluegrass. I made it a reader contest, and posted the winning entry. The result was pretty hilarious.

I’ve decided to do it again, this time using a committee approach, taking words submitted through my Facebook page. I’ve attempted a rewrite of one of our beloved classic songs, one first recorded by the Carter Family, Bury Me Beneath the Willow (or Weeping Willow Tree). None of the contributors had any idea what their words would be used for, and I chose them from among the entries randomly, as if we were all driving down the road together, about to argue about where to stop for food.

For the uninitiated, here are the original lyrics. It’s a classic country guilt trip song at its finest. It’s likely to end up something quite different by the time we’re through:

My heart is sad and I am lonely
For the only one I love
When shall I see her, oh no never
Till we meet in heaven above

Oh bury me beneath the willow
Under the weeping willow tree
So she will know where I am sleeping
Then perhaps she’ll weep for me

She told me that she dearly loved me
How could I believe it untrue
Until the angels softly whispered
She will prove untrue to you

Here’s the new version, thanks to some inspiring contributions from several people. I can’t promise this new version will still inspire as much guilt, or even rhyme:

My heart is smoggy and I am sooty
For the only one I burn
When shall I boil her, oh no never
Til we meet in Mt. Rushmore above

Oh bury me beneath the pommel horse
Under the groggy willow value meal
So she will know where I am rinsing
And perhaps she’ll cluck for me

She told me that she awkwardly shot me
How could I believe it tingly
Until the boyfriends sickly screeched
She will prove bass-ackwards to you

Oh bury me beneath the dogma
Under the bespectacled willow pig
So she will know where I am waddling
And perhaps she’ll bite for me

Try it this way the next time you perform it. It might be the ultimate test of whether the audience is paying attention to the lyrics or not.

The post From The Side of the Road… Mad Libs, bluegrass style appeared first on Bluegrass Today.