If you've not been listening to bluegrass on The Ray Davis Show, then you've not been listening to plum pitiful bluegrass. This old timer plays some of the saddest songs around. Dead mammas, prison terms, train wrecks--no tragedy is off limits during his three hour block, which airs Sundays at 10 am ET and Monday through Friday at 3 pm ET on WAMU's Bluegrass Country.
While Davis has a penchant for sorry songs, his line up ranges widely. The plum pitifuls are interspersed with clog-worthy bluegrass and capped off with old time gospel. At the end of every hour, you'll hear Davis say, "It's hymn time," and he'll play a traditional tune that will make you feel like you're in a clapboard church, sitting in sunshine that's pouring through a stained glass window.
Davis doesn't subscribe to the new model of DJing, where everything is fast and smooth. On any given day, you might hear him describing a meal prepared by his wife Nona, fighting with the CD player in his home studio, or recalling the personal quirks of mountain music legends who recorded in his West Virginia basement. The Stanley Brothers, Bill Monroe, Reno & Smiley--they all set up shop at one point or another on the underside of Davis' house. They'd laugh and eat Nona's home cooking while cutting some of the most noteworthy tracks in our region's musical canon.
[caption id="attachment_4645" align="alignright" width="221"] Carter and Ralph Stanley recorded in Ray Davis' basement[/caption]
As a result, Davis has an encyclopedic knowledge of music. He has been recording artists for 49 years and spinning vinyl for 63. He secured his first DJ gig at age 15 in Dover, Delaware. "When I got the offer to leave home and take that job, my mom gave me her permission," Davis told the folks at Radio World. "After I had been on the air for a while, if the mailman or anyone else would come by, she would tell him that her son was on the radio."
After Delaware, Davis bounced around the country from station to station, even doing a bit in Mexico, but by the early 1960s, he was back on the east coast, hosting a bluegrass show from a used car lot in Baltimore and recording bluegrass artists under his own label Wango. He became a mainstay on the festival circuit and eventually migrated to WAMU, where he established a long-time following.
While Davis sits behind a mixing board rather than a banjo, he is still a living musical legend. What's more, he's one that you can listen to six days a week. If you haven't tuned in before, check out his show online or if you're close enough to DC, at 105.5 FM.
Let us know what you think. Whether it's an unearthed song from The Clinch Mountain Boys or Ray giving the ornery CD player a blistering earful, you're bound to hear something worth sharing.

This time last year Ryan and I were headed down past Charlottesville for a weekend of sonic delights at a festival like no other -- The Festy Experience. While we won't be able to make it this go round (Mother is visiting this weekend), The Festy 2012 is going strong. It started yesterday and runs through tomorrow.
Hosted by The Infamous Stringdusters, this one-of-a-kind festival brings together great bands from bluegrass, folk, world beat, jazz, and a few genres that nobody has named yet. Of course, our friend Travis Book from The Infamous Stringdusters and his wife Sarah Siskind are back. (Click their names to read great interviews that they both gave in 2010.) This year, they've brought new pals like acoustic pioneer David Grisman, modern bluegrass band Emmitt-Nershi Band, and the band with perhaps the best name ever Giant Panda Guerrilla Dub Squad.
Music is just the start. The Festy wouldn't be The Festy without a little outdoor fun, like scaling a rock climbing wall, sitting around a late night bonfire, and drinking locally brewed beer under a bright autumn sky. If you're in the area, head down for a great weekend of music and local eats. If your not nearby, take a peak at this video from 2010 and start planning your Festy 2012 road trip now!
http://vimeo.com/17272585

If you haven't seen Landau Murphy, I don't want to spoil it for you. Get some Kleenex, and watch this clip.
[youtube]v6LOSEzo1QA[/youtube]
It looks like the new Susan Boyle could be a son of West Virginia. Murphy's humility and unassuming charm; the mash-up between his rasta-brother look and his crooning voice; and his powerful story--car washer who'd never once auditioned for anything--it all makes you well up inside.
I'll admit it, when Howie Mandell said, "You just changed your whole life," and Murphy began to cry and the audience stood and started chanting his name, I couldn't help but get a little teary for the guy. As engineered as reality TV is, I knew I was watching an authentic, life-changing moment.
Murphy's remarkable gift has carried him through to the semi-final round on America's Got Talent, making him one of ten remaining contestants. He is slated to perform again on Tuesday, September 6 episode, and I can't help but think about this guy's future.
Do you think he has what it takes to beat the other nine contestants? Does that even matter at this point? And what do you think he'll do after this season of America's Got Talent?
What ever it is, I doubt it will involve car wax.

You might want to lock the cupboards if Lanny and Barry Smith visit your town. This father son duo is hunting down good cake pans and turning them into old time mountain instruments. Their creations--the Panjo and the Pandolin--are beautiful and handmade. They draw on father Lanny's experience as an expert woodworker and son Barry's skills as a bass musician.
They created the first versions of the Panjo about a year ago, says Lanny. "We refined it probably ten times since then," he adds.
In his Chattanooga workshop, the 75 year old Lanny crafts each instrument, hand carving the headstock and neck, assembling all of the pieces, and even manually adding the company's signature stamp onto each cake pan. He emphasizes, "No machines are used."
The Smith's products are quirky, but they aren't just novelties. The instruments produce a beautiful, old-time mountain sound, and they are being road-tested by none other than country music star Brad Paisley. While Paisley hasn't officially endorsed the Panjo or Pandolin, Lanny says that he and his son provided several custom instruments for the musician's current tour.
Want a Panjo or Pandolin of your own?
You're in luck. Just last week, the Smith's launched a website where you can see more images of their kitchen-raiding custom creations and contact them with your order. The going rate for Panjos is $395. Pandolins run a bit more at $495.
Alright musicians, what do you think? Are you ready to play a cake pan in front of a crowd? Have you ever turned household objects into musical instruments? if so, tell us about your favorites.

[caption id="attachment_3996" align="alignleft" width="185"] Sierra Hull, Singer and Songwriter[/caption]
If you're in the mood for a plingy-plangy good time this weekend, head out to FiddleFest 2011 at Hollins University in Roanoke. It's an annual, two-day celebration of bluegrass and string music, complete with workshops, jam sessions, a beer garden, and a killer concert series, headlined by Sierra Hull.
The Roanoke Times interviewed the nineteen year old Hull this week. A recent graduate of Boston's Berklee College of Music, she played with Alison Krauss by age eleven and was signed with Rounder Records by age twelve. Her most recent album, Daybreak, is dedicated to fellow bluegrass musician Houston Caldwell, who, you may remember, lost his life in a motorcycle accident last year.
"He had a lot of people that loved him," she says of Caldwell, "Houston was a wonderful person."
In remembrance of her friend and in celebration of our unique musical heritage, Hull performs at 4:00 PM and 9:30 PM this Friday. She is surrounded by a great lineup of musicians, including...
Dale Ann Bradley
Jim and Valerie Gabehart
Paul Williams & The Victory Trio
Eastman String Band
Locust Mountain Boys
The Travelers
Headed to FiddleFest 2011? Gone in the past? Post a comment below and let us know what you think.

It's no secret that the roots revival is built on hillbilly shoulders. Just listen to great new bands like Fleet Foxes, The Low Anthem, and Carolina Chocolate Drops. They all draw from musical forms that were either created in the Appalachians or that endured there because mountain people were just so isolated.

Well, our hillbilly forbearers are finally getting their dues. The folks who created the Crooked Road-a 300 mile musical heritage trail in Southwest Virginia-have launched a new music tour. It's called Roots of American Music (how hillbillies helped invent it).
It recognizes that the original hillbillies came from all over--the Ulster region of Ireland, Germany, England and many African nations. Traditional music from each of these cultures contributed to our unique mountain sound, so the show blends them.
Picture Cheick Hamala, a guy from Mali who plays the n'goni (the instrument that preceded the banjo), next to Joey Abarta, an Irishman on the bagpipes, and Burl Rhea, a coal miner who plays the banjo itself, along with Dale Jett, a powerful singer and member of the legendary Carter family.
It's a great mash-up of musical styles, and these are just four of the twelve artists featured on the tour.  Things kick off this Tuesday at the Pulaski Theater. Check out the below clip of Joey Abarta tearing up the Irish bagpipes, and click on through to the full schedule to see when the tour hits a venue near you.
[youtube]UorsHBaMbew&playnext=1&list=PLAE27AF29E104FB0C[/youtube]

It's official--more than 1000 people like The Revivalist on Facebook! When we passed the threshold this week, I let out a whoop and did a little dance in my chair.
Keeping with tradition, let's celebrate with a song--"I Love You 1000 Ways" performed by Ernie Sykes Jr. It goes out to everyone who reads the blog, comments on the blog, and shares the blog with others.
You Kamagra cheapest make this site more than a bunch of my ramblings. You make it a community.
[youtube]h3J5DsXgdjc[/youtube]

Sarah Siskind started out as a Nashville starlette. She arrived in town at age 14 with a recording contract and the attention of a record executive. He was ready to put her on fame's path, but he told her that she'd have to pick between her dreams. She could be a singer, or she could be songwriter. He said, "You're going to have to choose one."
The opportunity to cut an album was right in front of her, so Sarah sang her heart out. She never stopped. Her latest work, entitled "Say it Louder," was named Americana Album of the Year by the Nashville Music Awards. Bonnie Raitt called it "a masterpiece." Southern Living Magazine has said that she is "Nashville's best new voice."
That is probably true. Sarah's remarkable talent shines on her recent album, but performing is only half of what she set out to do. As she built her name as a recording artist, Sarah also lent her work to others. In time, that drew the attention of country and folk's biggest names. Randy Travis has recorded a song of hers; so has the folk phenomenon, Bon Iver; but it was Alison Krauss who catapulted Sarah's songwriting career forward. Alison recorded two of Sarah's songs, released both of them as singles complete with music videos and attracted a Grammy nomination for one.
When Sarah thinks back to the record executive who told her to choose between her dreams, she says, "I'm excited that I actually proved him wrong." Then she giggles and adds, "I say that in a nice way."
In Sarah, there's the determination that brought both dreams to life, but also a tenderness and a compassion. These shine in her music and in The Revivalist's first recorded interview. Sarah took time during The Festy Experience to talk about her work, the bluegrass roots laid by her musical parents and why she's so addicted to blogging.
Click below to listen.
INTERVIEW WITH SARAH SISKIND

One post back, I said that I'd be tapping my toes and eating potato salad this weekend. Lo and behold, my toes are tired and my belly is full. The Festy Experience was a hoot.

Nestled in the Blue Ridge a bit South of Charlottesville, the festival brought out the stars of bluegrass, roots music and Southern eclectica.wooed the crowd with a sweet mountain drawl. Crooked Still had us all clapping and singing along. There were microbrews, jugglers and a rock climbing wall; and I couldn't turn around without running into a member of The Infamous Stringdusters, the renowned bluegrass band that hosted the event.
In particular, our friend, Travis Book was everywhere. In a two hour span, I saw him working the crowd, running a video shoot, greeting artists and playing on stage with his wife, Sarah Siskind. Though by his own admission, he passed on the morning 5K. Sounds like someone was up too late jamming outside his tent.
Speaking of Sarah, she was kind enough to take a break from the party for an interview. Watch for it in the next post. In the meantime, enjoy a few shots from the day!
[caption id="attachment_2032" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Main Stage[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2034" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Junior Stringdusters[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2038" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Impromptu Juggling[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1974" align="alignright" width="199"] Travis Book, The Infamous Stringdusters[/caption]

TR: I love the area just south of Charlottesville, but there are countless beautiful places in the Appalachian South. Why this spot for the event?
TB: Have you been out there? It's gorgeous. Devils Backbone has a history with music festivals, great beer and a bike race, so they're an obvious choice as a partner. We played the Brewridge Trail Festival there last year and really loved the vibe and the proximity to the type of music fans we wanted to throw a party for so a few short discussions later and we were in the planning phase for The Festy.
TR: You have a great line up of artists. If there's a "don't miss" performance, which will it be?
TB: Besides the Infamous Stringdusters? Toubab K rewe or Tony Rice. Hard to say how long Tony will be performing and the man's an icon.

That means seven straight days of a'plingin' and a'plangin' with some of the best artists around. There'll be classic cuts from old timer Snuffy Jenkins, gospel recordings from Don Reno & Red Smiley, a lesson from the virtuoso of banjo history Greg Adams, and lots more.
It will all be on my favorite bluegrass radio station, Bluegrass Country, which you can pick up at 105.5 in the DC metro if you're setting within five feet of the tower. Otherwise, your best bet is to listen from the Website or from iTunes, where the station is already included in Radio, under the Country section.
Here's a great clip to get things started. It's the earliest known footage of Reno & Smiley, recorded more than fifty years ago:
[youtube]9SucA6NP7fE[/youtube]