WMMT’s Bluegrass Express Live will present The Grascals, Thursday, September 18, 2008. Bluegrass Express Live is a part of the Alltech Festival. The performance will take place in the Appalshop Theater in downtown Whitesburg. Doors open at 7:00pm, and the performance will start at 7:30pm. The Theater is located at 91 Madison Ave.

The Grascals enjoy a musical bond forged from personal friendships, shared professional experience and an appreciation for the innovative mingling of bluegrass and country music that has been a hallmark of the Nashville scene for more than forty years. Their two Grammy-nominated releases, The Grascals (2005) and Long List of Heartaches (2006) prove their ability to convey a rare musical empathy. You can hear it in their original songs and instrumentals, in reworked bluegrass classics like “Will You Be Loving Another Man,” and in interpretations such as Harley Allen’s award-winning “Me and John and Paul”. In just one year, they moved from winning the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Emerging Artist of the Year award (2005) to earning its top Entertainer of the Year honor (2006), while scoring a Song of the Year trophy, entries in myriad critics’ “best of the year” lists and a set of personal appearances that would be the envy of almost any entertainer.

The Grascals’ roots and crossed paths reach back over more than two decades in bluegrass ensembles like the Osborne Brothers, Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time, the Sidemen and New Tradition. They trace, too, to Nashville’s larger musical community, where the Grascals have been able to draw on legends like Bobby Osborne, George Jones, the Jordanaires, Lloyd Green, Paul Craft and more, for songs and for performances in the studio and on stage. The Grascals were a natural choice for Dolly Parton to turn to for recording and tour support not long after the group was created.

Members of the band are Terry Eldredge-vocals/guitar, Jamie Johnson-vocals/guitar, Danny Roberts-mandolin, Terry Smith-vocals/bass, Aaron McDaris-banjo. New to The Grascals is Jeremy Abshire-fiddle.

More information on The Grascals and their new release Keep on Walkin’ can be found at www.myspace.com/thegrascals.
Tickets are $15 for adults. Tickets may be reserved on-site at Appalshop, 91 Madison Ave., by calling 606-633-0108, or via email at info@appalshop.org.
Season Tickets. If you would like to attend all four of the Fall 2008 Bluegrass Express Live concerts, you can save money now by purchasing a Season Ticket for just $50.00. Season Tickets will be on sale at the September 18 show, or you can contact WMMT at 606-633-0108 to get more information or pay by credit card.
Fall 2008 Bluegrass Express Live Concerts
September 18 – The Grascals
October 9 – Blue Highway
November 6 – Grasstowne
December 4 – Larry Sparks
For questions, please contact Debbie Sutton at 606-633-0108 or email wmmtfm@appalshop.org.
WMMT-FM, 88.7, is a public community radio station, broadcasting to southwestern Virginia, southern West Virginia and eastern Kentucky, as well as parts of east Tennessee and western North Carolina and worldwide on the internet. It is a part of the Appalshop arts and education center.