Pinecastle Records

Florida bluegrass label Pinecastle was founded in 1990 by Tom Riggs, who has promoted bluegrass for over 40 years. In 2002, the IBMA [International Bluegrass Music Association] awarded Riggs a "Distinguished Achievement Award" for his dedication to the genre.

The Pinecastle catalog contains 100+ albums from artists who perform regularly at the Grand Ole Opry, Austin City Limits and Mountain Stage, including

• The Osborne Brothers: nominated for a 1994 Grammy for When the Roses Bloom In Dixieland
• Charlie Waller & The Country Gentlemen: inducted into the IBMA Hall of Honor in 1996; 2005 marks their 48th anniversary performing bluegrass music
• Jim Hurst and Missy Raines: IBMA recently crowned Hurst "Guitarist of the Year" for the second year running and awarded Raines her fourth consecutive "Bass Player of the Year" award
• Larry Stephenson: won 2005 SPBGMA [Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America] Award for "Song of the Year" and "Best Male Vocalist" for the second year in the row, marking his third win in five years
• Josh Williams: young banjo/guitar/mandolin player known for his recent work with bluegrass veterans The Special Consensus and IBMA "Female Vocalist of The Year" Rhonda Vincent
• Greg Cahill & Special Consensus: "Special Consensus may be Chicago's very own veteran bluegrass band, but talent like this is the property of the world." - Chicago Tribune

...plus many more! Welcome, Pinecastle!

SHOWCASE SUBMISSION DEADLINES

COMING SOON

• NXNE Toronto, ON [CANADA] - June 9-11
• TAPEOPCON2005 New Orleans, LA - June 10-12
• EASTERN EUROPE MUSIC CONVENTION [EEMC] St. Petersburg, Russia - June 16-17
• MOBILE MUSIC CONFERENCE Los Angeles, CA - June 23-24 * new date

Click here for details.

Slightly Stoopid, Slightly Stoopid –Punk (Skunk Records)
This Southern Californian reggae-tinged rock band was added to four dates on Dave Matthews Band's summer tour: 8/16 in Sacramento CA, 8/25 in San Diego CA, 8/30 in Phoenix AZ and 8/31 in Albuquerque NM, with more TBA. The band should be plenty warmed up after its 50-city U.S. tour, which is already underway. After the Dave Matthews dates, they're performing on the four-day Xingolati Groove Cruise with The Flaming Lips, G Love & Special Sauce and Medeski Martin & Wood. Sounds like a helluva summer. Have fun, boys! I recommend SPF 50.

Mary Timony, Ex Hex –Rock (Lookout!)
While we're hyping tour dates, we'd like to send out a hi-five to ex-Helium frontwoman Mary Timony, who will open seven Sleater-Kinney dates on the West Coast May 31-June 9. Those dates are bookended by a thorough trek around the country in support of Timony's excellent new Lookout album, Ex Hex, which was produced by Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty. Rollingstone.com notes, "Ex Hex's raw power and complex riffage are a refreshing change." We nod our heads "yes."

Scott Grimes, Livin' On The Run –Pop (Big Deal/Velocity Records)
Last month, this former child actor and TV regular [he plays Dr. Archie Morris on E.R and provides the voice of Steve on animated FOX series American Dad] scored some significant Billboard chart success. His single "Sunset Blvd" peaked at #18 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary singles chart. Pop over to Scott's website to hear a short audio clip from the album that Music Connection rated 8 out of 10. If you're in Los Angeles, catch him at the Roxy on May 19.

Traband, Hyje! – World Music (Indies Records)
"One of the many exciting, adventurous bands that emerged in the post-communist Czech Republic in the '90s" [Allmusic.com], Traband was recently awarded a 2004 Angels Award - the Czech version of a Grammy - for its third and latest album, Hyje! The album - best described as a folk/punk/ska/hip-hop/country hybrid - took home "Best World Music Album of the Year" and was nominated for "Best Folk & Country Album of the Year." Blahoprání! [Thanks, English-Czech translator!]

Paul Nelson, Look – Pop (Big Wave Records)
A belated congratulations to guitarist Paul Nelson, who performed on and co-wrote tracks for Johnny Winter's Grammy-nominated 2004 album I'm a Bluesman [Virgin/EMI]. Guitar One magazine tipped its pen to Nelson's contributions to the album, proclaiming "Nelson Ignites Winter's Fire." Paul's 2001 solo effort Look has received similar kudos: "Truly sensational" - 20th Century Guitar, "Perfect blend of taste and technique" - Guitar One, "Chops Deluxe" - Guitar World, "10...Brilliant!!! - Metal Hammer

Real / Rhapsody [www.realrhapsody.com]

"A must-have for music fanatics" - Entertainment Weekly

"Like having the world's largest music collection on your hard drive" - The Washington Post

"Easily the best of the paid online services in terms of consumer friendliness, overall song selection, sonic quality and editorial content." - USA Today

• Rhapsody 25 is the original service. As part of the re-launch, new users can download 25 songs per month for free before subscription charges are incurred.
• Rhapsody Unlimited allows subscribers to download an unlimited number of songs to their hard drive and enjoy them offline, as long as they remain subscribers. Subscribers also receive a 10% discount on downloads from the music store, which they can keep after their subscription expires.
• Rhapsody To Go gives subscribers the ability to transfer an unlimited number of downloads to portable music players, currently limited to devices manufactured by Creative Technology Ltd. and iRiver, with more coming soon.

CMJ and BrooklynBest Present: THE FIVE-BOROUGH BATTLE OF THE BANDS
BrooklynBest 2005 and CMJ present the Five-Borough Battle of the Bands on June 5th at Prospect Park's Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, NY. Ten groups of any genre will be chosen to perform live. Five judges will choose three winners. The Grand Prize winner will receive a premier performance slot at the 2005 CMJ Music Marathon in New York City and at the 2005 Brooklyn New Music festival; a selected track on a CMJ compilation and a ton of great Brooklyn gifts. At least one member of each band must reside in one of the five boroughs of New York City.

JOHN LENNON SONGWRITING CONTEST
This international songwriting contest, founded in 1997, is open to amateur and professional songwriters who submit entries in any one of 12 categories. The contest is open year-round, with two judging sessions that involve 72 finalists, 24 Grand Prize winners, 12 Lennon Award winners and 1 Maxell Song of the Year. The celebrity judging panel includes Orchard artist John Legend, plus representatives from Black Eyed Peas, Sony Records, SPIN Magazine and The Bacon Brothers. Winners will receive EMI Publishing contracts; studio equipment; 1,000 CDs with full artwork and other prizes. One entrant will be chosen to tour and perform for one week on Warped Tour '06. One song will be named "Maxell Song of the Year" and take home an additional $20,000, courtesy of Maxell.