Mountain Heart News
-
After a hiatus of 16 months, Clay Jones has re-assumed the guitar chair with Mountain Heart.
Jones left the band in August of 2007 to deal with some personal and familial issues, and with Clay Hess having left the group to work with Sierra Hull, he is happy for the chance to return.
“I’m so excited to be back with all my brothers! I’m looking forward to seeing the greatest fans in any music again!”
Fiddler Jim Van Cleve is likewise stoked to have Jones back onboard...
“It’s no secret that Clay Jones was a large part of the musical personality that MH had developed over the years. He brings a unique spark and intensity to the table that is all his own. That, along with his stage presence, is such a powerful combo. So, of course, we’re all super excited to get to pick with him again.
He and I go back a long time… I’ve known Jones since I was 15!
We just had our first round of rehearsals where we ran through about two and a half hours of music several times. We played all of our material and most all the songs we’ve been performing with Tony Rice. Jones knocked them all out of the park!
He grew up playing with Tony, so I guess that it shouldn’t have been a surprise that he knew that rhythmic feel and most of that material better than anybody! So, with a bit of a return to what MH has become known for, we are all chomping at the bit now to get out and do what we do this year!!”
-
Hello,
Sorry for the last-minute nature of this announcement, but we have been notified that the Tony Rice/MH concert that was being held in Greensboro, NC has had to be postponed due to unforeseen circumstances.
The show is tentatively being rescheduled for sometime in January. We will let everybody know of the date as soon as we hear something!
Thanks very much for your understanding and support.
God bless,
MH
-
Mountain Heart has just been asked to appear at the Grand Ole Opry on October 3rd, 2008.
However, this looks to be potentially be much more than a typical Opry appearance, as the band is currently making preparations to bring along their favorite collaborator, the legendary guitarist, Tony Rice, to perform with them.
This rare performance promises to be unforgettable, just as the recent shows pairing these two powerhouse musical acts have been.
After the anticipated Opry performance concludes, Tony and Mountain Heart will be making their way over to the IBMA Fan Fest, where they are scheduled to perform an entire set of music together later that night.
-
MOUNTAIN HEART JOINS LYNYRD SKYNYRD FOR THREE SPECIAL SHOWS
Acoustic Overdrive Meets Southern Rock in Virginia, North Carolina
NASHVILLE, TENN. (August 22, 2008)—Ground-breaking and genre-defying acoustic band Mountain Heart will join iconic southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd for three special shows next month:
September 11 – Danville, VA - Carrington Pavilion – 8 p.m.
September 12 – Boone, NC – The Holmes Center, Appalachian State University – 8 p.m.
September 13 – Elizabeth City, NC – Coast Guard Support Center – 7 p.m.
"I can't begin to tell you how exciting this is for Mountain Heart, and for me personally," said lead singer Josh Shilling. "I grew up listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd, and as a piano player I've been greatly influenced by and have always appreciated the innovative playing style of Billy Powell."
The shows are being presented by Radio Media Productions. Promoter Kent Martin says, "I've known the guys in Mountain Heart for years, and how they adapt to and excel in any performance situation. They bring a really diverse musical background, and they just light up a stage. I knew this would be a great combination."
The September shows actually aren't the first time Mountain Heart played the same venue as Lynyrd Skynyrd—they both played at the BamaJam Music & Arts Festival in Enterprise, Alabama, on June 7.
Mountain Heart's name has been synonymous with cutting-edge excellence in bluegrass and acoustic music circles since the group's formation in 1998 by a group of veterans from Alison Krauss's Union Station and Doyle Lawson's Quicksilver. Mountain Heart deftly combines elements of rock, jamband, country, blues, jazz, and bluegrass into a high-energy sound that is at once fresh, accessible, and unmistakable. That sound is fully embodied on their most recent CD, Road That Never Ends (The Live Album) released on Rural Rhythm Records in the fall of 2007. The band has shared the bill with everyone from Montgomery Gentry, Merle Haggard and Brad Paisley, to Tony Rice, Travis Tritt, Yonder Mountain Stringband, LeAnn Rimes and Patty Loveless. Mountain Heart took home its first annual International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) award for Emerging Artist of the Year in 1999, and they've been racking up group and individual awards and nominations—Grammy, IBMA, CMA and ACM--ever since.
Mountain Heart's upcoming schedule includes shows with Diamond Rio and Tony Rice, and a performance at IBMA's Fan Fest. For more information and tour updates, visit www.mountainheart.com.
Contact for Mountain Heart:
Karen Byrd/Karen Byrd Public Relations
615-595-1500
Karen.byrd@gmail.com
-
Author: CYBERGRASS
If you like your Bluegrass music with lots of hot licks and drive then you’ll want to be part of this exciting event. Coming to the Paramount Center for the Arts on April 12th will be an evening with Mountain Heart with their special guest, guitar legendTony Rice. The Paramount is located at 518 State Street, Bristol, TN-VA 37620.
Mountain Heart is the band that has been fearlessly revolutionizing the way acoustic music can be presented and played. Widely known throughout the music industry for constantly redefining the cutting edge, the band has gained legions of fans both as a result of their superlative musicianship, and more notably, their exciting live performances. Mountain Heart's name has been synonymous with cutting-edge excellence since their creation in 1998. As one of the most highly awarded ensembles ever assembled, Mountain Heart, and members of the band, have won numerous Grammys, ACM, CMA, and IBMA Awards. They have appeared on the revered stage of the Grand Ole Opry in excess of 100 times and have shared the stage with everyone from Lynyrd Skynyrd, Montgomery Gentry, Merle Haggard and Brad Paisley, to Alison Krauss, Yonder Mountain Stringband, LeAnn Rimes and Patty Loveless.
With the introduction of their phenomenally talented young lead singer, Josh Shilling, the band is poised to take their success to even higher levels. Leading the charge in taking acoustic music to the masses, Mountain Heart deftly combines elements of rock, jam band, blues, jazz and bluegrass into a high- energy sound that is at once fresh, accessible and unmistakable.
Tony Rice is one of the premier exponents of flat-picked acoustic guitar. Rice spans the range of acoustic music, from straight-ahead bluegrass to jazz-influenced new acoustic music, to songwriter-oriented folk. He is perhaps the greatest innovator in acoustic flat picked guitar since Clarence White. His early stints with the Bluegrass Alliance and J.D. Crowe and the New South introduced a guitarist with a classic bluegrass sensibility matched with a thirst for experimentation. He was a member of David Grisman’s groundbreaking first quintet, and then set out with a series of solo albums that saw him integrating bluegrass music with elements of jazz, folk, country, and other contemporary forms.
http://www.cybergrass.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=4693
-
Once again, Mountain Heart is blazing new trails for bluegrass and acoustic music with the March 5th music video release of the title track from the ROAD THAT NEVER ENDS (The Live Album) on Rural Rhythm Records. This is Mountain Heart’s first music video and was produced by Josh Shilling and directed by Scott Hansen from Renown Studio. AristoMedia will distribute the video to National and Regional music video outlets in addition to their Internet and Closed Circuit panel. Jessica Bilak Porfirio, Manager of Video Marketing & Promotions with the company enthusiastically stated, “We are happy to be working with Rural Rhythm Records and Mountain Heart on this new project. We are looking forward to taking this high energy and well produced music video to our panel of outlets where we anticipate a great response.”
Road That Never Ends written by band members Josh Shilling and Grammy™ nominated Jim VanCleve, was chosen by Dirty Linen Magazine as part of the Dirty Linen CD Sampler titled, Editor’s Choice. This CD sampler will be distributed to all Dirty Linen subscriber’s as well as future subscribers. The song is also rapidly climbing the Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine Top 30 Singles Chart and hit #1 on Sirius Satellite Radio’s Top 40. The Album reached #4 on Billboard Magazine’s Top 15 Bluegrass Album Chart and made its debut this month on Bluegrass Unlimited's Top 15 Album Chart.
MH performing in Switzerland. Mountain Heart is widely known throughout the music industry for constantly redefining the cutting edge. The band has gained legions of fans both as a result of their superlative musicianship, and more notably, their incomparably exciting live performances. This was truly evident at their recent return performance at The Ark in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This special “homecoming concert” was sold out days in advance and fans waited in lines that stretched for blocks. Similar sold-out shows have become standard for Mountain Heart and upcoming dates worthy of note include: A series of openings for Buddy Jewel; numerous shows with guitar legend Tony Rice and label-mate Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain; concerts with the award-winning Lonesome River Band; and an Acoustic Apocalypse mini-tour with critically-acclaimed newcomers, Cadillac Sky.
It was just over a year ago, the accomplished group welcomed masterful vocalist and songwriter, Josh Shilling to the fold at a monumental standing ovation performance at the Grand Ole Opry. The March issue of Bluegrass Music Profiles Magazine will feature a three page personal interview with Josh. Mountain Heart has another recent addition, Clay Hess, a Grammy winner during his time performing with Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder. Clay has definitely proved to be the perfect fit to keep the band selling out concerts around the world.
The video was shot in numerous locations around Roanoke, Virginia including the live show performance and bar scenes filmed at the Grey Stone Tavern. Another location included the Virginia Beach area with an interesting story told by Shilling…. “The most memorable part of filming the video for Road That Never Ends has got to be the bone-chilling scene we tried to capture in the rain. We needed a scene to accent the lyrics that portrayed a man begging forgiveness for all that he'd done wrong. It was midnight, around Christmas time, and the temperature had dropped to a painful 15 degrees. We setup lighting in a dark alley and piped a water hose to the scene from a nearby building. We spent twenty minutes filming me falling to my knees with freezing water being sprayed all over the scene from above. After the cameras, our clothes, and the concrete surrounding us began to freeze, we had to call it off. My skin was red and felt numb as we stripped our wet clothes off and huddled around a small space heater in a garage. I'm certain this was the closest you can get to hypothermia without being hospitalized. After we thawed out, reality set in that after all of our efforts, the awesome shot we were going for, simply didn't exist. It's something the world would've never known about, but hey, I guess it's all for the love of music!”
-
Mountain Heart, one of the most talented, versatile and explosive sextets in the acoustic firmament, will offer a special treat to fans new and old this October 23rd with the release of Road That Never Ends (The Live Album) on Rural Rhythm Records. Building on the group’s already recognized strengths, Road That Never Ends ups the ante by bringing new elements of rock, blues and even jazz to its signature blend of bluegrass, gospel and jamgrass, underlining the sextet’s unique role in the world of acoustic music.
Recorded on May 26th of this year in the intimacy of Ann Arbor, Michigan’s 400-seat venue, The Ark, The Road… represents Mountain Heart’s first live recording, and as their faithful listeners (from cozy clubs to such fabled festivals as Telluride, MerleFest and RockyGrass) well know, it is in front of a live audience that this award-winning combo is truly in its exuberant, celebratory element.
Presenting nearly an hour’s worth of tried-and-true fan favorites along with some choice new additions destined to lock-in even upon first hearing, the recording also showcases the band’s newest addition, guitarist and primary lead singer Josh Shilling.
Just 23 years old but with a wealth of pan-genre experience (and already a gifted songwriter), Shilling’s elastic, expressive tenor handles the traditional high lonesome sound with uncanny flair even as his way with ballads (as on his own seductive, heartbreaking “Who’s the Fool Now?”) and soulful, gut-bucket blues (the low-down original “It Works Both Ways” and a scintillating interpretation of the Allman Brothers’ eternal “Whipping Post”) further expand Mountain Heart’s already-enviable stylistic range and command.
Of course, to hold his own in this vaunted company, he HAS to be good. Formed in 1998 with a core group of veterans from Alison Krauss's multi-platinum and highly-awarded, Union Station, and Doyle Lawson's hallowed Quicksilver juggernaut, Mountain Heart cadged its first annual International Bluegrass Music Association award ('Emerging Artist of the Year') in 1999, and they've been racking up group and individual awards and nominations ever since.
Mandolinist Adam Steffy has garnered six consecutive IBMA nominations as best in his field (winning FIVE!), fiddler, founding member and Road… producer Jim Van Cleve earned a 2006 GRAMMY nomination for ‘Best Country Instrumental’ with his solo disc No Apologies, (on Rural Rhythm Records) and the rest of the gang (co-founder/banjo wizard Barry Abernathy, bassist Jason Moore and guitarist Clay Jones) routinely dazzle crowds with their individual prowess, intuitive, extra-sensory group interplay and—always—an uncommon knack for crowd-pleasing showmanship.
The disc features scintillating live versions of fan favorites such as Steve Gulley’s “I’m Just Here to Ride the Train,” a showboating workout on the beloved “Heart Like a Road Sign,” Barry Abernathy’s stellar reading of Pat McLaughlin’s soaring “God and Everybody,” and rollicking, kinetic instrumentals “Devil’s Courthouse” (from Van Cleve’s solo disc) and the lights-out closer “#6 Barn Dance” (which somehow falls just short of setting the Michigan woodlands ablaze).
An extra-special treat is the welcome return of “The Gospel Train.” Mountain Heart’s awe-inspiring rendition of the well-traveled traditional roof-raiser helped them earn an IBMA award for ‘Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year’ in 2002 with the album The Journey, but their then-label has since folded, leaving this inspirational evergreen out-of-print until now.
Change—as we all know—can be taxing, particularly when it involves the personnel of a much-loved touring band. But with Road That Never Ends, Mountain Heart memorably meets the challenge, keeping the home fires burning even as it strikes out for—and conquers—new musical territory. Their hearts may lie in the mountains, but wherever the road that never ends takes them, these acoustic music masters will always make it feel like a natural home.
-
-
Go to the Mountain Heart Store to purchase your copy today.
-
Mountain Heart's Jim VanCleve has the honor of seeing one of his tunes, The Road From Rosine, debuted as the new theme for the IBMA Awards show on October 4. The tune will be played during the opening of the show, and going into/coming from breaks.
-
Two members of Mountain Heart were given a total of three International Bluegrass Music Association Awards nominations at the official IBMA Nomination Ceremony today in Nashville, TN.
Adam Steffey garnered his sixth nomination in the Mandolin Player of the Year category. Adam has been awarded this award for the last five years running!
Also, Jim VanCleve was nominated in two seperate categories. He was nominated for Fiddle Player of the Year, and for the Instrumental Album of the Year category, for his solo project, No Apologies.
|