Calm Before The Storm offers 13 tracks of some of the best bluegrass available including 11 brand new songs written by the band and new versions of . . . Burge; mandolin and vocals, Don Anderson; bass and vocals, Ramie Bennett; banjo and vocals, Bruce Jones; dobro, and Lance Gainer; guitar and vocals.

One of those lifelong devotees is Jerry Douglas, perhaps the most celebrated Dobro player in the world for more than 30 years. "Tut's tenacious . . . seismic impact on Douglas over the years, and their 1994 co-production The Great Dobro Sessions won a Grammy Award for "Bluegrass Album of the Year."

In 1937 a young graduate student from California named Joseph S. Hall was hired by the National Park Service to document the speech of the residents . . . music had not yet evolved into bluegrass, and the Smoky Mountains were still fertile ground for self-made music, everything from ballads to blues.

Poppy Mountain Bluegrass Festival invites Bluegrass fans everywhere to its 18th Annual week long event, September 14-18, on Poppy Mountain, east of . . . Dave Evans, Lonesome River Band, Ralph Stanley II, Bluegrass Strangers, the Grascals, Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers, and a host of others.

If you think of Rounder Records only as “that old folk label with the dartboard-lookin’ logo,” then you need the kind of schooling that The . . . business, but it also serves to show that throughout that long history, the label’s roster has been a lot more wide-ranging than many might guess.

Bluegrass fans who love the coast no longer have to travel to the hills to hear the American root rhythms of mandolin, banjo, fiddle, guitar and . . . and dance to their hearts' content alongside the scenic Cape Fear River during the 8th Annual Southern Coastal Bluegrass Festival on September 18-19.

Music will fill the air this Labor Day weekend as Grapeland’s Salmon Lake Park holds its 34th Annual Bluegrass Festival. Crockett’s Gillette . . . and Gold Wing Express. Featured artists this year are The Coleman Brothers, Bill Grant, Louisiana Grass, The Marksmen Quartet, Nothin’ Fancy ..

Bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley just takes each day as it comes. Whether it’s playing music or spending time with family, Stanley, a young-sounding . . . He’s 32 now and has two kids — a boy and a girl — and he’s got a band, too. TN: What’s the best advice you’ve given Ralph Stanley II?

Robert Plant takes a road trip  through all sorts of roots music on "Band of Joy" (**** out of four stars, out Sept. 14), his first album since . . . the studio with Krauss to begin recording a follow-up to "Raising Sand," but the magical vibe the two created the first time out simply wasn't there.

The Picking and Fiddling starts at 6:00pm Fri Sept. 3rd and continues Sat. Sept. 4th with registration at 9am, competion at 10:00am and finals at . . . day ticket special $10.00, children under 6 free. Over $6,000 in cash prizes. Bluegrass & old time music. More info@ www.indianastatefiddle.org.