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International BluegrassVol. 31 | No. 2 | March 2016

Statement of fact and opinion are made on the responsibility of the writers alone and do not imply an opinion on the part of the officers, directors, staff or members of IBMA. Portions of International Bluegrass may be

reprinted provided that explicit citation of the source is made: “Reprinted with permission from International Bluegrass, the publication of the International Bluegrass Music Association, www.ibma.org.”

Editor: Shannon Turnershannon@ibma.org

Designer: Erin Faith Erdoserinfaitherdos@gmail.com

IntErnatIonal BluEgrass(ISSN #1095-0605)

IBMa: IBMA is the trade association that connects and educates bluegrass professionals, empowers the bluegrass

community, and encourages worldwide appreciation of bluegrass music of yesterday, today and tomorrow.

ContaCt usThe monthly emailed publication of the

International Bluegrass Music Association

608 W. Iris Drive, Nashville, TN 37204 USA615-256-3222 | 888-GET-IBMA

Fax: 615-256-0450 Email: info@ibma.org Website: www.ibma.org

Tim Surrett - Board Chairperson

shannon turnerDirector of

Communications and Professional

Development

leah JamesDirector of Member

Services

Paul schimingerExecutive Director

Eddie HuffmanConvention Services

and IT Systems Director

Alan Bartram-Artists/Composers/PublishersBecky Buller-At Large

Jamie Deering-Merchandisers/LuthiersRegina Derzon-Secretary, Associations

Mike Drudge-Agents, Managers & PublicistsJohn Goad-Print Media/Education

Denise Jarvinen-At LargeMarian Leighton Levy-Recording/Distribution/Marketing

William Lewis-At Large

Steve Martin-At LargeStephen Mougin-At Large

Joe Mullins-Treasurer, Artists/Composers/PublishersBen Surratt- Vice Chair

Wayne Taylor-Artists-Composers/PublishersAlan Tompkins-At Large

Angelika Torrie- InternationalBree Tucker-Myers- Event Production

Bob Webster-Broadcast Media

8 World of Bluegrass ticketing info

15 Welcome to our new members

NEXT issue...

10 Moment of the Month - The Steeldrivers win!The Steeldrivers Win a Grammy – CD Giveaway!

16 feature - Looking backAs IBMA rounds the 30-year mark, let’s look back at a few news items from five and ten years ago.

Tickets! Hotels! Discounts! All You Need to Know to Get to World of Bluegrass 2016!

Ta b l e o f C o N T e N T sINTerNATIoNAl BlueGrASS

» p.4

» WoB tickets on sale April 5!

4 Sierra Hull finds her voice by Bill Conger.

Cover story

Mandolin virtuoso Sierra Hull finds her voice with the release of her first album in five years, Weighted Mind, on rounder records

March 2016

14 masterclass - Sound adviceSongwriter Dawn Kenney Shares Some Tools of Her Trade.

by Dawn Kenney

I n t e r n a t i o n a l B l u e g r a s s | M a r c h 2 0 1 64

Photo by Gina Binkley

I n t e r n a t i o n a l B u e g r a s s | M a r c h 2 0 1 6 5

Sierra Hul l FiNDs her voiCe

by Bill Conger

Mandolin ace Sierra Hull was lost. She had a vision of where

she thought she should be, but didn’t know how to get there.

Producing her own CD a couple of years ago, Hull recorded six tracks before she realized that something was missing.

“I was getting too much input from people in my circle at that time, like management and the record label, and I had to get away from it for a while because I couldn’t decide how I felt about it,” she admits. “I was feel-ing like I was starting to lose myself a little bit. I was trying to please everyone but myself. I got a little bit frustrated about it all, and decided to take a step back.”

Accepting the advice of her childhood idol and mentor Alison Krauss, Hull pulled in Grammy-winning banjo wizard Bela Fleck to produce the 12-cut album that resulted in Weighted Mind (Rounder Records). Her first CD in five years, Weighted Mind was released January 29.

Fleck suggested taking a 180-degree turn from the music she had tracked by throwing out all the excessive instrumentation and keeping nothing but her mandolin and voice.

“I had never done that before,” the former child prodigy says. “From the time I started playing, it was always jamming with these full bluegrass bands. When I was out there touring

and trying to make my own music, you sort of do what you know at that time.

“I love bluegrass music as much or more than anything,” she adds. “It will always feel like home base for me. As a result of continuing with that and finding other musicians that I really admired, I found myself in a place of having a band that was under the name ‘Sierra Hull,’ but Sierra was getting kind of lost in it because of my admiration for what other people did. I was trying to make room for everybody else.”

Trying to tap into her unique voice, Sierra sampled the organic approach. “Stripping everything away leaves you no choice but to say, ‘What are you if everything else is gone?’” the singer-songwriter said. “You’re not writing a piece of music based on what you think this person would sound like on it. You’re not writing it based on anything except for you. It’s amazing how my perspective has changed on everything. It’s scary a little bit, because you certainly feel this pressure. There’s nothing to hide behind whatsoever. Then, it’s also exciting. It was a new way of looking at what I can potentially do, and really freeing.”

As the production continued, Hull decided to sprinkle in a few musi-cal flavors like harmony vocals with Krauss, Rhiannon Giddens and Abi-gail Washburn, along with bass from her bandmate, Ethan Jodziewicz, and

Fleck on banjo. (Justin Moses plays banjo in her stage band.)

In October, with trepidation, Hull showcased some of her new music at the IBMA’s Wide Open Bluegrass Festival in Raleigh, NC.

“It’s so scary when you share some-thing new with people that have been so supportive of you doing this other thing for a while,” Hull states.

Her worries were quickly set at ease after she was “blown away” by the acceptance of peers and fans.

“I put myself in a bit of a box think-ing, ‘that’s what people thought I was supposed to be,’ and I’m not sure that people ever thought that,” she says. “I’ve gotten such positive feedback. I feel like everybody has been even more accepting of this than what I was doing before. I truly think it boils down to people know when some-thing feels honest or when something feels like it’s not.”

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FeAture

“That doesn’t mean everybody’s gonna like it,” she adds. “There were plenty of people that didn’t like what I was doing before. At the end of the day, if I don’t like what I’m doing, how can I expect somebody else to like it? I think you have to do what makes you the happiest.”

Hull made her debut on the Grand Ole Opry at age 11 and landed her Rounder Records deal two years later. She played prestigious gigs at the White House, Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. She was the first bluegrass musician to receive the Berklee Col-lege of Music Presidential Scholarship. During those teen years, she was used to the ensemble approach in bluegrass, but the songstress wasn’t necessarily confident in her role.

“Sometimes I would be trying to sing something, and I would feel a little bit overwhelmed by how much stuff was around, hard-core mashing bluegrass, and I have this soft voice,” she says. “I sometimes get the most fun out of it when I can play mandolin and be a tenor singer. I love that! But for me to try to deliver a really killer lonesome bluegrass vocal, I never really felt like that was my strong suit.”

During her self-exploration during her teens and early 20s, Hull began dig-ging deeper into songwriting.

“People say to write about what you know,” she says. “When you’re really young, you don’t know a whole lot yet – ‘monkey see, monkey do,’” she says,

laughing. “You see things you love, and you try to re-create those in a way that seems like your own. I think it’s a little bit easier to ask yourself, ‘What am I feeling right now? What do I want to write about?’” Hull says. “From a songwriting point of view, I would like to think that I’ve matured a little bit, based on life experiences.”

Hull wrote or co-wrote all but one of the songs on her new CD, and created the arrangement for the Joan Baez song, “Queen of Hearts/Royal Tea.” Songs like “Stranded,” “Compass,” “Choices,” “The In-Between” and the title cut capture Hull’s story of her early 20s, the searching and period of self-discovery.

sierrA hull

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“There’s that period of adjustment to find your own self, and then you start to question,” Hull recalls. “These are all the things I know, based on what I’ve been taught my whole life and what some-body else hopes me to be. You feel like, ‘Who am I, really?’ which is an interest-ing question.”

Under the microscope in bluegrass at a young age, she realizes some people will always see her as Little Sierra, the young mandolin whiz and vocalist. By moving out of her parents’ home and touring the country the last several years, Hull has grown into a mature and independent woman.

“You start to go into a place of feeling like, ‘I’m all right; I’m standing on my own two feet, finally,’” she says with a chuckle.

“I suddenly kind of went, ‘Wow, I feel like a woman for probably the first time in my life,’” the 24-year-old says. “I look at 18 year-olds now, and I start to feel old. It’s really weird. I’m not that old. I feel like I’m in a better place. I’m still super-young, and I’m sure in an-other four or five years, I’ll have another similar experience – ‘I don’t know what I’m doing. Where am I? Where do I go from here?’ and that kind of thing.”

For now, Hull no longer feels adrift. She’s confident of her place in music, and that’s a weight off her mind.

Bill Conger is a respected veteran jour-nalist of bluegrass and country music. He is currently writing a biography on Bobby Osborne.

sierra hull | “black River” official video

Photo by Gina Binkley

I n t e r n a t i o n a l B u e g r a s s | M a r c h 2 0 1 6 9

I M P o R T a N T T I C K e T I N f o R M a T I o N :Tickets/Registration and Hotel Reservations will be available online at www.ibma.org beginning at 10 a.m. Central on April 5 for members only, April 19 for non-members.

The Raleigh Marriott City Center and Sheraton Raleigh are once again host hotels for IBMA’s World of Bluegrass. Discounted World of Bluegrass hotel reservations at the Marriott & Sheraton are contingent upon the purchase of a ticket/registration to at least one WOB event (excluding Bluegrass Ramble tickets). Other local hotels will be available for reservation without prior purchase.

The IBMA proudly presents World of Bluegrass, a multifaceted industry event and festival with scores of offerings for every bluegrass professional and fan! World of Bluegrass provides unmatched opportunities for expanding your professional networks, learning the latest in industry best practices and discovering the finest bluegrass music in the world! Explore the opportunities:

TICKETS ON SALE APRIL 5!A bluegrass experience like no other in the world!

become a part of IbMa today at www.ibma.org for members’ access and discounts!

IBMA Business Conference (Sept. 27-29)Network, promote and discover the latest business trends in the bluegrass music industry

Bluegrass Ramble Showcase Series (Sept. 27-29)90 showcase acts on 7 stages

International Bluegrass Music Awards (Sept. 29)Recognizing outstanding achievements in bluegrass, featuring once-in-a-lifetime performances

Wide Open Bluegrass Festival (Sept. 30 – Oct. 1)The one-of-a-kind urban bluegrass music festival with the preeminent artists in bluegrass music

I n t e r n a t i o n a l B l u e g r a s s | M a r c h 2 0 1 6

heADliNe here

1 0

IBMA Moment of the MonthThe Steeldrivers Win a Grammy! February 15, 2016 – Los Angeles, California

A Big Moment: The Steeldrivers celebrate their Best Bluegrass Album Grammy win with legendary bluesman Buddy Guy, who was the winner for Best Blues Album.

“I guess four is the charmer!” declared Tammy Rogers of The Steeldrivers, proudly bearing the band’s brand-new Grammy award. Los Angeles may not be known as a bluegrass town, but the California sun smiled on the sound at the Grammy ceremony, held February 15th at the Staples Center. After three prior losses, The Steeldrivers faced fierce competition in a tough category. Nominated for Best Bluegrass Album for The Muscle Shoals Recordings on

Rounder Records, the band shared a ballot with Ralph Stanley & Friends (Man of Constant Sorrow), Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (In Session), Dale Ann Bradley (Pocket Full of Keys) and Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley (Before the Sun Goes Down). Celebrating with Rogers at the podium to declare their losing streak dead were bandmates Brent Truitt, Gary Nichols and Mike Fleming. A couple of days later, Fleming was still amazed.

“The SteelDrivers just had the experience of a lifetime when we won our first Grammy. [It was] rewarding, humbling and exciting.

“We want to thank the entire bluegrass community for their support for the past ten years – fans, festivals, promoters and the IBMA. The SteelDrivers will continue to spread the sounds of bluegrass wherever someone will let us on a stage.”

Photo by Jules Wortman

CoNtests & GiveAwAys

I n t e r n a t i o n a l B u e g r a s s | M a r c h 2 0 1 6 11

• OnlyonechancetowinperGrassRootsnewmembershipormembershiprenewal.

• YouwillreceivetwochancestowinwitheachIndividualProfessionalnewmembershiporIndividualProfessionalrenewal.

• YouwillreceivethreechancestowinwitheachOrganizationalnewmembershiporOrganiza-tionalmembershiprenewal.

• YouwillreceivefivechancestowinwitheachneworcurrentLifetimemembership.

• YoumayprocessyournewmembershipormembershiprenewalheReor call 1-888-438-4262/615-256-3222.

For your chance to win, you must either join as a new member, or renew your standing or lapsed membership in the ibMA during the month of March to be eligible. Current members who would like to enter the drawing may still renew their membership regardless of when it expires. Membership Services will apply your renewal fees towards your next renewal date.

Other details for the drawings include:

IB: International Bluegrass wants to celebrate The Steeldrivers’ Grammy win with you! Rounder Records has

graciously provided us with three autographed copies of The Muscle Shoals Recordings for us to give away!

• NewandrenewalmembershipswillbeenteredinthedrawingforTheSteeldrivers’Grammy-winningcollection,The Muscle Shoals Recordings,autographedbytheband.

• NewandrenewalmembershipswillbeacceptedforentryintothedrawingthroughMarch31,2016.

• ThedrawingwillbeconductedbyapersonnotonstaffwiththeInternationalBluegrassMusicAssociation(IBMA).

• ThedrawingwilltakeplacetheweekofApril4,2016.Winnerswillbenotifiedviaemailoftheirprizes.

• ForquestionsaboutneworrenewedIBMAmembership,pleasecallLeahJamesat615-256-3222.

• Byagreeingtoenterthedraw-ing,youagreetoanyandalltermsandconditionsassetforthhereinorelsewherebytheIBMAorRounderRecords.

• WinnersagreetohavetheirnamesreleasedandpromotedonIBMAsocialmedia,afutureeditionofIB: International BluegrassandelsewhereaswinnersoftheIB: International BluegrassmagazinegiveawayofTheSteeldrivers’Grammy-win-ningrelease,The Muscle Shoals Recordings.

For questions regarding these rules or other aspects of this giveaway, please call Shannon Turner at 615-256-3222.

I n t e r n a t i o n a l B l u e g r a s s | M a r c h 2 0 1 61 2

souND ADviCe

The songwriter’s toolboxWhen it comes to tools for creation, collaboration and organization, it’s a great time to be a songwriter. With the vast array of technology available today, anyone can build a songwriter’s toolbox at minimal cost. In addition to conventional hard-ware like computers, laptops and portable recorders, smartphones and tablets have become effective, power-packed options for writing and recording on the go. I have outlined a few things I use on a daily basis as a songwriter. With these tools, a mobile phone or tablet is all the hardware you need, so you can be ready to write your next hit at a moment’s notice!

By Dawn Kenney

web / Mobile-bAseD tools

Dropbox (www.dropbox.com )

Dropbox is a terrific tool for organization & collaboration. It is an online storage space for your stuff (documents, spreadsheets, mp3s, videos, photos and more). And we all know we should have a backup, right? It allows you to create files and folders on your computer or mobile device, and then access them remotely (via app) or share them with anyone you choose. The entry-level Dropbox account is free and comes with five gigs of storage space (upgradable).

Quip (www.quip.com)

Quip bills itself as a productivity suite. I have just started using it within the past month or so, and it has been effective for project management. Quip is similar to the tools above in that you can create and share searchable folders or documents. It is accessible on your mobile devices via the Quip app and syncs content between your device and computer. One of the things I like about it is that Quip allows you to create interactive task lists with your collaborators and sends updates as things are crossed off the list or changes are made. It has a chat feature that lets you chat in real time without exiting your document. You can also create and edit documents in real time (while co-writing remotely). At first glance it appears to bring some of the neat features of the others together in one tool. However, the document creation tool isn’t as robust as you would expect and you cannot upload mp3s.

soMe uses For Dropbox

orGANizAtioN:

● Create multiple folders and subfolders to keep your lyrics or song catalogue organized and accessible.

CollAborAtioN:

● Create and share a folder with a co-writer with song lyrics, rough demo mp3s and/or publishing info that can be updated/accessed remotely. When changes are made, everyone gets automatic updates.

soNG pitChiNG:

● Create and share a folder that includes your song demo and lyric sheet; then share it directly with the pitch target via a link. They can easily open the folder and play/download the mp3. You can also email a file directly.

With Dropbox your “stuff” is always with you via your mobile device.

MAsterClAss

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web / Mobile-bAseD tools CoNtiNueD

GooGle Drive (www.google.com/drive)

Drive is one of my favorite tools for col-laboration. If you have a Google account, Drive functions very similarly to Dropbox but has some extra features, like specific apps for documents, spreadsheets and slides. Drive comes with 15 gigs of free storage space and is upgradable from there!

soMe uses For Drive (in addition to those outlined above for Dropbox):

CollAborAtioN:

● Snap a photo of a docu-ment and Drive will store it instantly as a PDF. It’s great for uploading and sharing things like handwritten charts.

● Gmail users can save/download attachments from Gmail directly to Drive

● If you are co-writing remotely, (Skype, Google Hangout, phone, etc.), you and your co-writer can view/edit a lyric document live and you can see the changes as they are being made.

everNote (www.evernote.com )

Evernote is another good basic organizational and collabora-tion tool that installs on your mobile device, syncs across devices and computers. It can be accessed from any Internet connected device. It’s simple, easy to use and upgradable.

soMe uses For everNote:

orGANizAtioNAl:

● Create searchable “notebooks” (folders) with text (ideas) and voice memos.

● Create and upload rough recordings with the voice memo tool.

CollAborAtioN:

● Share ideas, notes and rough recordings. Evernote Basic also allows you to share and chat in real time.

Mobile Apps

souNDClouD (https://soundcloud.com/ )

Soundcloud provides a simple way to record your ideas or finished songs and automatically saves them to your Sound-cloud account. The account is free and allows you to post your creations publicly to your own Soundcloud space, or post individual tracks to your social media accounts. If you prefer to keep your musings to yourself, the account can be set to private and function as free cloud storage for your recordings.

MusiC MeMos (http://www.apple.com/music-memos/ )

Music Memos is a new app from Apple. If Voice Memos and Garage Band had a baby, it would be Music Memos. With one tap, you can record a simple idea, like a guitar vocal passage. Tap on the bass or drum icon, and it will add backing bass and/or drum tracks to your recording, follow-ing your chord progression and timing (as good or bad as it may be). It will also lay out a chord chart for you and allow you to trim your audio record-ing. Finally, you can send your track to Garageband for further editing. Is it perfect? No, you may have to tweak it a bit here and there. But it is a dynamic tool, fun to play with and free. This app is only available on iPhone.

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souND ADviCe

www.rhymezone.com

Tried and true, never leave home without it.

Grow Your Bluegrass Business

See our many options at IBMA.org

IBMA Advertise with

oNliNe resourCes

www.thesaurus.com

I have barely scratched the surface of the myriad of options available. Truth be told, in the writing room, my first step is old school - pencil, eraser (big eraser) and notebook. For me, there is something special about putting pencil to paper. But once those ideas start flowing and developing, the devices get booted up, ideas recorded, re-recorded, uploaded to the cloud and shared with collaborators!

www.visualthesaurus.com This is an interactive dictionary and thesaurus that creates “word maps” that branch to related words. It is subscription-based, but gives you a few introductory tries. Subscriptions run $2.95 / month or $19.95 per year.

Check it out; it’s cool!

www.dictionary.com

Dawn Kenney is a self-described “songwriting, guitar-picking, sweet-singing, bluegrass-loving gal based in New England. Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat nor gloom of night will keep her from a song.”

shAke & howDy

I n t e r n a t i o n a l B u e g r a s s | M a r c h 2 0 1 6 15

Grow Your Bluegrass Business

See our many options at IBMA.org

IBMA Advertise with

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCKThe IBMA is happy to welcome its new February members! Please say hello to:

Terry Milton

David Clarke

Richard Zerance

Terry Mandell

Patrick McGill

Maribeth McFall

Kathleen Briggs

David Hamilton

Doug Long

Janine Carter

Rebecca Howard

Chad Fisher

Stephen Mandell

Kyle Elliott

Devin Tower

David Vangelder

Jon Austin

Debbie Dunn

Michael Daves

Richard Czechowski

David Parmley

Derrell Maxwell

John Jessup

Brad Smart

Karyn Elliott

Wilford Sowell

Jerry Andrews

Amanda Crews

And we are delighted to welcome new Lifetime Members:

Jacklyn Lester Felix Sherron, III

If you are not yet a member of the IBMA, what are you waiting for?! Be a part of all that is great about bluegrass - yesterday, today and tomorrow. Visit www.ibma.org/membership, or call to speak with our Membership Services Director, Leah James, at 615-256-3222.

I n t e r n a t i o n a l B l u e g r a s s | M a r c h 2 0 1 61 6

ibMA throwbACk

Looking back...

5 Years agoIn March 2011, the IB: International Bluegrass reported:

• A record 45 participants from 11 countries convened for the 3rd European Bluegrass Sum-mit in Buhl, Germany. Over the course of the weekend, the Summit created and launched a European Bluegrass Festival Network, celebrat-ed the 10th anniversary of the European Blue-grass Music Association, discussed relevant issues to the area and of course, got in plenty of jam time.

• Patty Loveless received the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album for Mountain Soul II; Marty Stuart won the Best Country In-strumental Performance for “Hummingbird,” from Ghost Train: The Studio B Sessions; and The Carolina Chocolate Drops were awarded the Best Traditional Folk Album Grammy, for Genuine Negro Jig.

• The IBMA hosted a webinar on March 24, 2011, called “Drawing on Lessons from the Music of the Beatles,” presented by John Pennell.

10 Years agoIn March 2006, the IB: International Bluegrass reported:

• The IBMA welcomed Tina Potter as Market-ing/PR Coordinator.

• IBMA Special Projects Director Nancy Cardwell represented the Association at the first National SupportMusic Affiliate Summit on January 19-21 in Anaheim, California, where she was photographed with cast mem-bers of Sesame Street.

• The Arkansas Bluegrass Association, with 1500-1800 members, organized statewide Bluegrass in the Schools efforts led by Red-mond Keisler.

• Alison Krauss & Union Station had a good night at the Grammy Awards, presented on February 8, 2006, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The band took home awards from its Lonely Runs Both Ways release, including Best Country Album, Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for “Restless,” and Best Country Instrumental Performance for “Unionhouse Branch.”

• Other Grammy Awards went to Tim O’Brien, Best Traditional Folk Album for Fiddler’s Green; and The Del McCoury Band, Best Bluegrass Album for The Company We Keep.

A couple of news items that appeared in International Bluegrass 5 and 10 years ago

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IB