John Cloyd Miller (Red June) Wins MerleFest’s Chris Austin Songwriting Contest: “Cloud of Dust” Places #1 in Bluegrass

John Cloyd Miller (Red June) Wins 2013
MerleFest’s Chris Austin Songwriting Contest

“Cloud of Dust” Places #1 in Bluegrass Category

John Cloyd Miller won first place in the 21st annual Chris Austin Songwriting Contest in the bluegrass category at MerleFest 2013. Miller is a vocalist, guitarist and mandolin player for the Asheville-based band, Red June, a nationally touring acoustic Americana trio that includes his wife, fiddler and vocalist Natalya Weinstein, and multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Will Straughan. The winning song, “Cloud of Dust,” appears on Red June’s 2012 sophomore release, Beauty Will Come.

“‘Cloud of Dust’ highlights the frustrations and resolve of a young man during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.” John says, “This song tells the story of what happens when we abuse our land.” Red June kicked off 2013 with the release of a music video for the song which features powerful archival footage from the Dust Bowl.

John Cloyd Miller. Photo by Terry Manier.

Acclaimed NC traditional musician, Riley Baugus, says, “John’s music reminds me of being in the Blue Ridge Mountains, high on a hill all alone and hearing the sound of the mountains coming from all around and filling your soul with the feeling that everything is just right in that place. His voice is strong and pure and harkens back to a time when there was no need for electronic enhancement and tuning adjustments. In short, John is the real thing and is just incredible.”

The Chris Austin Songwriting Contest offers songwriters the opportunity to have their original songs heard by a panel of professional songwriters and others from the Nashville music industry. The 2013 winners were chosen from more than 700 entries. Winners in the Bluegrass category included 1st Place – John Cloyd Miller’s “Cloud of Dust” (Asheville, NC); 2nd Place – Todd Grebe’s “Master of My Destiny”  (Nashville, Tenn.); and 3rd Place – Aaron Burdett’s “Magpie (Saluda, NC). Previous winners of the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest include Gillian Welch, Tift Merritt, Michael Reno Harrell, Adrienne Young, Martha Scanlan, David Via and Johnny Williams.

“The talent this year was amazing!” says Laurie Brintle-Jarvis, coordinator of the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest. “They gave an inspirational performance on the Cabin Stage on Friday evening, sharing their talents and enthusiasm with the crowd.” For more details about the contest, visit www.MerleFest.org/ChrisAustinSongwritingContest.

In 2012, Red June made their MerleFest debut, performing at the 25th anniversary festival. Later that year they released their second full-length album, Beauty Will Come, and performed at numerous shows and festivals across the country including Music City Roots, Suwannee Springfest, Beartrap Summer Festival, and Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival. The band was selected for an official showcase at The Station Inn in Nashville at the Americana Music Association conference, and was featured in the October 2012 issue of Southern Living magazine with Douglas Rogers writing, “Bands like Old Crow Medicine Show, The Avett Brothers, and Red June have recently put the sounds of Appalachia back on the map.”

Red June at MerleFest by Will Sparklin

A native of Hickory, NC, Miller’s musical background includes deep roots in bluegrass. A self-taught musician, he grew up listening to his grandfather, legendary bluegrass fiddler and NC Folk Heritage Award winner, Jim Shumate. After graduating from Appalachian State University, Miller moved to Utah and joined the bluegrass band Lo-Fi Breakdown. Eventually the band relocated to Asheville, NC, and continued to perform until early 2009. Around that same time, Miller, Weinstein, and Straughan formed Red June (named after an heirloom apple variety), a group that emphasizes songwriting while combining elements of bluegrass, old-time, country and American roots music.

“Beauty Will Come by Red June just may be the most stunningly gorgeous country album in years. Everything about it: from the exquisite three-part harmonies and acoustic loveliness of the mandolin, fiddle, guitar and upright bass…This is the epitome of Americana…” says Mike Greenblatt with Rant’n’Roll Aquarian Weekly.

For more information, visit www.redjunemusic.com or www.johncloydmiller.com.

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Tara Nevins (of Donna the Buffalo) and Friends Tour the Southeast This December

Tara Nevins (of Donna the Buffalo) and Friends
Tour the Southeast This December
Performing Songs From Her Latest Solo Release ‘Wood and Stone’

Tara Nevins and Friends on Tour:
Wed 12/5  Atlanta, GA  Smith’s Olde Bar
Thur 12/6  Charlotte, NC  The Double Door Inn
Fri 12/7  Asheville, NC  The Grey Eagle
Sat 12/8  Huntsville, AL Kaffeeklatsch

“A tour de force from start to finish” –Elmore Magazine about Wood and Stone

“If heroes and heroines of rock ‘n’ roll are defined by their uniqueness, they definitely broke the mold when they made Tara Nevins.” —Wildman Steve

American roots traditionalist Tara Nevins will be touring this winter in the southeast for select shows, in between her other gigs with Donna the Buffalo. She will be performing songs from her latest solo release, Wood and Stone, on Sugar Hills Records which hit in the Top 20 on the Americana Music Chart in 2011.

Joining Nevins for this tour are Riley Baugus (Banjo), Mike Compton (Mandolin), Pete Finney (pedal steel & electric guitar), David Grier (Acoustic Guitar), Todd Phillips (bass), Mark Raudabaugh (Donna the Buffalo’s  Drummer), and Amber-Dawn Rische (harmony vocals & 2nd fiddle).

Fans of Nevins from her 21-year tenure with Donna the Buffalo are familiar with her versatile talents; she shares the vocal and songwriting responsibilities for the band and is a stellar musician on fiddle, guitar, and accordion. (She plays a mean scrubboard too.) Prior to DTB, Nevins was a founding member of the all-female, old time/Cajun band The Heartbeats.

Wood and Stone was produced by Larry Campbell at the Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, NY and showcases Nevins’ ever-evolving repertoire as she journeys both back to her own “roots” and head-long into new territory. Featured guests on the album include Levon Helm, Jim Lauderdale, Allison Moorer, Teresa Williams, The Heartbeats, along with the core band of Larry Campbell, Justin Guip, and Byron Isaacs.

CMT says, “With the wonderful fiddle groove and vividly written lyrics, Nevins gives a glimpse into her roots. Stepping out for a rare solo record (beyond her beloved band, Donna the Buffalo), she meshes her Cajun influences, unique voice, drums and steel guitars for an intriguing look at her heritage.”

“Two surprises on the album are “Stars Fell on Alabama,” in which Nevins turns the ‘30s jazz standard into a bleak, gothic soundscape, and “Tennessee River,” an even more desolate turn recalling the best of Lucinda Williams,“ writes Lonesome Road Review.

For more visit www.TaraNevins.com

WATCH- Stars Fell on Alabama Official Music Video
WATCH – Tennessee River performance and interview

About the Players for the Tour:

Riley Baugus. Photo by Abigail Seymoure

RILEY BAUGUS
Riley Baugus represents the best of old time American banjo and song. His powerful singing voice and his expert musicianship place him squarely in the next generation of the quality American roots tradition. When not teaching or building banjos, Riley can be found out on the road performing or in the studio recording.  Riley was the acapella ballad singer for the voice of Pangle in the Academy Award-winning film “Cold Mountain”.

His banjo playing can be heard on several recordings such as Alison Kraus and Robert Plants “Raising Sand, Willie Nelsons “Country Music”, and his two acclaimed solo recordings, “Life Of Riley” and “Long Steel Rail”, to mention only a few. He’s performed with many Old Time string bands and artists such as Dirk Powell, Tim O’brien, Kirk Sutphin, and The Lonesome Sisters. Riley makes his home near Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Photo Courtesy of Mike Compton

MIKE COMPTON
Preservationist, performer, modern-day musical pioneer, composer, and educator, Mike Compton, a musician’s musician has rightly earned a reputation as one of the best and most influential mandolin players in acoustic music today. Grammy award winner, nominated IBMA Mandolin Player of the Year, and musical US Ambassador throughout the world, Mike has entertained at Carnegie Hall, at the White House, and been honored by the Mississippi State Senate with State Resolution Number 45, a special honor commending his musical accomplishments.

Over a span of 35 years, Compton has made a career playing on recordings of others adding his signature sound. Mike has made music with such diverse notables as Ralph Stanley, Elvis Costello and the Sugarcanes, David Grier,producer T-Bone Burnett (O Brother, Where Art Thou and Down From The Mountain tours), Nashville Bluegrass Band, John Hartford to name a few, and has performed on over 100 CD’s in a variety of genres, with some of the most beloved artists of our day.

Photo Courtesy of Pete Finny

PETE FINNEY
Pete Finney is a pedal-steel guitarist (and multi-instrumentalist) who has toured and recorded with Patty Loveless for over 20 years, and also worked extensively with folks like the Dixie Chicks, Vince Gill, Pam Tillis, Jim Lauderdale, Doug Sahm as well as countless others,
and has recording credits with the likes of Justin Townes Earle, Bonnie “Prince” Billy,  Radney Foster and Beck.

Photo Courtesy of David Grier

DAVID GRIER
The most award-winning guitarist in recent memory is David Grier. For the past several years, he has been voted by the members of the International Bluegrass Music Association as Best Guitar Player of the Year. He has also appeared on two Grammy- winning recordings: “True Life Blues-A Tribute to Bill Monroe” and “The Great Dobro Sessions.” David is also included in the book, “1,000 Great Guitarists.”

In addition to touring solo, David also appears as the guitarist for Psychograss, who are currently celebrating a critically acclaimed new album, “Now Hear This”.  David makes his home in Nashville.

Photo Courtesy of Todd Phillips

TODD PHILLIPS
Todd Phillips is the bassist of choice for many of the most innovative, as well as traditional, acoustic instrumental and bluegrass recordings made since the mid-1970s.  A two-time Grammy Award winner and founding member of the original David Grisman Quintet, Phillips has made a career of consistently performing and recording with acoustic music’s finest and most creative artists.  He also played in The Tony Rice Unit and the now classic bluegrass recording group The Bluegrass Album Band.

Phillips has had the opportunity to work with a virtual “who’s who” of acoustic music’s finest, such as Vassar Clements, Ricky Skaggs, Sam Bush, John Hartford, Jerry Douglas, Alison Brown, Mike Marshall, Stuart Duncan, Tim O’Brien, Del McCoury, Darrell Scott, Larry Campbell, John Doyle, Dirk Powell, Joan Baez and many more.  Phillips has produced recordings for guitar great David Grier; “Panorama”, and two projects for mandolinist Matt Flinner; “The View From Here” and “Latitude”, which lead to the formation of the innovative instrumental trio; Phillips, Grier & Flinner and their two unique and highly acclaimed CDs; “Phillips, Grier & Flinner” and “Looking Back” (Compass Records).   Todd Phillips lives in Nashville, tours with Psychograss, Russ Barenberg & Brittany Haas, will tour Russia (w/ Bill Evans) in August 2012, reuniting with The Bluegrass Album Band (scheduled 2013) and is doing studio work in his new home town.

Mark Raudabaugh. Photo By Lori Sky Twohy.

MARK RAUDABAUGH
Atlanta based drummer, Mark Raudabaugh, is a versatile and skilled performer who is currently on the road with Donna the Buffalo. He has also toured with Papa Mali, Bobby Lee Rodgers and The CodeTalkers, Grant Green Jr., Ruby Velle and The Soulphonics, among many others.

Photo Courtesy of Amber-Dawn Rische Nicholas

AMBER-DAWN RISCHE NICHOLAS
Amber-Dawn Rische Nicholas has been performing worldwide for many years as a violinist and singer with the now disbanded Arista/Sony Nashville signed group, Jypsi. With the band, she had the opportunity to play many prestigious venues such as Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, South By Southwest (SXSW), Stagecoach, and many more including several appearances at The Ryman and The Grand Ole Opry. She has toured/performed with major artists including, Darius Rucker, Ronnie Milsap, Hootie & the Blowfish, etc. She has also gained invaluable experience working in the studio with many of the world’s top record producers such as Don Was, Nathan Chapman, Tony Smith, and the list goes on.

Amber-Dawn presently performs with her husband Bobby Nicholas in their duo BAD Nicholas.  They have recently written and recorded their first album together “We Will Fly”.  Amber-Dawn makes her home in Nashville.

Visit TaraNevins.com and Facebook.com/TaraNevins or Facebook.com/TaraNevinsFiddle for more information about the album, a gallery of images, videos, music, and lyrics.

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Tara Nevins Announces Shows in Atlanta 12/5 and Asheville 12/7

Tara Nevins Performs in the Southeast this Winter
Performing Songs from Her Latest Solo Release ‘Wood & Stone’

NEW DATES: Tara Nevins and Friends on Tour:
Wed 12/5  Atlanta, GA  Smith’s Olde Bar
Thur 12/6  Charlotte, NC  The Double Door Inn
Fri 12/7  Asheville, NC  The Grey Eagle
Sat 12/8  Huntsville, AL Kaffeeklatsch

Click here for updated information and a cast of performers!

American roots traditionalist Tara Nevins will be touring this winter in the southeast for select shows, in between her other gigs with Donna the Buffalo. She will be performing songs from her latest solo release on Sugar Hills Records which hit in the Top 20 on the Americana Music Chart in 2011. Wood and Stone is an exploration of her own heritage, musical and otherwise and was produced by Larry Campbell at the Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, NY. It showcases Nevins’ ever-evolving repertoire as she journeys both back to her own “roots” and head-long into new territory. Featured guests on the album include Levon Helm, Jim Lauderdale, Allison Moorer, Teresa Williams, The Heartbeats, along with the core band of Larry Campbell, Justin Guip, and Byron Isaacs.

Fans of Nevins from her 22-year tenure with Donna the Buffalo are familiar with her versatile talents; she shares the vocal and songwriting responsibilities for the band and is a stellar musician on fiddle, guitar, and accordion. (She plays a mean scrubboard too.) Prior to DTB, Nevins was a founding member of the all-female, old time/Cajun band The Heartbeats. (They join her on two tracks here as well.) Wood and Stone delivers the musical expertise fans have come to expect and surprises with new perspectives.

WATCH- Stars Fell on Alabama Official Music Video
WATCH – Tennessee River performance and interview

Performers for the shows

Tara Nevins– vocals, fiddle, guitar
Mike Compton – Mandolin
Mark Raudabaugh – Drums
Riley Baugus– Banjo
Todd Phillips – bass
Tommy Hannum – pedal steel & electric guitar
Amber Dawn Rische– harmony vocals and 2nd fiddle
Tba – Acoustic Guitar

What the Press says about Tara Nevins’ “Wood & Stone”

“A tour de force from start to finish” – Kay Cordtz, Elmore

“With the wonderful fiddle groove and vividly written lyrics, Nevins gives a glimpse into her roots. Stepping out for a rare solo record (beyond her beloved band, Donna the Buffalo), she meshes her Cajun influences, unique voice, drums and steel guitars for an intriguing look at her heritage.” —CMT

“If heroes and heroines of rock ‘n’ roll are defined by their uniqueness, they definitely broke the mold when they made Tara Nevins.” —Wildman Steve, The Corner News

“The centerpiece of the album, in my opinion, is the sweeping “The Wrong Side,” which features Allison Moorer and Teresa Williams. It’s a track sounds like it was from the O’Brother Where Art Thou? sessions, but the same could be said of the haunting “Stars Fell On Alabama,” where once again Nevins shows her prowess on the fiddle. This is an exceptional piece of music, one that I think needs to be heard—to prove that people are still cutting “Country Music” these days!” —Chuck Dauphin, Music News Nashville

“a wide-ranging affair encompassing all manner of rootsy Americana, spiced with Nevins’s voice and multi-instrumentalist skills, served up in a package that is polished but never slick. Nevins, in other words, is the real deal.” —David Maine, Pop Matters

“The sound is both loose and tight at the same time; the band knows how to walk that line and let Nevins be herself. To put it simply, it just plain works.”  —Brian Robbins, Jambands.com

“…….and a version of “Stars Fell on Alabama” that is now among my favorites. She has rearranged the tune magnificently and rekindled the spirit of the song.” —Cat Johnson, No Depression

“Wood And Stone adds another powerful and engaging chapter to Nevins’ musical achievements”. —Steven Stone, Vintage Guitar

Visit Tara Nevins website www.TaraNevins.com for more information about the album, a gallery of images, videos, music, and lyrics.

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Red June Offers a Free Download to Celebrate Their New Album “Beauty Will Come” ~ Release Date June 5th!

Acoustic Trio, Red June, will be release their new album “Beauty Will Come” next Tuesday, June 5th! To celebrate, they are offering fans a free download of the song “Soul’s Repair” off the new album!

RedJuneMusic.com

“Beauty Will Come by Red June just may be the most stunningly gorgeous country album in years. Everything about it: from the exquisite three-part harmonies and acoustic loveliness of the mandolin, fiddle, guitar and upright bass (no drums!) to the compositional prowess extolling home and hearth, family and true love ways. It’s natural, organic fresh air cool mountain stream music that strikes the right chord. It’s music meant to be played on the back porch at sundown while the coffee’s a ‘brewin’ and the soup is heatin’ up. This is the epitome of Americana and you probably won’t hear it on stupid ‘country’ radio” –Mike Greenblatt, Rant’n’Roll Aquarian Weekly

“Red June plays a hybrid of folk, country and bluegrass in many of its attendant forms. They can kick it with a reel, squeeze a country turnip until it bleeds, and tell a folk tale as well as most anybody, but where they really shine is their songwriting. All three have an innate feel for the music of the past and, without rehashing the formulas of the past, write in their own styles, fitting each song to their strengths. The main strength? Vocals. Vocals are not all they do, but they do them so well that you get lost in them at times. Three voices, blended yet individual, singing for harmonic joy or sadness or singing for the joy of singing itself.” –Frank Gutch, Jr., FAME Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange

“Will Straughan, John Cloyd Miller, and Natalya Weinstein possess a airtight harmony that will impress even the toughest critic. Listen to their vocal blend on “I’m Willing To Try,” and you may need to have your jaw surgically removed from the floor – they are that good!” –Chuck Dauphin, Music News Nashville

“I gotta say, this CD is INCREDIBLE!!! I loved it. It is full of wonderful songwriting, beautiful vocals and remarkable instrument work. John and Natalya and Will really have it going on with this recording. The tone of the recording itself is great. Not too much of this trick or that trick that folks sometimes think they need to use in the studio to make good music sound good.” –Riley Baugus

“With equal parts Celtic, old timey, trad country, and contemporary folk, Red June typifies what modern folk music is all about” –Steven Stone, AudiophileReview.com

“Perhaps the most admirable aspect of this album it the fact that with every track you listen to comes almost a totally different sub-genre or ‘form’ of Americana music. Ranging from folk, to bluegrass, to old-time, the sixth track of the album, ‘I’m Willing to Try’, is a brilliantly executed gospel number, done a capella, and strategically flows into a bluesy mid-tempo bluegrass tune, ‘Cloud of Dust’.  The album finishes out by continuing its theme of surprising the listener with each new track, (me anyway), and keeping things fresh. The final track that you will hear, ‘Red Sky Of Morn’,  is definitely their most folky on the album and seems to be an appropriate way to close it out. —Awaiting the Flood

“The material on Beauty is almost all self-penned by the band, running the gamut of modern bluegrassy folk. From git-down instrumentals to lovely waltzes, even a set of Irish reels, every piece is played with confidence and soul. But on the singing is where they shine like the summer sun. With warm lilting three-part harmonies and instrumental prowess to match” —Fiddle Freak

“There are shades of Tim O’Brien and Seldom Scene and Buck White & The Down Home Folks in the music, somehow. Not in the actual voices, but in the phrasing. It is a process, I think. They are processing well.” –Frank Gutch, Jr., FAME Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange

“undeniably charming” –JC, 3rd Coast Music

Red June looking out the the Cabin Stage window at Merlefest 2012. Photo by Tim Timberlake.

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