Fresh off their appearance at the CMA Music Fest in Nashville, innovative, soulful bluegrass band the SteelDrivers -- Tammy Rogers, Gary Nichols, Mike Fleming, Brent Truitt, and Richard Bailey -- are celebrating the release of their acclaimed new album, The Muscle Shoals Recordings, with a series of live hometown events in Nashville and Florence, Alabama this week. This afternoon, the band will do a live performance and interview for Sirius XM’s Bluegrass Junction at 2:00 PM at the Bridgestone Arena, followed by a meet & greet with the audience at 3:00 PM. From there, they will head to local record mecca Grimey’s, located at 1604 8th Avenue South, for a brief live set and signing at 4:30. They’ll close out the day with a performance at the Grand Ole Opry at 8:00 PM.
On Wednesday, June 17, they head to Florence, Alabama, the home of singer-guitarist Gary Nichols, for an intimate live show at 116 E. Mobile Street. The venue, which is run by the owners of Single Lock Records (Will Trapp, Ben Tanner, and John Paul White), has quickly earned a reputation for being among the best places to see live music in the region. Prior to the show, at 6:00 PM, the band will host a meet and greet at Billy Reid, next door to the venue.
The band’s recent tour dates have wowed critics, who praise the band’s “gutsy, gritty bluegrass songs” (Juli Thanki, Tennessean). Writing in the Philadelphia Inquirer, AD Amorosi declared “You can call it power-bluegrass or country soul, but whatever you call it, Nashville's SteelDrivers have bushels of it.”
Early reviews of the album are equally effusive. Country Standard Time’s Donald Teplyske writes “the group has embraced its uniqueness: The SteelDrivers have established soulgrass as their own little niche,” and goes on to say “The Muscle Shoals Recordings continues the band's string of superior bluegrass recordings.” Jeff Simon of the Buffalo News says “it’s not all that long a way from Nashville to Muscle Shoals – not geographically or musically either. The trip was worth making.” All Music’s Mark Deming calls it “music played with soul, heart, honesty, and skill…the music speaks for itself, and what it says is eloquent and deeply pleasing.”
The SteelDrivers will be on tour throughout the summer and fall, and will announce new dates shortly.
For more information, please contact Regina Joskow rjoskow@rounder.com, 917.532.5687 or Ashley Moyer ashley.moyer@concordmusicgroup.com, 615.928.4777 at the Rounder Label Group, or Jules Wortman at Wortman Works, jwortman@wortmanworks.com, 615.431-5059.
The SteelDrivers On Tour:
6/16/2015, Grand Ole Opry House (w/Terri Clark) Nashville, TN 6/17/2015, 116 Mobile Muscle Shoals, AL 6/18/2015 Marriott Shoals Resort & Confrence Center Florence, AL 6/19/2015 Eckert's Country Store Summer Concert Series Belleville, IL 6/26/2015 Rudyfest Grayson, KY 7/2/2015 The Ready Room St. Louis, MO 7/3/2015 Shawnee Bluff Vineyards Eldon, MO 7/4/2015 Wanderlust Festival Snowmass Village, CO 7/5/2015 Knuckleheads (Do Not Announce) Kansas City, MO 7/11/2015 Uncle Dave Macon Days Murfreesboro, TN 7/16/2015 Grey Fox Bluegrasss Festival Oak Hill, NY 7/19/2015 Forecastle Louisville, KY 7/23/2015 Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman Nashville, TN 7/24/2015 Musicians Against Childhood Cancer Columbus, OH 7/25/2015 Muncie Three Trails Music Series Muncie, IN 7/30/2015 Infinity Hall Norfolk, CT 7/31/2015 Pemi Valley Bluegrass Festival Thorton, NH 8/7/2015 The Bijou Theatre Knoxville, TN 8/8/2015 Mountain Stage Elkins, WV 8/9/2015 Rams Head Tavern Annapolis, MD 8/28/2015 Ocean Lakes Bluegrass Weekend Myrtle Beach, SC 8/29/2015 The Neighborhood Theatre Charlotte, NC 9/5/2015 Cumberland River Music Festival Williamsburg, KY 9/10/2015 The Music Box Supper Club Cleveland, OH 9/11/2015 Park Street Saloon Columbus, OH 9/18/2015 Poppy Mountain Bluegrass Festival Morehead, KY 9/19/2015 Bristol Rhythm & Roots Bristol, TN 10/2/2015 Greenup Old Fashion Days Greenup, KY 10/10/2015 Clayton Shindig Clayton, NC 10/18/2015 Cedar Cultural Center Minneapolis, MN 11/7/2015 Boyd County Community Center Cattlesburg, KY