Steeldrivers to headline at 11th bluegrass festival

LITTLE ROCK — A bluegrass festival suggests several days and several bands, but there is usually a main headliner, and the 11th annual Mountain View Bluegrass Festival is no exception to the rule.

The Steeldrivers are headlining the festival, performing at 8:30 p.m. Saturday. The group, consisting of four men and one woman, is on the road promoting the band’s third album, Hammer Down, released by Rounder Records on Feb. 5.

“We’re looking forward to our first visit to Mountain View,” says guitarist and lead singer Gary Nichols, who replaced founding member Chris Stapleton in 2010. “I’ve played a few times as a solo artist in Arkansas. The three years I’ve spent as a member of The Steeldrivers have been three of the best years of my life.”

Stapleton had started the band in 2005 with Tammy Rogers, who plays fiddle and sings; Mike Flemming, bassist and singer; banjo player Richard Bailey, and Mike Henderson, a multi-instrumentalist. Henderson left in December 2011 and was replaced by mandolinist Brent Truitt. Nichols explains that Henderson decided to leave before the band recorded its latest album, so that his exit would not result in further turmoil to a band he still loves and works with. In fact, he and Stapleton still write songs that The Steeldrivers record: four of the 10 new songs were written by Henderson or Stapleton.

“Tammy said it best, that Chris and Mike are Steeldrivers Emeritus,” Nichols says. “Chris decided to bow out before the band recorded its second album, Reckless. He knew he didn’t want to tour, so he turned in his resignation, and Mike’s wife randomly found my nameon the Internet. Tammy said my name sounded familiar, and her husband, Jeff King, who is Reba’s [McEntire’s] guitarist, knew me. That’s how I came to join.”

Nichols, a native of Muscle Shoals, Ala., brings a rhythm and blues/rock ’n’ roll sensibility to bluegrass, which he describes as a format that’s a little easier to play than country music.

“Bluegrass and Americana have much in common, so there’s not much difference in whether you call it blues, country or bluegrass,” he says. “It’s all in the note selection you play.”11th annual Mountain View

Bluegrass Festival

6-10 p.m. today, noon-4

p.m. and 6-10 p.m. Fri

day-Saturday, Ozark Folk

Center Auditorium, Moun

tain View

Artists: The Steeldrivers

(Saturday), Monroe Cross

ing (all shows), Doyle

Lawson & Quicksilver (to

day), The Gibson Brothers

(Friday), Cedar Hill (today

and Friday), LaTresa &

The Signal (Friday and

Saturday), Hickory Hill

(Friday and Saturday),

Bucksnort Hill (today), The

Cobb Brothers (Saturday)

and The Redmond Keisler

Band (Saturday)

Admission: $20 for tonight’s

show; $20 for Friday

shows; $20 for Saturday

shows; $55 for three-day

pass

(870) 269-2542, (870) 269-

2704

mountainview-bluegrass.

com

Weekend, Pages 31 on 03/07/2013

Print Headline: Steeldrivers to headline at 11th bluegrass festival