SCOTCOUNTRY MUSIC NEWS

The A9 will be a busy road next weekend when the 5th Northern Nashville CM Festival is held in Halkirk, Caithness.
Michelle Wright headlines, alongside Heather Miles, Billy Yates and Becky Hobbs.
Check out the website for full details www.nncmc.co.uk

The Prairie Star kick off the month with a visit from Buzzard Creek to their Weirs Club venue in Alloa on Saturday 4th.
Across the Forth,to Maddison where the San Quentin meet a week later than normal. Their April show on Friday 10th features Stateline.

Rural TV has launched in Britain on Sky Channel 279 and will be on Freesat before the end of the month. The station, part of US based RFD-TV offers a mix of Country lifestyle and entertainment. Bluegrass and gospel programmes are featured, alongside classic TV series featuring Porter Wagoner & The Wilburn Brothers, alongside Marty Stuart's current series.
Check out the full schedule at http://www.ruraltv.tv/includes/schedule/schedule.php

The Isaacs are a brilliant Bluegrass family group specializing in gospel. The current group members are Lily Isaacs, Ben Isaacs, Sonya Isaacs, John and Rebecca (Isaacs) Bowman. They have a unique style that marries Bluegrass harmonies and instrumentation with modern southern gospel lyrics. They perform frequently at the Grand Ole Opry, are members of the Gaither Homecoming Videos and Concerts.
They are in Scotland this week with dates as follows:
Tues 24th March - Dobbie Hall, Larbert
Thur 26th March - Community Centre, Peterhead

Glasgow based Gram Parsons tribute band, The City Sinners play Cumbernauld Theatre next Saturday 28th March.

Rachel Harrington is returning to the UK in April for an extensive tour with her regular partner Zak Borden, in support of her much acclaimed current album ‘City Of Refuge’. The Scottish dates include :
Tue 14th April Peebles, Eastgate Theatre
Thurs 16th Dunfermline,The Abbot House
Sat 18th Milngavie, The Fraser Centre
Mon 20th Perth Theatre
Tue 21st Leith Folk Club
Thurs 23rd Kirkcaldy Acoustic Music Club
Sat 25th Banchory, Woodend Barn Arts Centre
Sat 16th May Glasgow Americana Festival - Centre For Contemporary Arts

Country singer, and former mayor of his hometown, McLellen, Florida, Hank Locklin, has died. He was 91.
Born Lawrence Hankins Locklin in 1918 in Florida's timber-rich Panhandle, as a teenager he played guitar and sang on radio stations across the South, including the "Big D Jamboree" on KRLD in Dallas and "The Louisiana Hayride" in Shreveport, La.
He scored his first top 10 country hit with "The Same Sweet Girls" in 1949 and scored another chart-topper with "Let Me Be the One" in 1953.
Locklin's 1958 recording of his song "Send Me the Pillow You Dream On" crossed over from country to U.S. and became a standard for many performers, including Johnny Tillotson, Dean Martin, Dwight Yoakam and Dolly Parton.
His recording of "Please Help Me I'm Falling" spent 14 weeks at the top of the US country music charts in 1960, the same year he joined the Grand Ole Opry. His last performance at the Opry was in September 2007.
He was hugely popular in the British Isles having had 4 chart hits, the biggest,"Please Help Me I'm falling" making the Top 10 in 1960. He also recorded a couple of Irish albums, the earliest in 1964. One of his most recorded songs was "Irish Eyes".
In 1968 he recorded "The Country Hall Of Fame" in honour of the new landmark of Country music history. Incredibly, despite being a Top 10 Country hit, Locklin was never been made a member of the institution.
Locklin died Sunday at his home in Brewton,Alabama.

English singer Lucie Diamond, whose new single is "Take It Or Leave It Alone", has got herself into the Guinness Book of World Recordsm thanks to an event organised by Bliss, the national premature baby charity for which she is a "celebrity supporter," Licie a very premature baby herself, started the attempt to form the world's longest "kissing chain" by kissiong another prem' baby, Inara to "kiss off" the event.
The 165 participants took part in the event held in central London as part of Kiss For Bliss week - highlighting the plight of parents denied first contact with their babies, when they are born too soon, too small or too sick.

Nashville's Colt Records have signed OneDay40, from Scotland, to a 2 year recording contract. OneDay40 has amassed quite a following throughout the United Kingdom and were looking to break onto the US market so it seems an ideal situation for all parties involved. They are already in the process of wrapping up their new CD with plans to release their first single on Colt Records to radio in April of this year followed up by a whirlwind promotional tour of the United States in June of 2009

Grand Ole Opry legend Ernie Ashworth, best known for his hit “Talk Back Trembling Lips,” has died at age 80 in Nashville.
The cause of death was not immediately announced. Ernie had recently undergone bypass surgery, but was reported to have been doing well. He was born Dec. 15, 1928, in Huntsville, Ala., and made his chart debut in 1960 with “Each Moment (’Spent With You).” Ernie was best known for his biggest hit “Talk Back Trembling Lips,” which reached No. 1 in 1963. He joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1964 and continued to perform there on a regular basis. In 1992, Ernie was elected to the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.

Canada's East Coast Music Awards Gala at the Pepsi Centre in Corner Brook, NL, was held last night.
Single of the Year: We Are Young And So Is The Night (Gordie Sampson)
SOCAN Songwriter of the Year: Gordie Sampson (with J. Smith & JT Harding) for "We Are Young and So Is The Night"
Bluegrass Recording of the Year: The Grass Mountain Hobos (The Grass Mountain Hobos)
Country Recording of the Year : Chasing the Sun (Tara Oram)
Folk Recording of the Year: On the Line (David Myles)
Roots/Traditional Solo Recording of the Year: Endless Memories (Brenda Stubbert)
Roots/Traditional Group Recording of the Year : When Here Meets There (Troy MacGillivray & Shane Cook)

The Prairie Star have a change of date for their meeting this month. They'll now meet in their Weirs Social Club, Alloa venue on Saturday March 14th, with the music coming from Texas Express.
Maddison's Polmont Golf Club hosts two nights this month. The San Quentin meet there on Friday 6th, with Hillbilly Deluxe, whilst the Polmont Linedancers have Buzzard Creek on the 13th.
No Angels will be dancing to Fools Gold, in Hallglen on the 20th.
And in Dunblane, this Saturday (7th) Nashville steel guitarist Al Perkins will be playing.
Finally, dont forget Charlie Landsborough in Falkirk Town Hall on March 25th.