Fledgling Georgia label Bless Your Heart Music recently celebrated the release of the new Goin' To The Dance CD from Alice and Scott Vestal (ASV) at a party at 16 Ton Recording Studio on Music Row in Nashville. Pictured are (left to right) IBMA Director Dan Hays, Alice Vestal, and Scott Vestal.

The Ggospel Music Aassociation (GMA) recently hosted its annual conference and awards ceremonies in Nashville, Tennessee. Among the recipients of the 38th Annual GMA Dove Awards was IBMA Hall of Honor inductees, The Llewis Family, who earned both the song and album awards in the bluegrass music category.
Bluegrass Recorded Song of the Year, “My Cross,” from the album Flyin’ High, was produced by Wwayne Haun on vine Records Bluegrass Album of the Year, Flyin’ High, was produced by Wayne Haun and Kevin Ward on the Mountain Home label.

Bluegrass entertainer and Blue Circle recording artist, Jeanette Wwilliams won first place at the prestigious 2007 Chris Austin Songwriting Contest (Bluegrass Category) for her original song, “Enough of You.” This annual contest is held at the Americana-roots based festival, MerleFest in Wilkesboro, NC. Fellow band member, Chase Johner, was awarded third place in the MerleFest Mandolin Contest.
The Chris Austin Songwriting contest pays tribute to songwriter and musician, Chris Austin, who began his professional career in Ricky Skaggs’ band. Chris Austin and Greg Barnhill penned, “Same Ol’ Love,” recorded by Skaggs that went on to become a top five hit with Epic Records. On March 16, 1991, only a few hours after the recording of “Same Ol’ Love,” Chris was tragically killed in a plane crash along with other members of Reba McEntire’s band and her tour manager. Over the years the contest has included notable winners such as Gillian Welch, Tift Merritt, Michael Reno Harrell, Adrienne Young, Martha Scanlan, David via, and Jeanette Williams’ husband, singer/songwriter, Johnny Williams.

Bluegrass singers/songwriters, Don King, Brant Miller and Dave Wwoodward walked away from MerleFest, with the top country song honors in its annual Chris Austin Songwriting Contest. King, Miller and Woodward won this year with a song titled “The Road Kill Bill.” The Tennessee Legislature inspired the song when lawmakers passed a bill making it legal to “harvest” road killed game animals without the need of a hunting license. The songwriting trio, performs under the name 2nd Nature and also works for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, could not let this legislative nugget escape their pens and guitars.
With clever and earthy lyrics such as “it ain’t like a handout, no it’s more like meals on wheels” and “it’s given brand-new meaning to the phrase hot off the grill,” “The Road Kill Bill” captured the imagination of judges and festival goers alike from the first line through the last chorus. Anyone wishing to learn more about the group 2nd Nature and its members or to order a CD containing “The Road Kill Bill” can do so by logging onto their web site at secondnaturesongs.com.