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'Thunder' shakes Birchmere
Ricky Skaggs is still one of the hardest-working men in music
Date published: 1/4/2007
By EMILY GILMORE Despite a storied career that's lasted more than three decades and included a slew of hits, country and bluegrass music star Ricky Skaggs is still one of the hardest-working men in music. When he's not on tour with his band, Kentucky Thunder, he's lending his expertise to develop artists for his label, Skaggs Family Records, or he's in the recording studio himself. And while some are content to take it slow after the holidays, Skaggs always starts the year off with a bang, with a tour that has brought him to Alexandria's Birchmere for the last five years or so, he said in a phone interview he squeezed in right before Christmas. He and Kentucky Thunder will perform at the venue tomorrow and Saturday. "We love working up there at the Birchmere; it's a cool place," Skaggs said. "It's old roots, and it's old friends." Skaggs and company will play a variety of songs from his recent projects, including the soon-to-be-released duets album with Skaggs' longtime friend Bruce Hornsby, last year's Grammy-nominated "Instrumentals," and a gospel album Skaggs is recording with The Whites. Another album in the pipeline for Skaggs pays tribute to the 60th anniversary of bluegrass music, marking the time when "father of bluegrass" Bill Monroe hired Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, who would later become bluegrass greats themselves, to play in his band and the genre took off. It's fitting that Skaggs, whom some credit with reviving bluegrass music, would honor the style's founder in such a way. The 52-year-old multi-instrumentalist began his career in bluegrass in 1970 as a member of Ralph Stanley's Clinch Mountain Boys. He led his own group, Boone Creek, in the '70s and began to make the transition to country music when he joined Emmylou Harris' band in 1977. Skaggs moved to Nashville, Tenn., in the '80s and churned out one neotraditional country hit after another for Sony Records, which caused some to call him the savior of country music. Disillusioned with the direction in which country music was going, Skaggs stepped up to fill the void left in bluegrass after Monroe's death in 1996. His shift back to bluegrass helped usher in a renaissance for the genre that continues to strengthen. The label Skaggs Family Records has allowed him freedom to create that he didn't have at Sony, he said, and it has fostered the careers of a number of rising bluegrass stars. The current roster includes Skaggs, The Whites, Cherryholmes, Keith Sewell and Cadillac Sky. Skaggs heaps praise on the artists he works with, and he's keen to find fresh talent. "We're always looking for the next Alison Krauss," he said. To reach EMILY GILMORE:
Date published: 1/4/2007
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