Balsam Range

Last updated

Balsam Range
Origin Haywood County, North Carolina, US
Genres Bluegrass, acoustic
Years active2007–present
Members
Past members
  • Buddy Melton
  • Darren Nicholson
Website balsamrange.com

Balsam Range is an American bluegrass and acoustic music group founded in 2007 in Haywood County, North Carolina. They are 2014 and 2018 International Bluegrass Music Association (IMBA) Entertainer of the Year award recipients. Their other accolades include IBMA Vocal Group of the Year (2014, 2015), Song of the Year (2011, 2015), and Album of the Year (2013, 2017). [1] Balsam Range consists of three original members—Tim Surrett on upright bass, resonator guitar, and vocals; Caleb Smith on guitar and vocals; and Marc Pruett on banjo, as well as Alan Bibey on mandolin, who replaced Darren Nicholson in 2022. Lead singer and original member Buddy Melton, fiddle and lead vocals, also departed the band, in January 2025.

Contents

History

Founding and early years

Balsam Range was formed in 2007. "In the beginning, we just got together, five guys from the same county that just wanted to play music together just for the fun of it," said Buddy Melton in a 2018 interview. "We were just living in the same town and happened to be great friends, so it was an ideal scenario." [2] Melton and Pruett had performed together as members of Whitewater Bluegrass Company, and band members had recorded on solo efforts by Melton, Nicholson, and Surrett. [3] Inspiration for a band name came from the Great Balsam Range, which surrounds their home county. "We thought it was a little pretentious to have 'great' in there, so we just stripped that off of it and called us Balsam Range," Melton says. [4] From their initial recording sessions came Marching Home, the band's debut album, released in October 2007. It included guest appearances by Joe Diffie, Doyle Lawson, Jim Van Cleve, Tony Rice, and Jerry Salley, [5] and featured "Blue Mountain", which remains the band's most-requested song. [6]

Albums and achievements

Balsam Range followed Marching Home with Last Train to Kitty Hawk in 2009, with the title song hitting number one on Bluegrass Unlimited 's National Bluegrass Survey in September of that year. [7] "Trains I Missed", the title song of their third album, earned Balsam Range their first IBMA award, Song of the Year, in 2011.

Named for their hometown of Canton, North Carolina, which houses a paper mill, their next album, Papertown, spent five consecutive months at the number-one spot on the Bluegrass Unlimited National Bluegrass Survey chart. [8] The project garnered seven IBMA nominations for Balsam Range in 2013, and they walked away with the Album of the Year honor. [9]

Since 2012, the band has frequently collaborated with John Driskell Hopkins, founding member of the Zac Brown Band. Hopkins heard Balsam Range on bluegrass radio in 2011 and was so impressed, he immediately bought all their music. After making an immediate personal and musical connection upon meeting, they decided to join forces and record an album. The result, Daylight, was released in January 2013. [10] Balsam Range recorded and released a limited-run live album, Live at the Altamont, that same year. The recording was made available only for members of Balsam Nation, the group's fan club. [11]

The 2014 album Five garnered another accolade for the band. Its leadoff single, "Moon Over Memphis", was named Song of the Year at the 2015 IBMA awards, where the group also took home the Vocal Group of the Year trophy. Balsam Range's next album, Mountain Voodoo, released in 2016, was named Album of the Year at the 2017 IBMA awards. [12]

Through their work with Hopkins, the band became acquainted with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra, which provided accompaniment for Balsam Range's next two albums: It's Christmas Time, a 2017 holiday EP, and Mountain Overture, a complete album featuring new versions of Balsam Range's best-loved songs.

Aeonic, released on January 4, 2019, debuted at number one on the Billboard Bluegrass Chart. The album remained on the chart for five consecutive weeks and appeared on Billboard's Heatseekers Chart, Americana/Folk Chart, and Current Country Chart. Aeonic was featured in the Wall Street Journal , Rolling Stone Country , Billboard, and other publications. [13] Also in 2019, Balsam Range released The Gospel Collection, a compilation of gospel recordings from past projects. In 2021, they issued their latest record, Moxie and Mettle.

Art of Music Festival

In December 2016, the band introduced the Balsam Range Art of Music Festival, a two-day event held at Lake Junaluska, North Carolina, in the group's home county. [14] The festival, created with the goal of inviting Balsam Range fans from all over the world to visit their home of western North Carolina, now generates upwards of $400,000 per year in revenue for Haywood County. [15] The event has featured performances by Hopkins, the Atlanta Pops Orchestra, Darrell Scott, Shenandoah, Chloe Agnew, and many more.[ citation needed ]

Band members

Current

Past

Discography

Albums

  • Marching Home (2007)
  • Last Train to Kitty Hawk (2009)
  • Trains I Missed (2010)
  • Papertown (2012)
  • Daylight (with John Driskell Hopkins) (2012)
  • Live at the Altamont (2013)
  • Five (2014)
  • Mountain Voodoo (2016)
  • It's Christmas Time (2017)
  • Mountain Overture (with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra) (2018)
  • Aeonic (January 4, 2019)
  • The Gospel Collection (2019)
  • Moxie and Mettle (2021)

Singles

  • "The Girl Who Invented the Wheel" (2018)
  • "Hobo Blues" (2018)
  • "Get Me Gone" (2018)
  • "Richest Man" (2020)
  • "Grit and Grace" (2020)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Bush</span> American mandolinist

Charles Samuel Bush is an American mandolinist who is considered an originator of progressive bluegrass music. In 2020, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame as a member of New Grass Revival. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame a second time in 2023 as a solo artist.

The International Bluegrass Music Association, or IBMA, is a trade association to promote bluegrass music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hot Rize</span> American bluegrass band

Hot Rize is an American bluegrass band that rose to prominence in the early 1980s. Established in 1978, Hot Rize has appeared on national radio and TV shows, and has toured most of the United States, as well as Japan, Europe and Australia.

Blue Highway is an American contemporary bluegrass band formed in 1994 and based in Tennessee. The band's albums include Wondrous Love (2003), Marbletown (2005), and Original Traditional (2016).

James David Van Cleve is an American fiddle player, songwriter, session musician, and producer. He is a founding member of the popular band Mountain Heart, and a Grammy winning session musician and Grammy nominated solo artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryan Sutton</span> American musician (born 1973)

James Bryan Sutton is an American musician. Primarily known as a flatpicking acoustic guitar player, Sutton also plays mandolin, banjo, ukulele, and electric guitar. He also sings and writes songs.

Jesse Davis Brock is a world renowned bluegrass artist who plays the mandolin and supplies both lead and supporting vocals. He records and tours with the East Tennessee based Authentic Unlimited Band, which made their stage debut on February 19, 2022, in Asheville, North Carolina. In May 2022, Authentic Unlimited released their first two albums on the Billy Blue record label. In November 2023, Authentic Unlimited made their debut on the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, In March 2024, Billy Blue Records released two additional albums which won numerous awards. In November 2024, the label released their first Christmas album, also on Billy Blue Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Driskell Hopkins</span> Musical artist

John Driskell Hopkins is an American musician best known for his role as a founding member, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter for the Grammy Award-winning group Zac Brown Band. Hopkins co-wrote, with Zac Brown, Wyatt Durette, and Shawn Mullins, the Zac Brown Band's third single, "Toes", from their 2008 major-label debut The Foundation. It was the second number-one single for the band. Hopkins also co-wrote, with Zac Brown, Wyatt Durette, and Sonia Leigh, the second single from the band's third major-label album Uncaged, entitled "Goodbye in Her Eyes". Hopkins co-wrote the band's first number=one hit on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, "Heavy Is the Head", which featured Chris Cornell and was the second single from their fourth major-label studio album, 2015's Jekyll + Hyde.

The International Bluegrass Music Awards is an award show for bluegrass music presented by the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA). Awards are voted based on professional membership in the IBMA.

Mountain Home Records is a record label based in Arden, North Carolina specializing in bluegrass music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry Baucom</span> American singer-songwriter (1952–2023)

Terry Baucom was an American bluegrass singer, banjo player, and band leader. He was nicknamed "The Duke of Drive" for his propelling banjo style. He led his band, The Dukes of Drive, and was a founding member of Boone Creek, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, and IIIrd Tyme Out.

Ronnie Bowman is an American singer and composer of bluegrass music. Besides his solo albums, he is known for his work with the Lonesome River Band.

Ron Stewart is an American multi-instrumentalist in the bluegrass tradition. He plays fiddle, guitar, banjo, and mandolin, and has won the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) award for Fiddle Player of the Year in 2000 and Banjo Player of the Year in 2011.

Harry Carpenter "Junior" Sisk Jr. is an American guitarist and vocalist in the bluegrass tradition, best known for his work with his band Rambler's Choice. He cites the hard-driving bluegrass of the Stanley Brothers as a major influence on his approach to bluegrass music.

Alan Daniel Bibey is a mandolinist, singer, songwriter, and band leader in the bluegrass tradition.

John Wayne Benson is an American mandolinist and songwriter in the bluegrass tradition. He is best known for his unique approach to the mandolin, and his long-term involvement with Russell Moore and IIIrd Tyme Out.

Wyatt Rice is an American guitarist and bluegrass musician. He is best known for his solo albums and his work in his brother's group the Tony Rice Unit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Becky Buller</span> American singer-songwriter

Becky Buller is an American bluegrass and roots singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist most known for her songwriting and fiddling.

Sister Sadie is an all-female American bluegrass, country, and folk band that formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2012. The band formed after the five original members Deanie Richardson, Tina Adair, Dale Ann Bradley, Gena Britt, and Beth Lawrence came together to play one show at the Station Inn in Nashville. They continued to play together as a band, eventually touring and releasing music. Since 2020, they have gone through a few lineup changes and the current band consists of: Deanie Richardson, Gena Britt, Jaelee Roberts, Dani Flowers, and Maddie Dalton.

Authentic Unlimited is an American bluegrass band. 2024 Members are Eli Johnston (banjo), Jerry Cole (bass), Stephen Burwell (fiddle), John Meader (guitar), and Jesse Brock (mandolin).

References

  1. ↑ "Recipients & Inductees". IBMA. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  2. ↑ Zimmerman, Lee (December 20, 2018). "Buddy Melton talks Balsam Range and the evolution of bluegrass". Bluegrass Today. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  3. ↑ Admin. "Newly formed Balsam Range features some of the finest". www.smokymountainnews.com. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Balsam Range Interview, Plus Listen to 'The Rambler' Song Premiere". Billboard. January 3, 2019. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  5. ↑ Thompson, Richard (September 29, 2007). "Balsam Range are Marching Home". Bluegrass Today. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  6. ↑ admin (June 11, 2018). "Strings Done Differently". Americana Music Magazine – Bluegrass, Roots, Folk, Blues, and Old-Time. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  7. ↑ Admin. "'Mountain Traditions' concert to benefit Shindig on the Green". www.smokymountainnews.com. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Bluegrass Unlimited - Bluegrass Unlimited content". Bluegrass Unlimited. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Recipients & Inductees". IBMA. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  10. ↑ "John Driskell Hopkins and Balsam Range Release "Daylight" on Jan 22 | Cybergrass Bluegrass Music News". www.cybergrass.com. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  11. ↑ Thompson, Richard (March 21, 2013). "New Live Album from Balsam Range". Bluegrass Today. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Recipients & Inductees". IBMA. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Still Riding High!". Balsam Range. February 14, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  14. ↑ Hart, Kelsay (November 21, 2016). "New album, new festival: Balsam Range is keeping busy". WLOS. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  15. ↑ Viau, Carol (December 16, 2019). "2019 Balsam Range Art of Music festival surrounds Haywood in music". The Mountaineer. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  16. ↑ "2014 IBMA Winners". The Boot.
  17. ↑ "Smith Custom Guitars Website".
  18. ↑ "Musician Tip No. 61 – Marc Pruett". Bluegrass Country. WAMU. Archived from the original on July 7, 2010. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  19. ↑ "About Balsam Range". balsamrange.com. Retrieved January 27, 2025.
  20. ↑ "Recipients & Inductees". IBMA. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Buddy Melton departing Balsam Range". Bluegrass Today. Retrieved January 27, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Darren Nicholson Music page".
  23. ↑ "Darren Nicholson announces his departure from Balsam Range". Bluegrass Today. Retrieved January 27, 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.