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| J.D.
Crowe History |
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Born
in Lexington, Kentucky in 1937, James Dee Crowe
grew up playing the banjo and listening to Flatt
and Scruggs who were residents on a local
Lexington station. J.D. often attended their
performances, intensely observing Scruggs style of playing.
J.D. worked as a builder during the day,
but began and played locally at night in and around Lexington.
He toured with Mac Wiseman in 1955. In the
mid-60’s, he formed his own band, the Kentucky
Mountain Boys, and recorded for the |
| Lemco
label. In 1971 he formed his band, New South,
adopting more of an electrified sound. |
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the band members were Tony Rice, Ricky
Skaggs and Jerry Douglas.
Their 1975 album "J.D. Crowe and The New South"
became one of the most influential bluegrass records
of all time and featured a blend of traditional bluegrass
songs with a modern style of J.D.’s
own. This attracted many new young musicians to bluegrass,
while still maintaining the interest of traditionalists.
With their release of "Live in Japan,"
in Tokyo, J.D.’s band members
had changed to Bobby Slone, |
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Jimmy
Gaudreau, Steve Bryant, and Keith
Whitley. In 1983 The New South won
a Grammy for their instrumental “Fireball.”
J.D. had a string of influential albums in
the 80’s with the Bluegrass Album Band,
re-introducing audiences to the traditional styles of some
of bluegrass music’s early masters. J.D. Crowe
continues to play occasional shows with other bands. He is
acknowledged by the industry as one of bluegrass music’s
most talented and influential artists.
Visit J.D.
Crowe & The New South website
Above
courtesy of Kentucky Music Hall of Fame |
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| Festival
History |
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For
several years the Jessamine County judge's office wanted
to hold a bluegrass festival. Judge William
Neal Cassity approached the Nicholasville,
KY native and member of The Moron Brothers Mike
Carr about starting the event and Carr recommended
Dean Osborne. Osborne
had 12 years of experience promoting Kentucky festivals
including the annual Osborne
Brothers Festival in Hyden, KY. Realizing
the need for the festival to have a focus, Osborne
proposed honoring |
the
life long Jessamine County native J.D. Crowe. His background
and expertise speak for themselves so a new event was
born in 2001!
In 2004, the event planning committee
expanded to include Ichthus
Ministries, the Nicholasville
Parks and Recreation and Wilmore
Parks and Recreation.
Visit
Jessamine County, KY website
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