The Linville Ridge Band was formed in the spring of 2002, in May to be exact. Members have come and gone and yet the band remains! By all accounts, all the members (both active and former) are playing music. Some still on a local scale, some a regional scale and some are playing music full-time as their jobs. It's been quite an adventure.
But the main thing is music. We all love it and evidently, you do too, or you wouldn't be here reading about us. Now, a bit more info.
We are a 5 piece, traditional/contemporary bluegrass band. Sometimes it's hard-core, nailed to the wall Bill Monroe-type stuff, sometimes it's original. That's the part that sets us apart from some of the other regional bands. We're located in (and around) Morganton, North Carolina. Just one county north of where Earl Scruggs was born. So, we know the lingo of the bluegrass music.
Colby Laney-guitar Young, enrolled in the bluegrass program at ETSU in Johnson City, TN and writes songs!
Barte Laney-fiddle Newest member and Colby's Dad. Knows how to saw a fiddle and rosin up the bow. For years.
David Wiseman-mandolin Emcee deluxe, jokes galore, tenor singing machine and all around good guy. The best.
Perry Woodie-banjo & dobro Double instrument threat and the arranger of songs. Mountain man from LA (Lower Avery county).
Mike Ramsey-double bass Songwriter, booking agent, van driver, road manager, do-it-all on an as needed basis.
The Linville Ridge Band has been privileged in it's brief history. Our first recording, A Road to Anywhere, was voted in the top 50 bluegrass recordings by the listeners of WNCW in 2004. Kenny and Amanda Smith later covered Mike Ramsey's Danbury Jail on their recording Always Never Enough, released on Rebel Records in 2005.
Our next effort, Hopes and Dreams, was released in June of 2005 and was the #23 bluegrass recording as voted on by those listeners of WNCW. It was also the #11 regional release of that year, pitting it against all genres of music played on WNCW. Sometimes, in these online, fan based, voting procedures, many bands send out email blasts to their fans asking them to go vote for them to increase their placement in the top 100. We didn't do that, in either year. So that left us feeling pretty good with our regional releases, as they compared to everything else folks had to vote on for each year.
Our bookings have carried us from Louisville, KY to Charleston, SC and from Augusta, GA to Wilmington, NC. Festivals, wedding receptions, private parties, corporate events, BBQ gigs and everything in between have made use of our musical wares.
We also get to host a FREE, 4 day, bluegrass festival in Morganton every year, and have been doing so since 2004. It's called The Red White and Bluegrass Festival, presented each year from July 1st through July 4th, by the Morganton Parks and Recreation Department. Did mention that this festival is FREE? No crawling underneath the fence, just walk on in.
If you have time, tool around the rest of the site. There are pictures, links to buy music, tee shirts and such, a place to contact us and some of our favorite places to visit on the 'net. Thanks for stopping by.
