Music Charts Magazine® celebrates International Bluegrass month of May 2016
Welcome to our page celebrating the International Bluegrass Month of May for 2015. Music Charts Magazine® is proud to share some of Bluegrass’s finest radio DJ’s and the shows that they host on various radio stations. Below you will find radio shows in which you may or may not have heard before. It’s always nice to hear a show that you haven’t heard as you can listen to all these shows weekly on the internet. Enjoy these shows with Judith Burnette, Big Al Weekley, Tim White and Charlie Hall. Let the Bluegrass roll on.
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a subgenre of country music. Bluegrass was inspired by the music of Appalachia. It has mixed roots in Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and English traditional music, and also later influenced by the music of African-Americans through incorporation of jazz elements. Settlers from the United Kingdom and Ireland arrived in Appalachia during the 18th century, and brought with them the musical traditions of their homelands. These traditions consisted primarily of English and Scottish ballads—which were essentially unaccompanied narrative—and dance music, such as Irish reels, which were accompanied by a fiddle. Many older bluegrass songs come directly from the British Isles. Several Appalachian bluegrass ballads, such as “Pretty Saro”, “Barbara Allen”, “Cuckoo Bird” and “House Carpenter”, come from England and preserve the English ballad tradition both melodically and lyrically. Others, such as The Twa Sisters, also come from England; however, the lyrics are about Ireland. Some bluegrass fiddle songs popular in Appalachia, such as “Leather Britches”, and “Pretty Polly”, have Scottish roots. The dance tune Cumberland Gap may be derived from the tune that accompanies the Scottish ballad Bonnie George Campbell. Other songs have different names in different places; for instance in England there is an old ballad known as “A Brisk Young Sailor Courted Me”, but exactly the same song in North American bluegrass is known as “I Wish My Baby Was Born”.
Music Charts Magazine® welcomes Big Al Weekley and his radio show “The Big Al Bluegrass Show” for joining us for our 4th consecutive year celebrating International Bluegrass month of May 2015.
Sit back and enjoy as Big Al takes you through some Bluegrass favorites. Thanks to Big Al Weekley again for or being part of this very special Bluegrass month at Music Charts Magazine®
Big Al Weekley host of “The Big Al Bluegrass Show” – WMJD AM & FM, Grundy, VA “Double Barrel Country” 100.7 FM & 99.3 FM
Big Al Weekley
WMJD is a Classic Country formatted broadcasts radio station licensed to Grundy, Virginia, serving Grundy and Buchanan County, Virginia. WMJD is owned and operated by Peggy Sue Broadcasting Corporation.
A little about Big Al:
This past year Big Al Weekley has continued to grow his Bluegrass listening audience in leaps and bounds. In the fall of 2015 Big Al was promoted to Program Director of WMJD 100.7 FM (Grundy, VA) and 99.3 FM (Skeggs, VA). This allowed him to integrate more Bluegrass music into the stations Country music format. This has attained WMJD a larger audience and this has given Big Al the ability to educate people not only in Bluegrass music but also in Bluegrass history. He is also the Monday through Friday weekly morning drive time DJ.
The Big Al Bluegrass Show continues to be syndicated on WOTR 96.3 FM (Weston, WV) and KRVN 880 AM (Lexington, NE).
KRVN is the 50,000 Watt torch in the sky that covers the two western trucking corridors and has hosted The Big Al Bluegrass Show for close to two decades. The Big Al Bluegrass Show on KRVN has garnered Big Al with many awards, many good friends and a very loyal listening audience to The Big Al Bluegrass Show in the western United States.
In this past year Big Al Weekly was approached by the Grundy, VA local community theatre. He was asked if he would like to host a live radio show that he had recently started weekly on Thursday nights on WMJD. He is very involved in the local community. Big Al took the opportunity with open arms and they now have a live show once a month. This radio show is live music and a live crowd and consists of primarily Bluegrass music with also County and Gospel. It has become quite an event in the area and now is a packed house every month. Many local and known Bluegrass musicians have attended this live event and it is expected to grow even larger as time moves forward. Grundy is in the heart of the Appalachians and coal country so it’s a great spot for Big Al to be in.
As always Big Al continues to be an asset to all of us at Music Charts Magazine® and our many endeavors. We are proud that he has already been nominated as one of the IBMA Top Five Bluegrass Broadcasters twice in 2003 and 2014.
1011 Radio Dr.
Grundy Va. 24614
Phone 276-935-7227 Fax 276-935-2587
Email: BigAlRadioMan@gmail.com
Music Charts Magazine® welcomes Judith Burnette and her radio show “Blue Ridge Backroads” for joining us for our 4th consecutive year celebrating International Bluegrass month of May 2015.
Sit back and enjoy as Judith takes you through some Bluegrass favorites. Thanks to Judith Burnette again for or being part of this very special Bluegrass month at Music Charts Magazine®
Judith Burnette host of “Blue Ridge Backroads” – WBRF-FM, Galax, VA “Classic Country” 98.1 FM
Judith Burnette
With 100,000 watts and a transmitter facility located more than 3,500 feet above sea level, WBRF reaches much of Virginia and North Carolina, as well as portions of West Virginia and Tennessee. Included in the coverage area are the densely populated Roanoke and New River Valleys of Virginia, and The Piedmont Triad of North Carolina.
A little about Judith:
Judith Burnette is a native of Galax, VA. In addition to her job as host of the Blue Ridge Backroads show, Judith works full time in Retail Sales.
Judith worked part time for Classic Country 98 for more than a decade before becoming the Host of the Blue Ridge Backroads Show. She’s on the air each Tuesday through Saturday evening from 6 till Midnight. In the three years Judith has been hosting, the Blue Ridge Backroads, she has earned 3 nominations for Bluegrass DJ of the Year from SPBGMA.
Judith‘s favorite part of hosting the Blue Ridge Backroads Show is the on air visits with the Bluegrass Artists and the friends she’s made along the way. Judith‘s vast knowledge of Bluegrass Music, both it’s history and current state makes hosting the show a breeze.
Judith loves photography and enjoys photographing her favorite bands, both on stage and off.
P.O. Box 838
Galax, Virginia 24333
Local Phone: 276-236-9273
Fax: 276-236-7198
Email: judith@blueridgecountry98.com