Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road
Pinecastle recording artist Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road has all the essential ingredients necessary to deliver world-class bluegrass music – tight vocals, scintillating instrumentation, and a charismatic stage show that engages audiences of all ages. And why not, as a band they have nearly 20 years of demonstrable success and collectively Carolina’s Road’s journeyman performers: Lorraine, Ben Greene, Tommy Long, Randy Graham, and Matt Hooper, have enjoyed over 100 years of successful experience, yet play with the same energy and enthusiasm as they did as “youngsters”. Put simply, Lorraine Jordan and Carolina Road deliver the goods!
Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road are certainly no strangers to industry accolades either. Known as the “Lady of Tradition”, Lorraine has notched two IBMA “Recorded Event of the Year” awards in 2009 and 2011. She was also honored with SPBGMA’s prestigious “Female Vocalist of the Year” trophy in 2015. The same year, Carolina Road’s stellar banjoist, Ben Greene, walked away with the organization’s “Banjo Player of the Year” trophy.
Carolina Road has consistently delivered major chart action that includes 3 number #1 hits: “A LIGHT IN THE WINDOW”, “THAT’S KENTUCKY”, and most recently “TRUE GRASS”. “True Grass” hit #5 on the country chart, #1 ranking on the Roots Music chart, and topped the Bluegrass Unlimited National Bluegrass Survey with an astounding record breaking of 4 consecutive months.
Musicianship + high energy showmanship + award winning music = a crowd-pleasing show that makes Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road one of the most sought after bands in bluegrass music.
Nixon, Blevins and Gage
Nixon, Blevins & Gage continue to entertain audiences with their presentation of the emerging genre of the acoustic trio. Loosely based in bluegrass, they bring to the audience the thumb-picking, early country music popularized by Doc Watson and Merle Travis. A recent review from the Raleigh N&O noted “the juxtaposition of Nixon’s finger-style playing with guitarist David Blevins’ flat-picking results in an acoustic ambiance reminiscent of Doc Watson, ..John Hurt and Etta Baker.
Each year they enjoy presenting Christmas shows featuring songs from their popular “Picking On Christmas” . To date they have recorded five CD’s and received popular acclaim from Bluegrass Unlmited, Bluegrass Today, N&O and County Records. Venues played include Merlefest, NC Museum of History, Raleigh City Plaza, IBMA World of Bluegrass, Home Town Opry, Pullen Park, Cary Fred Bond Park, Holly Springs Cultural Center, Durham Centerfest and regular appearances at local venues. They have perfomed in shows with Mike Cross, Del McCoury, Grasscats, Bill Leslie, Joe Newberry, Clyde Edgerton, The Grascals and Carolina Road.