Under the direction of dobro master Jerry Douglas, The Earls of Leicester perfectly conjure the sounds of bluegrass legends Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs — and in the process, have created one of music’s great band-name puns. Recreating the spirit of bluegrass giants is serious business though, and it paid off when the group took home a 2015 Grammy for its efforts.
They appear on this week’s broadcast of Mountain Stage with Larry Groce, alongside Lera Lynn, Cheryl Wheeler, Rob Ikes & Trey Hensley and Nora Jane Struthers.
Like what you hear? Download the entire show right now on the Mountain Stage podcast (just look for Ep. 874). While you’re at it, make sure to subscribe, leave us a rating/review and send us a tweet with your favorite song: we’re @mountainstage.
Jerry Douglas and his Earls of Leicester will return to the Culture Center Theater in Charleston on Sunday, July 24, 2016, for West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s live-performance radio program Mountain Stage with Larry Groce. Also appearing are Lera Lynn, and the duo of Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley.
Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 day of show, available now, on mountainstage.org, by phone at 877-987-6487, locally at Taylor Books in downtown Charleston and also at Mountain Stage’s upcoming live shows. Day of show, doors open at 6:30pm, with a 7:00pmshowtime.
Rattle & Roar, the latest album from the Earls of Leicester continues what they started with their self-titled debut album, which is putting a modern spin on the classic Flatt & Scruggs/Foggy Mountain Boys songbook. In 2014 the band won the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album.
Riding off of a 2016 Grammy Best Bluegrass Album nomination, veteran musicians Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley make their Mountain Stage debut with their forthcoming sophomore album The Country Blues.
This episode of Mountain Stage is scheduled for national distribution via NPR Music later this fall.
It’s been suggested that the Earls of Leicester (pronounced “Lester”) might well be one of the greatest band name puns of all time. Under the direction of dobro phenom Jerry Douglas, and with country singer-songwriter Shawn Camp on lead vocals, the Earls are a Grammy-winning star group that plumb the depths of the bluegrass masters Flatt & Scruggs. Their performance of “Rollin’ in My Sweet Baby’s Arms” came at the request of host Larry Groce, who asked them to play one more song for the enraptured audience.
2015 was a big year for Mountain Stage. We began a beautiful friendship with public radio music discovery machine VuHaus. We created a new, bite-size podcast called Mountain Stage 2 Go.
And across nine venues in four states, we recorded over 100 live sets that showcased the best and brightest musicians in the world today. (Of course, none of this would have happened without your support!)
Before we embark on our 33rd musical year around the sun, Larry Groce and the Mountain Stage crew have picked out 27 performances that deserve another listen and another round of applause. From A to Z, these are our favorite Mountain Stage performances of 2015. (Hint: click the Episode # for their Mountain Stage podcast episode, where available.)
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Allen Toussaint (Keith-Albee Theater in Huntington, WV on February 15, 2015 – Episode #838)
