Nashville, TN -- Dave Adkins & Republik Steele are celebrating their hot new album That's Just the Way I Roll (Rural Rhythm) with a busy tour schedule and heavy radio airplay. Dave Adkins and Republik Steele member Kenny O’Quinn head to Nashville this week in support of the album. They will appear on WSM 650.AM Radio’s “Coffee, Country and Cody” show with Bill Cody Wednesday morning at 9:15 am before making a stop by the new offices of the International Bluegrass Music Association. Later in the day, they will sit down with Sirius XM Radio Bluegrass Junction Host, Kyle Cantrell for an in-depth interview scheduled for later broadcast.

Wednesday evening, you can hear a live interview with Adkins on Virginia’s WBBC Bobcat Country Radio’s “Sweet Brenda & Him” show at 8:00 pm as the band travels to Mossy Oak Music Park in Guyton, Georgia for a performance Thursday evening. This weekend, Dave Adkins & Republik Steele continue their tour with performances at Dr. Ralph Stanley’s 43rd Annual Memorial Weekend Bluegrass Festival in Coeburn, Virginia on Friday and at the AMVets Post 61 Bluegrass Festival in Hillsboro, Ohio on Saturday.

The band is receiving significant radio airplay and a multitude of positive album reviews for That's Just the Way I Roll. The title track and first single release, written by Terry Herd, Tim Stafford and Steve Gulley, is currently #4 on Bluegrass Today’s Top 20 Airplay Chart. Numerous other songs like “Heartstrings” and “Rio” (written by Adkins), along with “Please Come To Boston,” “Get Em Up” and more have become immediate fan favorites at the band’s live shows and are also receiving significant airplay. Radio stations can download the entire album at AirPlaydirect.com.

Dave Adkins can also be heard on another new album, God Didn't Choose Sides: Civil War True Stories About Real People (Rural Rhythm) performing the song, “The River Man”.

Dave Adkins & Republik Steele includes the talents of David Adkins, Kenny O’Quinn, Danny Ray Stiltner, Wesley Wolfe and Matt Cruby. Be sure to check out their website RepublikSteele.com, Twitter, and Facebook for more information.

Aspen, CO -- James Reams & The Barnstormers, with special guest Blaine Sprouse on fiddle, will be appearing on Sunday, June 16th as part of the Aspen Bluegrass Sundays Concert Series. A bluegrass band that was nominated by the International Bluegrass Music Association in 2002 as Emerging Artist of the Year, James Reams & The Barnstormers provide a contemporary take on traditional bluegrass; blending it with innovation and vitality to create their own branch on the “roots” tree. In a review of an early album by James Reams, fRoots (an international magazine that specializes in world music) declared, “Traditional music kept alive by a stylish performer… Powerful, emotional music that needs to be heard.”

This open air concert takes place just outside the Sundeck on Aspen Mountain located in the heart of downtown Aspen. Tickets are included in the price of the Silver Queen gondola ride to the top of this scenic mountain. The views of Maroon Bells, Roaring Fork Valley and Elk Mountains are spectacular. The concert runs from noon to 3PM. So come out and make a day of it. It’s bluegrass music the way God intended it to be heard!

Raised in eastern Kentucky but now living in Phoenix, James Reams puts a layer of desert grit over a solid base of traditional bluegrass music. His band treads the terrain where bluegrass, old-time, classic country and rockabilly meet in the night to swap stories. These are the sounds of the hills and hollers combined with the sounds of factories, railroad yards and honky tonks.

Here’s how the band is described by noted bluegrass authority Stephanie P. Ledgin in her book, Homegrown Music: Discovering Bluegrass (Praeger Publishers, 2004): “A plentiful selection of younger, emerging artists continues to grow in both traditional as well as progressive bluegrass camps. James Reams & The Barnstormers rely on early country material and originals written in authentic style. The results are a virtual history of the music and its roots, played in a clean, heartfelt manner that is somewhere between Bill Monroe’s and the Stanley Brothers’.”

Their latest CD, One Foot in the Honky Tonk, made two Top Ten CDs of 2011 lists and had a single that charted nationally. Here are some reviews of their most recent CD (One Foot in the Honky Tonk):

Lonesome Road Review by Larry Stephens: " [James Reams & the Barnstormers] have been around almost two decades, playing their own style of music. James’ music is hardcore traditional bluegrass and acoustic music. There’s no indication that he feels bound to the Monroe tradition and you’ll hear some old-time sound in his music, but if he isn’t in the same vein of coal with Monroe he’s certainly in the same coal mine." Joe Ross, reviewer for Bluegrass Now and SPBGMA’s Bluegrass Music News: “James Reams and the Barnstormers have built a solid reputation for lively, spirited, soulful, no-frills-added bluegrass with a nice mix of traditional numbers, covers and originals. Fronted by his rustic and rural lead vocals, they dish up exciting bluegrass in a classic old-school style of yesteryear…this album has plenty of songs that belong on today's jukeboxes and ipods.” JP Tausig, Country Standard Time: "With a voice like Del McCoury's, Reams has captured the feel of old honky-tonk jukebox music. ‘I Can't Settle Down’ is a great example of what Reams and the Barnstormers can do. ‘Snake Eyes’ is an original Reams tune about bad luck and gambling, with clean instrumentals and surprising harmonies on the chorus… Reams' style turns even this topic into a song you might dance to on a Saturday night.”

In honor of the band’s 20 th anniversary, their Barnstormin' album is now available as a FREE download from www.NoiseTrade.com/jamesreams. John Lupton, of Country Standard Time, wrote this about the album: “The music on this disc features elements reminiscent of the sophisticated stylings of fellow Kentuckian Bill Monroe mixed with the old time, deep-hollow sound of the Stanley Brothers...This is hard-core bluegrass from down home.” The band’s next album —James Reams, Walter Hensley & The Barons of Bluegrass — was nominated by the International Bluegrass Music Association in 2002 as a Recorded Event of the Year.

For more information about the Aspen Bluegrass Sundays, check out the Aspen Chamber of Commerce website at www.aspenchamber.org and click on Events. Directions and information about the concert are also available at www.aspensnowmass.com. Take the Silver Queen gondola to the top of Aspen Mountain. The concert takes place near the Sundeck. The gondola lift runs from 10 AM to 4PM with the last ride down the mountain at 4:30 PM. Tickets (1 day) are $28 for adults (ages 13+) and $11 for children (ages 4-12).

For more information about James Reams & The Barnstormers (including music clips) visit http://www.jamesreams.com or http://cdbaby.com/all/jamesreams. Booking inquiries - please call 718-374-1086.

Reunion of the Bluegrass Bands Concert Series will feature The Fastest Grass Alive reunion show at the Concerts at Rob's Barn located at 1037 Pinch Valley Road, Westminster, MD 21158 (for GPS directions you may want to use: 805 View West Drive, Westminster, MD 21158 which is nearby) on Sat., May 25, 2013. Show admission will be at least a donation of $10.00 at the door (with more requested to help cover additional 2013 expenses incurred); show time will be at 8:00 PM; there may be some jamming outside the barn before the show if you come earlier; Rob's Barn is a smoke free environment and does not allow hard liquor on the premises (however, soda, beer, or wine is acceptable, although it is asked that restraint be observed in respect of others where applicable); chairs will be provided, but you may also bring your favorite one; food may be brought to share or you may bring snacks only for yourselves, no food or beverage will sold on premises; outlets will be available at the provided food tables for those who wish to bring hot dishes; for further info please contact Rob Miller at 410-857-7473.

For the most serious of bluegrass fans, there is no greater satisfaction than that which comes from hearing the music done right. Though it's a style in which tradition plays a greater role than in practically any other form of commercial popular music, that doesn't mean simply recapping the classics. To those who know and appreciate the history of the music, "tradition" doesn't describe a style or sound, but rather a way of learning and a kind of musical conservationism; traditional musicians learn their craft by a process of apprenticeship, and concentrating their creative energies on variation, not wholesale or radical change. Bluegrass is done right, then, when it's played with soul, drive, elegance and equal measures of familiarity with the classics and appreciation for the creativity of the musicians who made them.

From this perspective, Fastest Grass Alive is unquestionably a traditional bluegrass band. Among the re-casted members of the band, there are some familiar figures. Warren Blair on fiddle & vocals is perhaps the most well-known of the group, having served with distinction in the bands of bluegrass legends Charlie Moore and Bill Harrell, as well as the Bluegrass Cardinals, the Del McCoury Band and Jimmy Gaudreau's Bluegrass Unit. David Propst on mandolin & vocals has impressed East Coast audiences for years with his deft contributions alongside multiple higher profiled bluegrass bands such as Paul Adkins and the Borderline Band, Norman Wright, Kevin Church & The Travelers and Darren Beachley's Maryland Line Band; while Steve Streett on banjo & vocals and Tom Reeves on bass & vocals have done the same and excelled within lesser known East Coast acts. Lastly, Kenny Blair, on guitar & vocals, is less familiar to bluegrassers, but does bring his own considerable experience and unique perspective to the group as a country music veteran, having worked with brother Warren for acts like Melba Montgomery, Tommy Overstreet and Johnny Rodriguez.

This assortment of backgrounds and interests made Fastest Grass Alive a group with an especially sharp eye for engaging material. Rather than disdain country music, they saw bluegrass as integrally related to the larger genre, a fertile ground from which to harvest outstanding songs. Add it all up, and the conclusion is inescapable: the blend of the old and new, its dedication to craft and its devotion to "songs that tell a story," Fastest Grass Alive shows just how deeply it absorbed not the outer attributes, but the innermost values of bluegrass's greats; an accomplishment that is still all too rare these days, and does deserve the highest praise. But in the end, that's all one really needs to know.

So, we'd like to invite everyone to come on out to see the first of six Reunion of the Bluegrass Bands Concert Series, starting with the Fastest Grass Alive band. This band did wow the larger Baltimore area for a short amount of time in the early 2000's, and created a big musical impact on the area. There was a sadness when band's demise came. There are only two CD's to the band's credit as to carry their legacy of sound to those whom did miss seeing them; but not, there comes another chance to witness what was, as they once again reunite to reprise the music they created as the sounds of yester-year again will leap back to life. It is hoped that you attend the Concerts at Rob's Barn and not miss this opportunity to witness a extraordinary show from the reprisal of an extraordinary band. See you there!