A great big thanks goes out to all the great people in the world who have lifted me and my family up through this interesting time. Turns out there are still a lot of wonderful people performing acts of kindness everyday and it has meant the world to me.

Who knows how this will all end up with recovery. I may not do somethings as well; but, there will certainly be other things I will do much better. Like, look for the best in everyone and demand the best from myself.

Folks often ask what defines Bluegrass music? It certainly has a great deal to do with its musical interpretations; but after receiving prayers, support and kindness from all over the world…I would easily say now that it is the people that make up the Bluegrass family and community that defines Bluegrass. Good down to earth people with strong faith and belief who are more concerned with others than themselves and who rally around those that are down to lift them up and are prepared to see it through to the end. I am truly blessed to have the greatest friends and family that anyone could ever hope for. You know who you are and I thank you and love you all!!!

Balsam Range with John Wiggins and Family present a check to Meals on Wheels representative Ira Dove for the amount of $10,050.00. Also pictured, Peter Wilkerson, friend of Balsam Range.

What a great way to start of the Season of Giving!  Balsam Range couldn’t be more proud of their first fundraising event held this past weekend at the Colonial Theater!  Thanks to our friends, families and fans for making it possible for us along with our good friend, John Wiggins, to give a donation of $10,050.00 to Haywood County Meals on Wheels.  This donation will be used to provide meals to folks who are on the waiting list to receive meals through this valuable service.  I can’t imagine having to choose between buying medicine or groceries and hopefully, we have helped to eliminate this problem for some.  Many folks were instrumental in making this event possible but without those who came to the show and made the donations this would have not been possible.  So to those of you who donated, we say THANK YOU!

Last Saturday also marked the beginning of our Winter Concert Series to be held the first Saturday of the winter months at the intimate Colonial Theater in Canton, North Carolina.  We are quite excited about this year’s line-up and are hoping you will join us as we present some of our favorites in the music world.  You can preview a list of our guests and buy $15.00 tickets for all the shows through our website (www.balsamrange.com) or by calling our favorite Town of Canton Employee, Denise, at the Colonial Theater (828-235-2760).  The next show will be January 7th, 2012 with Deep River Rising!

Zac Brown Band, J.D. Crowe & The New South, scenic beauty of Grandfather Mountain.  Yes friends we have a fun weekend ahead and we hope you can come along with us.

Balsam Range is honored to be a part of the John Jarrard Foundation concert this coming Friday evening in Gainesville Ga..  We will be performing our original material as well as performing with John Hopkins.  John Hopkins is a member of the Zac Brown Band and a great songwriter.

Established some 10 years ago, this event has grown to become one of the premier songwriting events in the state of Georgia and furthermore, the Foundation has grown from one concert to multiple events throughout the year. The John Jarrard Foundation is a non-profit organization with proceeds going to a permanent endowment fund in John’s name established at the North Georgia Community Foundation. Proceeds benefit local charities, including the Good News Clinics, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Hall County, Georgia Mountain Food Bank Fund and one of John’s favorite causes, Good News at Noon.

For additional information and ticket information about this event please visit our schedule.

Saturday we will be traveling to Lexington Ky for a show (Bluegrass Pride Concert) with the great J.D. Crowe and The New South.  Looking forward to hearing these boys pick and sing.  They are awesome and it is great to be performing with them.  This show will be held on the campus of the University of Kentucky.  Bluegrass PRIDE is a 501(c)3 organization that provides environmental resources and information to schools, community groups, local governments and citizens in Central Kentucky.

Sunday we will travel back to WNC for a show at the Grandfather Mountain State Park.  This show is inside so don’t let the fear of cold wind blowing keep you away.  This will be a more intimate all acoustic show with Balsam Range.

Hopefully we will be getting some sleep on this trip thanks to Jennifer Nicholson who has graciously donated a bed time story book that is the most fitting book for Darren I have ever read.  Darren has the tendency to roam around all night like a big opossum.  I have high hopes this book will help him settle in for the night and get my feeling across to him at the same time!  Keep your fingers crossed!!! hahahaha!

Hope you can make it out to one of these great events!!

Balsam Range will be featured on the upcoming Life In The Carolinas TV show.  Life In The Carolinas with Carl White showcases the people and places that make our area unique.  Carl caught up with Balsam Range at Smoky Mountain Roasters in Waynesville N.C. a few weeks ago.   It was a fun night with family and friends.  Our friend Kevin Duckett, owner of Smoky Mountain Roasters hosted the event.  Many of you may be familiar with Kevin’s great coffee blends particularly the Balsam Range blend or Darren’s Decaf  (a bold flavor with a heavy body!!!).  If not you must stop in sometime while in Haywood County for cup.

The show will be airing this weekend.  In the Asheville N.C. area it will be on at 2:00pm Sunday on My40.  For a complete list of stations and schedules, visit www.lifeinthecarolinas.com.

Many have asked when Balsam Range will be performing live in our area again.  We have several upcoming shows in this area such as the Red,White and Bluegrass Festival in Morganton on July 1st and the Cashiers Music Festival in Cashiers, NC on July 2nd.  We also have several upcoming gospel shows Sunday June 26th at Skyland UMC and The Inspirations Singing at the Smoky Mountain Performing Arts Theatre in Franklin NC on July 4th.  Please come out and be with us!

The wonderful thing about modern music devices such as the ipod etc. is that you can store virtually all your musical collection and have it at your finger tips to listen to without having to search through stacks of cds or tapes or 8 tracks….hahaha!    I find myself rediscovering music that I had not thought about in some time.  While scrolling through my lists of artists, I also realized that we have lost a lot of great musicians and singers over the years that made a profound impact.  Of course you have the obvious ones such as Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt, Jimmy Martin etc…but there has also been a number of great ones that left this world at a much too early age but yet luckily still left us with something special to remember them by.  Many come to mind, but the one that stimulated the thought for this post was Randy Howard.  As I was driving yesterday I rediscovered his project titled “I Rest My Case”.   What an awesome fiddler player he was.  Randy Howard passed away on June 29th, 1999 at the age of 38.  It was truly our pleasure that he was willing to share his talent with the world and I thank his family for sharing him with us as well.  Randy Howard was and still is one of the greats.

Life can be a lot shorter than we hope.  Put the things that matter the most first and you will be remembered as one of the greats in someone’s eyes!