Jekyll welcomes talented lineup for bluegrass festival

One of the biggest bluegrass music festivals in the nation takes place Dec. 30-Jan. 1 at the Jekyll Island (Ga.) Convention Center.

Here's the lineup:

THURSDAY, DEC. 30: IIIrd Tyme Out; The Country Gentlemen featuring Randy Waller (son of the late Charlie Waller); Grand Ole Opry act The Osborne Brothers; Paul Williams & The Victory Trio; Melvin Goins & Windy Mountain; and The Larry Stephenson Band

FRIDAY, DEC. 31: Mountain Heart, The Osborne Brothers; Honi Deaton & Dream; The Village Singers; Pine Mountain Railroad; Ne
w Found Road; and The Gary Waldrep Band

SATURDAY, JAN. 1: Rhonda Vincent (reigning International Bluegrass Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year) & The Rage; The Lewis Family; Cherryholmes Family; Raymond Fairchild & The Maggie Valley Boys; Gerald Evans and Paradise; and the Nothin' Fancy band.

The hours are noon to 11 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 30, and Saturday, Jan. 1., and noon to midnight New Year's Eve.

Reserved adult tickets are $30 daily, or $80 for all three days. General admission is $25 daily or $70 for three days. Admission for ages 6-13 is $15 for reserved seats or $12 for general admission seats.

Call (706) 864-7203 or see the Web site aandabluegrass.com.

Chris Goss in Nashville

Eighteen-year-old Chris Goss, a senior at Augusta Christian, has been busy.

His dad, Augusta chiropractor Bill Goss, e-mailed, saying, "Chris won the Spotlight Artist of the Month for November on the Diamond Dave Sunday Night Ride show on Y96 (radio station WQZY-FM, 95.9) out of Dublin, Ga. His song All Cowboyed Up will be featured every Sunday in December between 8 and 8:30 p.m.

"We also have recorded five more original songs in Nashville and are planning another trip this month to make a few modifications."

Expect a CD from Chris in late January or early February.

Doc and Del

Doc Watson, the 81-year-old guitar great from North Carolina, will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 15, in the Newberry (S.C.) Opera House with banjo player and storyteller David Holt. Tickets are $35.

Mr. Holt is a host of the public television's series Folkways, which takes viewers through the Southern mountains on visits with traditional craftsmen and musicians. He previously served as host of The Nashville Network's Fire on the Mountain series.

Del McCoury performs at the Newberry venue at 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 20 Tickets are $30.

The Del McCoury Band in October received its ninth Entertainer of the Year award from the International Association of Bluegrass Music.

Call (803) 276-6264 for tickets or see newberryoperahouse.com.

DON RHODES HAS WRITTEN ABOUT COUNTRY MUSIC FOR 34 YEARS. REACH HIM AT (706) 823-3214 OR AT DON.RHODES@MORRIS.COM.