Posts Tagged ‘bluegrass’
Donna Ulisse thanks Del McCoury!
October 5, 2013
Donna and co-writer Jerry Salley recently caught up with bluegrass icon Del McCoury in Raleigh, North Carolina at the International Bluegrass Music Awards to thank him for recording their song, “Butler Brothers” on the new Del McCoury Band CD The Streets of Baltimore. The CD was released on September 17, 2013 and is already receiving heavy airplay and stellar reviews.
Butler Brothers is a song about two brothers fighting on different sides in the Civil War and the struggle of their mother having two sons in a war on opposing sides. It was inspired by real life documents Ulisse’s husband Rick Stanley got from a Virginia courthouse about his own family. To read more about the background on the song, visit the Bluegrass Situation to read an interview journalist did with Donna for a piece she was writing about the album.
Posted in Donna Ulisse | 
Tags: bluegrass, Bluegrass Situation, Civil War, Del McCoury, International Bluegrass Music Awards, Jerry Salley, Rick Stanley
Donna Ulisse honored with IBMA Songwriter of the Year Nomination
August 15, 2013
Hadley Music Group singer songwriter Donna Ulisse has been nominated for International Bluegrass Music Association’s Songwriter of the Year Award. The nomination was announced at the August 14, 2013 press conference at Loveless Barn in Nashville, TN. The other nominees are Brink Brinkman, Paula Breedlove, Louisa Branscomb and Eric Gibson. The winner will be announced in Raleigh, North Carolina at the IBMA World of Bluegrass Conference during a special awards luncheon.
Nominations are decided by a special professional committee and upon the body of work written and released during the year with consideration given to chart activity, reviews, radio airplay and sales. This is the second year in a row Donna has been nominated.
Posted in Donna Ulisse | Tags: award, bluegrass, Donna Ulisse, IBMA, songwriter, World of Bluegrass Conference
New Gospel Compilation to be released by Donna Ulisse
May 20, 2013
Gospel music followers are about to discover what aficionados of country and bluegrass music have known for years: Donna Ulisse can flat-out sing — and write — a gospel song.
As her warm, pure voice caresses ten heartfelt songs reflecting her lifelong faith, she transports you to a welcoming, down-home church that you won’t want to leave (even if you’re getting hungry and thinking about Mama’s pot roast). It’s a voice brimming with joy, a voice that remains firmly grounded even as it soars heavenward.
“I am trying to use my music to honor Him and to spread the word of His love through song,” says Ulisse, who wrote or co-wrote all but two of the songs on this career-spanning collection. Gospel songs have figured prominently on previous albums, and this CD culls the best of those, plus two newly recorded chestnuts.
While earning worldwide kudos for her singing, Ulisse has consistently been building a first-rate reputation (and catalog) as a writer. Artists including Claire Lynch, Darin and Brooke Aldridge, The Bankesters and Nu-Blu have recorded her songs, with two of those on Nu-Blu’s recent gospel album (the Bankesters and Lynch cuts were also gospel songs). And Ulisse earned a 2012 nomination for IBMA songwriter of the year.
I Am a Child of God has its eyes on an eternal prize, and it’s clear Ulisse believes what she’s singing. From the soulful testimony of the title song to the irresistible mountain harmonies of “Everything Has Changed,” through fresh spins on “Wait a Little Longer Please Jesus” and “This Is My Father’s World,” to the urgent confession of need in “I’m Calling Heaven Down,” Ulisse delivers confident, convicting gospel that, like the best of the genre, feels timeless, impervious to trend.
The accompaniment, of course, is sublime, with stalwarts including Keith Sewell and Bryan Sutton (both of whom produced songs here) on acoustic guitar; Viktor Krauss and Byron House on upright bass; Andy Leftwich on fiddle, Rob Ickes and Randy Kohrs on Dobro; and Scott Vestal on banjo. The Isaacs lend their unmistakably gorgeous harmonies to “This Is My Father’s World.”
By turns jubilant, prayerful, reflective, pleading and emphatic, I Am a Child of God shines as a uniquely personal expression of a believer’s spiritual journey. There’s not a false note here, lyrically, vocally or instrumentally. And that’s the gospel truth.
Uncle Hadley Music & Donna Ulisse seeing more bluegrass cuts
August 18, 2011
Bluegrass artists Nu-Blu and The Bankesters have recently recorded songs co-written by Donna Ulisse from
the Uncle Hadley Music catalog. Nu-Blu recorded “Guitar Case” and “That’s How I’m Supposed To Be” co-written with Marc Rossi and The Bankesters recorded “Give Me This Day” co-written with Kerry Chater and Lynn Gillespie Chater. All three cuts have been receiving airplay on bluegrass and folk radio.
As Ulisse has more success writing and recording her own songs, she is receiving more requests from other acts for songs out of her catalog. She also continues to co-write with a variety of other singer-songwriters as well as alone.
Posted in Donna Ulisse | Tags: Bankesters, bluegrass, folk, Kerry Chater, Lynn Gillespie Chater, Marc Rossi, Nu-Blu
Donna Ulisse tours Russia!
July 29, 2011
Donna Ulisse sound check in Kremlin Square in Vologda, Russia
At the invitation of the U.S. Embassy in Russia, Donna Ulisse & The Poor Mountain Boys made their first international trip in July 2011 performing as the only American act at four bluegrass festivals in Russia. They were considered music ambassadors playing this true American art form of music in the cities and towns of Vologda, Semenkovo and Yekaterinburg. The festivals were a gift from the U.S. Embassy to the people of Russia and also featured several Russian bluegrass bands.
While there, Donna was interviewed by countless television and radio hosts and also appeared on their morning TV show. It was a whirlwind of seven days from the time they left the U.S. until the returned but the trip was a huge success. To read more about the tour from Donna’s perspective and see more photos, visit her website by clicking here.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: bluegrass, Donna Ulisse, Russia, U.S. Embassy, Vologda, Yekaterinburg
An Easy Climb EPK released
June 5, 2011
View the new video about the making of Donna Ulisse’s new CD An Easy Climb. Video production by Craig Havighurst of String Theory Media.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: An Easy Climb, bluegrass, Craig Havighurst, Donna Ulisse, String Theory Media
Ulisse’s “An Easy Climb” ships to radio
May 30, 2011
Donna Ulisse’s fourth bluegrass CD An Easy Climb has shipped to radio. It is another collection of thirteen songs written or co-written by Ulisse and is also her fourth collaboration with producer Keith Sewell at the helm in the studio. Other co-writers on the project are Marc Rossi, Rick Stanley, Kerry Chater, Lynn Gillespie Chater and Irish singer songwriter Ben Glover. The CD is shipping to bluegrass radio, folk radio, Euro-Americana DJs overseas as well as Americana stations. The CD is also available on Airplay Direct for download by radio stations worldwide.
Musicians on the CD are Rob Ickes on dobro, Viktor Krauss on upright bass, Scott Vestal on banjo, Keith Sewell on acoustic guitar and Andy Leftwich on fiddle and mandolin.
Posted in Donna Ulisse | Tags: Andy Leftwich, Ben Glover, bluegrass, Donna Ulisse, folk radio, Keith Sewell, Kerry Chater, Lynn Gillespie Chater, Marc Rossi, Rick Stanley, Rob Ickes, Scott Vestal, Viktor Krauss
Donna Ulisse back in studio
February 20, 2011
Producer Keith Sewell and Donna Ulisse
Hadley artist Donna Ulisse is back in the recording studio working on her fourth release for the label. Once again she is collaborating with producer/guitarist Keith Sewell who has been at the helm of her prior releases on Hadley Music Group Records.
Musicians on the project are some of the cream of the crop in the bluegrass genre with Sewell on guitar, Andy Leftwich on mandolin and fiddle, Viktor Krauss on upright bass, Rob Ickes on dobro and Scott Vestal on banjo. The album will be a new collection of original tunes written or co-written by Donna. Other co-writers on the material are Rick Stanley, Marc Rossi, Kerry Chater, Lynn Gillespie Chater and Ben Glover.
The CD is set for an early June 2011 release.
Posted in Donna Ulisse | Tags: Andy Leftwich, banjo, Ben Glover, bluegrass, dobro, fiddle, Keith Sewell, Kerry Chater, Lynn Gillespie Chater, mandolin, Marc Rossi, Rick Stanley, Rob Ickes, Scott Vestal, Viktor Krauss
Donna Ulisse returns to Bluegrass Underground
November 5, 2010
Donna Ulisse & The Poor Mountain Boys playing Bluegrass Underground at Cumberland Caverns
Donna Ulisse & her band The Poor Mountain Boys returned to appear on the show Bluegrass Underground on October 30, 2010 to pick some bluegrass 333 feet under the ground in the Volcano Room at Cumberland Caverns in McMinnville, Tennessee. Also appearing on the show to a very enthusiastic audience was Lonesome River Band.
The show will be broadcast on WSM 650-AM on an upcoming evening before the Saturday night Grand Ole Opry show broadcast and has also just signed an agreement to be broadcast on Sirius XM’s Bluegrass Junction channel. Check back for broadcast dates which we will post when we receive them.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: bluegrass, Bluegrass Underground, Bobby King, Cumberland Caverns, Donna Ulisse, Greg Davis, Jon Martin, Lonesome River Band, Rick Stanley, SiriusXM, Tony King, WSM
Donna Ulisse plays IBMA FanFest
October 6, 2010
Donna Ulisse and her band The Poor Mountain Boys recently played a gospel set on Sunday morning, October 3, 2010 to wrap up the annual IBMA FanFest event for bluegrass music lovers and fans from all over the world. The event was held at the Nashville Convention Center and features some of the biggest names in bluegrass over a two and a half day period.