Mountain Heart
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mountain Heart is an American bluegrass music band. The current lineup is:
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- Barry Abernathy - banjo and vocals
- Clay Hess - guitar and vocals
- Jason Moore - acoustic bass and vocals
- Aaron Ramsey - mandolin and vocals
- Jim Van Cleve - fiddle and vocals
- Josh Shilling - lead vocals and rhythm guitar
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[edit] History
The band was formed in 1998 by Steve Gulley, Abernathy, Steffey, and Van Cleve. Johnny Dowdle was the original bass player. For a short period, Steffey left the band to play with The Isaacs, a bluegrass gospel group. During that period, Steffey was replaced by mandolinist Alan Perdue. After their debut album, Dowdle left the group, and was replaced by former James King bass player Jason Moore. After Steffey's return to the group, Mountain Heart added virtuoso guitarist Clay Jones to the lineup. In September of 2007, Jones was replaced by Grammy Award winning guitarist, Clay Hess. Hess has played with such musical talents as Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, and the Mark Newton Band. Mountain Heart had been with the Skaggs Family Records label since 2002, but just recently signed with Rural Rhythm Records of Los Angeles, CA. They recently released their first Live Recording, entitled Road That Never Ends. This album has been critically acclaimed and highly sought after. A music video from the title track was recently filmed as well.
In December 2006, the band announced that Steve Gulley would be leaving the group to form a new band, called Grasstowne. On January 5, 2007, Josh Shilling debuted with the band at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, TN, and was announced as the group's new lead singer.
[edit] Awards and Recognition
The group's entertainment, instrumental, and vocal prowess are widely acclaimed in bluegrass and other acoustic music circles. The band was awarded the IBMA Emerging Artist of the Year award in 1999, before the release of their first recording.
They have since been nominated for many other IBMA awards, including, but not limited to, "Entertainer of the Year" (2003, 2004, 2005), "Vocal Group of the Year" (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006), and "Instrumental Group of the Year" (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006).
Adam Steffey has won five IBMA awards for "Mandolin Performer of the Year".
Jason Moore has been nominated for "Bass Performer of the Year" for 2004, 2005, and 2006.
Jim VanCleve was nominated for Fiddle Player of the Year in 2007. He was also nominated for a GRAMMY for "Best Country Instrumental Performance" for a track from his solo project, No Apologies. His album, which featured all the members of Mountain Heart, was nominated for "Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year in 2007".
[edit] Discography
- Mountain Heart, 1999 - Doobie Shea Records
- The Journey, 2000 - Doobie Shea Records
- No Other Way, 2002 - Skaggs Family Records
- Force of Nature, 2004 - Skaggs Family Records
- Wide Open, 2006 - Skaggs Family Records
- The Road That Never Ends (The Live Album), 2007 - Rural Rhythm Records
