With Wayne Rice, Sundays from 10:00 to 12 midnight

Now in it's 34th year, KSON's Bluegrass Special is Southern California's only all-bluegrass music radio program featuring the best of today's bluegrass music along with a mix of oldies, local artists and bluegrass gospel music.  It also features news and information about San Diego's bluegrass music scene.

HEAR THE BLUEGRASS SPECIAL ON DEMAND
Listen to February 21 (SDBS Live with "Superstrings")
Listen to February 28
Listen to March 7 (34th Anniversary Show)
Listen to March 14

Click the banner above to see The Bluegrass Bulletin Board!

Click here to see Wayne's choices for the TOP 50 BLUEGRASS CD'S OF 2009!

"THE SAN DIEGO BLUEGRASS SOCIETY LIVE"
Hear San Diego's top local bands perform live in studio once-a-month on KSON's Bluegrass Special ... on the Sunday before the 4th Tuesday of each month (between 10 and 11 p.m.)!

About Wayne Rice:

• Has hosted KSON's Bluegrass Special since March 7, 1976
• Former member of Brush Arbor, a country/gospel group that recorded for Capitol Records in the early 1970's and won the Academy of Country Music's Vocal Group Of The Year Award for 1973. Plays 5-string banjo and guitar (and sings, too!)
• Currently performs with a local San Diego Bluegrass band called Lighthouse, and another called Grassology.
• Recipient of the 1995 International Bluegrass Music Association's "Broadcaster of the Year" award.
• Is a lifetime member of the Country Music Association.
• Is also a well-known author and speaker on the subject of youth and family issues. He is the co-founder of an organization called Youth Specialties, and another called Understanding Your Teenager.
• Visit Wayne's personal web site at www.waynerice.com.  You can e-mail Wayne at this address: wayne@kson.com.

About Bluegrass Music:

Bluegrass music is a unique form of country music which was created in the 1940's by the late Grand Ole Opry star Bill Monroe, also known as "The Father of Bluegrass Music." The style was named for Monroe's band The Bluegrass Boys and his home state of Kentucky. Other bluegrass pioneers include Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, the Stanley Brothers, Jim and Jesse McReynolds and the Osborne Brothers.

Bluegrass music has it's own distinctive sound. It is usually acoustic (unplugged), and it primarily features the fiddle, banjo, mandolin, guitar, bass and dobro, along with tight-knit harmony singing. Famous bluegrass songs include "Rocky Top", "Fox On The Run", "Foggy Mountain Breakdown", "Man of Constant Sorrow" (from the movie "O Brother Where Art Thou" and "Dueling Banjos" (from the movie "Deliverance") Contemporary bluegrass stars include Alison Krauss, Ricky Skaggs, Dolly Parton, Del McCoury, and Rhonda Vincent.  Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Joe Diffie, The Dixie Chicks and Marty Stuart are among the many country artists who began their musical careers in bluegrass.

There are numerous independent record labels which continue to produce new bluegrass music. Among them are Rounder, Sugar Hill, Rebel, Pinecastle, Rural Rhythm and Skaggs Family Records. 

The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), headquartered in Nashville, is the primary trade organization for today's bluegrass music industry. The IBMA hosts it's annual "World of Bluegrass" Trade Show and Fanfest in Nashville as well as the IBMA Awards Show, the biggest night of the year for bluegrass music artists. Locally, the San Diego Bluegrass Society, the North County Folk and Bluegrass Music Club, and the Bluegrass Association of Southern California help to promote the music and provide opportunities for fans and musicians to get together.

Listen each week to the Bluegrass Special for the latest information on where to hear bluegrass locally or check out our "Bluegrass Bulletin Board" which is updated weekly.

Regular monthly events:

• 1st Tuesday of the month: The North County Bluegrass and Folk Club presents bluegrass at Round Table Pizza, Ash and Washington, Escondido (7-10 p.m.)
• 2nd Tuesday of the Month: The San Diego Bluegrass Society presents bluegrass at Fuddruckers in La Mesa at the Grossmont Shopping Center (6:30-9 p.m.)
• 3rd Tuesday of the Month: The San Diego Bluegrass Society hosts an open mike and jam at OLD TIME MUSIC, 2852 University Avenue, San Diego. 6:30-9 p.m.)
• 4th Tuesday of the month: The San Diego Bluegrass Society hosts an open mike and jam at the Boll Weevil Restaurant (9339 Clairemont Mesa Blvd)) in San Diego. (6:30-9 p.m.)

• "In Tune," (The Newsletter of the Bluegrass Assoc. of So. California and the San Diego Bluegrass Society)
  For the online or print version, go to http:/www.socalbluegrass.org

• "Bluegrass Unlimited" Magazine
  P.O. Box 111
  Broad Run, VA 20137
  Subscriptions: 1-800-BLU-GRAS
  E-mail to editor@bluegrassmusic.com
  Website: http://www.bluegrassmusic.com
  
• "The San Diego Troubadour"
  A free monthly newspaper featuring news and articles about San Diego's acoustic music scene. Available in music stores and other venues around town (or online.)

• Old Time Music
  2852 University Avenue
  San Diego, CA 92105
  (619)280-9035
  
• Traditional Music
  1410 N. Highway 101
  Leucadia, CA 92024
  (619)942-1622
  
• County Sales (Mail Order)
  P.O. Box 191
  Floyd, VA 24091
  (540) 745-2001
  Website: http://www.countysales.com
  
• And of course, check record stores such as Borders, Best Buy, Blockbuster Music and Wherehouse.   Some carry a pretty good selection of bluegrass music.