Bluegrass Breakdown: Birmingham

We’ll be paying homage to one of BluegrassLand’s greatest cities–the first town to celebrate Veteran’s Day; the only place in the entire world where the three major components for making steel (iron ore, coal and limestone) can be found in close proximity to one another; the birthplace of Emmy Lou Harris, fiddler Tommy Jackson and Jimmy Murphy; and the subject matter for some of the genre’s best known songs. With the guidance of Lester Flatt, Del McCoury, Chatham County Line and Red Mountain, we’ll be celebrating The Magic City, the Pittsburgh of the South–Birmingham, Sweet Home Alabama.

PROGRAM PLAYLIST

• The Carter Brothers: “Birmingham Fling” from Cracks In the Floor(Little King)
• The Farewell Drifters: “Birmingham” from Sweet Summer Breeze(self-released)
• Red Mountain: “Back to Birmingham” from Throw the Old Cow Over the Fence(Whoop It Up)
• Shannon & Heather Slaughter: “Back to Birmingham” from Never Just a Song(Elite Circuit)
• Lester Flatt: “Backing to Birmingham’ from Flatt On Victor Plus More(Bear Family)
• The Pickin’ On Pickers: “Hello L.A., Bye Bye Birmingham” from Pickin’ On Nancy Sinatra(CMH)
• Del McCoury: “Birmingham Jail” from Our Kind of Grass(Rebel)
• Chatham County Line: “Birmingham Jail” from IV(Yeproc)
• The Del McCoury Band: “Birmingham” from Sail Away – The Songs of Randy Newman(Sugar Hill)
• Red Mountain White Trash: “Mean Old Birmingham Blues’ from Sweet Bama(Whoop It Up)
• The Eddie Adcock Band: “Birmingham Bounce” from Dixie Fried(CMH)
• Benny Martin: “Wabash Cannonball” from Railroad Songs(CMH)
• The Delmore Brothers: “Fifteen Miles From Birmingham” from Classic Cuts Vol. 3(JSP)
• Nelson Young & the Sandy Valley Boys: “Ten More Miles to Birmingham” from Pickin’ For Pizza(Eagle)
• Don Rigsby & Midnight Call: “Any Bar In Birmingham” from Hillbilly Heartache(Rebel)
• Kenny & Amanda Smith: “The Birmingham Turnaround” from Catch Me If I Try(Farm Boy)
• John Hickman: “Birmingham Fling” from Don’t Mean Maybe(Rounder)