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• If you go: The 7th Annual Appalachian Uprising
• The Appalachian Uprising Schedule

SCOTTOWN, Ohio -- It's the hottest weekend of the year so far, and all that hot wind is blowing in with some of the world's best pickers descending upon Eden Valley Farm for the seventh annual Appalachian Uprising that runs today through Saturday.

Tickets are $35 daily or $90 for the weekend.

Here's a quick guide to the bands playing the festival.

Thursday

Randy Wilson

WHEN: 11 a.m. to noon

WHO: Multi-instrumentalist Randy Wilson from Eastern Kentucky. Wilson plays Celtic drum, penny whistle and concertina to the mountain style banjo, guitar, dulcimer and autoharp. A great storyteller, he uses songs, story and dance in his programs.

DID YOU KNOW: Wilson appeared on the CD "Songs for the Mountaintop" and was featured on the international radio/TV show, "Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour."

Dana Romanello

WHEN: 12:15 p.m. to 1:45 p.m.

WHO: A Lucasville, Ohio, native from a long line of performers, Romanello now works and lives in Nashville in affiliate relations for American Country Countdown with Kix Brooks of Brooks and Dunn.

DID YOU KNOW? She's a former NCAA All-American cheerleader at Marshall University and cheered for the Tennessee Titans NFL team for two years. She's also worked for Skaggs Family Records in Nashville.

Melvin Goins and Windy Mountain

WHEN: 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and 2:15 to 3:45 p.m. Friday.

WHO: Homegrown (Catlettsburg) but widely known, Goins is a bluegrass legend who's been in the business for nearly 60 years. Melvin had a band (Goins Brothers) with his brother Ray until 1994, and has been solo ever since. He performs with America's Bluegrass Band and is seen weekly on KET, WSAZ and MyZ TV.

DID YOU KNOW? From early 1966 until the spring of 1969, he worked with the Stanley Brothers through the last months of Carter Stanley's life and the formative period of Ralph's solo leadership.

Shannon Whitworth

WHEN: 3:45 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.

WHO: Whitworth has spent the past four years recording and touring with the band she co-founded, The Biscuit Burners. Whitworth, who's played the Uprising with the Burners, is a back for a solo set with songs from her new CD, "No Expectations."

DID YOU KNOW? Shannon plays guitar, banjo and ukulele.

The Grascals

WHEN: 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. and 8 to 8:45 p.m.

WHO: One of the most critically-acclaimed and dynamic groups in bluegrass music today, and the reigning IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) Entertainers of the Year for the last two years.

DID YOU KNOW? The Grascal's version of the George Jones' song, "Choices," was No. 1 in March and April on XM Bluegrass Junction Top 30 Tracks.

Jerry Harmon

WHEN: 6:30 to 7:45 p.m.

WHO: Called "The Smoky Mountain Gypsy," Harmon, a North Carolina resident, has been performing at festivals around the country since making his debut at MerleFest in 1998.

DID YOU KNOW? This is no story: His great-great-grandfather, Council Harmon, was the first to introduce "Jack Tales" to America from England and his cousin is the legendary storyteller Ray Hicks.

The Avett Brothers

WHEN: 9 to 10:30 p.m.

WHO: The brother band of Scott and Seth Avett whips together punk rock intensity with a Beatles sense of melody and harmony. The band, whose seventh CD comes out in July, took home two awards: Duo group and new/emerging artist, at last fall's Americana Music Awards in Nashville.

DID YOU KNOW? After they leave the Uprising, they're headed to Bonnaroo and The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, N.J., on their summer tour.

The Hillbilly Gypsies

WHEN: 10:45 p.m. to 12:15 a.m.

WHO: The Hillbilly Gypsies are a Morgantown, W.Va.-based string band playing an eclectic mix of traditional and quite often, not-so-traditional bluegrass standards around a single, vintage microphone. They just made their Mountain Stage debut, and Monday chalked up another international radio appearance on Woodsongs Old-time Radio Hour heard and seen 'round the world.

DID YOU KNOW? The Gypsies' ace picker Dave Asti just took first place in the West Virginia Bluegrass banjo competition at Vandalia Gathering and second place in the mandolin competition over Memorial Day weekend at the West Virginia Capitol grounds.

Friday

Michael Garvin

WHEN: 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

WHO: Greenup County, Ky., fiddler who has learned from such greats as Roger Cooper and who carries the old-time fiddling tradition to the next generation. A self-taught musician Garvin placed in the National Merle Travis Thumbpicking Guitar Contest in 2000, and won the 2007 Ed Haley Fiddle Contest in Ashland.

DID YOU KNOW? In 2006, he launched KentuckyMemories.com to promote future projects related to our specific region's abundance in traditional fiddle music. Garvin also does fiddle repair/restoration/setup, re-hair bows and more.

Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers

WHEN: 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.

WHO: Based in Southwest Ohio, Joe Mullins has been an active Bluegrass performer and radio broadcaster for 25 years. He began working on the radio and playing banjo professionally while still in high school in the early 1980's, touring and recording nationwide as a founding member of the band the Traditional Grass. Mullins also performed and recorded with the awarding winning Bluegrass band, Longview.

DID YOU KNOW? Mullins owns and operates Classic Country Radio, a network of three Ohio radio stations featuring Classic Country, Bluegrass and Gospel music.

Jessica Lea Mayfield

WHEN: 4:10 to 5 p.m.

WHO: Mayfield has been singing with her family's band, One Way Rider since age 8. She plays bass, guitar, and banjo and has spent the winter opening up around the country for The Avett Brothers. She's a little bit, folk, Americana and old-time country.

DID YOU KNOW? She just got some ink in Rolling Stone for her work with The Black Keys. On the Akron-based rock duo's latest record "Attack & Release," Jessica sings a duet with Dan Auerbach on the closing track "Things Ain't Like They Used To Be", becoming the first guest vocalist to appear on a Black Keys album. Auerbach is also the producer on Jessica's upcoming record.

One Way Rider

WHEN: 5:15 to 6 p.m.

WHO: Based out of Kent Ohio, the family band of mom and dad, Valerie Fay Mayfield and David Lee Mayfield features a bit of traditional bluegrass, newgrass, country, gospel and acappella all spiced with the couple's great talented kids David Mayfield and Jessica Mayfield (A.K.A Chittlin'). The family band has been a popular staple at The Appalachian Uprising, performing every year.

DID YOU KNOW? David also plays in Andy Griggs band.

Larry Keel and Natural Bridge

WHEN: 6:15 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. and Larry Keel's Allstar Bluegrass Jam from 8:45 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday.

WHO: From Natural Bridge, Va., Larry Keel & Natural Bridge has been at the Appalachian Uprising for two-day stints since the fest began. Keel is known for a wide range of projects with everyone from Keller Williams and Tony Rice to The Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Acoustic Syndicate. The band includes: flatpicking guitar master Larry Keel (guitar, vocals), his wife, Jenny Keel (bass fiddle, vocals), Mark Schimick (mandolin, vocals), and, Jason Flournoy (banjo, vocals).

DID YOU KNOW? The Keels and Natural Bridge will be sliding back through the Tri-State at 10 p.m. Friday, July 4, for a special engagement at The V Club, 741 6th Ave.

Bobby Osborne and Rocky Top X-Press

WHEN: 8 to 9:10 p.m.

WHO: Hyden, Ky., native Bobby Osborne is one half of the legendary Osborne Brothers, chalked up five decades as the vocalist, mandolinist, and bandleader. When his brother Sonny retired, Bobby formed his band Rocky Top X-Press, which records for Rounder Records.

DID YOU KNOW? Bobby was in the U.S. Marine Corps, fought in Korea in 1951, was wounded in action and awarded the Purple Heart. He actually worked for The Stanley Brothers for a few weeks before being drafted.

Nashville Bluegrass Band

WHEN: 9:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.

WHO: Made up of first-class Nashville sessions musicians, the Nashville Bluegrass Band has recorded nine CDs, and won two Grammy awards, two Entertainer of the Year honors from the International Bluegrass Music Association, and four wins as IBMA's Vocal Group of the Year.

DID YOU KNOW? They performed on the Down from the Mountain Tour, were the first bluegrass band to tour China, has recorded with artists as diverse as Bernadette Peters and Clint Black, and collaborated with Johnny Cash on the film soundtrack, "Dead Man Walking." NBB also performed for R.E.M. at their private party, in addition to playing at Wynonna Judd's wedding reception.

The SteelDrivers

WHEN: 11:15 p.m. to 12:45 a.m.

WHO: A Nashville supergroup of whiskey-stained blues-grass featuring Grammy nominated banjo player, Richard Bailey; bassist and vocalist, Mike Fleming; mandolinist, Dobroist and singer, Mike Henderson, Tammy Rogers on fiddle and vocals and long-haired country boy and Paintsville, Ky., native, Chris Stapleton on guitar and lead vocals.

DID YOU KNOW? Stapleton has just scored a couple No. 1 songs as the writer of "Your Man," recorded by Josh Turner and Kenny Chesney's "Never Wanted Nothing More."

Saturday

Bawn In the Mash

WHEN: 1 a.m. to 2:30 a.m.

WHO: Armed with the bluegrass xylophone, Bawn in the Mash (out of Paducah, Ky.) has been brewing up experimental grass-based jams since 2005. Their first release, 'Welcome to the Atomic City'(2006), was produced and recorded by (2003 national old time banjo champion & five time Tennessee old time banjo champion) Colonel Dan Knowles.

DID YOU KNOW? Bawn in the Mash fiddle player Josh Coffey plays fiddle on "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" during the bar fight scene of the new Mike Myers' movie, "Love Guru." Coffey's song, "Little Piece of Paper" is also featured this month in Global Rhythm Magazine.

Schultz Creek

WHEN: 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

WHO: Schultz Creek Bluegrass Band Schultz Creek was formed in the Eastern Kentucky foothills in 2000. They now travel around the region blending up new and traditional grass.

DID YOU KNOW? The band got its name from the place where they all met up and started playing, Schultz Creek, Ky.

The Student Loan

WHEN: 12:30 to 1:45 p.m.

WHO: What does a New Yorker, a kid raised in the youth symphony, a jazz player interested in French modernism and a kid raised outside Chicago do when they get together at college? Form a new grass band. A four-person new grass band birthed at Bowling Green State University. Fronted by Liz Chibucos, who has a degree in world music with a minor in recording technology.

DID YOU KNOW? The band's second CD, "A New and Different Life," will be available by mid-June.

Avery County

WHEN: 2 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.

WHO: Mandolinist Travers Chandler and Avery County is a young and energetic group of seasoned young professional entertainers with stints with Karl Shiflett and The Big Country Show, Bobby Osborne, Audie Blaylock and Redline, The James King Band, The Bluegrass Brothers, Jimmy Martin, Mitch and Bill Harrell and a host of others

DID YOU KNOW? Travers Chandler started the group in late 2006 to preserve the legacies of his heroes Charlie Moore, Red Allen, Frank Wakefield and the other pioneers of the Baltimore scene of the 1950s and '60s.

County Line II

WHEN: 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.

WHO: County Line II is composed of Jimmy Seliga, who has been playing mandolin since he was 11 and his father Jim Seliga, who plays the harmonica.

DID YOU KNOW? The band was featured this past fall at the historic Norwalk Theatre in northern Ohio.

Steep Canyon Rangers

WHEN: 5:15 to 6:45 p.m.

WHO: Formed at the University of North Carolina, The Steep Canyon Rangers, a five-man band (Woody Platt, Mike Guggino, Charles Humphrey, Nicky Sanders, and Graham Sharp) draw from early bluegrass, honky tonk, and blues. In 2006 the International Bluegrass Music Association voted Steep Canyon Rangers the Emerging Artist of the Year. The past year also saw the title track 'One Dime at a Time' rise to #1 on Bluegrass Unlimited's National Bluegrass Survey and they made their Grand Ole Opry debut.

DID YOU KNOW? Steep Canyon Rangers are the cover story in the May/June issue of Bluegrass Music Profiles magazine.

ETA

WHEN: 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.

WHO: Eddie Riffe and Tony Maynard Acoustic. Formed in 2003 in Ashland, Ky., the duo with Riffe on lead vocals and harmonica and Maynard on lead guitar and harmony vocals, have chalked up hundreds of gigs around the region from big festivals to the Funny Bone Comedy Club and Restaurant. Maynard, who has run sound for just about every rock band in the business, brings a spicy lead to Riffe's originals, and country, rock and grass covers.

DID YOU KNOW? The duo just played their song, "Too Drunk to Two-Step," at the world premiere of the documentary, "Back to the Bottle," at the Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center in Huntington. Riffe is also a DJ at WTCR-FM, 103.3, which was nominated for an ACM and a CMA this past year for Small Market Station of the Year.

Sam Bush Band

WHEN: 10:30 p.m. to midnight

WHO: The "King of Newgrass," Sam Bush was cofounder and leader of the seminal progressive bluegrass band New Grass Revival through 18 years during the 1970s and '80s bringing rock 'n' roll grooves and virtuosic jams. A sideman for bands of Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett, and Bela Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Bush has fronted his own band since the late 1980s and spearheaded boundary-stretching collaborations with Edgar Meyer, Mark O'Connor, and David Grisman. His own band is a supergroup of such players as Scott Vestal and Byron House.

DID YOU KNOW? Bush did five sets on the Saturday of this year's MerleFest then raced back to Nashville to surprise Emmylou Harris with a performance at her induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame that April Sunday evening.

Photo courtesy of www.grascals.com

The Grascals are just one of many bands performing at the Appalachian Uprising this weekend.

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