Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Melting Point brings in bluegrass

By on July 19, 2007

The Nashville Bluegrass Band will play tonight at 8:30 at The Melting Point. The band has won two Grammy awards and its members have lent their voices to the "O Brother
Where Art Thou?"" soundtrack."
The Nashville Bluegrass Band will play tonight at 8:30 at The Melting Point. The band has won two Grammy awards and its members have lent their voices to the "O Brother

After lending their vocals to the “O Brother Where Art Thou?” soundtrack and recording with the likes of Johnny Cash, Bernadette Peters and Lyle Lovett, The Nashville Bluegrass Band is taking their music on tour.

The Grammy award-winning band is performing at The Melting Point tonight. In addition to their two Grammys, the band – composed of members Mike Compton, Alan O’Bryant, Stuart Duncan, Andy Todd and Pat Enright – has enjoyed other successes.

They have received two Entertainer of the Year honors from the International Bluegrass Music Association and the chance to play at the White House in 2006 for President Bush.

Enright, one of the founding members of the group

and guitar player, said all their success hasn’t changed them.

“If anything, it’s changed what we do,” said Enright. “It’s all about learning how to switch gears.”

Over the years, Enright himself has gone from a soldier to a bluegrass star.

“I’ve kind of always played music since high school. I’ve always had a guitar,” he said.

But Enright had to wait before he met his future band mates, and they would start their climb to success.

“I got drafted in 1965 and moved to San Francisco and stayed out there for a while,” said Enright.

“In 1984, The Nashville Bluegrass Band was founded, and I got swept along with it.”

BLUEGRASS

When: 8:30 tonight
Where: The Melting Point
More Info: meltingpointathens.com
Price: $20 advance, $25 door

The Nashville Bluegrass Band just finished “Whiskey Before Breakfast.”

In 2000, Enright and members O’Bryant, Compton and Duncan appeared on the “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” soundtrack, with Enright a voice of one of George Clooney’s “Soggy Bottom Boys.” Also, in 2003, Duncan’s fiddling was featured throughout the soundtrack of “Cold Mountain.”

While the band enjoys new endeavors, they remain true to a bluegrass sound.

“We tend to play in a style that’s been established for many years,” Enright said.

“We’ve worked with a long list of songwriters, and we’ve called from a lot of different things: swing band music, gospel, and lots of blues,” he said.