Oh me oh my how the time does fly!

Oh my! Where does the time go?

It seems like I moved to Nashville just yesterday! A lot has happened in the last couple of months, and I have, once again, failed to keep up with it in my blog.

I've been getting to play with some pretty amazing people lately and I have to say that I am one lucky girl! Spending the summer playing with The Charlie Sizemore Band, filling in with countless groups, including folks like, Karl Shiflett, too many downtown bands to count, writing songs, and getting to hear one of my tunes on Balsam Range's record... not a bad way to pass the time!

Inside Balsam Range's new album, Papertown!

Riding around to festivals and shows with The Charlie Sizemore Band has been an adventure. I'm always learning new things! In addition to hearing phrases and sayings I could never imagine... such as, "hanging in there like a hair on a biscuit..." I now know what time of year/weather that hogs are traditionally slaughtered!

The Charlie Sizemore Band at IBMA's Fan Fest

IBMA week has come and gone. I don't think I've ever had less sleep and more fun any year to date at the IBMA convention. I was blessed to have some amazing musicians play my showcases with me: Chris Hill, Rebecca Frazier, Joe Walsh, Matt Raum, Clayton Campbell, and even my mom, Kara, singing some harmonies! I also got to play with the brand new group, Feller & Hill and the Bluegrass Buckaroos with Michael Cleveland! If thats not a fun time, I don't know what is! Attendance seemed to be down this year, but it didn't seem to hurt the after after-hours hallway jamming.

Playing to a packed house at Acoustic Trail's New Frontier Showcase at IBMA

I could go on and on, but instead I'll give you some pictures and videos to get you all caught up!

"Leaving North Carolina" at Layla's Bluegrass Inn

Backing up the always talented songwriter, Caroline Spence

Always time for a walk in the park with the Harvest Moon!

Downtown with Jack Pearson, Paul Kramer, Stephen Mougin & Ned Luberecki

Feller & Hill and the Bluegrass Buckaroos at IBMA

Hanging out with Peter Rowan after doing some pickin

Feller & Hill and the Bluegrass Buckaroos make their debut at IBMA 

with Michael Cleveland playing some fiddle!

The weather is getting cooler, the leaves are starting to turn, and its finally starting to feel like fall here in Tennessee. I'm looking forward to rambling across the country this November. If you, or someone you know would like to host a house concert, get in touch via www.ashleighcaudill.com. I'll have more info on that in the next post, which I promise won't be months from now.

Thanks for reading!

Its already May?

Where does the time go? It seems like it was just winter not too long ago. This means that festival season is here! I hope to be attending some of my favorite festivals this summer, but we'll see how many I actually make it to. I'd say Merlefest isn't a bad start.

We had such a wonderful time at Merlefest! I drove from Nashville to Mouth of Wilson, Virginia to visit my Grandma on the way. I couldn't not go for a visit when I knew she was only two hours away! So I spent Wednesday night and Thursday morning visiting with my Grandma Caudill and my Aunt and then I was off to Merlefest!

The finalists, judges and chairman of the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest

I got there in just enough time to check in and figure out where I was going. Unfortunately there was some sort of mishap with my parking/camping credentials and for a moment I thought I would be homeless (or campless) for the weekend, but luckily some wonderful festival goers came to the rescue and let me camp with them at Riverside Camping. Best bunch of people you could ask for to come to your rescue! Thursday night I jumped in the river... it wasn't too cold, but it sure was gross. Probably not the best idea I had all weekend, but it made for a good start to a festival.

Friday morning I met up with Jodi Harbin and Griff Martin for the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest Finals. It was great to meet the other writers and hear everyone's songs. The bluegrass category went first, and we played second, just behind Louisa Branscomb. The crowed that comes to the finals is so quiet. The room is full, but it sounds empty. Its a rare treat to get to play for a group of people who are listening so intently! After hearing all the songs and making their decisions, the judges announced the places. Our song placed second!

You can watch the Bluegrass Category here:


Video streaming by Ustream

The rest of the festival was awesome! I got to sit in the grass, listen to some of the finest music ever, and pick with old and new friends.

Sunday afternoon I packed up and drove to Asheville. Got to walk in the woods, play more music, and run some errands before heading back to Nashville just in time to be reunited with Ruby and Lump before heading out to the jam at the 5 Spot.


Balsam Range has recorded Row by Row on their upcoming album, Papertown! You can get it before all your friends do if you join Balsam Nation!




Thanks for your continued support!

Great News!

Hello!

I'm happy to announce that the song, Polly Andrey, written by Jodi Harbin and myself, has been selected as one of the finalists for MerleFest's Chris Austin Songwriting Contest! We are so thrilled to get to go and perform our song at MerleFest!

Congratulations to all the other finalists too!

Here are a couple links to some sites that mention it:

MerleFest 2012

Mountain Times

Facebook

You can listen to the tune here:

Jodi and I are so thrilled to have made the finals and so very excited to get to be a part of MerleFest 2012! If you happen to be there, please come by and cheer us on!

Life in Nashville has been awesome! I get the opportunity to play with so many great people on a daily basis. I am so blessed to be a part of such a wonderful, supportive community full of so many talented people!

Here are some photos from the past month or so:

Singing at Bootleggers:

Playing with Jodi at her wedding:

at the Station Inn with Chris Henry and The Hardcore Grass:

Lump, about to attack my face:

Enjoy the beautiful weather folks!

Tracking a demo at the Tree House Studio!

I don't have a whole lot of time to write, so this one will be mostly pictures and a tune!

I went into the studio the other day with some incredible people who also happen to be killer musicians to record a demo of a tune that I wrote a while back with my good friend, Jodi Palmer. The tune is called Polly Andrey.

We had Tim Carter, of the awesome Tree House Studio and the Carter Brothers, running all the fancy recording gear and playing the banjo:

The oh so talented, Brad Folk, playing guitar:

Of course Ruby was there to supervise:


Myself on bass:


Brad Folk, singin:


Chris Henry tearing it up on mandolin, a guitar break and the harmony vocals:

And now, you can listen to what we came up with here:

Stay posted for more adventures in the future!

First full week in Nashville...

So far, so good. There is so much going on all the time. I think I've been out almost every single night since I've been here... save for the night I snuck away to the State Park to spend a little time in the woods.

First official gig as a Nashville resident... also first official gig of February: I'll be playing this Thursday (Feb 2nd) at Bootleggers on Broadway at 6pm with a fella named Tyson Alteri and a handful of other folks (Aaron Till, John Tomlin, Robert Trapp). There will be lots of other awesome bands after that too, so if you live in the Nashville area, come make a night of it!

Driving across the country on the way here was beautiful as usual, and it was nice to break up the drive by stopping by a few radio stations on the way. A big thanks to Ida Jane and Jake in Missouri! On top of that, I got to visit the Bluegrass Museum in Owensboro Kentucky! Now that place has a lot of awesome stuff in it! If you haven't been there, I strongly suggest that you go.

Finally, I'll finish up with some pictures I took of signs along the way.

I think taking pictures of signs along the way will become a fun activity for long drives. If you have any themes you'd like to recommend for certain parts of the country, just shoot me a message on facebook!

Hope everyone has a great week and a wonderful February!

Ashleigh

almost on the road again

Blog update number two for 2012!

I'm still in Loveland Colorado trying to get my act together to get out of here and on to Nashville. I'm also contacting a few radio stations across the country to see about stopping in and saying "hey!"

I just finished up a great workshop at Swallow Hill in Denver Colorado with a great group of students. They were a fun and very creative bunch and such a joy to work with!

Also, here are some pictures of my van updates for all my driving shavannaghans... huh huh.

I'm sure that Ruby and Lump are eager to get going as well. We'll miss the family, and the dog family, but Lump is excited to have Ruby all to herself again.

Wish us luck and I'll write again from the road!

-Ashleigh, Ruby and sometimes Lump

hello 2012

I'm sitting in the living room at my brother's house in Loveland Colorado, looking at my little niece, Kenna, sitting on the top of a pile of dogs in the middle of the floor.

I've been making plans and getting organized. 1012 is gonna be a pretty exciting year for me. I've packed up my van and after a great long holiday with my family I'm getting ready to relocate to Nashville Tennessee. I know that I'll miss Asheville, just like I miss all the awesome places I've lived before, but I'm super excited for my next adventure!

I want to start 2012 by wishing you all the very best year ever!

Kennas Song by ashleighcaudillmusic

I've made many new years resolutions this year, we'll see how many of them I keep. In fact, I've already broken a few of them, but I'll just keep trying until next year.

I'll be teaching a songwriting workshop at Swallow Hill in Denver this weekend (January 14th and 15th) and then I'll be reluctantly leaving Colorado once again, watching the mountains shrink in the rear view mirror, that is if I can even see out of it...

Thanks for reading! Merry merry happy happy new year!

Ashleigh