The Performers for the 2004 OATS Bluegrass Festival will be listed here.

This page is still under construction.

At the bottom of the page is a complete listing of all the entertainers.

Larry Cordle and Lonesome Standard Time will appear at the Out Among the Stars Bluegrass Festival at the Benton Rodeo Grounds on Friday, July 2. Two performances are scheduled for 3:30 and 8:30 PM. Larry Cordle is a superb song-writer. His songs have been recorded by George Strait, Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Diamond Rio ("Mama Don't Forget To Pray For Me") Loretta Lynn, Trisha Yearwood, Alison Krauss, The Osborne Brothers, Ricky Skaggs ("Highway 40 Blues"), George Jones, John Michael Montgomery, John Anderson, and Gene Watson. His songs have appeared on recordings that have sold a combined total of 50 million copies. He was nominated for a Grammy in 1992, the same year he received the IBMA Song Of The Year award for the song "Lonesome Standard Time."

Cordle is best known for his Nashville-bashing song "Murder on Music Row." The recording of this protest of commercialism in country music by George Strait and Alan Jackson led to the irony of the song receiving the Country Music Association's award for "Song of the Year" in 2000. A USA Today review says the song is "a real killer, so to speak. It's a honky-tonk lament that could be the country anthem for the times, a poignant yet pointed commentary about how honest-to-goodness country music has fallen victim to the industry's obsession with pop-crossover success." A review in Bluegrass Unlimited magazine said that they were "sure that real country music isn't dead. Every once in a while, though, it manages to show a flicker of its old personality. As long as we've got artists like Larry Cordle and Lonesome Standard Time, there will always be some who remember it just like it used to be."

In creating Lonesome Standard Time, Cordle selected excellent musicians, including bassist Terry Eldredge singing tenor, and Jenee Keener, 19, on fiddle and high baritone. Banjo player David Talbot is a solid baritone. Booie Beach plays lead guitar. The instrumental abilities of these players combine with Larry Cordle's impressive singing and songwriting to deliver a hard-drivin' bluegrass sound. The group calls itself "a bluegrass band with a rock 'n' roll attitude."

Well hello, it's good to hear your voice
I hate to call so late, but I didn't have a choice
I'm calling you from dallas, headed for l.a.
I wish I had more time to talk, there's so much to say.
--"Mama Don't Forget To Pray For Me," Larry Shell/Larry Cordle.

Eddie and Martha Adcock will appear on Saturday, July 3.

Eddie Adcock was born and raised in Scottsville, Virginia. Shortly after getting his first banjo as a child, he began performing with his brother Frank singing in local churches and radio stations near Charlottesville. In his teens, he played in a band called the James River Playboys. He left home when he was 14 and supported himself through semi-professional boxing. For seven years, he boxed during the day and played music at night, then switched to racing cars and won 34 straight. He continued to play music at night. In 1953, Eddie joined Smokey Graves & His Blue Star Boys and later worked with Mac Wiseman, Bill Harrell, and Buzz Busby. He played with Bill Monroe in 1957 and 1958, and he played with the Blue Grass Boys for a short time. Adcock founded the band IInd (Second) Generation in 1971. In 1996, Adcock was inducted into the IBMA's Hall of Honor as a member of the "Classic" Country Gentlemen. Eddie now lives in Nashville, where he performs and runs a state-of-the-art recording studio.

Martha Hearon began playing stringed instruments with her South Carolina family when she was 8. Although classically trained, she was drawn to bluegrass music. Martha joined IInd Generation in 1973 to mix sound and later performed with the group. Eddie and Martha married in 1976. They formed Eddie Adcock and Talk of the Town with Missy Raines on bass and toured with David Allan Coe in a 7-piece band doing country rock.

Eddie and Martha have appeared on Austin City Limit, Ernest Tubb's Midnight Jamboree, TNN's Nashville Now and Wildhorse Saloon, Grassroots To Bluegrass, and numerous NPR specials. They currently record for the Pinecastle label.

Pine Mountain Railroad will appear on Friday and Saturday, July 2 and 3. You can find the exact performance times here. This group started in September, 1998, in the Smoky Mountain foothills when Kipper Stitt put together a band for the Pigeon Forge tourism industry. They have performed ever since and have become a national touring band.

Pine Mountain Railroad includes Kipper Stitt, banjo and baritone vocals; Bill McBee on bass and bass vocals; Clint Damewood, fiddle and baritone vocals; Danny Barnes, mandolin, lead and tenor vocals and Jerry Butler, guitar and lead vocals.

The group was nominated for the 2003 International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Emerging Artist of the Year Award and won California Bluegrass Association's 2004 Emerging Artist of the Year.

They released The Old Radio in August, 2003. The project reached Billboard Magazine's top bluegrass album chart in less than two months. The band takes pride in creating much of its own music, touching on many genres of music. In a recent album review, Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine says, "This band from East Tennessee has all the elements required for a top-level bluegrass band. They have a strong lead singer, a great songwriter, tight harmonies, good musicianship, great arrangements, a web site, and a sponsor. That is a combination hard to beat."

Pine Mountain Railroad has been engaged by Big River Pictures to provide original songs for a suspense drama which takes place in the early 1800's and is based on a true story. The motion picture, with a working title of "Tennessee 1," just finished production in East Tennessee." This was the first independent motion picture to be made by a Tennessee production company.

Nothin' Fancy will appear at Out Among the Stars Bluegrass Festival at the Benton Rodeo Grounds on Thursday and Friday, July 1 and 2. In fact, this exciting group will be the first to perform Thursday night when the festival opens.

The group formed as a bluegrass band in 1994 to compete in the East Coast Bluegrass Championship in Crimora, Virginia. Since their debut, they have grown in popularity, released five full length albums, and played the Ryman Theatre in Nashville and Lincoln Center in New York City. They have their own Virginia bluegrass festival in Buena Vista, now in its third year.

In 2002 Pinecastle Records released Nothin' Fancy's first project on their label, a recording entitled Once Upon A Road. Mike Andes, who plays mandolin and guitar, is the group's lead singer and the writer of most of their original songs. Mitchell Davis plays banjo, and he produced the band's three self-released albums. Gary Farris is the tenor voice and guitarist. Tony Shorter sets the beat for the band on upright bass. Chris Sexton, the fiddler, is the newest member of the group. All of its members are native Virginians. They appeared last year at the OATS Festival, and the audience's response to their music triggered an early invitation for them to return this year.

Upcoming Performances:

Tue 6/22 Greater Shenandoah Valley Fair, Waynesboro VA
Fri 6/25 All American Bluegrass Jam, Orange VA
Sat 6/26 Music In The Mountains Bluegrass Festival, Summersville WV
Sun 6/27 Spirit of the Shenandoah Sings at Natural Chimney Park, Mt. Solon VA
Thu 7/1 and Fri 7/2 Out Among The Stars Bluegrass Festival, Back Home in Benton, PA
Sat 7/3 Mountain Heir Bluegrass Festival, Old Washington PA
Fri 7/9 and Sat 7/10 Renfrew Valley Bluegrass Festival, Renfrew Ontario Canada
Wed 7/14 Cool Summer Nights at Massanutten Resort, Massanutten VA
Sun 7/18 Harris Pavilion, Manassas VA
Fri 7/23 Fulk's Run Lawn Party, Fulk's Run VA
Sat 7/24 Jammin' Java, Vienna VA
Sun 7/25 Court Square Theatre, Harrisonburg VA

Charlie Waller and the Country Gentlemen will headline the OATS ("Out Among the Stars") Bluegrass Festival at the Benton Rodeo Grounds on Saturday, July 3. July 4 will be the 46th anniversary of this outstanding bluegrass group. Charlie Waller can only be described as a "classic." He was named SPBGMA "Male Vocalist of the Year" in 2001 and received that organization's "Grand Master's Gold Award" for his work over the past decade. During 2002 he released an album recalling 45 years of the performance of bluegrass music.

The original Country Gentlemen group was founded July 4, 1957. Over the years it has included renowned musicians such as Jerry Douglas, John Duffey, Tom Gray, Bill Emerson, Jimmy Gaudreau, Doyle Lawson, and Ricky Skaggs. But it has always been the powerful and distinctive voice of Charlie Waller that has created the style of music so many fans have come to love.

The current Country Gentlemen ensemble is comprised of virtuoso musicians, with Greg Corbett on banjo, Darin Aldridge playing mandolin, and Les Deaton on bass, while Charlie Waller anchors the group with rhythm guitar. The group often includes Charlie's son, Randy Waller, who also has a great bluegrass voice and adds an additional guitar. In her review of the album, "45 Years of Memories," Kathy Coleman says, "Charlie and the Country Gentlemen remember the way old folk songs are supposed to sound, as they return 'House of the Rising Sun" to the old-time tune it was long before The Animals made it a pop hit." "But in all," she continues, "no matter what branch of the country music tree they pick these songs from, they are presented in the clear, strong, masterful manner that has kept the Country Gentlemen one of the most acclaimed and impressively talented groups in country/bluegrass."

Another headline group for Saturday is "Eddie and Martha Adcock." Eddie is a master of the banjo who was one of the original members of the "Country Gentlemen."

"Stained Grass Window," a well-known and well-appreciated regional band. The festival will begin on Thursday, July 1, and conclude on Sunday evening, July 4.Stained Grass Window is a local five-piece bluegrass ensemble. They have performed over the past eight years throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey. While they use the instruments normally found in a bluegrass band, this group draws its music from a wide variety of sources including jazz and gospel music. George Graham, host of WVIA-FM's Home Grown Music, who produced their first album, calls Stained Grass Window "eclectic."
As is true for many bluegrass musicians, members of Stained Grass Window have day jobs. Lou Eberlin is a contractor from Picture Rocks.
He anchors the group with rhythm guitar and carries a substantial portion of the lead vocal work. Mark Doncheski is a motorcycle mechanic from Danville who plays banjo, mandolin, finger style guitar and bass. Bob Knorr is from Berwick, performing on guitar and bass.
Rick Marcera, from Asbury, sings and plays bass, guitar, mandolin, saxophone, drums, and piano. He spent a number of years performing music on the cruise ship circuit. Ken Shafranko, a project manager for a Williamsport industrial firm, plays the resophonic guitar, commonly known as the "dobro." Ken also provides lead and harmony vocals and usually provides gently humorous emcee work when the band performs.
Stained Grass Window is one of sixteen groups that will perform at the OATS Festival. They will appear with such headliners as Charlie Waller and the Country Gentlemen, Larry Cordle and Lonesome Standard Time, Eddie and Marth Adcock, Valerie Smith and Liberty Pike, Pine Mountain Railroad, and Nothin' Fancy. The tight vocals and impressive instrumental work of Stained Grass Window fit well with these national acts.

This is a complete listing of all the Performers for the OATS Festival.