LIVE AT MECHANICS HALL

Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys

Acoustic Disc proudly presents Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys Live at Mechanics Hall. This classic 1963 recording featuring the father of bluegrass with the revolutionary banjo playing of Bill Keith, the high lonesome sound of Del McCoury at the beginning of his career as a singer and rhythm guitarist along with the fine fiddling of bluegrass veteran Joe Stuart and the solid bass playing of Bessie Lee, the “Carolina Songbird” was recorded by David Grisman at one of America's finest pre-civil war concert halls.

Live at Mechanics Hall features songs never released by this configuration, including two vocals by Bill's daughter Melissa Monroe and the only recorded Monroe duet with Bea Lilly of the Lilly Brothers, who opened the show.

This concert provides a glimpse of Bill Monroe at a time when he was putting a lot of energy into his performances. Stand-out tracks like "On and On," "John Henry," "Blue Ridge Mt. Blues" and a blistering version of "Rawhide" shows Monroe's determination to keep up with the musical challenges of the hot young musicians in his band. Reflecting on his time with Monroe, Del McCoury says, "I've learned a lot from Bill and I've learned that a lot of jazz, country and blues musicians wish they had been Blue Grass Boys. I was lucky to have gotten to play with him."

In 1963 Bill Monroe was on the brink of becoming an icon of American music. Performances like these helped propel him to that status in his legendary career. Live at Mechanics Hall also features a 24-page pdf booklet containing previously unpublished archival photos and extensive notes by bluegrass historian Neil Rosenberg.

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