If you go
› What: Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out in concert.› When: 7 p.m. CST Saturday, Jan. 30; doors open at 6 p.m.› Where: DeKalb Theatre, 306 N. Gault Ave., Fort Payne, Ala.› Admission: $20 in advance, $23 at door (if available).› Phone: 256-899-2586 (calls answered 8 a.m.-8 p.m. CST).› Email: erickmck323@yahoo.com.
Ticket outlets
› Box Office Grill & Strand Antiques, 215 N. Gault Ave.› The BBQ Place, 1502 S. Gault Ave.› Bruce’s Foodland, 202 Greenhill Blvd., Fort Payne, and 318 McCurdy Ave., Rainsville› Sally’s Smokin’ Butt BBQ, 2904 S. Gault Ave.› Roger’s Pawn & Music, 232 N. Gault Ave.› Fort Payne Chamber of Commerce, 300 N. Gault Ave.
The problem with catching up on the latest news for Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out is knowing where to start. With the chart-topping album? Its two Top 10 singles? Its Best of 2015 accolades? The award nominations rolling in? The band’s silver anniversary?
Perhaps the best news for local bluegrass fans is that the new year brings the musicians back to Fort Payne, Ala., on Saturday, Jan. 30, for their annual concert at the DeKalb Theatre.
Here’s how the rest of January is shaping up.
* No. 1 album: The band’s latest release, “It’s About Tyme,” is No. 1 on the National Bluegrass Survey’s Top 15 Albums chart for a second consecutive month. Released Sept. 4, “It’s About Tyme” has been the fastest-charting album in the band’s history, debuting on the National Survey at No. 2 in November, climbing to No. 1 in December and remaining in the top spot for January 2016. The album also came in at No. 10 on Roots Music Report’s Top 50 Albums chart for 2015.
* Top 10 singles: “It’s About Tyme” gained traction when its first single, “Brown County Red,” debuted at No. 1 on Bluegrass Today’s Top 20 Monthly Songs chart. The latest weekly airplay chart shows three IIIrd Tyme Out songs in the Top 20: “I’m Leaving You and Fort Worth Too,” penned by Moore, at No. 7, “Cottontown” at No. 8 and “River Bottom” at No. 12.
* Best-of accolades: Bluegrass Today writer David Morris put “It’s About Tyme” at No. 3 on his Best of 2015 albums. He wrote: “Russell Moore has one of the best voices in bluegrass, so you know anything he puts out is going to sound wonderful. But this time, he outdid himself, making a record that was, to the ears of Bluegrass Today Editor John Lawless, ‘about as close to perfect as I can imagine.’ Who am I to argue with the boss?”
* Award nominations: The Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America has nominated “It’s About Tyme” for Album of the Year and Moore for Male Vocalist. He already holds the 2015 trophy. Awards will be presented Feb. 5. Moore and the band already have a slew of industry awards. Moore even holds the record as the International Bluegrass Music Association’s most awarded male vocalist with five wins (1994, 1997, 2010, 2011 and 2012).
* Silver-anniversary year: The 2016 touring schedule marks 25 years of making groundbreaking music for Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out. “It’s more than just longevity that gets Russell Moore’s name out front,” says journalist Jon Weisberger. “The man is, to put it simply, one of the finest singers you’ll ever hear, and he makes it seem positively effortless.”
He’s joined by Wayne Benson on mandolin, Justen Haynes on fiddle, Keith McKinnon on banjo and Jerry Cole on bass. Cole joined the band last year after Blake Johnson left the group for medical reasons.