One band cancels but the Bluegrass Storyteller, JAMES KING fills the bill along with Adkins & Louder

HUGHESVILLE, Md. - Nov. 8, 2015 - PRLog -- November 15 will kick off the season of the American Legion Bluegrass series presented by Jay Armsworthy & the Sons of The American Legion featuring upcoming act Adkins & Loudermilk along with The James King Band.  The American Legion Post #238 is located on the corner of MD Rt. 231 & Rt. 381 in Hughesville, Maryland.  Admission will be $20.00 per person, under 12 admitted free with a paying adult.

         Two of bluegrass music’s most admired players, Dave Adkins and Edgar Loudermilk, joined forces with the official formation of Adkins & Loudermilk in November 2013.  They have certainly hit the ground running with their impressive tour schedule and receiving critical acclaim and tremendous chart success for their solo albums and are now celebrating their first album release, Adkins & Loudermilk on Mountain Fever Records.  They have both spent years supporting some of bluegrass music’s most highly lauded artists, including Rhonda Vincent, Marty Raybon, IIIrd Tyme Out, and Adkins having a deep well of contribution spending time playing bluegrass at Dollywood and most recently heading his own group, Dave Adkins and Republik Steele .  Their impressive vocal and instrumental talents, along with their high energy stage performances, have certainly garnered them a loyal legion of fans.

         With his 1993 solo album, “These Old Pictures”, James King was established as a top-notch bluegrass vocalist. The album, however, was only the latest step in a musical career that had begun 14 years before.  Following a stint in the Marines, King launched his musical career in 1979. A featured member of Ralph Stanley's Clinch Mountain Boys in the 1980s, King, who was raised in Virginia's Carroll County, grew up listening to bluegrass.  On December 8, 1985, his recording debut began on an album titled, “Stanley Brothers Classics with Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys and Introducing James King”.

         After signing with Rounder Records, King's career was propelled into overdrive. “These Old Pictures”, which featured members of the Johnson Mountain Boys and the Lynn Morris Band was named the “Breakthrough Album of the Year” by Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine and led to King being nominated as “Emerging Artist of the Year” by the International Bluegrass Music Association in 1995.

         In 1997, King joined with Dudley Connell, Marshall Wilborn, Glen Duncan, Joe Mullins and Don Rigsby to form the bluegrass super group Longview.  King’s latest release, titled, “Three Chords and the Truth”, proves King at his best.  Featuring hard-driving, soulful traditional bluegrass and old school honky-tonk country, the album was nominated for a Grammy in 2014.  “Three Chords and the Truth” is a landmark album.

         Fans and followers of James King know that it’s been hard times up and down the road for the bluegrass balladeer. The past year has found him in and out of hospitals for what was initially suspected to be kidney stones.  After lengthy stays in the hospital, it was determined that King was experiencing liver problems. Attempts to remedy the problems with both medications and diet were helpful but not sufficient.  All of this follows a tragedy just 1 a year of losing his daughter in a car crash.

         King is currently placed on a liver transplant list, at which point attempts will be made to match him with a suitable living tissue donor. He is still touring as best he can, though he has to remain seated on stage when he performs.  While worried about what the future may hold, King remains upbeat and positive. The support he receives from fans and friends out on the road has done him a world of good.

         In the wider picture, James is doing much better than he had a year ago. He is able to walk under his own power, and is living with a loving family that is dedicated to his care and well-being. All he needs now is to be approved for the transplant, and find a suitable donor.

         James King has never had the opportunity to perform in Southern Maryland, but it is fortunate that King was willing to fill in for the original scheduled group, Detour.  So for James King fans, here’s an opportunity to catch one of his shows here in Southern Maryland and share an encouraging word.  He would love to see his fans.

         Other upcoming shows in the series of American Legion Bluegrass include Remington Ryde from Pennsylvania along with local favorites, Bubby Abell & Spoon Creek on January 3, 2016; by popular demand, the award winning Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out along with local singer songwriter David Norris on Sunday February 14, 2016; and closing out the series will be the award winning band, The Boxcars along with Josh Grigsby & County Line on Sunday March 20, 2016.  As always, our sound is by Troy Jones.

         All shows begin at 2:00 pm with the doors opening at Noon. Food will be available for sale before the shows.  For more information, tickets, and directions, go towww.americanlegionbluegrass.com or call 301-737-3004.  All paid tickets will be held at the door for pick up on the day of the show.  You can purchase them in advance by sending a check or money order to: “Jay Armsworthy”, PO Box 741, California, MD.  You are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items for the Helping Hands Food Bank in Southern Maryland.