Leslie Dare 
The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) announced that Hot Rize will be inducted this year into Bluegrass Music’s Hall of Fame in Owensboro, KY. The band will perform together at the official Induction ceremony September 18 in Chattanooga TN at the IBMA Awards Show.
Two of the band’s recordings from 2014 are now being heard for the first time: “Mighty Mississippi”, written in the 1920s about a devastating flood, and a jam on the old-time tune “Brown Eyed Rabbit”.
Hot Rize is supporting Hurricane Helene relief efforts by donating proceeds from these special bundles: some of their best out-of-print recordings, including some not available online or anywhere else.
In 2018 we kicked off our 40th Anniversary Bash in Boulder, CO with an intimate evening of music and conversation at eTown Hall. eTown’s veteran video and audio crews were on hand for the full 4-night run.
I got a call in the fall of 1977. It was Pete Wernick on the line and he had a proposal. Since we each had solo recordings coming out in the coming year, and since we’d helped each other record them, he thought we should join forces, form a bluegrass band to play our music for folks. He even had a name for the band – Hot Rize.
Mason Jar Music creatively blended two Hot Rize performances with unique New York landscapes — a stealth tram ride over the East River, and the spectacle of Times Square by night visited by bluegrass aliens. Not your usual music videos.
Breaking News: What is being officially termed a “booking aberration” has sent a ripple of concern through the ranks of Hot Rize stakeholders: Hot Rize employees Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers have accepted an offer to play next summer’s RockyGrass festival without Hot Rize. While much consternation has resulted, “There’s nothing we can do about it,” according to band spokesperson Nick Forster.
