Walker's Run
Encyclopedia
Walker's Run is an acoustic bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...

 band based out of Lexington, Virginia
Lexington, Virginia
Lexington is an independent city within the confines of Rockbridge County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 7,042 in 2010. Lexington is about 55 minutes east of the West Virginia border and is about 50 miles north of Roanoke, Virginia. It was first settled in 1777.It is home to...

 who also play New Grass
Progressive bluegrass
Progressive bluegrass is one of two major subgenres of bluegrass music. It is also known as newgrass, a term attributed to New Grass Revival member Ebo Walker. Musicians and bands John Hartford, New Grass Revival, J.D. Crowe and the New South, The Dillards, Boone Creek, Country Gazette, and the...

 and Jazz music.

History

In 1997 Brennan Gilmore of Lexington, Virginia
Lexington, Virginia
Lexington is an independent city within the confines of Rockbridge County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 7,042 in 2010. Lexington is about 55 minutes east of the West Virginia border and is about 50 miles north of Roanoke, Virginia. It was first settled in 1777.It is home to...

 started gathering musicians from his hometown and the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...

 where he was studying international relations. The group immediately developed a loyal following in and around Virginia for its unique, fiery Rockbridge County mountain-music. Walker's Run brought a long tradition of Blue Ridge bluegrass together with the Indie Rock experience of Gilmore's high school band, Concordia Discors. The band explored ways to expand blue-grass instruments with other material. They packed major Charlottesville venues such as The Starr Hill Music Hall while becoming regulars at smaller venues like Millers and Michael's Bistro where lines began to form around the block. Their repertoire included new takes on the "old time" canon, an eclectic group of covers and crowd favorites along with original songs played in their hard driving and yet often lyrically complex, acoustic style. The Walker's Run sound is best defined by compositions like "Torrent" by songwriter, Gilmore. They sold thousands of copies of their eponymous debut CD Walker's Run before taking a long-term hiatus in 2002 when their founder began his professional career as a United States Foreign Service Officer
Foreign Service Officer
A Foreign Service Officer is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. As diplomats, Foreign Service Officers formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. FSOs spend most of their careers overseas as members of U.S. embassies, consulates, and other diplomatic...

 which takes him to long-term posts abroad.

During Gilmore's stateside posts, the band reunites its friends and invites new fans to local shows. In the interim band members have continued musical explorations; from collaborations with Sub-Saharan and North African musicians to reggae fusion to producing bluegrass records.

In 2009, the group re-formed, welcoming two new members, acclaimed instrumentalists in the national acoustic music scene: mandolin player Andy Thacker with Adrienne Young
Adrienne Young
Adrienne Young is a Charlottesville, Virginia-based singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. She is founder and operator of AddieBelle Music which produces her recordings.- History :...

 and Fairweather Bums, and fiddler Nick Reeb of King Wilkie
King Wilkie
King Wilkie is an American music group formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2002 by Reid Burgess and Ted Pitney. While their early sound was commonly filed under bluegrass, the group has continually defied expectations, drawing from other influences, such as folk and Americana music...

. The rest of the group includes founding members Brennan Gilmore on guitar (switching from mandolin) and vocals and Zack Blatter on upright bass. Will Lee, of the legendary Magraw Gap and an early musical mentor to the younger Walker’s Run members growing up in Rockbridge County, often joins the group on banjo and vocals.

Other Groups

Two members of Magraw Gap, the musical inspiration for Walker's Run, perform with the current group: Will Lee and Danny Knicely, who makes occasional appearances. Danny and Will also perform as a duo. Will Lee’s father joined the Stanley Brothers as lead guitarist after playing with Bluegrass Tar Heels, special protegées of Bill Monroe
Bill Monroe
William Smith Monroe was an American musician who created the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys," named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader...

. Brennan, who started his first group while still in high school named Concordia Discors, has since created two other acts: Kantara, an Arab-Appalachian collaboration that earned him an award from the U.S. Secretary of State for its cultural impact. As the founder states: “A couple of old fiddle tunes have now become oud
Oud
The oud is a pear-shaped stringed instrument commonly used in North African and Middle Eastern music. The modern oud and the European lute both descend from a common ancestor via diverging paths...

 and darbouka tunes.” Kantara means "bridge" in Arabic. Most recently Gilmore founded Borden Grant, named for the provision of the part of Virginia where he hails from.

Ann Marie Calhoun
Ann Marie Calhoun
Ann Marie Calhoun is an American violinist.- Personal life :...

 (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....

 Simpson) has toured with Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull (band)
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...

's Ian Anderson
Ian Anderson (musician)
Ian Scott Anderson, MBE is a Scottish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work as the leader and flautist of British rock band Jethro Tull.-Early life:...

 and performed with Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...

.

Brennan, Will, Danny, and Ann Marie perform with another group out of Lexington and Rockbridge County, Gary Ruley and Mule Train
Gary Ruley and Mule Train
Gary Ruley and Mule Train is an acoustic bluegrass band based in Lexington, Virginia who also play New Grass and Jazz music.-Early:Gary Ruley was born into a musical family in Lexington, Virginia, and first performed publicly at ten. He has performed with his father, Pat Ruley, his brother, Ronald...

. As Gary Ruley states: “There’s so many great pickers who live in or near Rockbridge County that it’s not difficult to get a bunch of friends together and make music.”

Early Walker's Run members Billy Cardine and Ben Krakauer have helped form other groups—The Biscuit Burners
The Biscuit Burners
The Biscuit Burners are an Original bluegrass /Americana band from Weaverville, North Carolina .-History:Founded in 2004 on the dobro-playing talents of Bill Cardine, who had sharpened his bluegrass skills performing with Walker's Run in Charlottesville, Virginia, The Biscuit Burners quickly...

 and Old School Freight Train
Old School Freight Train
Old School Freight Train is a Charlottesville, Virginia-based band that combines bluegrass, jazz, Latin, and Celtic sounds to create their music.-Successes:...

 respectively—in addition to their own solo careers. Ann Marie's sister Mary Simpson, who has also played fiddle and sung with the group, has originated Whisky Rebellion. She joined Yanni
Yanni
Yanni , born Yiannis Hrysomallis is a Greek self-taught pianist, keyboardist, and composer who has spent most of his life in the United States.He earned Grammy nominations for his 1992 album, Dare to Dream, and the 1993 follow-up, In My Time...

 in September 2010, for his South American tour, also performing with the composer in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

.

Individual members have won a number of performance awards at music festivals through the year, some as a part of other groups.

Performance

Noted for their high-energy and commanding performance style, the group and its members have appeared on prestigious stages throughout the United States and overseas, including the Kennedy Center, Telluride Bluegrass Festival
Telluride Bluegrass Festival
Telluride Bluegrass Festival is held annually in Telluride, Colorado by . Although traditionally the festival focuses on bluegrass music, it often features music from a variety of genres. In 1974, its first year, it attracted 1000 participants. Currently the festival's attendance is capped at 10,000...

, Theater at Lime Kiln, and many others. Walker's Run were highlighted at the 2009 Watermelon Park Festival in Berryville, Virginia
Berryville, Virginia
Berryville is an incorporated town in and the county seat of Clarke County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,963 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...

, where Magraw Gap had reunited for an appearance the year prior, and Gary Ruley and Mule Train
Gary Ruley and Mule Train
Gary Ruley and Mule Train is an acoustic bluegrass band based in Lexington, Virginia who also play New Grass and Jazz music.-Early:Gary Ruley was born into a musical family in Lexington, Virginia, and first performed publicly at ten. He has performed with his father, Pat Ruley, his brother, Ronald...

 performed the following year.

Musical style

Walker's Run performs traditional bluegrass material in a hard-charging “mountain metal” style, always pushing the edges into other genres such as jazz, blues, reggae, and even rock. They have mastered bluegrass covers of Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

 tunes as easily as those by reggae great Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...

.

Distinctions, honors, and awards

  • In 2006 Brennan Gilmore won the prestigious Secretary of State's Award for Public Outreach from the U.S. State Department for “ground-breaking efforts to engage non-traditional audiences and promote Arab-American cultural understanding through music” after founding Kantara—a musical group that creates an "alchemy of Appalachian old-time and bluegrass and North African melodies and rhythms"—and touring the world with it.
  • The Pat Ruley Trophy for Best All Around Blue Grass Performer at the Maury River Fiddler's Convention—which held its 17th annual event in 2010 in Buena Vista, Virginia
    Buena Vista, Virginia
    Buena Vista is an independent city located within the confines of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The population was 6,650 in 2010. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Buena Vista with Rockbridge county for statistical purposes.-Geography:Buena Vista is located at...

    —was won by Will Lee in 2008.
  • In the past half-decade current and previous members of Walker's Run have won numerous awards at the Maury River Fiddler's Convention including first place finishes for Will Lee on guitar in 2005, 2007, and 2008, and second place awards to Danny Knicely for bluegrass fiddle in 2007 and 2009, and to Will Lee for guitar in 2006.
  • Will Lee’s father joined the legendary Stanley Brothers as lead guitarist after playing with Bluegrass Tar Heels, special protegées of Bill Monroe
    Bill Monroe
    William Smith Monroe was an American musician who created the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys," named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader...

    . On his mother's side, Grandpa Clark was a fine ragtime pianist whose two sons both play guitar, while William Penmon Lee, the grandfather he was named after, was a respected clawhammer banjo
    Clawhammer
    Clawhammer is a highly rhythmic banjo playing style and common component of American old-time music. The principal difference between clawhammer style and other styles is the picking direction...

     player in Alabama and Mississippi.
  • Danny Knicely’s grandfather, A. O. Knicely, played old time guitar, mandolin, and fiddle as leader of the Knicely Family Band. His father played bass and banjo in A.O.K.’s band; he also led his own country and bluegrass band, Dominion Express. Danny's mother had two groups: Heartland, a country and gospel band, as well as a large dance troupe, the Massanutten Mountain Cloggers.
  • Ann Marie Calhoun was the winner of the "My Grammy Moment" contest at the 50th Grammy Awards
    50th Grammy Awards
    The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, on February 10, 2008. Kanye West received the most nominations, with eight. Amy Winehouse was the big winner, winning a total of five awards. Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters won Album of the Year,...

     on February 10, 2008, playing live with the Foo Fighters
    Foo Fighters
    Foo Fighters is an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War...

     during the broadcast.
  • Magraw Gap, a band including Will Lee and Danny Knicely, took first place at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival
    Telluride Bluegrass Festival
    Telluride Bluegrass Festival is held annually in Telluride, Colorado by . Although traditionally the festival focuses on bluegrass music, it often features music from a variety of genres. In 1974, its first year, it attracted 1000 participants. Currently the festival's attendance is capped at 10,000...

     in 1995.
  • Gary Ruley and Mule Train
    Gary Ruley and Mule Train
    Gary Ruley and Mule Train is an acoustic bluegrass band based in Lexington, Virginia who also play New Grass and Jazz music.-Early:Gary Ruley was born into a musical family in Lexington, Virginia, and first performed publicly at ten. He has performed with his father, Pat Ruley, his brother, Ronald...

     were the 2010 winners of the Rockbridge County, Virginia
    Rockbridge County, Virginia
    As of the census of 2000, there were 20,808 people, 8,486 households, and 6,075 families residing in the county. The population density was 35 people per square mile . There were 9,550 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile...

     Chamber of Commerce Rockbridge Community People’s Choice Awards “Group Arts/Entertainer of the Year”.

Personnel

  • Brennan Gilmore—guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

    /vocals
  • Will Lee—banjo
    Banjo
    In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...

    /vocals
  • Andy Thacker— mandolin
    Mandolin
    A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...

    /vocals
  • Zack Blatter — bass
  • Nick Reeb — fiddle
    Fiddle
    The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...

    /vocals

Previous members

  • Daniel Knicely—mandolin
    Mandolin
    A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...

    /vocals
  • Ann Marie Calhoun
    Ann Marie Calhoun
    Ann Marie Calhoun is an American violinist.- Personal life :...

     (née
    Married and maiden names
    A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....

     Simpson)—fiddle
    Fiddle
    The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...

    /vocals
  • Brian Calhoun—guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

  • Steve Hoke—fiddle
    Fiddle
    The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...

  • Randall Ray—guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

  • Billy Cardine—dobro
    Dobro
    Dobro is a registered trademark, now owned by Gibson Guitar Corporation and used for a particular design of resonator guitar.The name has a long and involved history, interwoven with that of the resonator guitar...

  • Ben Krakauer—banjo
    Banjo
    In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...

  • Mark Krakauer—guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...




Discography

  • Walker's Run (2000), Concordia Discors Recordings—ASIN: B000059M4W
  • Live at Lime Kiln (2009), recorded at the Theater at Lime Kiln in Lexington, Virginia
    Lexington, Virginia
    Lexington is an independent city within the confines of Rockbridge County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 7,042 in 2010. Lexington is about 55 minutes east of the West Virginia border and is about 50 miles north of Roanoke, Virginia. It was first settled in 1777.It is home to...

     on September 6, 2009.

Video

  • Walker's Run at Gravity Lounge in Charlottesville, VA February 9, 2008.
  • Orange Blossom Special published January 31, 2008: Gary Ruley and Mule Train play Orange Blossom Special with twin fiddles. Features Gary Ruley, Ann Marie Calhoun
    Ann Marie Calhoun
    Ann Marie Calhoun is an American violinist.- Personal life :...

    , Brennan Gilmore, Danny Knicely, and Will Lee.
  • East Virginia Blues published January 28, 2008: Rockbridge County
    Rockbridge County, Virginia
    As of the census of 2000, there were 20,808 people, 8,486 households, and 6,075 families residing in the county. The population density was 35 people per square mile . There were 9,550 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile...

     bluegrass at its best, featuring Gary Ruley, Brennan Gilmore, Will Lee, Ann Marie Calhoun
    Ann Marie Calhoun
    Ann Marie Calhoun is an American violinist.- Personal life :...

    , and David Knicely.
  • Great Balls of Fire published March 14, 2008: New song for the bluegrass repertoire of Gary Ruley and Mule Train, featuring Gary Ruley (guitar), Will Lee (banjo), Brennan Gilmore (mandolin), David Knicely (bass), and Mary Simpson (fiddle) at Queen City Brewery, Staunton, Virginia
    Staunton, Virginia
    Staunton is an independent city within the confines of Augusta County in the commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 23,746 as of 2010. It is the county seat of Augusta County....

    .
  • Ruley's Side Show Circuit with Ann Marie Calhoun published March 10, 2008: Gary Ruley plays the Downtown Lexington Festival 2001 with Ann Marie Calhoun
    Ann Marie Calhoun
    Ann Marie Calhoun is an American violinist.- Personal life :...

     (fiddle
    Fiddle
    The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...

    ), Rooster Ruley (banjo
    Banjo
    In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...

    ), and Brennan Gilmore (mandolin
    Mandolin
    A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...

    ).

Reviews, interviews, articles


See also

  • Bluegrass music
    Bluegrass music
    Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...

  • Old-time music
    Old-time music
    Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music, with roots in the folk music of many countries, including England, Scotland, Ireland and countries in Africa. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dance, buck dance, and clogging. The genre also...

  • Lexington, Virginia
    Lexington, Virginia
    Lexington is an independent city within the confines of Rockbridge County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 7,042 in 2010. Lexington is about 55 minutes east of the West Virginia border and is about 50 miles north of Roanoke, Virginia. It was first settled in 1777.It is home to...

  • Rockingham County, Virginia
    Rockingham County, Virginia
    As of the census of 2000, there were 67,725 people, 25,355 households, and 18,889 families residing in the county. The population density was 80 people per square mile . There were 27,328 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile...

  • Ann Marie Calhoun
    Ann Marie Calhoun
    Ann Marie Calhoun is an American violinist.- Personal life :...

  • Gary Ruley and Mule Train
    Gary Ruley and Mule Train
    Gary Ruley and Mule Train is an acoustic bluegrass band based in Lexington, Virginia who also play New Grass and Jazz music.-Early:Gary Ruley was born into a musical family in Lexington, Virginia, and first performed publicly at ten. He has performed with his father, Pat Ruley, his brother, Ronald...


External links


Further reading

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