Bluegrass act Steep Canyon Rangers unleashing new CD, touring with Steve Martin

 Deep In the Shade is the title of the Steep Canyon Rangers'
 newest CD. They will tour in its support this fall with award-
 winning comedian/actor and bluegrass player Steve Martin.

Come September, acclaimed bluegrass quintet Steep Canyon Rangers will launch both a new tour and a new album this fall.

Among the musical highlights of 2009 for the North Carolina-based players will be their 15-city tour with Grammy- and Emmy-winning actor, comedian and musician Steve Martin, who recorded a top-ranked bluegrass CD, The Crow: New Songs For the Five-String Banjo, that was released in May.

The first date on the tour will be Sept. 12, when Martin performs at the Rangers' own Mountain Song Festival in Brevard, N.C., an event that's expanded this year to two days, Sept. 11-12.

Throughout the upcoming tour, the Rangers--who were named Emerging Artist of the Year at the 2006 International Bluegrass Music Awards will tour in support of the group's fourth studio album for Rebel Records, Deep in the Shade, which will be released Oct. 6. And on that same day, they will perform with Martin at world-renowned Carnegie Hall and on ABC's The View.

In creating the act's forthcoming release, the Rangers--Woody Platt on guitar and lead vocals; Graham Sharp on banjo; Mike Guggino on mandolin; Charles R. Humphrey III on bass; and Nicky Sanders on fiddle--returned to the studio with star-bluegrass singer, songwriter and producer Ronnie Bowman.

In the songwriting department, band members Sharp, Humphrey and Sanders contributed 10 of the 12 tracks contained on Deep in the Shade, with material that encompasses a wide variety of styles and moods, while remaining firmly in the bluegrass tradition.

Although each of the Rangers discovered and developed their passion for bluegrass as adults, each of the respective musicians are steeped in the genre's original sounds. Moreover, banjo player Martin--in his liner notes for the album, writes, "The Rangers' original music is firmly rooted in tradition, and it makes you feel that even though you know you haven't heard this music before, it seems like you have, or at least should have."

In addition to the aforementioned show dates, the Steep Canyon Rangers and Martin will perform the following live show dates together in October and November:

• Oct.  3:   San Francisco, Calif., at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival
• Oct. 6:    New York, N.Y., at Carnegie Hall
• Oct. 7:    Boston, MA Wang Center
• Oct. 9:    Atlanta, Ga., at Chastain Park Amphitheater
• Oct.10:   Charlotte, N.C., at Blumenthal Performing Arts Center
• Oct. 11:  Nashville, Tenn., at the Ryman Auditorium
• Oct. 12:  Washington, D.C., at the Kennedy Center
• Oct. 15:  Toronto, Ontario, at the Roy Thomson Hall
• Oct.19:   Philadelphia, Pa., at the Verizon Theater
• Oct. 22:  Chicago, Ill., at the Cadillac Palace Theatre
• Oct. 24:  Denver, Colo., at the Paramount Theatre
• Oct. 27:  Dallas, Texas, at the Meyerson Symphony Center
• Nov. 2:   Spokane, Wash., at the Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox
• Nov. 3:   Seattle, Wash., at Benaroya Hall

For more info: To learn more about the Steep Mountain Rangers or to sample their music, please visit the band's official Web site at www.steepcanyon.com. Follow the Steep Mountain Rangers on Twitter, Steep Canyon Rangers on Facebook and Steep Canyon Rangers on MySpace.