CMT Blog: Archive

Although he divides his time between Colorado, Texas and Wisconsin, Michael Martin Murphey is spending this weekend in Nashville for the IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) conference, showcasing his new music to bluegrass fans. And his popularity there is spreading like ... "Wiiiild-fiiiire." Sorry, couldn't resist that. Actually, Murphey has re-recorded that classic hit with bluegrass singer Carrie Hassler and they'll perform it at the SMU vs. Navy football game on Oct. 17, in conjunction with a trained mustang being donated to SMU. The track will also be featured on Murphey's next album, due in February 2010 on Rural Rhythm Records.

"In bluegrass, there's an undertone of family, farm, rural people, and quite honestly, some religion. There's some faith here. And that changes the tone of things a little bit. It's more about the music and not so much about groupies," says Murphey, who had a string of country hits in the 1980s, such as "What's Forever For," "Carolina in the Pines" and "A Long Line of Love." He released his first bluegrass album, Buckaroo Blue Grass, in February. Over the summer, the cowboy singer entertained tourists at a mountaintop amphitheatre in Colorado that can only be accessed by train.

Asked about the difference between Western and Southern bluegrass, Murphey replies that both areas draw upon rural lifestyles for inspiration, but that the stories in Western bluegrass are "a little sunnier."

"Don't get me wrong -- I love the lonesome!" he says with a laugh. "It's in all of us but we're just a little more high-energy." Yet, Murphey says he's been pleased with the reception he's received at IBMA, and from Southern bluegrass fans in particular. "They're coming on board and really supporting me and helping me out," he says, "and at the same time, I really love what they do."