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 WAMC Bluegrass Time with Nick Barr
WAMC Bluegrass Time brings listeners the best in bluegrass music, from the current chart-toppers to the cherished classics. Add to that new releases, perennial favorites and an occasional trip to Vinyl Ville, and you’ve got the complete picture of bluegrass music. Lots of music, with just enough information to let you know what you're listening to, plus the latest news from NPR.
Nick Barr hosts the show. He came to WAMC Northeast Public Radio in January 2001. He is an experienced broadcaster, having done a bluegrass show on several commercial country stations in the Capital District prior to coming to WAMC. His knowledge of bluegrass music is well respected in the industry.
Nick is active in many capacities in the bluegrass music world. He plays all the standard bluegrass music instruments: banjo, bass, fiddle, guitar, mandolin and resonator guitar (Dobro). He sings lead and harmony vocals. Over the years, he has been a member of a number of different groups and has filled in with bands numerous times. He also can be found acting as a Master of Ceremonies and/or stage manager at bluegrass festivals and other events throughout the country.
Nick is a lifetime member of the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) and the International Bluegrass Music Museum (IBBM) and is active in both. He is a member of the Country Music Association (CMA) and The Recording Academy (Grammies) and belongs to several regional music associations. He is an Honorary Member of the New York State Country Music Hall of Fame and was twice named "Country DJ of the Year" by the North East Country Music Association (NECMA). He was named “Bluegrass DJ of the Month” by Bluegrass Now magazine in February 2006. He was a member of the IBMA’s Leadership Bluegrass Class of 2006.
WAMC Bluegrass Time can be heard Sunday afternoons 2-3 P.M. on WAMC/Northeast Public Radio
Country Radio Personality Award Goes to Public Radio Bluegrass DJ
April, 2002
Nick Barr, host of WAMC Bluegrass Time, which airs on WAMC Northeast Public Radio Sunday afternoons from 2 - 3 P.M., received the "Country Radio Personality" award from the NorthEast Country Music Association (NorthEast CMA) on Sunday, April 14, 2002. The award was given at the NorthEast CMA's Seventeenth Annual Awards Show held at Proctor's Theatre in Schenectady NY. This is the second year in a row that Barr had won the award.
"I thank the members of the NorthEast CMA for voting for me. I was up against the same four worthy final nominees as last year. It was an honor to receive the award last year, and it is just as much an honor to receive it again this year," Barr commented in his acceptance speech. "Having bluegrass music receive such popular acclaim, such as the "Oh Brother Where Art Thou" soundtrack which has sold 4 million copies, allows me to program bluegrass music which people have shown they want to hear."
The NorthEast CMA awards process is two steps: first, members submit up to two names on a nomination ballot for each category. This is tabulated and the five with the most votes (weighted according to first and second position, and membership category) go on the final ballot. Marvin & Co., a local accounting firm, tabulates the results and is the only one to know the results until the envelopes are opened on stage.
The show was dedicated to the memory of Chuck Wilson, a local country music singer and songwriter who passed away in 2001. Chuck was the person who put on the first Awards Show in 1985 at the Empire State Plaza; the show was an artistic success but not a monetary success, and the NorthEast CMA was formed to help promote country music with a special emphasis on the Awards Show.
A total of thirteen awards were presented that day, as well as an award for Pioneer and some memorial presentations. The three and a half hour show provided musical performances by over a dozen acts, and several hundred people attended the event. |
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