Blue Highway LIVE at ETSU

March 26, 2026

March 27, 2026 – Legendary bluegrass group Blue Highway marks three decades of music with the release of Live at ETSU! A 30-Year Retrospective Event, the band’s fifteenth album and their first live recording. Captured over two sold-out nights at East Tennessee State University’s Powell Recital Hall in March 2025, the album features fourteen tracks drawn from the band’s catalog of more than 150 songs, showcasing the depth and range that have made Blue Highway one of the most enduring and beloved acts in bluegrass music.

SPECIAL GUESTS
Four of the band’s five original members – Tim Stafford, Wayne Four of the band’s five original members – Tim Stafford, Wayne Taylor, Shawn Lane, and Jason Burleson – are joined by resophonic guitarist Gary Hultman, along with a remarkable array of guests including Tom Adams, Barry Bales, Sierra Hull, Gavin Largent, Justin Moses, Alan O’Bryant, and Shawn Lane’s son Grayson Lane.

Among the album’s standout tracks is Shawn Lane’s “Tears Fell On Missouri,” a deeply moving portrait of family heartbreak that showcases Lane’s gifts as both a songwriter and vocalist, elevated further by the band’s signature use of extended harmony. “Marbletown,” the title track from Blue Highway’s 2005 Grammy-nominated album, demonstrates the group’s gift for taking a song from outside the bluegrass genre and making it entirely their own, driven by Tim Stafford’s commanding lead vocal.

Early fan favorites “Lonesome Pine” and “In The Gravel Yard” are also featured, alongside the IBMA 2008 Song of the Year “Through The Window of a Train,” and “Some Day,” one of the band’s most-requested songs, performed a cappella with all four vocalists gathered around a single microphone. The album closes with a rousing five-minute ensemble performance of Ralph Stanley’s “Clinch Mountain Backstep” featuring Adams, Bales, Hull, Largent, Moses, and O’Bryant.

The recording carries special significance for ETSU, where Stafford and Hultman are alumni. The project was produced by Blue Highway and ETSU Bluegrass Program director Dan Boner, with ETSU students contributing to engineering and live sound. The setlist covers the full range of the band’s recorded output, making Live at ETSU! a truly career-spanning celebration of Blue Highway’s extraordinary legacy.

MARKETING: EXCELERATION MUSIC / REGINA JOSKOW / PROJECT MANAGER / 917-532-5687 / regina.joskow@excmusic.com
RADIO AND MAGAZINE: BELL BUCKLE MEDIA / VALERIE SMITH / 931-639-3004 / bellbucklerecords@gmail.com

BLUE HIGHWAY
LIVE AT ETSU! A 30-YEAR RETROSPECTIVE EVENT
ARTIST: Blue Highway
TITLE: Live at ETSU! A 30-Year Retrospective Event
LABEL: Down the Road
CATALOG #: DTR00222
UPC: 708857002221
STREET DATE: March 27, 2026

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Producer: Blue Highway and Dan Boner
Studio / Recording Location: Live at The Powell Recital Hall, Martin Center for the Performing Arts, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN (recorded March 27 & 28, 2025)
Engineering: Engineered by Ben Bateson and Dan Boner; Live Sound Assistance by Will Potts, Ethan Church, and Cole Larsen
Mixing: Mixed and Edited by Dan Boner
Mastering: Mastered by Dan Boner
Graphic Art / Cover Art / Design: Nathan Golub
Photography: (credit pending)
Liner Notes: Tom Adams
Introduction: Sam Blumenthal

ALBUM NOTES
Blue Highway’s fifteenth album and first-ever live recording – a 30th Anniversary celebration captured in front of a sold-out hometown crowd. Featuring thirteen signature tracks spanning three decades, plus a rousing all-star finale on “Clinch Mountain Backstep.”
TRACK LISTING and PERSONNEL
I’d Rather Be A Lonesome Pine (Jack Tottle, Daniel House Music, BMI)Wayne Taylor (bass, vocal)Shawn Lane (mandolin, vocal)Tim Stafford (guitar)Jason Burleson (banjo)Gary Hultman (resophonic guitar)

Life Of A Traveling Man (Shawn Lane, Cat Town Music, BMI)Shawn Lane (mandolin, vocal)Wayne Taylor (bass, vocal)Tim Stafford (guitar)Jason Burleson (banjo)Gary Hultman (resophonic guitar)“Soaring vocals with the patented Shawn-Wayne blend… Blue Highway perfection.”

In the Gravel Yard (Malcolm Pulley, Pulleytone Music, BMI)Shawn Lane (mandolin, vocal)Wayne Taylor (bass, vocal)Tim Stafford (guitar)Jason Burleson (banjo)Gary Hultman (resophonic guitar)Early hit; Jason Burleson’s opening banjo solo still brings the house down.

Some Day (Tim Stafford / Olive Stockton, Daniel House Music, BMI)Wayne Taylor (vocal)Shawn Lane (vocal)Tim Stafford (vocal)Jason Burleson (vocal)(a cappella – four voices around one mic)One of the band’s most-requested songs – a message of hope and inspiration.

The North Side (feat. Grayson Lane) (Shawn Lane / Chad Lane / Gerald Ellenburg, Cat Town Music, BMI / Wadako Publishing, BMI)Shawn Lane (mandolin, vocal)Grayson Lane (harmony vocal)Wayne Taylor (bass)Tim Stafford (guitar)Jason Burleson (banjo)Gary Hultman (resophonic guitar)Father-and-son vocal blend at its finest.

Through The Window Of A Train (Tim Stafford / Steve Gulley, Daniel House Music, BMI / Gulleys Curve Music, BMI)Wayne Taylor (bass, vocal)Shawn Lane (mandolin, vocal)Tim Stafford (guitar, vocal)Jason Burleson (banjo)Gary Hultman (resophonic guitar)IBMA 2008 Song of the Year.

Tears Fell On Missouri (feat. Barry Bales) (Shawn Lane, Cat Town Music, BMI)Shawn Lane (guitar, vocal)Wayne Taylor (vocal)Tim Stafford (guitar, vocal)Jason Burleson (mandolin)Barry Bales (bass)Gary Hultman (resophonic guitar)“As compelling a song of family heartbreak as any you’ll ever hear.”

Emerson (Jason Burleson, Terrible Twos Music, BMI)Jason Burleson (banjo)Shawn Lane (mandolin)Wayne Taylor (bass)Tim Stafford (guitar)Gary Hultman (resophonic guitar)Jason’s tribute to Bill Emerson – smooth, catchy, and full of world-class solos.

Marbletown (Mark Knopfler, British Groves Songs c/o Irving Music, BMI)Tim Stafford (guitar, vocal)Shawn Lane (mandolin, vocal)Wayne Taylor (bass)Jason Burleson (banjo)Gary Hultman (bass)Grammy-nominated title cut – high-voltage vocal number that Blue Highway made their own.

Keen Mountain Prison (feat. Tom Adams) (Wayne Taylor, Forty W.A.T. Music, BMI)Wayne Taylor (bass, vocal)Shawn Lane (mandolin, vocal)Tim Stafford (guitar, vocal)Tom Adams (banjo)Gary Hultman (bass)Wayne Taylor classic from the Midnight Storm era.

Cochise County (Tim Stafford / Bobby Starnes, Daniel House Music, BMI / It Says What It Says Music, BMI)Gary Hultman (resophonic guitar, vocal)Shawn Lane (mandolin, vocal)Tim Stafford (guitar, vocal)Wayne Taylor (bass)Jason Burleson (banjo)Gary Hultman on lead vocal – vivid Old West storytelling.

Top Of The Ridge (feat. Justin Moses) (Shawn Lane / Chad Lane / Gerald Ellenburg, Cat Town Music, BMI / Wadako Publishing, BMI)Shawn Lane (guitar, vocal)Justin Moses (resophonic guitar, harmony vocal)Wayne Taylor (bass)Tim Stafford (guitar, vocal)Jason Burleson (mandolin)“Nailed it!” – former band member Justin Moses returns on tenor vocal and resophonic guitar.

Lonesome Pine (Wayne Taylor, Forty W.A.T. Music, BMI)Wayne Taylor (bass, vocal)Shawn Lane (mandolin, vocal)Tim Stafford (guitar, vocal)Jason Burleson (banjo)Gary Hultman (resophonic guitar)The band’s most enduring anthem – the song that launched a thousand mountain-road stories.

Clinch Mountain Backstep (feat. Barry Bales, Tom Adams, Alan O’Bryant, Jacob Burleson, Gaven Largent, Justin Moses, and Sierra Hull) (Ralph Stanley / Carter Stanley, Trio Music Company and Fort Knox Music, admin BMG Music and Round Hill Carlin)Barry Bales (bass)Tom Adams (banjo)Alan O’Bryant (banjo)Jacob Burleson (mandolin)Gaven Largent (resophonic guitar)Justin Moses (resophonic guitar)Sierra Hull (mandolin)Wayne Taylor (bass)Shawn Lane (mandolin)Tim Stafford (guitar)Jason Burleson (banjo)Gary Hultman (resophonic guitar)Five-minute rousing jam finale – full ensemble blowout.

BAND
Tim Stafford – guitar, vocals
Wayne Taylor – bass, vocals
Shawn Lane – mandolin, guitar, vocals
Jason Burleson – banjo, mandolin, guitar, vocals
Gary Hultman – resophonic guitar, vocals

BAND  
Tim Stafford – guitar, vocals  Wayne Taylor – bass, vocals  Shawn Lane – mandolin, guitar, vocals  Jason Burleson – banjo, mandolin, guitar, vocals  Gary Hultman – resophonic guitar, vocals

SPECIAL GUESTS
SPECIAL GUESTS  Four of the band’s five original members – Tim Stafford, Wayne Four of the band’s five original members – Tim Stafford, Wayne Taylor, Shawn Lane, and Jason Burleson – are joined by resophonic guitarist Gary Hultman, along with a remarkable array of guests including Tom Adams, Barry Bales, Sierra Hull, Gavin Largent, Justin Moses, Alan O’Bryant, and Shawn Lane’s son Grayson Lane.

FOR MORE INFORMATION / ASSETS
www.bluehighwayband.com
www.facebook.com/bluehighway
www.instagram.com/bluehighwayband

SPECIAL THANKS
Sam Blumenthal, Dan Boner, Lisa Pawley, Teresa Owens, Ben Bateson, Will Potts, Ethan Church, Cole Larsen, Cindy Baucom, and all VIP guests.

LINER NOTES BY TOM ADAMS
A 30th Anniversary, a reunion with past band members, a homecoming with family, friends, and long-time fans, Live at ETSU! is Blue Highway’s fifteenth album and the group’s first-ever live recording. From 1995’s award-winning debut release each succeeding album has become a must-have for both traditional and contemporary bluegrass fans. This retrospective celebration takes us through three decades of artistry that is uniquely Blue Highway.

Recorded on two nights in front of a sold-out house at East Tennessee State’s Martin Center for the Performing Arts, this disc brings you live versions of thirteen Blue Highway songs selected from their catalog of more than 150 tracks. Original songs abound, from Wayne Taylor’s 1995 classic “Lonesome Pine” through Shawn Lane’s “The North Side” from their 2024 Lonesome State of Mind. Fan favorite and iconic Ralph Stanley banjo piece “Clinch Mountain Backstep” gets the full ensemble treatment from Blue Highway and guests Barry Bales, Sierra Hull, Alan O’Bryant, Jacob Burleson, Justin Moses, and Gaven Largent on a rousing five minute jam in the concert finale.

The connection between the band and ETSU is a strong one, with Tim Stafford and Blue Highway resophonic guitarist Gary Hultman among the school’s alumni. “I’d Rather Be A Lonesome Pine,” the album’s opening number was penned by Jack Tottle, founder and retired director of ETSU’s Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Roots Music Program. Current director Dan Boner was a key figure in this 30th anniversary, serving as producer and sound engineer and facilitating the participation of ETSU students and faculty.

With four of the band’s five original members — Tim Stafford, Wayne Taylor, Shawn Lane, and Jason Burleson — still writing, singing and playing together after countless miles of touring, the well-oiled machine that is a Blue Highway live show is on full display here. Signature vocal and instrumental sounds dance with a host of fully charged “we’re live!” moments to bring you front row center. Every tweak of a vocal phrase, harmony line, and instrumental vamp illustrates the group’s ongoing creativity while remaining true, always, to that which best serves the song.

“We wanted each record to mean something,” says Wayne Taylor about the band’s choice of material. And the songs on Live at ETSU! showcase that sentiment. Barn-burners to ballads, a live set from Blue Highway makes you feel the music, feel what’s at the heart of each song. Shawn Lane’s “Tears Fell On Missouri” is as compelling a song of family heartbreak as any you’ll ever hear. With each listening you can’t help but live the pain that’s being painted by Shawn’s words and voice. What completes this masterpiece of lyrics and vocal tone is the supporting instrumentation. A hallmark of the Blue Highway sound, the use of extended chords only adds to the depth of the song’s emotions.

Two of the band’s early hits, “Lonesome Pine” and “In The Gravel Yard” are also featured here. Jason Burleson’s opening solo on the latter stirred a collective shout from the bluegrass banjo playing community of “Yeah, man!” when the piece first hit the airwaves. Wayne Taylor’s “Lonesome Pine” is Blue Highway’s most enduring and well-loved anthem. With its story of home and family set in the mountains, it laid the path for many of the band’s yet to come original numbers.

A sense of time and place are qualities shared among the original songs by Wayne, Tim, and Shawn. Descriptions of place are often vivid, evoking memories from listeners who’ve actually lived there while drawing pictures for those who’ve never been to feel as if they had. You walk the roads, ride the rails, see the valley from the mountaintop. The sense of time from these writers opens up more possibilities. IBMA 2008 Song of the Year “Through The Window Of A Train” co-written by Tim with Steve Gulley, and “Cochise County” featuring Gary Hultman on lead vocal and co-written by Tim with Bobby Starnes, speak to periods from America’s past, namely the Old West and the Golden Age of rail travel.

No live set from Blue Highway would be complete without the inclusion of “Some Day”. With music by Tim Stafford and words from the eulogy written by Olive Stockton, “Some Day” has remained one of the band’s most-requested songs. A message of hope and inspiration performed a cappella with the four vocalists gathered around a single mic.

Sparks go a-flyin’, how about those two hot up-tempo vocal numbers on this record? Shawn’s “Life Of A Traveling Man” always delights and this version in particular is Blue Highway perfection. Soaring vocals with the patented Shawn-Wayne blend, instrumental interplay with a modulation — the only thing missing is a built-in loop button to keep the track from playing only once per set.

“Marbletown” is the other high-voltage vocal number presented here. The title cut from their 2005 Grammy-nominated album, “Marbletown” shows Blue Highway’s keen sense for taking just the right song from outside the bluegrass genre and making it their own. This is the perfect vehicle for Tim’s lead vocal. From the opening guitar riff to the closing down beat, this is one smooth ride.

When you pair Blue Highway with special guests on a live show, you get an extra helping of musical magic. Two of these exceptional tracks were co-written by Shawn, his brother Chad, and Gerald Ellenburg. “The North Side” from Lonesome State of Mind with Shawn’s son Grayson on the high harmony, delivers that vocal blend as only a family can. “Top of the Ridge” from Original Traditional features former Blue Highway resophonic guitarist Justin Moses on a tenor vocal performance worthy of the true meaning of “Nailed it!”

It was my pleasure to have spent two years with these amazing musicians, celebrating the band’s 5th anniversary in 1999. Wayne Taylor’s “Keen Mountain Prison” had come out on the Midnight Storm album the year before. When the guys invited me to take part in the 30th Anniversary recording, I was thrilled to join in on banjo on “Keen Mountain”. In the intervening years I spent several of them on guitar with banjo legend Bill Emerson. Jason’s tribute to Bill is here on the track “Emerson”, perfectly captures the essence of Bill’s smooth delivery of a catchy melody. Guitar, mandolin, and resophonic guitar solos follow, reminding listeners that this group of singer-songwriters brings their world-class instrumental chops to each gig as well.

Blue Highway has given us a remarkable thirty year’s worth of memories. Songs we’ve listened to countless times. Live shows we’ll always remember. New albums we’ve waited for. This retrospective shows us just what can be accomplished when we work together, stay together, and embrace the awesome power of music to enrich our lives.