These documents just arrived where Al Hawkes received congratulatory letters from Congresswoman Chellie Pingree and Senator Olympia J. Snowe. Senator Snowe also paid a verbal tribute to Al Hawkes during the PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES of the 112th CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION on April 14th, 2011. It becomes part of the CONGRESSAL RECORD. Even a card from President Obama.
Ted Lehmann has posted an article about Al on his popular blog "Bluegrass, Books, and Brainstorms." Click here to read it!
The Tennessean recently ran a front page article about Allerton and Alton. Click here to read it!
“The Eventful Life of Al Hawkes” DVD Film was honored with a “Best Documentary” award at the Image Gazer Film Festival which took place this fall in Ellsworth, Maine. Many thanks to Image Gazer Productions and Dylan Howard, who founded the festival.
The October 2010 issue of the MAINE magazine has a story about Andrew Jawitz, Alyce Ornella and Tim Findlen producers of documentary film “The Eventful Life Of Al Hawkes." Click the image below for more information.
New England Folk Music Archives and Boston Bluegrass Union Present:
Where you can see the documentary film July, 17 – Mark and Emily Turner Memorial Library, Presque Isle, Maine. 5:30 PM. Free. (207) 764-2571 August, 11 – Regent Theater, Arlington, MA. 7:30 PM. $10 FMI (781) 646-4849 www.regenttheatre.com September, 8 – Frontier, Brunswick, Maine. Show time TBA * Other locations & dates are under negotiation by Rock House Mountain Productions (207) 208 - 7645 Stay tuned! Note: Al Hawkes may be in attendance at some of the showings, as his time permits. Ask, when you call for more information.
May 1, 2010 Get tickets early for this possible sell–out movie premiere. The one hour documentary movie will be followed by a question Q/A period with Al Hawkes and then a great Jam Session with Al Hawkes. Special guests have already signed up. May 14 at 7 PM. Space Gallery, Portland, Maine. A real special evening!
April 13, 2010 Al & Barbara Hawkes were pleasantly surprised during the Southern Bluegrass Jam at the Roost Function Hall, Buxton, Maine last Sunday, April 11. After Al’s stage performance, he was prevented from leaving the stage and was joined by his wife Barbara while a huge cake and “Thank You” card was presented to them for their 15 years of dedication of running the Southern Jams. The card had been signed by everyone in the hall that day. Then a plaque was presented to them as shown. This was Al’s last year of being chair of the committee that runs the jams. Barbara has been his assistant the last few years. Al said: “Barbara and I have been a team all our lives and we put that team energy into the jams and had a “ball” at the same time” Barbara added: “Bluegrass people are wonderful and we love them all."
October 24, 2009 Al now has three different recordings being streamed world wide on RBI (Radio Bluegrass International).
October 4, 2009 Al will be a guest on WMPG-FM, Portland, Maine. Blue Country with Blizzard Bob Wade on Wednesday the 7th from 8:30 - 10:30 AM Eastern time. Local listeners, tune 90.0 & 104.1. It's streamed, so Google WMPG, Portland, Maine to click on. Talking about and playing great music from IBMA World of Bluegrass in Nashville last week.
June 30, 2009 Ruth Dennett, the editor of the Down East Country Music Association's publication, wrote a very polite and informative article on Al and Event Records which you can read on the Stories page.
June 4, 2009 Al was surprised and honored to learn that he is featured on the cover of the June issue of News4U entertainment magazine in Owensboro, Kentucky. The inside featured story is from a long interview over the telepone by writer Dylan Gibbs about his scheduled appearance and performance at the ROMP bluegrass festival in Owensboro and Yellow Creek Park, June 24, 25, 26 and 27 and how much he enjoyed it last year. Click on the "STORIES" page to read the entire article!
May 3, 2009 There’s new twist in Al Hawkes life. Rock House Mountain Production Company is in the process of producing a full length documentary DVD movie about Al, his Event Records Company and his music career. Over the last year, they have been shadowing him with professional High Definition video cameras; filming him in Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and many other places, as well as, in Maine. Capturing Al on video as he played shows and received the latest awards. Tim Findlen and Andrew Jawitz of the production company have spent months combing and scanning thru Al’s many boxes of memorabilia and his vintage music library. A release date has not been established at this time. The title will be “The Eventful Life of Al Hawkes.” There is a seven minute movie trailer about this movie project on their website at: www.rockhousemountainproductions.com. You can view the trailer by clicking here. Posted by: Ed Mounce
March 26, 2009 Al Hawkes story appears in the national magazine Bluegrass Unlimited , April 2009 issue, which came out this week. It’s a five page article written by musician and story writer Nathan D. Gibson of Boston. Mr. Gibson spent much time interviewing and digging thru Al’s archives last year to assemble the in-depth article. Gibson’s most recent work is The Starday Records Story: The House That Country Must Built . The story about Don Pierce, the owner and recording pioneer , who produced many of the great country and bluegrass artists and records during the 1950 – 60s. Because Al Hawkes was operating Event Records in Westbrook, Maine during that same period of time; Mr. Gibson was curious about the Event label and contacted Al Hawkes which led to his interest in doing the story on Mr. Hawkes.
(Note: Because of copyright issues; we are unable to reprint the story here on this website at this time.) March 22, 2009 Dave Sichak of the internationally famous Hillbilly-Music.com website has written a story about and added Al Hawkes to their Artist category. Hillbilly-Music.com is a dedicated online historical site of the early days of hillbilly music as it transofrmed into what we today call country music. It lists thousands of regional and national artists (and groups) with information on what shows they were part of, the career honors they received, the recordings they made, photographs - as well as some tidbits about them. No other location has the in-depth data that this site has accumulated. Hillbilly-Music.com had record breaking viewers in 2008-- they clocked 7,000,000 website views during the year of 2008. Check out Al Hawkes on their site by clicking here.
March 15, 2009 Al recently attended the Boston Bluegrass Union's awards ceremony where he received his plaque in recognition of his contributions to Bluegrass musci in New England. Below are several photos of Al's award and acceptance speech.
January 28, 2009 The Boston Bluegrass Union (BBU) is proud to announce the recipients of the 2009 BBU Heritage Awards. The awards are presented each year by the BBU to honor those who have made substantial contributions to furthering bluegrass in New England. The awards will be presented during the 24th annual Joe Val Bluegrass Festival, Presidents Day Weekend, February 13 – 15, 2009, at the Sheraton Framingham, Framingham, MA. More information on the festival at www.bbu.org
December 19, 2008 Al Hawkes donated a large collection of memorabilia from his own career and from that of other Maine Bluegrass Pioneers to the International Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky. Gabrielle Gray, Executive Director of the museum said “Some truly marvelous artifacts were donated to the Museum by those attending the first-ever Pioneers of Bluegrass Gathering. There isn’t room to mention all the gifts – you need to visit the Museum to see them”. She mentions that the gifts came from Tennessee, Florida, Japan and from Maine. [from IBMM Newsletter, Volume 5, Issue 2]
November 17, 2008 Al Hawkes was honored and presented the LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 2008 – “In recognition of his many years of musical success and beyond.” The prestigious award was given to a surprised Al Hawkes after his performance during the Down East Country Music Association’s COUNTRY LEGENDS & MEMORIAL AWARDS SHOW held on Sunday, November 16. Jackie Harmon, DECMA President, presented the award and remarked “Al, your certainly deserve this award.” As he accepted the award, Al commented “As a kid, I listened to all those Southern radio stations like WCKY, Cincinnati and WWVA in Wheeling and I just knew that I would always be in love with old-time country, mountain and Bluegrass music... it’s been my guiding light all through my life. And Bluegrass is my soul music….it keeps me alive. I love you all and thank you very much.”
October 6, 2008 While Al Hawkes was in Nashville at the IBMA “The World of Bluegrass” convention, he teamed up with part of the Hillbilly Gypsies Bluegrass Band in the Renaissance Hotel & Nashville Convention Center to do a request of Rocky Road Blues. It was video taped by a local media cameraman and it is now on You Tube. Click here to see the video.
September 25, 2008 Al has some video performances on You Tube that have been uploaded by friends. To see what videos are available, try typing in "Al Hawkes" followed by search phrases such as "Correna, Correna," "Crazy Fingers Rag,” "The Woodsman," "Rocky Road Blues," and "Lady Be Good." Who knows, you may even find some others!
September 22, 2008 Al Hawkes has been inducted into America’s Old-Time Country Music Hall of Fame and is listed and recognized, among other things, as a “Long-time entertainer, instrumentalist, singer, producer from Maine” The organization is located in the Pioneer Music Museum, Anita, Iowa. Founded in 1976, it recognizes individuals who have contributed to the existence, growth and preservation of traditional country, bluegrass and old-time music. Every year after 1976, local, regional, national, and international personages have been honored and inducted. Not just performers, but also those that have written, broadcast, promoted, produced, supported, and promulgated old-time music have been included.
June 4, 2008 From www.bluegrassmsueum.org: On June 26, The International Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensboro, KY will honor 60 legendary musicians known as "Bluegrass Music's First Generation." These iconic artists are coming from coast to coast, even from Japan. Each will be recognized onstage for their contribution to the genre known as bluegrass music. For more information, click here.
April 29, 2008 Al has been invited and will attend the ROMP festivities in conjunction with the International Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky which is just west of Louisville. During the three days of June 26, 27 and 28, the “River Of Music Party” will feature the Bluegrass Masters Film Festival “World Premier” of The Lewis Family, The Sullivan Family, Bill Bolick, Al Hawkes, Bill Clifton. Al was interviewed and filmed last fall when the VOHP crew was in Maine. Al is now listed as one of the “Bluegrass Music‘s First Generation" and is a lifetime member of the IBMM. See the whole story by clicking here. Also, click here to read about how ROMP was started. The gathering of musicians and supporters of bluegrass music is like a “Who’s Who” of this genre. Al will be involved with some functions going on in the three locations/stages in Owensboro. He was told to be sure to bring his mandolin…enough said. He can’t wait to visit the incredible Bluegrass Museum he has been told about.
February 13, 2008 Read all about about Al & Barbara at IBMA in Nashville! Click on the stories button to the left, and then visit the photo galleries to see all of the pictures! Also, there is a new story posted about the IBMM's recent trip to Maine! Click here to read it! Lastly, read the article about last year's Joe Val Bluegrass Festival in the stories section, and view the photos in the gallery! February 5, 2008 Al and Barbara are featured in the lead article on the front page of the International Bluegrass Music Museum’s winter edition newsletter. There is a 1946 photo of Al along with “thanks” from Gabrielle Gray the museum executive director who came to Maine in October 2007 with the video camera crew for the Video Oral History Project of which Al Hawkes assisted them and Barbara gave them lodging. In the article she quotes Al as saying: “The North may have won the Civil War, but the South conquered Maine” – referring to how strong southern Bluegrass music has become in Maine. To see and read the whole article, click here. September 11 , 2007 Click here to listen to Al's interview on the American Routes radio show from April 25, 2007. July 13 , 2007 A recent published book entitled “When Rock ‘n Roll Rocked Maine” by Will Anderson has Al Hawkes featured in a number of sections in the book. The 176 glossy paged book covers the period of 1955 – 1960 of Rock – A – Billy music developing in Maine. During that period of time Al Hawkes was owner of Event Records in Westbrook and producing many of those 45 RPM donut style vinyl Rock – A – Billy singles that were being heavily played on local radio stations – some made the “charts”. One of those artists and his recording are shown on the cover of the book.
On page 126, there is a photo showing the Event Records building in 1959 and page 127 shows Al at 29 years old running the studio recording equipment. The writer, Will Anderson, states in the story: “ If ever there is a Maine Music Hall of Fame, Al Hawkes would certainly be inducted in round number one. ‘The Sultan of Sound, as it were’ “. It is obvious that Mr. Anderson did a lot of research to produce this book and it is filled with hundreds of old photographs of the artists and the labels they were on. He interviewed Al and many others who gave him the insight of that exciting era. It is a very interesting reading for those who lived that time and others who want to experience a music history lesson. Will Anderson has written ten other books about Maine and New England. This recent book can be purchased at: Anderson & Sons’ Publishing Company, 34 Park Street, Bath, Maine 04530. Tel. 207 – 442 – 7459 by Ed Mounce
June 6 , 2007 Al was honored on Sunday, May 20, 2007 at the Pine Tree State Country Music Association’s 8th Annual Award Show. Joan B. Cole, Executive Director of PTSCMA, and Barbara Hawkes persuaded Al to attend the award show at the Silver Spur hall in Mechanic Falls, Maine. Russ Connell, the award presenter, took Al by complete surprise when he announced that the Wilbur “Sammy” Davis Memorial Award was to Al Hawkes. Al was lost for words, which most would agree is very rare for Al. He feels very humbled and pleased by the award.
The Wilbur “Sammy” Davis Memorial Award “The recipient of this award is a very deserving person who has shown outstanding dedication, continuous support and gives so much of themselves for all the Maine Country Music Associations and the artists themselves; with no thoughts of personal gain. This person is always available and unselfishly doing what he can, to promote Country & Bluegrass music in any and whatever way he can. His love for Country music is sincerely shown with his ‘I can, I will, let’s do it’ attitude”.
April 13, 2007 There is a new link up in the "Stories" section of the website! It is an article published in FACE Magazine in 1991 entitled "The Second Career Comes First Again for Al Hawkes." Click here to view it! March 19, 2007 For local fans of Al Hawkes, you can now buy Al's four latest albums at Border's Book Store in the Maine Mall in South Portland. After selling out his award winning "Keep On Smiling" album during the Christmas season, Borders decided to carry his other albums. You will find them in the Country/Bluegrass aisle in the Local Artists section. Look for a header sign that says AL HAWKES. January 25 , 2007 Al's newest story about his trip to the IBMA's "World of Bluegrass" Conference 2005 in Nashville is ONLINE! Click here to read about it and see all of the photos! January 6 , 2007 Al and Bruce Milliard joined the Sean Mencher Swing
Bruce did a solo feature of Bill Monroe’s “Blue and Lonesome”. Then Al invited each
member of Sean’s show to come up and join them on numbers like “Nine
Pound Hammer”, “Rocky Road Blues” and “ Bye, Bye Blues”. It was quite Every one agreed we should do it again. Recieved this email from Sean Mencher, Sunday January 7th:. “Al: Thank you very much to you and Bruce Milliard for contributing your beautiful music last night at the St.Lawrence Arts and Community Center! You lifted the whole show! Not too mention it was a lot fun to pick with you, as it always is! Thanks and all the best to you and Barbara! To see more photos go to “Photos” page
December 27 , 2006
June 18, 2006 Al is featured in a newly published book "One Long Tune, The Life and Music of Lenny Breau" written by Ron Forbes-Roberts. There are a number of pages dedicated to discussing Al's work with Breau at the Event Records studio. You can order your own copy of the book through Amazon by clicking the image of the cover below!
June 12, 2006 Al and Barbara's 30th Annual "Birds of a Feather Pickin' Party" has come to an end, and 2006 marks the last year of an incredible tradition. Despite the bad weather, The Hawkes' and many friends came together and filled the weekend with music and laughter. Pictures and stories to come soon, so stay tuned! June 1, 2006 Al successfully graduated from the "Turning Point" program this past May. Click here for Al's own story about how this really was a turning point for him! April 25, 2006
Al's "News" page is alive. He will be posting news very soon about his music,
projects, and his recent time in the "Turning Point" program. Stay tuned! |
