Hot Rize and Tim O’Brien | Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman | Ryman Auditorium

HOT RIZE
It didn’t take long after Tim O’Brien, Pete Wernick, Nick Forster, and Charles Sawtelle first appeared onstage together in 1978 for the bluegrass music world to realize that the Colorado band, Hot Rize, was something special. And by the time they bowed off the stage as a full-time act in 1990, they’d not only climbed to the top of that world as the International Bluegrass Music Association’s very first Entertainers of the Year, but their stature was recognized across the board, with a nomination for a then-new bluegrass Grammy, a four-star album review in Rolling Stone, tours across four continents, and a legion of up-and-coming, broad-minded young musicians ranging from String Cheese Incident to mando monster Chris Thile learning their songs and singing their praises.

When Hot Rize retired, it was natural for members to go on to distinguished careers of their own. For bassist and multi-instrumentalist Forster, that meant building a blend of environmental concern and musical curation into the popular and influential show, eTown; for lead singer, mandolinist and fiddler O’Brien, recognition as an award-winning Americana and bluegrass master of singing and songwriting; for Sawtelle, a thriving career as guitarist, engineer and producer for a host of artists; and for Wernick, acclaim as a presenter of bluegrass and banjo camps, genre-bending bandleader, and 15-year president of the IBMA.

Even so, Hot Rize turned out to be the band that refused to disappear. Rare reunion shows, like the 1996 one captured for the acclaimed So Long Of A Journey CD (2002), kept the flame burning, and when Sawtelle passed away in 1999, the surviving members brought brilliant guitarist Bryan Sutton on board—himself an already-acknowledged master—and carried on with occasional appearances, bringing their classic songs and captivating stage show to new generations.

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Established in 1982 as the Union Gospel Tabernacle and renamed for the visionary who constructed it, Captain Tom G. Ryman, the Ryman Auditorium is a National Historic Landmark and cultural epicenter of Nashville, TN. In the first half of the 20th century citizens from every walk of life gathered at the Ryman to enjoy the greatest preachers, entertainers, speakers and politicians of the day. Home to the Grand Ole Opry from 1943-1974, the Ryman earned the moniker "Mother Church of Country Music" as the genres of country and bluegrass developed on its stage and found a national audience on radio and television. Fully renovated in 1994, the Ryman has never been more vibrant, attracting entertainers and fans from around the globe to enjoy its now legendary acoustics and rich history.

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Hot Rize and Tim O'Brien | Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman | Ryman Auditorium
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