In 1975, the lumber industry in Maine decided to transport freshly-fallen timbers on trucks down the highways, thereby ending the long-held tradition of floating the massive logs down the rivers.  In response, Billy Thibodeau's father and New England Bluegrass pioneer, Sam Tidwell, penned the song about the last log drive on the nearby, Kennebec River, not far from their home in Cambridge, Maine. Sam said the The Last Log Drive was a protest song.

Not long after, as the Associate Press was covering this momentous and historical event in Maine, the song gained similar attention.  Billy recalls as a young boy, watching his dad write the song at the family's kitchen table. A few months later, Sam Tidwell and the Kennebec Valley Boys performed the song live on Good Morning America.  Though Sam Tidwell passed away several years ago, this song still resonates with the locals in Maine and Rock Hearts wanted to pay homage to Sam Tidwell, to the other pioneers of New England Bluegrass with hopes of keeping this story alive.   You can find it on your favorite streaming platform.   

In case you haven't heard the big news, our debut single with the 615 Hideaway Record Label, Wanderlust, is now being played on SiriusXM Bluegrass Junction.  (Sirius XM Radio 62 and Dish Network 6062)

If you want to hear it, you can REQUEST that SiriusXM play Wanderlust by contacting their request line on Friday mornings - 1-877-98Banjo

Wanderlust, written by lead singer, Alex MacLeod, is somewhat of an examination of his life growing up as a Military Brat.  He says that being forced to move every 2-3 years of his young life, left ripple effects that cause him to not want to settle down, like there's a need to keep moving, as well as never being comfortable answering the question, "Where are your from?"

He dedicates to song to all Adult Military Brats who can relate. 

We were thrilled to have as a special guest on the recording, our friend and Grammy-award winner, Michael Cleveland.

Give a listen, make a request - and we hope to see you soon!

Blessings

It's been incredible.  We dropped Wanderlust on August 19th, 2022, with The 615 Hideaway Records label, and thanks to all of the DJs, we ended up as the #6 Top 50 APD Single and #10 Top 50 APD Albums for the Month of August.  For those keeping score at home, APD stands for Air Play Direct, the place where DJs from around the world go to download music for their programs.  Still charting in September. Thank you Robert and Lynda Weingartz of APD for your guidance and generosity.

Thank you for your support, encouragement and downloads!



 

Thank You, AIRPLAY DIRECT!

We are so thrilled to release our debut single release with The 615 Hideaway Records.  It’s called Wanderlust with special guest, Michael Cleveland.

Available for download and on all streaming platforms. https://ampl.ink/k3az0

ROCK HEARTS SIGNS WITH 615 HIDEAWAY RECORDS 

Finishing Debut Album with Ned Luberecki Producing 

Nashville, TN (July 28, 2022) – The 615 Hideaway Records is proud to announce the signing of a multi-album deal with Bluegrass emerging band Rock Hearts. Sammy 3, owner of the label, has been friends with the band for over a year helping them distribute their videos through Bluegrass Music-TV with great success. As they say, one thing leads to another, and the conversation turned from helping the group with their video distribution to this exciting signing announcement. 

“It was clear after our very first get-together with Sammy3 that he understood us as a group and could relate to our goals and vision for what we want to achieve. What started as a friendly conversation about our band’s dreams, has developed into a mutual respect and admiration between us and Sammy3, with a commitment to working together to accomplish big things! From its inception, Rock Hearts has always felt like family, speaking the same “musical language” and it’s evident that Sammy3 speaks that same language as well. Rock Hearts believes Sammy3 has an exciting vision for 615 Hideaway Entertainment, and we’re honored to be a part of journey with him as we join The 615 Hideaway Records! “ – Alex MacLeod – Rock Hearts 

Rock Hearts are currently finishing up their debut album on 615 Hideaway Records with Ned Luberecki producing, and Stephen Mougin engineer extraordinaire at Dark Shadow Recording Studio. It was a winning formula for the band’s first album Starry Southern Nights and the band felt that their second album would again be the right place with these incredible musicians, professionals and all around great human beings. 

Formed in 2013, Rock Hearts brings together five veteran musicians from Southern New England who love to sing and pick bluegrass, old Country tunes, and seek out new tunes from other genres to “Bluegrass-ify”. 

Watch for news on their first single on 615 Hideaway Records coming soon.

Rock Hearts sign with 615 Hideaway Records 

Posted on July 28, 2022 By John Lawless

Rock Hearts, southern New England’s fastest rising bluegrass group, has signed a multi-project deal with 615 Hideaway Records in Nashville. The label is run by Sammy Passamano III, son of Sam Passamano of Rural Rhythm Records, and is known in the industry as Sammy3. 

Members of the group became friends with Sammy during the 2021 World of Bluegrass Convention in Nashville, which led to them filming and distributing their music videos through 615 Hideaway. 

Alex MacLeod, guitarist and lead singer with Rock Hearts, says that joining up with Passamano was a simple decision. 

“It was clear after our very first get-together with Sammy3 that he understood us as a group and could relate to our goals and vision for what we want to achieve. What started as a friendly conversation about our band’s dreams, has developed into a mutual respect and admiration between us and Sammy3, with a commitment to working together to accomplish big things! From its inception, Rock Hearts has always felt like family, speaking the same ‘musical language,’ and it’s evident that Sammy3 speaks that same language as well. Rock Hearts believes Sammy3 has an exciting vision for 615 Hideaway Entertainment, and we’re honored to be a part of journey with him as we join The 615 Hideaway Records!” 

For their first 615 Hideaway album, the band is working once again at Dark Shadow Recording, with Stephen Mougin engineering and Ned Luberecki producing. 

In addition to Alex, Rock Hearts is Joe Deetz on banjo, Billy Thibodeau on mandolin, Austin Scelzo on fiddle, and Rick Brodsky on bass.

We are happy to report that our sophomore project has been recorded.  In April, we spent a week in Dark Shadow Recording Studio with the dynamic duo of owner and engineer extraordinaire, Stephen Mougin, and producer, Ned Luberecki.  The Mougins (Stephen and Yana) are wonderful hosts and have a fabulous studio together!

It was a winning formula for our debut project, Starry Southern Nights, and we were happy as can be that we were able to record our second project with these three incredible musicians, mentors, professionals and all around great human beings.

Our intentions, as they have always been, was to record a high-quality bluegrass project that folks would be excited to listen to.  The majority of the tunes are originals with mostly New England-based songwriters, with a couple other contributors from elsewhere.  We are beyond thrilled to have a few special guests appearing on our album as well. (Can't say just yet, but folks are gonna love it!)

In a week, we were able to record a complete project complete with originals, straight up bluegrass, instrumentals, gospels, and a classic country cover.  We also shot a video at the 615 Studios with Sammy and Sam Passamano.  

Got to see, pick and have dinner with our good buddy, Jesse Brock, as well.  

In all, it was a very busy, productive, and enjoyable time in the studio and we're excited to share our new material with everyone.  

It would not have been possible without the support and generosity of friends and families, crowdfunding contributors, etc... From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU!

Be on the look out!  We're excited to see you all at several summer festivals including Blistered Fingers, Jenny Brook and Thomas Point!

Rock Hearts had a blast at a fundraiser at the Clover Bud Ranch in Portsmouth, RI, home of Martin Beck's New England Grass Fed company.  The 5k fundraiser was to help bolster the Bovine Therapy Program for students at the Ocean Tides School... where they learn about working farms, respecting the land, and raising livestock.  It's a tremendous learning experience and we were happy to be a part of the fundraising efforts.

We are beyond excited to be back in Nashville, recording at the Dark Shadow Studios with Stephen Mougin and Ned Luberecki.  We are getting some serious work accomplished and can't wait to share with you all.  Thanks so much for your continued support, prayers, encouragement and generosity.  Check out https://rockheartsbluegrass.com/new-album-project-crowdfunding to see how you can get involved with the project and thanks to all who have supported thus far.