Super Bowl Update

The National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA) recently honored 20 public broadcasters, including KET, with national awards. KET earned four awards, more than any other public television station.

KET’s education division won two NETA awards in the category of instructional media. Marianne Mosley, Brett Smith, Esther Tattershall and Lynda Thomas were recognized for their work with the resource Self-Paced Professional Development Modules. Mary Duncan, Allison NeCamp and Brian Spellman were recognized for their work with the teacher resource Education Promotion Packet.

In addition, KET also won a NETA award in the category of community engagement. Bill Goodman, Erin Milburn Lowry, Abby Malik and Renee Shaw were recognized for their work with KET’s social media coverage during the 2011 election season.

In the category of promotion campaign, Amanda Dawahare, John Dawahare, Nick Helton and Steve Shaffer were recognized for their work with Jubilee – Summertime Blues, the 2011 season that features performances recorded at the W.C. Handy Blues & BBQ Festival in Henderson.

“KET is honored to be recognized at this year’s NETA awards,” said Shae Hopkins, KET’s executive director. “Congratulations to our staff for their exceptional work and to the public we serve for their continued support that makes our educational programs and services possible. We can all take pride in this national recognition.”

In all, NETA presented 30 awards in the areas of program production, promotion, outreach and instructional media. The celebratory presentation was part of NETA’s annual conference, held this year in St. Louis.

Grammy award-winning multi-instrumentalist Sam Bush and his band kick off the new season of Jubilee, recorded live at the third-annual International Newgrass Festival in Bowling Green, KY. The new season premieres Tuesday, Aug. 7 at 7 p.m. CT on KET and Saturday, Aug. 11 at 10 p.m. CT on KET2.

Bush has helped expand the horizons of bluegrass music, fusing it with jazz, rock, blues, funk and other styles. He's an in-demand musician who has played with Emmylou Harris, Bela Fleck, Lyle Lovett, Garth Brooks, and more.

In the 1970s, Bush, along with musicians Courtney Johnson, John Cowan and Curtis Burch, joined together as New Grass Revival and incorporated contemporary music elements in their performances and recordings. Since their music wasn’t bluegrass, technically, they coined the term “newgrass music,” which quickly became popular.

“I was very much encouraged to play music,” Bush, who was born and raised in Bowling Green, says in a Jubilee interview. “My sisters and I grew up loving music and playing and singing.”

Musicians like Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix performing on television inspired and influenced him as a teenager, Bush says.

“It was a very fortunate time, because in the sixties, when I was learning to play music and going through high school, music was very wide open. I was just a sponge for all types of music.”

Bush appears in several episodes throughout the new season of Jubilee. In this season premiere, the Sam Bush Band performs, among others: “Roll On Buddy, Roll On;” “Unconditional Love;” “Ridin’ that Bluegrass Train;” Leon Russell’s “One More Love Song;” “Circles Around Me;” and “Howlin’ At The Moon.”

Members of the Sam Bush Band include: Bush on mandolin, fiddle and vocals; Chris Brown on drums; Stephen Mougin on guitar and vocals; Todd Parks on bass and vocals; and Scott Vestal on banjo, synth banjo and vocals.

Upcoming performances in this season of Jubilee include, among many others: Curtis Church Band, The Greencards, Act of Congress, and The Farewell Drifters.

Jubilee is a KET production. Nick Helton is the producer/director and Teresa Day is the executive producer. More information about Jubilee is available at ket.org/jubilee. More information about KET programming and education services, as well as how to support KET, can be found at ket.org.