Album cover art courtesy of Rounder Records.

Grammy® and Emmy® winning actor, comedian and musician Steve Martin won two International Bluegrass Music Association awards last night at a ceremony in Nashville. Martin picked up awards for Best Graphic Design for a Recorded Project and Best Liner Notes for A Recorded Project. Following the awards Martin played a surprise performance at Nashville’s Station Inn with award-winning bluegrass band Steep Canyon Rangers who he will embark with on a national and international fall tour, in support of The Crow: New Songs For the 5 String Banjo (Rounder). It will include performances on The Late Show with David Letterman on October 5 and The View on October 6. The Crow was #1 for 12 straight weeks on the Billboard Bluegrass Albums chart and Steve has brought mainstream media attention to bluegrass music with a number of appearances on television and radio this year.

Martin, who met the Rangers through his wife, who is a friend of lead singer Woody Platt, opened the tour with three warm up shows on September 29 and 30 at Café Largo in Los Angeles.

STEVE MARTIN 2009 TOUR DATES

October 3                    San Francisco, CA               Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival
October 6                    New York, NY                       Carnegie Hall
October 7                    Boston, MA                            Wang Center
October 9                    Atlanta, GA                            Chastain Park Amphitheater
October 10                  Charlotte, NC                         Blumenthal Performing Arts Center
October 11                  Nashville, TN                          Ryman Auditorium
October 12                  Washington, DC                     Warner Theater
October 14                  Montclair, NJ                          Wellmont Theater
October 15                  Toronto, ON                           Roy Thomson Hall
October 19                  Philadelphia, PA                     Verizon Theater
October 20                  Troy, NY                                 Troy Savings Bank Music Hall
October 22                  Chicago, IL                             Cadillac Palace Theatre
October 24                  Denver, CO                             Paramount Theatre
October 27                  Dallas, TX                               Meyerson Symphony Center
October 28                  Los Angeles, CA                   Walt Disney Concert Hall
October 30                  Costa Mesa, CA                     Orange County Performing Arts Center
November 1                Eugene, OR                            Jaqua Concert Hall
November 2                Spokane, WA                         Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox
November 3                Seattle, WA                            Benaroya Hall
November 9                London, England                 Royal Festival Hall

Steve Martin is a three-time Grammy® winner, the latest for his collaboration with Earl Scruggs on Foggy Mountain Breakdown (2001) and two for comedy albums Wild and Crazy Guy (1978) and Let’s Get Small (1977.) After playing on the Grammy® Award winning Foggy Mountain Breakdown with Earl Scruggs, Martin began writing a string of new banjo songs, some with lyrics and some as instrumentals. An album 45 years in the making, The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo features special vocal appearances by Mary Black, Vince Gill, Tim O’Brien, Dolly Parton and instrumental guest spots by Earl Scruggs, John McEuen, Stuart Duncan, Jerry Douglas, Pete Wernick and Tony Trischka.  The Crow was recorded in Dublin, Hollywood, Nashville and New Jersey.

For more information on Steve Martin, including message boards, tour dates and more, please visit www.stevemartin.com.