In April of 1997, a barrelful of contemporary bluegrass hotshots and genuine legends assembled at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium to celebrate and pay tribute to the recently departed
Bill Monroe. The performers crank out fairly faithful renditions of
Monroe's biggest "hits" and the audience is suitably appreciative. Although the cleanly crafted sounds of
Ricky Skaggs,
Marty Stuart,
Tim O'Brien, and
the Charlie Daniels Band tend to run together, there are some great live performances by
the Del McCoury Band, the dearly missed
John Hartford, and a rare appearance by
Jim & Jesse, a group that seems to be sorely undervalued on the bluegrass circuit. While the record offers no overwhelming revelations, it is a fine document of the show that would do
Monroe proud.