The Lady of Tradition

Be Different, Stand Out & Work Your Butt Off

Photo by Mickey Stroud

Loyal to tradition, yet comfortable with innovation, North Carolina’s Lorraine Jordan might seem like a contradiction and you would be right. Those who know her best acknowledge that she is a total contradiction. 

Lorraine’s contradictory lifestyle has afforded her much success, earning her the title of “Lady of Tradition,” given to her by the late Tom T. Hall.  A workhorse, she has spearheaded numerous musical projects throughout her career. A true professional, she has devoted her life to picking and promoting the music that she loves from Bill Monroe to Earl Scruggs, from the Seldom Scene to Larry Sparks. Whether performing at a bluegrass festival, her coffee house, or on the radio, Lorraine Jordan walks the walk and talks the talk of traditional bluegrass. 

Eclectic in her musical tastes, the professional musician loves classic country and created a new genre of music called Country Grass. She’s also a fan of John Fogerty’s 70s band, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and performs in a tribute band that plays their music.

Her Facebook page lists her other passions, “dogs, orange cats, motorcycles, and bluegrass folks.” Though she currently doesn’t own a dog, she plans to get another. She loves not just any cat, only orange ones. She rides motorcycles in her limited spare time. She likes talking with the many bluegrass fans she has grown to know and love.

The Pinecastle recording artist has made an indelible mark not only within the North Carolina Bluegrass music community, but throughout the greater bluegrass culture. Her drive and determination have landed her on the stages of National TV with PBS appearances on Woodsong’s Old time Radio Hour and Song of the Mountains, plus Merlefest, IBMA’s Wide Open Bluegrass, Dollywood, Silver Dollar City and the Grand Ole Opry, along with performances in 46 states and 13 countries.   

Doyle Lawson noted, “One of the most dedicated, hardworking people in the business, Lorraine understands the importance of promoting whether it be her band or one of her productions. She leaves no stone unturned!”

Kyle Cantrell, Founder of Banjo Radio, agreed, “No one is more dedicated to her career and the success of those around her than Lorraine Jordan. With her band, Carolina Road, you’ll see her all over the Bluegrass circuit and whenever you do, even when she looks calm, you know she’s always thinking about how to take her music to the next level. You have to admire her work ethic and ‘never quit’ philosophy.”Evolution Of Contradictions

Jordan’s contradictory lifestyle started early in the small, eastern North Carolina town of Vanceboro. At 13, she asked for a banjo; Dad bought her a guitar. She shared, “My brothers, Clay and Eddie, were big time athletes. I couldn’t compete with their touchdowns and home runs. My sister, Cheryl, was valedictorian.”  Lorraine, though smart and athletic, couldn’t match her brothers’ and sister’s achievements so she decided to focus on music.  “I chose bluegrass though all my family and friends preferred Elvis and the Beatles. I didn’t know much about the band scene and played solo guitar to folk songs by John Denver.”

In high school, she took band. When they started a jazz band, she learned to play acoustic bass, but never learned to read music.   “In rehearsal during a song, there were a few measures where the bass was to rest and not play. I did not know about the stop because I was not reading the sheet music. The band director walked over to see why I did not notice the bass should have dropped out for six measures. He was flabbergasted. I think I might have been the first person that he had ever come in contact with that played totally by ear.”

Later she joined the Morris Family Bluegrass Band. “They saw me playing at the band concert at school. After the show, they asked if I would be interested in playing bass in a bluegrass band. I said I’d give it a try and started participating in their Saturday jams.  While others my age were going to the movies, roller skating or other teenage hangouts, I went to Theodore and Hattie Morris’ house every Saturday night. This was what I wanted to do. We’d drink little tiny bottle cokes and have Moon Pies. We had lots of big names come. Ervin Rouse (author of ‘Orange Blossom Special’) would play fiddle and the legendary steel guitar player, Clyde Mattocks, would sit in on the jams with his Dobro.  Through the years, I have remained friends with their daughter, Hilda Morris Wetherington. Sometimes Hilda drives three hours to attend Friday Night Bluegrass Live at Lorraine’s Coffee House.”

Following high school graduation, Jordan enrolled at East Carolina University.  “Everything just seemed to fall in place for me. I was putting stuff in my dorm room at school and I said, ‘Hey, I hear a banjo close by!’” It belonged to Ann Massengill, one of her suitemates. They eventually formed a female bluegrass band.

“While in school, we found girls who played fiddle, guitar, and bass. We were in the dorm right across from the music school so there were a lot of musicians there. We had two guitars and needed another lead instrument, a mandolin. I said, ‘OK, sounds like it might be me.’ I didn’t know anything about the mandolin. I did have a New Grass Revival cassette tape of Sam Bush playing mandolin and I really liked that sound.”

Lorraine’s dad found her a mandolin in the mountains of North Carolina, hand built by Dean Clawson.  She researched the instrument and immediately became a fan of the original Seldom Scene. “My parents would take me to the Birchmere in Alexander, Virginia and to the Cellar Door in Washington, D.C. I fell in love with John Duffey’s mandolin, his tenor singing, and what an entertainer! So I jumped on the mandolin the best I could. I really liked the weight and size of it. I didn’t have to carry a big bass and amp. It became MY instrument.”  

Lorraine was self-taught.  “I’d pick up the needle on a record and listen over and over or slow down a 33 1/3 to 16. Nothing fancy like they have these days.  I played all through college and started going to bluegrass festivals. I attended my first festival at Roby Huffman’s in Smithfield, North Carolina. Then I went to Camp Springs, Bass Mountain, Cherokee, and other North Carolina bluegrass festivals. I played an open stage in the small town of Angier with a band called Bluegrass 78 from Fuquay-Varina. They asked me to join the band and I did. We traveled the southeastern part of the United States and played several festivals. That was a big deal. I’d never done that. One of their members, (Dobroist) Kim Gardner, now plays with the great singer/songwriter Larry Cordle.”

Realizing she wanted a career in music, Jordan relocated seven miles south of Raleigh to Garner, the hometown of 2011 American Idol winner, Scotty McCreery, who, prior to his success as a country music artist, even fronted Carolina Road once. “I taught school during the school year and played music throughout the summer months. In the early years living in Garner, I formed a second female bluegrass band with ladies from this area. Sandy Hatley, then Sandy Chrisco, writer of this article was our banjo player.”

Lorraine became a fan of the New Coon Creek Girls when Dale Ann Bradley was lead singer. Jordan met banjoist, Ramona Church, also from North Carolina, and began playing some music with her. When Church signed with Pinecastle Records, she asked Lorraine to play and emcee for the band.  “We traveled and played a few festivals and often played at Raymond Fairchild’s Opry House in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. I thought this was going great and I was having a good time. I guess playing music on the road is not for everyone. Ramona made one CD, played a year, and then decided she preferred life back in the mountains just picking on the front porch.  Pinecastle offered me a contract for Carolina Road. I took over the band from Ramona Church & Carolina Road and it became Carolina Road. We recorded two additional projects on Pinecastle. Gena Britt joined us on banjo and we played shows as Carolina Road. Spending time with Gena led me to what could be one of the greatest achievements in my life.”

The Daughters Of Bluegrass

“Gena and I were on one of those long rides between gigs when I asked, ‘Do you know of a bluegrass CD where women who are not in the same band have come together and played all the instruments, sang all the songs, and wrote songs for the project?’” Not finding a compilation CD of females and drawing on the wisdom of Mother Maybelle, Jordan had an epiphany: They would create an all-female project and call it Daughters of Bluegrass. 

The pair contacted Dale Ann Bradley, Becky Buller, Valerie Smith, Jeanette Williams, Julie Elkins, Vickie Simons, Heather Berry, Beth Lawrence, Michelle Lee, Pam Perry, Angela Oudean, Donica Christensen, Megan McCormick,  Mindy Rackstraw, Frances Mooney, Kim Fox, Crystal Richardson, and Louisa Branscomb for the musical assemblage, a collaboration of 20 females interested in the all-female musical project.

“Then I ran into Tom T and Dixie Hall at Bean Blossom. They came up after our show and said they had a song that they wanted my band to try entitled, ‘Carolina Road.’ Tom T also wrote my first number one hit, ‘A Light in the Window Again.’ I went with their label, Blue Circle Records, and cut a couple CDs with them. Miss Dixie and I became close. She loved the Daughters of Bluegrass idea. She wanted to write songs for our project. We co-wrote the title cut, ‘Back to the Well’.”

The CD gained a lot of attention and won IBMA’s “Recorded Event of the Year” in 2009.  “We put another CD out in 2011 and we won ‘Recorded Event of the Year’ again. By that time, we had grown from 20 to over 50. Today we have over 200 daughters of bluegrass.  Gena and my little brainstorm opened the door for so many females. It helped put women out in front, to start the female era. There are so many females out there now. Starting the Daughters of Bluegrass is one of my proudest accomplishments.”

Britt agreed. “I think it was a pivotal moment in our bluegrass history and brought attention to many extremely talented women who needed to be heard. I’m proud that I partnered with Lorraine for the beginning process of this award-winning project that I truly feel was groundbreaking. On top of that, I really can’t think of a more hard-working individual that has done as much as Lorraine has for our music. I value her friendship and admire her business ethic.”

Recording Milestones

Another important person then entered Lorraine’s life: Lonnie Lassiter. A physician with an entrepreneurial spirit and a love for bluegrass, he bought Pinecastle Records, studied the label’s old recordings, and asked Jordan to be one of the first artists to return.

Lassiter stated, “I have absolutely loved working with Lorraine over the last ten years. She is a consummate professional and will out-work everybody around her. It’s nice because she is loyal to tradition, but is completely comfortable with innovation. Her Country Grass projects have been extremely unique and innovative. All her projects are rooted in tradition and also explore new innovations. She’s always eager to try new things and is wonderful to work with. I’m so thankful she’s with our label.”

Lorraine added, “I signed with Pinecastle and have been with them ever since. They have a great team. They allow us to be creative and do the music that is our passion. Pinecastle has taken many chances with me like Country Grass which was a major undertaking. I noticed that country music was changing and not staying true to its roots. There were a lot of country (music) people coming to bluegrass festivals. Fans told me that there really wasn’t any country music out there for them anymore.  I thought, ‘Country and bluegrass used to be merged. Why not remarry them?’ I decided to do a project with classic country songs and get as many of the country artists as I could to sing with bluegrass instrumentation. They would sing the verse and we’d sing some part in the verses and the choruses with them. I reached out to a promotion person in Nashville, Heath Scott. Without him, I’d never have been able to make this project.”

An entrepreneur like Lassiter, Jordan compiled a list of country music singers and Heath Scott provided contacts. She already knew Marty Raybon so she started with him. They recorded “Darned if I Don’t, Danged if I Do.” Other entertainers started to respond to her requests and performed on her Country Grass project: John Anderson, Eddy Raven, John Conlee, Crystal Gayle, Lee Greenwood, Jim Ed Brown, Jesse Keith Whitely, Lynn Anderson, and the Kentucky Headhunters.  Lorraine said, “One of the first ones to contact us back was TG Sheppard. I told him I’d like to record ‘Do you want to go to Heaven?’ with him on this project. He said, ‘By all means’.”

T.G. Sheppard said, “I was truly honored to be asked to record bluegrass versions of my hits with Lorraine on Country Grass. I think it’s one of the greatest collections that I heard in years. She and the entire group are some of the most talented and respected artists in all of bluegrass.  My country hit, ‘Do You Wanna Go To Heaven,’ with Lorraine Jordan and Carolina Road has now been viewed over a million times. Hopefully, our second collaboration of my number one song ‘I Loved ‘Em Everyone’ will be just as successful.”  Prime Time Country featured Lorraine’s cut with T.G. Sheppard in July 2023.

Then the lady groundbreaker had the idea to center her CD around Ronnie Reno’s tune, “Boogie Grass Band,” and have all the artists take part in singing his song.  “I called Ronnie and told him I wanted to use his song as a landing spot on the CD.” Reno not only allowed use of his song, he became an active participant on the recording. Jordan played, sang, and coordinated the master plan.

Lorraine shared, “TV personality, storyteller and excellent musician, Josh Goforth, and I co-produced this project. It was two years in the making. We would arrange the music, record the tracks, and then send the music to the country artist so they could listen to it. I would fly to Nashville and meet each artist at Ricky Skaggs’ studio. They would sing to what we already had recorded. Eventually, we had 12 artists on the CD and some terrific songs that are as popular today as they were when they were released. 

“One artist that I really wanted to record with was John Anderson. I could hear ‘Seminole Wind’ in my head and knew it was the perfect bluegrass song. I attended a concert and got in line at his record table. When I got to the front, I said, ‘You don’t know me, but I’m a big fan of yours and a bluegrass musician. I’m doing a project called Country Grass. I really want to record ‘Seminole Wind’ with bluegrass instrumentation and us singing with you on the choruses.’ He asked, ‘Is that going to work?’ I told him I thought it would be a big hit in bluegrass…and it was! If you go on YouTube it has like 3.4 million views!  Not only did we record audio tracks with each artist, we also recorded video tracks. It was spectacular. I met all my favorite country artists and they became my friends. 

“We were so excited about the project and absolutely loved the Eddy Raven songs.  We recorded an entire bluegrass project with Eddy Raven of all his hits. We did a song ‘All Grassed Up’ on the project written by the great songwriter, David Stewart.  David would become an important person in my life. I told him that our music is changing and bluegrass needs a ‘Murder on Music Row’ song. He said, ‘You might be right.’ He sent a song and said it was perfect for our band. I agreed and decided to get a couple of the best singers in traditional bluegrass to sing with us, Junior Sisk and Danny Paisley.  It met with some resistance. A number of people told me that it might not go over well. They were partially right. There were some dissenters, but it went on to be number one for five months on Bluegrass Unlimited’s national chart and stayed on that chart for 15 months. I believe it broke some records. 

“The song asked, ‘Why can’t bluegrass just be true grass again?’ I think fans answered the question. Their answer was, ‘Yea, we’re with you.’ The song did not put other styles of bluegrass down. It just reminded everyone to not forget the legends who created the first bluegrass style and to continue to honor them and keep the sound around. Music moves in waves and goes through changes. I’ve always supported young musicians.  Look how Billy Strings and Molly Tuttle are bringing a younger crowd to the music. It’s exciting to know music will live on.”

Tony Wray, co-producer of Lorraine’s next non-traditional bluegrass project, A Tribute to Michael Martin Murphy, said, “To say Lorraine is tradition would be to underestimate her. She not only thinks outside of the box, but she also builds new boxes. She’s not afraid to face opposition. In fact, it motivates and inspires her.”

Stewart also penned Jordan’s single “Bill Monroe’s Ol Mandolin” which held number one four consecutive months in 2021 on the Bluegrass Unlimited chart. The tune’s music video received a combined 500,000 views and tells the story of the night in 2018 when Bill Monroe’s world-famous instrument was played by Ricky Skaggs during his induction ceremony to the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Recently, Stewart composed “A Little Bit of Bluegrass” which went number one on Bluegrass Unlimited’s chart in June and July and has been the number one video on Bluegrass Standard.

The Nicest Band—No Contradictions There

Lorraine’s handpicked Carolina Road band is comprised of well-known musicians Ben Greene and Warren Blair. Individually, they have played with a “Who’s Who” within the music industry including Charlie Moore, The Bluegrass Cardinals, Del McCoury, George Jones, Tom T Hall, James King, Lost & Found, David Parmley & Continental Divide and more. Their stellar musicianship and versatility ensure award-winning powerhouse performances of every song.

“Ben Greene is my rock. We have based the sound of Carolina Road around his rock solid banjo playing. Ben is loyal and consistent and plays some of the best backup behind singing I have ever heard. Over our 18 years playing together we have become close friends.

“Warren Blair is admired by many upcoming fiddle players. It’s amazing the sounds he gets out of a fiddle. Ben and Warren started their music careers right out of high school together with Charlie Moore. Now it looks like they are going to finish their careers with me. Both are as professional as you will ever meet. I introduce them as ‘Legends of the Bluegrass.’ 

“The other three band members are playing in their first national touring band. Allen Dyer, rhythm guitar and lead singer, can sing with the best of them. He’s got the perfect lead voice to sing classic country or bluegrass and makes it easy to find a vocal blend. We actually played together in a band during his teenage years. We somehow won the band contest at the North Carolina State Fair. We have now come full circle.  Kevin Lamm, Carolina Road’s bassist and second lead singer, gives us that straight traditional sound and adds to the emcee work on stage. He’s a fan favorite.  Wayne Morris, our lead guitarist, comes from a gospel background.  He can play all the instruments and sing all the parts. He is an asset on guitar and harmony vocals during our Country Grass tunes.”

Royce Jordan, Lorraine’s 92-year-old motor-cycle riding dad, is a part of the Carolina Road Show. During their sets, they perform patriot grass to honor all past and present military veterans for service. Royce, an Army vet himself, comes on stage, takes the mic, and recognizes each branch of the service while banjoist Ben Greene plays their military service songs. Additionally, the patriarch of the Jordan family serves as an emcee with Doug Whitley at Lorraine’s annual festivals in Kingsport and Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and at Mike Wilson’s Willow Oak Bluegrass Festival in Roxboro, North Carolina that Carolina Road hosts.

“Lorraine had more energy than my other children,” admitted her proud father. “She and I flew planes, rode motorcycles, and dared the world’s highest over-water zip line together. Unlike many other bluegrass artists, Lorraine did not come from a family that played music and could teach her. Self-taught, she had to figure it out on her own. She worked hard and has left her mark in bluegrass music. It’s amazing what she’s accomplished.”

Ben Greene shared, “This will be my 18th year with her. She’s got it going on! We’ve had our fifth number one song on the bluegrass charts. That’s something to be proud of. She’s a good planner of events and has successful festivals and shows. She does a lot behind the scenes, especially for the younger crowd.” 

Previously nominated for IBMA’s “Mentor of the Year,” Jordan took her young heart/old soul godson, Garrett Newton, under her wing. He traveled with Carolina Road, picked a banjo tune each set, and has since released two of his own projects for Pinecastle Records. Recently, she has worked with Billy and The Kids, a father and three of his kids, to help them grow in the music business. They are starting to play a few major festivals and have recorded a bluegrass project. 

Carolina Road’s lead vocalist, Allen Dyer, emphasized, “Lorraine has dedicated her life to preserving and growing traditional bluegrass music. She is the most determined person I know. She is a visionary and is not scared to take a risk if she believes in something. She has given of herself to foster and mentor a lot of younger talent starting out in bluegrass. She has made a way for them to have a place to play and get noticed either by allowing them to play one of her festivals or at her coffeehouse.”

Lorraine stressed, “I’m very proud of this band. I call them the ‘nicest band in bluegrass.’ They are so helpful and easy to travel with. All the fans love them.  Carolina Road is in our 23rd year. There have been a lot of talented musicians and singers along the way. I appreciate each one of them for giving me their time and talents. Many have moved on to other great bands or musical careers. I’ve had five fiddlers and they were all topnotch: Jeff Michael, Jan Johansson, Jason Barie, Josh Goforth, and Matt Hooper. Matt occasionally still performs on Carolina Road local shows. There’s been four banjo players: Ramona Church, Gena Britt, Rick Purdue, and Ben Greene. Many past great lead singers:  Kent Dixon, Dan Wells, Timmy Massey, David Guthrie, Jerry Butler, Tommy Long and Randy Graham, too many bass players to name, and one mandolin player that keeps hanging around…that’s me!”

Jason Barie declared, “Lorraine is one of the most dedicated, hardest working people I know in the industry. No matter what she does, whether it’s music related, her driving school, promoting a festival, or any other business she may be involved in, she gives it her all. She works tirelessly to promote bluegrass and is always helping out or encouraging the next generation of pickers. Lorraine surrounds herself with good people that she can rely on to get the job done. She also takes care of those people as if they were family.  She’s not just all work though. She knows how to get out, get away, and take advantage of the fun parts of what life has to offer. These are just a few of the things that lead to success that she taught me by conversation or observation during my time in her band.”

Lorraine’s Coffee House & Music

“One of my ventures that I am most proud of is developing Lorraine’s Coffee House in 2014. The idea came from my late husband, Tom Langdon. He said, ‘You go all over the world playing your music. Why don’t you bring your music back home? You need a place where you can put the music out here.’ He gave me the inspiration to find a location.”

An abandoned drug store became Lorraine’s Coffee House, a popular gathering place for a loyal group of local supporters who started coming three or four nights per week. Lorraine reflected. “It became their major source of entertainment. A family atmosphere founded around bluegrass music was forming. People even met there and ended up getting married. It was gratifying to see and I longed to share it with others.  We wanted to bring bluegrass to a wider, worldwide audience. For people to see and feel the joy of the music, the family feeling of a no-alcohol, no-smoking atmosphere where music was king, where people came to hear musicians perform their songs. We studied Station Inn’s video streaming system and Sammy Passamano’s Bluegrass Music TV and decided to develop our own. Sammy was very knowledgeable and helped get us started. We decided to broadcast our bluegrass shows on Friday nights with classic and country grass devoted to Saturday nights.  The idea for Live At Lorraine’s video streaming program was born. I say Mickey Stroud is the brains behind the scene. He is the creative force that drives the show and creates many of the videos and graphics. Together, we formulated the concept.”

Her first consideration was financial.  Jordan initially pondered, “How do we pay for it and/or make it profitable? Charging people to watch didn’t seem practical. Collecting the money was expensive, sharing the revenue with the bands seemed problematic, what people would pay was questionable. The answer for us became obvious. How do you make a profit? You don’t. So I decided, with the help of numerous volunteers, to undertake it on my own. Mickey, a retired advertising/marketing executive, took the lead. Rick Gradle, a nuclear engineer, learned to run the three-camera setup. Several part-time musicians, Donnie Fowler, Wayne Morris and Danny McLamb, helped us develop a first class sound system and we began broadcasting. We hired an experienced, well known radio deejay, Doug Whitley, now on Hwy 40 Bluegrass (Lorraine’s Coffee House streaming radio show) to emcee and host. Avery DeSoto, a 17-year-old high school student, joined our team and is learning sound as well as camera.

“We found it was like playing Whack-A-Mole at the fair, new problems popped up weekly. You name it and it occurred. During live productions, something can, and likely will, go wrong. Our internet carrier failed to deliver the stream that they promised, causing video and audio dropouts. Proper setup for sound for bluegrass music was challenging. We persevered and fans remained patient and understanding. We still experience occasional issues, but our telecasts have found an appreciative, supporting audience.

“Pinecastle Records, Bluegrass Jamboree, Bluegrass Music TV, and others began sharing our shows with their supporters. The numbers are having dramatic growth and the reach is constantly increasing. Comments from viewers are heart warming. We are successfully bringing bluegrass to a wider, worldwide audience and bands are enjoying playing to a larger audience for fans from around the country.”

In addition to live broadcasts, Jordan and her crew use the video streaming platform to promote Carolina Road’s upcoming performances.  “We did a promo for Carson Peters & Iron Mountain to let the world know they were coming to Live at Lorraine’s. It had over one million views. We were blown away.  From their live show, we spun off the a cappella song, ‘A Beautiful Life,’ that, in just a couple of weeks, had nearly 200,000 views.

“Prairie Wildfire, a basically unknown band from Buffalo, Wyoming came to IBMA and played Live At Lorraine’s. Our show and the single videos we broadcast helped launch their career. They are now booking festivals and shows and getting radio airplay. Danny Paisley even recorded a song, ‘What Crosses Your Mind’ with Prairie Wildfire member, Sage Palser. She composed the song with the band’s mentor and famed songwriter, David Stewart.  My band tried the song, ‘Black Mountain Rag.’ Wayne and Warren did a fantastic job so we released a video that quickly gained over a 100,000 views. Often a Friday night broadcast will have 40,000 views or more, accompanied with comments that make you realize how much the show has touched someone. A single video that we may spin off from a show will likely have even larger numbers. For example, Donna Ulisse and I had over 300,000 views for ‘Mama’s Cross.’ Even though bluegrass is a relatively small niche market when compared to country or pop music, we feel these are impressive numbers.

“The Garret Newton Band, was one of the first bands to play the live streaming show. It was amazing to see him reach 20,000 views. I knew this was going to become something big. Now with his Hank Williams tribute show, he is doubling those numbers.  According to Bluegrass Standard, our recording of ‘A Little Bit of Bluegrass’ produced by Mickey Stroud’s I Found My Thrill Productions was the number one video in the country in February and number two in March. It became our fifth number one hit in Bluegrass Unlimited. 

“Our show is more than just numbers. When COVID hit, Live at Lorraine’s proved to be particularly meaningful. It was a difficult time to say the least. Bands couldn’t get out and play. Musicians were sitting at home, tuning their instruments, and missing their audiences. We were all closed down. We lost two years of our lives. Live At Lorraine’s became THE OUTLET—a way to reach our fans. Bands would come in with no audience, spread out on stage and perform. We would stream it to a hungry-for-music audience. It was awkward, yet fulfilling.  To my knowledge, no one else is doing anything like Live At Lorraine’s which can be enjoyed each Friday and Saturday on Lorraine’s Coffee House Facebook page.  We are followed by an older generation that now like video streaming and make it a must see part of their weekend entertainment. In fact, many fans have told us that this is their Friday night entertainment. Some have even told us that ‘it is better than anything on TV.’  So many people have thanked me and continue to do so weekly. The money that I could make from charging for the program is not nearly as valuable as the fans’ happiness and enjoyment.”

Jordan’s Promotions

“I’m in my twelfth year with Bluegrass Christmas in the Smokies located in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Larry Efaw of The Bluegrass  Mountaineers made this happen for me.  We both don’t like seeing festivals close down; if we can keep them going we will. This is an all-traditional festival featuring 20 bands from traditional music. Carolina Road oversees this festival. We also are the host band for Willow Oak Music Festival held on Father’s Day weekend located in Roxboro, North Carolina. Mike Wilson (former Bass Mountain Boy) is the promoter. This year, we teamed up with East Tennessee State University and held our first festival in Kingsport, TN.  Not only do we have a great stage show, but there are workshops all day long on instruments and vocals. We try to use bands who have ETSU graduates as band members plus the East Tennessee State Pride Band performs.”

Her Family

“2023 has been a challenging year for me. I lost Tom, the man I was married to for 30 years, to a blood infection. He had been in the hospital for over 78 days following bypass surgery. Tom was a musician himself. We met through music and were big fans of the original Seldom Scene. We followed them and became friends. I know there are lots of women who stay home to keep the house and children while their husband is out on the road. Turn that around and imagine my husband staying home with our daughter, Susanna. That is what my situation was.

“In addition to maintaining the home front, Tom achieved an impressive career as an educator and became a school superintendent. He was also an accomplished musician in his own right and played Dobro and sang baritone with the Gentlemen of Bluegrass. When he saw my band was really taking off, he told me to take my music as far as I could and that I had his full endorsement. Tom’s passing has brought Susanna and I closer together. She was definitely a daddy’s girl.  She also took an interest in bluegrass and took fiddle lessons at a young age. She has recorded her own bluegrass project with many songs that I wrote. She now oversees ticket sales at all my bluegrass festivals. I’m very proud of that! 

“I missed a lot of her life because I was on the road. Tom once called me while I was on the road to tell me he was on his way to a dance recital and had to stop and buy pantyhose for Susanna. I respect and appreciate him for letting me live out my dream while he kept the home routine going.”

Mama’s Cross

Lorraine’s mother passed away in 2019 in the later stages of dementia.  Singer-songwriter Donna Ulisse recently lost her mother to the same disease.  Lorraine co-wrote a song with Donna about their mothers.  “Mama’s Cross” was the most downloaded bluegrass song the week of Mother’s Day and debuted at number six on Bluegrass Today’s weekly chart.

Ulisse recalled, “Funny how friendships come out.  Lorraine and I bonded over crosses we both wear and it cemented a bona-fide, girl-power friendship.  Lorraine’s is a gold cross and mine is silver—both from our mothers.  When she told me her story about how she received her mama’s cross, divine resonated in me and we decided to write the story together.  Her heartfelt delivery is an honor to the story.”  Jordan declared, “A great song and friendship came from me telling that story to Donna Ulisse.”

Her Future Plans

“Currently, I am back out on tour in my 23rd year. We are performing around 70 dates. I also have built three businesses that I still oversee: Lorraine’s Coffee House, Jordan Entertainment, and Jordan Driving School.

“Often I am asked what I will do when I retire from the road. I know exactly what I’m going to do. I am going to buy myself a dog, likely a Maltese, and walk my dog around the neighborhood daily.  On nights we have music at the Coffee House, I will go there and enjoy the performance and participate as long as I can.  I have traveled and seen much of the world and I am ready for me and my little dog to stay home.”         

Reflecting on all of her accomplishments and contradictions, Lorraine Jordan, the “Lady of Tradition,” concluded, “Reba McEntire famously said, ‘Be different, stand out and work your butt off.’ I’ve tried to follow her advice.”

Lorraine Jordan would like to thank her sponsors—Gibson mandolins, Peterson tuners, D’Addario mandolin/fiddle strings, GHS banjo strings, and Blue Chip picks.