Ricky Skaggs Enlists All-Star Cast for ‘Simply Bluegrass’ DVD

Bluegrass fans will now be able to enjoy some of their favorite artists from the comfort of their own home, and they have Ricky Skaggs to thank.

The singer signed on to be a part of the DVD collection, 'Country's Family Reunion: Simply Bluegrass,' which inspired several other musicians to participate as well.

The 'Country's Family Reunion' series began in the late '90s with creator Larry Black, who says completing this latest installment is a dream come true.

"I have always wanted to do another bluegrass series since Mac Wiseman did it with us back in 1999," Black tells Billboard. "He put together an amazing group of people that were the hardcore bluegrass people back then. Since then, we’ve had Dailey & Vincent and so many others that weren’t on the scene yet. When we finally got Ricky on a 'Country’s Family Reunion' show, we started talking to him about hosting a bluegrass reunion. It took about two years of talking to him. His schedule is real busy, and we didn’t want to drop it in the middle of something. He got excited about doing it, and we told him 'You pick who you want."

Black credits Skaggs with bringing many of the other performers on board, including Bill Anderson, Dierks Bentley, Wiseman, the Whites and the Grascals. "Everyone in there is there because of Ricky," he notes. "We invited a lot of them, but he personally picked up the telephone and called some of them, like Dierks Bentley, for example."

Skaggs, who usually plays with his own group, Kentucky Thunder, suggested using one band for all of the musicians. "He said 'I love my guys, but for that room, let’s come up with an all-star group," Black recalls. "That way, nobody looks at it and says we’re doing somebody else’s thing. They’re being backed up by the best musicians around."

'Country's Family Reunion: Simply Bluegrass' will be available in early 2014.