Individually, the members of Wildfire are considered some of the best players in the industry. Together, they produce sparks that remind the listener of their passion for bluegrass music.
Robert Hale and Curt Chapman play without limits and they definitely don’t hold back. Their creative, spontaneous and driving arrangements create an excitement for the listener that is unmatched.
Wildfire’s set list reaches into bluegrass and country’s rich traditional catalog with solid arrangements that remind you of the first time you heard it – the sound that excited the soul. Mixed with original numbers and telling ballads – it’s a journey that will spur a series of emotion.
All coming from a lifetime submersed in bluegrass and country music, they are inspired by the greats of their genre, J.D. Crowe, Jimmy Martin, Bill Monroe, Tony Rice, Keith Whitley and more. Wildfire assembled in 2000 and quickly become one of the most talked about groups in the industry. With three band projects, solo recordings and chart topping songs, this band has proved it’s longevity in a competitive market.
Discography:
Rattle Of The Chains; Pinecastle Records; September 2005
Where Roads Divide; Pinecastle Records; April 2003
Uncontained; Pinecastle Records;August 2001
Robert Hale from Jolo, WV, has played music on the porch, he has played five shows a day at Dollywood, he has worked for two of the Masters of bluegrass music, J.D. Crowe & Eddie & Martha Adcock. For the last 6 years he and partner Curt Chapman have led the nationally known bluegrass band Wildfire.
Robert is the son of Clayton Hale, a McDowell and Wyoming county business man, a former Delegate to the Legislature, and perhaps most important to this story, a bluegrass bandleader and music promoter. Clayton’s band played for time on a weekly television show on WOAY in the 1970’s, and he promoted a successful festival in Tazewell, Virginia for several years where young Robert was exposed to some of the luminaries of the bluegrass business. Bill Monroe, Ralph Stanley, Don Reno and others graced to stage at the elder Hale’s events, but it was a mandolin player and band leader named Doyle Lawson that had the greatest effect on Robert’s career.
Robert began playing the mandolin full-time in his Dad’s band at the ripe old age of nine. And at an age when most young boys want to be firemen or FBI agents or football stars, Hale knew he wanted to play music for a living. A gifted musician, Robert is equally at home on mandolin, guitar, banjo or just about anything with strings. He plays a variety of styles ranging from country to bluegrass to rock & roll . Robert was asked by Dolly Parton to record with her on 2 projects,” Halos & Horns” & “For God & Country”.
Curt Chapman was born in Lancaster, Ohio, raised in Nashville, TN and moved to Richmond, KY in 1973 where he has been ever since. He started playing bass when he was 12 years old. His first real job came from Cousin Wilbur Westbrook, who was a country comedian on the Opry. He hired Curt and his brother & sisters to play on the road at air force bases and NCO clubs up and down the eastern seaboard.
Curt played in rock and roll, blues and country bands before he got into bluegrass. He spent some time with charted country artist Josh Logan. He was in Southern Blend for a year and then in 1987 got a phone call from J.D. Crowe. He spent the next 15 years as bassist for J. D Crowe & The New South. During that time he was on 2 recordings, the grammy nominated “Flashback” & the highly acclaimed “Come On Down to My World”. In 2000 Curt left The New South to form Wildfire with Robert Hale
