NASHVILLE, TN. (Universal South Records) - Universal South recording artists
Bering Strait will be the special musical guests at an event that has been absent from the world stage for more than 60 years - a world championship chess match between Russia and the USA. Additionally,
Bering Strait has been invited to perform at the Russian
Embassy in Washington DC on July 12th at a celebration of the Chess MasterMinds world event.
Chess MasterMinds will tape July 10th in Nashville, where the US players will be based. The Russian players will be in St. Petersburg, Russia. The match will be taped by Nashville International Studios (NIS) for international broadcasting on July 24th.
According to event organizers, there could be no other choice for the music than Bering Strait, a band from Nashville comprised of five brilliant young Russian musicians. The group just released its second CD on Universal South, titled Pages. The new effort, like its predecessor, is already proving to be a critics' favorite. The Dallas Morning News heralds it as "an album filled with top-notch musicianship, beautiful voices and proof that genres and boundaries don't mean a thing when true talent is at work." Likewise, the Miami Herald affirms, "the musicianship is peerless ... don't let this wonderful group go unnoticed."
Bering Strait earned a 2002 Grammy nomination for Best Country Instrumental Performance, and the group's story is told in a feature-length documentary film, "The Ballad of Bering Strait," directed by Nina Gilden Seavey. Seavey received an Emmy nomination for her work on this film.
The band's fascinating story, virtuoso musicianship, musical evolution and the release of their debut country album caught the attention of "60 Minutes," who matched Bering Strait with Morley Safer for a band feature that aired an impressive three times. Bering Strait will perform their new single, "You Make Lovin' Fun," for the first time ever on television on Chess MasterMinds. The entire show, in fact, will be scored with the music of Bering Strait.