As previously reportedon CMCentral, Warner Brothers Records artist Robert Randolph and the Family Band will perform during the live broadcast of the 46th annual Grammy Awards.

Following is an official press release from the band's label:

Pedal steel phenomenon Robert Randolph, along with his group The Family Band, is scheduled to perform their song "Going in the Right Direction" on the upcoming 2004 Grammy Awards on February 8th at 8PM on CBS-TV in a special funk segment which also includes OutKast, George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic and Earth, Wind & Fire. It is the band's prime time network debut. The man Rolling Stone magazine recently named one of the Top 100 guitarists of all time and his group have also been nominated in two prestigious Grammy categories including Best Rock Instrumental for "Squeeze," a standout track from their latest Warner Bros. Records release, Unclassified, which itself has been nominated for the Best Rock/Gospel Album of 2003.

About the opportunity to perform at the Grammy Awards, Randolph exclaimed: "We are so excited and feel really lucky. Not only are we playing the Grammys, we're doing it with some our favorite bands of all time!"

A New Jersey native, Randolph began playing pedal steel guitar at his father's church at age 16. Along with his cousins, bassist Danyel Morgan and drummer Marcus Randolph, he would go on to form the Family Band, which made its recording debut in 1999 with Sacred Steel Live!, followed by 2002's Live At The Wetlands and his current Warner Bros. Records release, the Grammy-nominated Unclassified.

The album, aptly titled and genre-defying, was co-produced by Robert Randolph and the Family Band and Jim Scott. There's an energy in the tracks that's unlike anything on the charts today -- positive and inclusive, in the fashion of Stevie Wonder, Al Green or Sly and the Family Stone. It's about celebration, not about preaching; the handclap grooves, the words that welcome everyone, the whirl of dance and sweat and song and, always, the steel guitar, riding above it all, improbable yet the perfect voice to bring this message home.

The critics have been unanimous in their praise of Unclassified. Rolling Stone put the record in their list of the "50 Best Albums of 2003," saying: "Randolph is a genuine holy terror on the pedal steel guitar. The devil may have the best rock & roll tunes, but God has this man on the battlefield." USA Today said: "The 25-year-old New Jersey native is redefining the instrument. Instead of the keening lines favored by country players, Randolph combines gospel fervor and rock'n'roll intensity." Esquire declared: "Unclassified isn't just a stunning declaration of talent; far more important, it's a blueprint for a long career to come." Vibe noted: "The album is as viscerally 'live' as a studio recording can hope to get. Unclassified is that rare album that justifies the hype."

Unclassified strikes very close to home. It is, like the gospel and hymns the band still plays on visits back to New Jersey, as much about the message as the messenger. "I'm just a young guy who comes from a neighborhood where I was surrounded by negative things," Randolph sums up. "But because I play this instrument, I've overcome all that. I want people to understand that they don't have to follow anybody. You've got your own heart and soul, and you should find it. That's what I'm trying to say."

For more information on Robert Randolph and the Family Band, please visit www.wordlabelgroup.com or www.robertrandolph.net