Celebrated fiddler Byron Berline has been more visible of late with his violin shop than he has as a touring and recording artist. But that is about to change. A pair of new projects are expected this year that will warm the hearts of fiddlers [...]
Nashville banjo picker Tim Carter has composed and recorded a lovely tribute to Earl Scruggs, using the uncommon form of a banjo waltz. The tune is titled A Waltz For Earl, and Tim has used it as a backdrop for this video containing dozens of [...]
For the past 25 years, Darrel and Phyllis Adkins of Adkins Productions have hosted the Bluegrass Classic music festival in Columbus, Ohio. After their daughter, Mandy, passed away from an inoperable brain tumor in 2000, they joined with numerous bluegrass musicians to turn their annual [...]
Some of the most popular features we run at Bluegrass Today are the festival photo galleries that appear during the spring and summer season. Jason Lombard had some fine images from MerleFest, and Frank Baker is at Gettysburg this weekend. We’ll publish Frank’s photos as [...]
An all-star bluegrass tribute album to the late Earl Scruggs is set for release on Rounder June 5. This project, the brainchild of former Lonesome River Band guitarist and noted recording engineer Tim Austin, was recorded well before Scruggs’ recent passing, with most of the [...]
Celebrated fiddler Byron Berline has been more visible of late with his violin shop than he has as a touring and recording artist. But that is about to change. A pair of new projects are expected this year that will warm the hearts of fiddlers [...]
Nashville banjo picker Tim Carter has composed and recorded a lovely tribute to Earl Scruggs, using the uncommon form of a banjo waltz. The tune is titled A Waltz For Earl, and Tim has used it as a backdrop for this video containing dozens of [...]
For the past 25 years, Darrel and Phyllis Adkins of Adkins Productions have hosted the Bluegrass Classic music festival in Columbus, Ohio. After their daughter, Mandy, passed away from an inoperable brain tumor in 2000, they joined with numerous bluegrass musicians to turn their annual [...]
An all-star bluegrass tribute album to the late Earl Scruggs is set for release on Rounder June 5. This project, the brainchild of former Lonesome River Band guitarist and noted recording engineer Tim Austin, was recorded well before Scruggs’ recent passing, with most of the [...]
Another bluegrass legend is gone. Doug Dillard, 75, died Wednesday night after being rushed to a hospital in Nashville. Doug co-founded The Dillard’s, whose first fame came on The Andy Griffith Show, where the band performed as The Darlings. Those TV appearances helped bluegrass music [...]
Recording King has announced the debut of their latest solid-wood guitar, the RD-310. It’s a 14-fret, dreadnaught body guitar with African mahogany back and sides, and an Adirondack (red) spruce top. The top braces are a forward-X (pre war) style, and the neck is mahogany [...]
Today we launch Is It Bluegrass, a new series at Bluegrass Today. It will appear sporadically on the site as topics suggest themselves to the question. Some posts will be decidedly tongue-in-cheek, while others will contain items that may be of interest to much of the [...]
Many thanks to West Virginia author Betty Dotson-Lewis, who has agreed to let us share her 2007 interview with Everett Lilly as a remembrance of his passing yesterday. It is excerpted from her book, The Sunny Side of Appalachia: Bluegrass from the Grassroots. Her other titles include [...]
The Berklee College of Music is in the habit of handing out honorary degrees as a part of their annual commencement ceremony, as are many colleges and universities around the world. Of course, Berklee selects its honorees from within the music community, offering such tributes [...]
Congratulations to Justin Jenkins, banjo picker with Grasstowne, on the birth of a son, Eli Dean Jenkins earlier this morning. Eli and Justin’s girlfriend, Reba Collier are doing fine. He hit the scene at 7 lbs, 14 oz, and 21 inches long. Welcome Eli, and [...]
Some of the most popular features we run at Bluegrass Today are the festival photo galleries that appear during the spring and summer season. Jason Lombard had some fine images from MerleFest, and Frank Baker is at Gettysburg this weekend. We’ll publish Frank’s photos as [...]
Peter Rowan, who has see-sawed between traditional and experimental music throughout his career, has announced a four day run of dates with alt-grassers The Mosier Brothers in June. Rowan, of course, needs no introduction to most Bluegrass Today readers. He burst onto the scene as [...]
As part of a tribute to San Francisco-based philanthropist Warren Hellman, who passed away this past December, the San Francisco Symphony will include a suite of banjo music in their concerts this week. Hellman, a banjo player himself, was a strong supporter of the symphony, [...]
Regular readers of Bluegrass Today will surely have noticed the campaign by Silver Dollar City offering free passes, accommodations and more to their big Bluegrass & BBQ Festival, starting next week. We know some of you were following it closely, as we started getting email queries [...]
Vince Gill will once again be embarking on an acoustic bluegrass tour this summer, with an all-star cast in tow. Starting in mid-June, Gill has shows scheduled throughout the southern and central US with Jim Mills on banjo, Stuart Duncan on fiddle, Jeff White on [...]
Many of you may have downloaded the new exclusive digital release, Live – Fan Favorites, from Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers. The six-song EP is a FREE download as a gift to their fans. After jumping up and down because you received some free [...]
If you’ve ever wondered how Josh Williams has won the hearts of so many bluegrass fans, this video from last weekend’s Doyle Lawson Bluegras Festival in Denton, NC may help you understand. Saturday evening, after Josh closed out the show and the sound crew had [...]
The International Bluegrass Music Association has formally announced what we reported last night, that their World of Bluegrass business conference and Fan Fest will move from Nashville to Raleigh, NC for the 2013-15 events. Events will be hosted at at the Raleigh Convention Center, the Raleigh [...]
Jimmy Gaudreau & Moondi Klein have released a music video from their new Rebel project, Home From The Mills. It’s for the song, New Morning, written by Casey B. McPherson. The video, directed by Dan Almoney and Ed Fox with Media Boomtown, features Jimmy and Moondi performing [...]
IBMA’s World of Bluegrass will leave Nashville and move to Raleigh, NC, for the 2013 business conference and Fan Fest. An official announcement will be made tomorrow (Wednesday), according to sources familiar with the decision. A city official in Raleigh confirmed the news, saying she [...]
Last week, based on comments I received here and elsewhere, it seems that I suddenly became the best friend of sound engineers, simply by making an attempt to tell their side of the story. Now, could I get just a little more guitar in the [...]
Every Saturday I take my mother two Reese’s cups. She lives in a residential care facility with four other ninety-somethings and a rotating cast of under-appreciated care providers. She often calls me by my father’s name, her father’s name, or her little brother’s name (who’s [...]
There are plenty of tense and troubled relationships in professional bluegrass music. Minor scraps to major feuds can often develop between label and artist, artist and event producer, side musician and band leader, musician and landlord, but one of the most common and perennial struggles [...]
After a hiatus of more than two years, The Bluegrass Intelligencer has arisen like a phoenix from the ashes of a bad metaphor. This hilarious site, which features parody, satire and inside humor for fans of bluegrass and acoustic music, is the wok of Greg [...]
Wanted: young band needed to take part in promotional experiment. Must be willing to risk loss of career and ridicule of peers. But if it works: You can become more famous than the Beatles! Okay, here’s the idea. Let’s say you’re an artist. That’s easy. [...]
This past week (May 9th) marked the 23rd anniversary of the passing of Keith Whitley. Every time his honest voice is heard, people across the globe wonder why he had to leave us so early in life. He joined the likes of Hank Williams, Carter [...]
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Colby Laney has been announced as the new guitarist with the Larry Stephenson Band. He will start this weekend. Previously, Laney had performed with Volume Five. Larry is delighted with his newest addition, and remarks on the differences between the younger and more senior members [...]
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This past weekend was a big one for bluegrass at the Berklee College of Music. Not only did the school award Alison Krauss an honorary doctorate, and feature some of their talented bluegrass students and recent graduates in the big pre-commencement concert on Friday night, [...]
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Bill Evans, noted west coast banjoist and instructor, has released his latest recording, In Good Company, on his own Native & Fine label. The concept of this project is collaboration, with Bill inserted into a pair of established new grass bands (two banjos!), and matched [...]
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Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver have been tapped to sing the National Anthem before this Friday’s N.C. Education Lottery 200 NASCAR qualifying race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. They will sing a cappella, with Mike Rogers, Josh Swift and Corey Hensley joining Lawson around the microphone. The band [...]
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For the past 25 years, Darrel and Phyllis Adkins of Adkins Productions have hosted the Bluegrass Classic music festival in Columbus, Ohio. After their daughter, Mandy, passed away from an inoperable brain tumor in 2000, they joined with numerous bluegrass musicians to turn their annual [...]
Album of the Week #23 – Keith Whitley’s Sad Songs & Waltzes
This past week (May 9th) marked the 23rd anniversary of the passing of Keith Whitley. Every time his honest voice is heard, people across the globe wonder why he had to leave us so early in life. He joined the likes of Hank Williams, Carter [...]
Putumayo Bluegrass Collection searches for new ears
You might not agree with all of the song selections and artist choices on Putumayo’s Bluegrass Collection, which comes out May 22, but you have to acknowledge that Putumayo founder Dan Storper is getting the music we love in front of a lot of potential [...]
Isaac Cantor did not grow up playing bluegrass music like many prominent musicians within the genre, but once he picked up the banjo at age 17, he was hooked. Soon he became consumed with learning everything there was to know about his chosen instrument, and [...]
Album of the Week #22 – The Lonesome River Band’s One Step Forward
Don’t worry everyone. I didn’t go anywhere. I know there was no Album of the Week last week. Another semester of college is wrapping up and I was bogged down studying the Cold War presidents, the difference between “new federalism” and “dynamic conservatism,” and writing [...]
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