• Tuesday night at IBMA

    Appearing on Tuesday's official showcase, The Farewell Drifters put on a show sure to continue the what-is-bluegrass and what-belongs-at-IBMA debate. After an earlier release from the group that had clear bluegrass ties, including a Scruggs-style banjo component, the Drifters have moved in

  • Bearfoot – Tuesday at IBMA

    If there is an effort by the IBMA to “expand the tent” with the inclusion of more non-traditional bands, it was fully evident in the Tuesday night showcase lineup. The festivities began with Bearfoot, a name befitting a band whose

  • Livewire’s One-and-Done Reunion

    Apparently, playing in a bluegrass band is a lot like riding a bicycle. Once you learn how to do it, you don’t forget how, even if years go by without doing it. You might wobble a bit, but the basics

  • Breaking the Rules with the Hillbenders

    You have to give IBMA credit for listening to those who complained that new and tradition-breaking bands were locked out of prized official showcase slots in the past. But just in case anyone missed the association’s more open approach during

  • Pandolfi: Quit Fighting, Start Playing

    Chris Pandolfi had some succinct advice for those on both sides of the “what is bluegrass” debate – stop picking fights and start picking. “We’re not trying to reposition old bluegrass fans,” the banjoman for the Infamous Stringdusters said in Tuesday’s

  • Rockin’ Acoustic Circus at IBMA

    Watching Emma Hardin take the stage with her carbon-fiber cello was a solid clue that the assembled crowd was not about to see another Bluegrass Boys clone; a clue that proved to be delightfully correct in the ensuing 25 minutes.Eric

  • Doyle + Joey + Rory

    Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver are teaming up with singing country sweethearts Joey + Rory for a just-announced, 2012 package show billing as the Boots & Bibs Tour. The name comes from Doyle's signature fancy-pants boots, and Rory's trademark bibovers. Joey + Rory features

  • Cutting Through the Fog

    There might not be more aptly named pickers at IBMA’s World of Bluegrass this year than the Foghorn Stringband. At Monday night’s showcase performance, the quartet’s fiddle tunes on steroids cut through the haze of the Nashville Convention Center ballroom

  • Monday night showcases at WOB 2011

    Jett's Creek, a relatively new group - formed in 2008 by guitar player Jon McIntosh, and his daughter, lead vocalist Angie Young - opened the 2011 IBMA World of Bluegrass official showcases. They have released two recordings and have signed with Mountain

  • Bela Fleck’s Concerto For Banjo

    Saturday, September 24 was a grand evening at the Nashville Symphony. Béla Fleck's Concerto for Banjo was the obvious centerpiece of the night, but the piece was bookended by two symphonic pieces, the first being Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring (with a transcendently serene outro). Next