• Bankesters to retire at the end of 2017

    Those of us who follow bluegrass know that the family band, long a staple in our business, has a predictable life cycle. Starting out, it's a proud Mom and Pop, with a bevy of fresh-faced youngsters in tow, traipsing from one

  • Welcome Evelyne Pitney!

    Emily and Mo Pitney share a moment with their daughter, Evelyne - photo by Tabitha Pitney Here's a lovely bluegrass surprise. Evelyne Nadine Pitney was born last night to Emily Bankester Pitney and her husband, rising country singer Mo Pitney. Emily

  • Seven Nation Army video from The Bankesters

    The Bankesters have released a live music video of them performing one of the songs from their upcoming Compass Records release, Nightbird. It's their version of The White Stripes' Seven Nation Army, in a very different setting than the original, with

  • Bankesters tour vehicle found in Raleigh

    Good news from the Bankesters! Their band touring vehicle, stolen from their hotel in Raleigh during the World of Bluegrass last week, has been recovered by police just a short distance from where it was taken. The silver 2012 GMC Yukon XL was found locked

  • Bankesters suffer first casualty of IBMA

    The Bankesters came to World of Bluegrass 2016 to spread the word about their upcoming Nightbird album on Compass Records, and do some networking within the industry. Everything was going swimmingly until this morning, when Phil headed out to the

  • Nightbird video from The Bankesters

    Compass Records has released a first single to radio from Nightbird, their upcoming November release from The Bankesters. It's the title track, written by Rick Lang, and sung by eldest Bankester daughter, Melissa Triplett. As ever, she is joined by husband, Kyle

  • Angeline The Baker from The Bankesters

    We haven't heard much from The Bankesters of late, so we were delighted to discover this live video they shot during a recent performance on WSIU-TV, the PBS affiliate station run by Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. The band was in

  • Congratulations Emily and Mo!

    There was a bluegrass wedding in Illinois over the weekend, as Emily Bankester married Mo Pitney. The happy couple, surely both among the finest young vocalists of their generation, tied the knot at the Bankesters home church, Hope Church, in

  • War Against Silence with the Bankesters

    Corey Smith, guitarist with modern grassers, Ash Breeze, has launched a promising new YouTube channel he calls War Against Silence. The concept is to create music videos that pair promising young vocalists with music that is more widely popular as