• The Moment

    Award shows usually disappoint. There’s so much that can go wrong, and even when things go right, the most that can often be said afterward is that awards were handed out and—in the case of the IBMA award show—music was

  • Blue Yodel #58 – Holiday Poem 2012

    Dear friends upon the Internet, And Facebook pals I’ve never met, Let us pause in late December To gather ‘round and remember, The year that was two-thousand-twelve, (Old arguments for now let’s shelve). I’d have to say, if I were pressed, Twas not the worst, but not

  • Blue Yodel #57 – A Single Candle

    Death has crept near and far this week in unspeakable horror, to those we know and to those we hear about. Words are usually my comfort, but this past week has reminded me of the inadequacy of words to express

  • Blue Yodel #56 – Mr. Blue Grass Smarty Pants

    Our guest smarty pants this week has been called the Father of Bluegrass History—okay, I just called him that, but it’s apt. Neil Rosenberg is Professor Emeritus of Folklore at Memorial University of Newfoundland, a chair formerly held by Gandalf. Neil

  • Blue Yodel #52 – White House Blues

    This is Blue Yodel #52, the same as the world-record number of strings broken by the band High Wind Advisory the night of December 5, 1983 in Delphi Plains, Ohio, when they attempted a bluegrass version of the rock opera, Tommy. I

  • Blue Yodel #51 – Bluegrass Bluesman

    I spent yesterday with Josh Graves by reading Bluegrass Bluesman: Josh Graves A Memoir, a collection of transcribed interviews given in the '90s by the resonator guitar master. Expertly edited by Fred Bartenstein with help from a lot of good folks,