Author: David Morris

Another year, and Hazel Dickens is still not a member of the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. This is a slight that must be righted. But here’s the cold, hard truth. It’s possible that she never makes the cut. This year’s inductees,

There’s a school of thought that says you can’t teach songwriting. Folks can either write lyrics and compose interesting melodies, or they can’t. But if the craft itself can’t be taught, those interested in pursuing it can gain some valuable perspective

The arrival of a new Doyle Lawson CD in the mailbox is cause for joy. Even before the plastic wrapper is peeled off, you know what to expect – music as tasteful and original as his custom boots and jackets. And

So much of Tim Stafford’s identity is wrapped up in Blue Highway, his musical home for the last two decades. He’s one terrific songwriter, singer and picker, but in that setting he’s surrounded by a bandful of them who share

Jon Weisberger knows a thing or two about songwriting—he was IBMA’s first songwriter of the year in 2012. And he knows a lot about IBMA—he’s chairman of the organization’s board. In his first role, he was looking to put together a new

Talented performers are leaving the music business because U.S. copyright provisions don’t allow them to make an adequate living, country music artist Rosanne Cash told a House Judiciary Committee panel Wednesday in Washington. Cash was one of a handful of music

Lonnie Hamer wasn’t famous, but perhaps he should have been. He didn’t excel on stage or in the studio, but the upright basses that passed through his workshop near Hanover, PA, did, and they will continue to do so for many

Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen can’t stand still. The band had a strong 2013, riding its Compass Records debut, On the Edge, to widespread acclaim. In its wake, Mike Munford was chosen as IBMA’s banjo player of the year and guitarist

Like many fans of the Seldom Scene, Bengt Adielsson’s memories of the band span the decades. But few take their adoration of the long-running act as far as Adielsson has, and even fewer have been rewarded with a stint on

In just over 24 hours over the weekend, the Seldom Scene played two shows that encapsulate everything that is good about bluegrass. The first, Friday afternoon, was in the tiny Black Box Theater at WAMU Radio in Washington, DC. The theater,