• Bankester Family at IBMA

    In keeping with our theme of follow-up coverage of the 2009 World Of Bluegrass events in Nashville, here is a report from Phil Bankester, pater familias of The Bankester Family. The band consists of Phil and Dorene Bankester, their daughters

  • Ashby abroad, part 2

    Once again, Special C mandolinist Ashby Frank will be sharing his impressions of the band's European tour with the readers of Bluegrass Today. They will be on the continent through October 25, with shows yet in Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany and

  • Ashby Abroad

    Once again, Special C mandolinist Ashby Frank will be sharing his impressions of the band's European tour with the readers of Bluegrass Today. He left from Nashville this past Wednesday, and sent his first travelogue installment from just outside Copenhagen

  • IBMA Keynote address from Pete Fisher

    Here is a copy of the Keynote Address delivered by Pete Fisher during the 2009 IBMA World Of Bluegrass convention in Nashville. Fisher, Vice President and General manager of The Grand Ole Opry, gave his address on Monday, September 28

  • Send a banjo picker to college

    We got this note from Ivan Rosenberg, a respected resonator guitarist and clawhammer banjo player in the Pacific Northwest. He is hoping that readers of Bluegrass Today might respond and help send Cluny Macpherson to college on scholarship. The Class Act

  • Milan Leppelt passes

    We just received this report from our friend Lilly Pavlak. The Czech bluegrass community has lost one of its greatest personalities - Mr. Milan "Stranger" Leppelt. He passed away after a wasp bite in his garden on August 18th, 2009,

  • Ryan Roberts to Special C

    This just in from Greg Cahill, founder and fearless leader of Special Consensus... Justin Carbone is leaving the band at the end of September! His final performance as a Special C member will be at the Denton, NC festival on September

  • Bluegrass and banjos in Borneo

    Ace banjo player Jake Schepps sent along this fascinating report from his recent trip to Borneo with the Jeff and Vida Band, along with some photos and a video. Two weeks ago, the Jeff and Vida Band performed at the 12th annual

  • Kate Lee – Less Is More!

    We have written in the past about Kate Lee, a talented young singer, fiddler and songwriter from New York. Kate has just now turned 16 and continues to impress audiences throughout the northeastern US and beyond with her poise and

  • Nathan Stanley, Dewey Brown update

    We just heard back from James Alan Shelton, guitarist and road manager with Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys, about the accident we reported last night involving band members Nathan Stanley and Dewey Brown Here is his report... A speeding drunk