Author: John Lawless

Jerry Butler & the Blu J's have much to celebrate this week. Their new CD, Stranger In My Own Hometown, is out on Blue Circle Records. This is the first release Butler with his band, but not his first recording. He

Travers Chandler has announced two new members of his touring band, Avery County. Tony Mabe is the new banjo player, stepping in for Adam Poindexter who departed owing to other work commitments. Mabe had worked previously with James King and Jeanette

Chicago grassers, The Henhouse Prowlers, are about to start a whirlwind tour of Europe. They will play 13 shows over the next 10 days in Belgium, Netherlands and Germany. Despite this busy schedule, the guys have promised to send along reports

CMT has posted a "making of" mini-documentary from Sierra Hull's very first video shoot in Nashville. The video is for Easy Come, Easy Go, the opening track of her upcoming Daybreak CD, due for a March 8 release on Rounder. This

The Berklee College of Music in Boston has just announced an exciting new program for banjo players enrolled in their Traditional String principal. Only in the past few years have banjo and mandolin players been accepted at Berklee, at least officially.

Doug Dillard, popular banjo player and founding member of The Dillards has been hospitalized in Nashville, suffering from a collapsed lung. He will be 74 years old on March 6. Dillard is in the ICU at Vanderbilt Hospital, but according to

Sierra Hull has showed up on Bluegrass Today quite a bit this past few weeks. First there was news about a new banjo player for her touring group, Highway 111, and then there's her upcoming CD, Daybreak, due March 8

We've written many times about talented Swedish bluegrass bands like G2, Cold Mountain Band, Downtown Ramblers and others who perform and record at home and beyond. Now we have news about a new CD from The Rockridge Brothers, an old time

Alan Bibey checked in this morning from Grasstowne's ongoing tour of California. They have been on the west coast since last week, and have another week yet before heading back east. Their new CD, Kickin' Up Dust, is due from Rural

Mel Bay has released a new DVD for clawhammer banjo, Unfortunate Puppy and Other Fine Tunes, taught by Hunter Robertson. The tunes are arranged for intermediate to advanced players and each is taught piece-by-piece, and then show in a split-screen format.