Author: John Lawless

  • Buster Sexton to Patent Pending

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    Patent Pending has announced that Buster Sexton has joined the band on banjo, a change necessitated by the sudden passing of founding member Jim Steptoe on August 30. Buster has worked with a number of popular bluegrass groups in Virginia, including

  • Thile interview at violinist.com

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    Chris Thile will be debuting his new Mandolin Concerto with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra in Denver this weekend. The piece, in three movements, was commissioned by the Colorado Symphony (and six other orchestras) for mandolin and orchestra. It is scored

  • Checking in with Chris Pandolfi

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    I had a chance to speak with Chris Pandolfi of The Infamous Stringdusters today, and he caught me up on a couple of projects he is working on going into the Fall. The band is heading into the studio next

  • Russell Moore in BMP

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    Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out grace the cover of the latest (Sept/Oct) issue of Bluegrass Music Profiles. Russell is also the subject of a feature interview, where he discusses the group's latest eponymous CD, his co-writing, how he spends his

  • Jim Van Cleve fiddle DVD

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    Everyone seemed to get a kick out of the fake trailer for Jim Van Cleve's AcuTab fiddle DVD which we ran last week. Jim said that he heard from people all over the country who had gotten a chuckle from

  • Claire Lynch – Whatcha Gonna Do

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    The new CD from Claire Lynch hit today (9/15) from Rounder Records. Never one to shy away from her southern roots, the album is titled Whatcha Gonna Do, taken from the name of one of the tracks. Her voice, both speaking

  • Two new a cappella Gospel CDs

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    One now, another in October... First up, the latest album from The Isaacs, Naturally: An Almost a Cappella Collection, is out on Spring House. It contains 16 new tracks from the reigning family in bluegrass Gospel music. Six of the songs

  • The Great North Strum

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    A lot of readers were touched by the story of banjo teacher Patrick Costello regaining his hearing with an implant that transmits sound directly to the cochlea via bone conduction. After reading the story earlier this month, Mark Davies contacted

  • Free fiddle lessons from Childsplay

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    We posted back in July about the fabulous new CD, Waiting For The Dawn. It is a project of Childsplay, a non-profit organization that has sprung from the annual meetings that violin maker Bob Childs has been hosting this past

  • Valentine's Fall by Cary Fagan

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    Last week we had news of a new book of fiction based on the popular Del McCoury hit, 1952 Vincent Black Lightning. Reading Mandolin Cafe this morning, we learned of another new novel with a bluegrass theme. Valentine's Fall is the