Author: John Lawless

The winner of the 2006 SPBGMA International Bluegrass Band Championship was Billie Renee & Cumberland Gap, from central Kentucky. The top three finalists also includes Texas' Cadillac Sky, and No Speed Limit from Galax, VA. See the winner's list here.

The Grand Ole Opry is broadcasting tonight (2/11) from The Ryman Auditorium, and the show has a special Valentine's Day theme - a Love Songs Signature Show. We are glad to see that Opry members The Del McCoury Band have

Noted bluegrass writer/journalist and musician Jon Weisberger has written another fine tribute to Louise Scruggs which can be read in the online version The Nashville Scene, a free arts and culture newsprint publication widely read by music industry professionals in

With the Arab Middle East so much in the news these days, and full of so many disheartening images, we are delighted to offer a encouraging story about bluegrass music and the Sultanate of Oman. Oman is located on the

Nothin' Fancy is the most recent bluegrass band we have found who has launched a personal web space on the increasingly popular MySpace.com. The Nothin' Fancy tour schedule is posted on the MySpace site, and they offer a number of sample

The Grammy Awards last night were very good for Alison Krauss & Union Station, who took three awards. Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal - Restless Best Country Instrumental Performance - Unionhouse Branch Best Country Album - Lonely

The Grascals will be the guest on Kyle Cantrell's next Studio Special series installment, starting this weekend on Bluegrass Junction, Channel 14 on XM Satellite Radio. Kyle tells us that the boys will play some songs from their current release, and

Pete Wernick, aka Dr. Banjo, sent us a copy of a moving tribute he wrote to commemorate the passing of Louise Scruggs. Pete was headed to Nashville for the funeral when he sent this along, and we wanted to quote

A complete list of 2006 award winners is now posted on the SPBGMA web site. The awards were presented in Nashville on Sunday (2/5) during SPBGMA's 23rd National Convention. Unlike the awards given by the IBMA, which are selected in several

John Gerome (AP writer and national "country music correspondent") has a piece in Monday's edition of The Tennessean covering the funeral services for Louise Scruggs yesterday at The Ryman Auditorium. As Gerome notes in his opening sentence: "Louise Scruggs, whose business