Author: John Lawless

Surely a highlight of IBMA week for me so far was the showcase performance last night from Chris Thile & How To Grow A Band. (more photos here) Regular readers of Bluegrass Today will have noted that I have expressed great

Jen Hitt, production director for bluegrasscountry.org, stopped by to visit with us yesterday at Bluegrass Today booth at IBMA.The cyberstation, which provides a 24/7 bluegrass radio stream online, grew from Washington, DC's venerable WAMU radio station, where bluegrass music was

Béla Fleck appeared this past Monday on the This I Believe segment of NPR's Morning Edition program. The concept behind these recurring segments is to air radio essays from non-radio people, who write and read their contributions for the show. Béla

One of the folks I had a chance to speak with yesterday was Chris Pandolfi, banjo player with The Infamous Stringdusters. He told me that their new CD is on track for an early '07 release on Sugar Hill Records,

Last night's Keynote Address, traditionally offered on the first night of the IBMA World Of Bluegrass convention, was delivered by Jerry Douglas. His address seemed to focus on three basic themes: bluegrass music is in good shape, it is being noticed

Like a great many other folks here at the World Of Bluegrass, Brance and I are moving a little slowly this morning. The first day at IBMA, for those who exhibit in the trade show, involves a frantic rush to load

While many of us in the world of bluegrass get started on our big week in Nashville, let's not forget that our friends in The Americana Music Association just concluded their annual convention, also hosted here in Music City. Like IBMA,

It appears that Pine Mountain Railroad has made a number of personnel changes, with one rebounding into Nothin' Fancy. Mandolinist Cody Shuler has taken over management of PMR, and is bringing in some new faces. We understand that guitarist Jerry Butler

We shared the news last month about Rigel mandolins going out of business - sad news for devotees of their unorthodox mandolin designs. Now comes news (reported by Mandolin Caf?©), that former Rigel co-owner Peter Mix is collaborating with Will

The Isaacs returned from The National Quartet Convention in Louisville, KY with a number of new awards for their overburdened trophy shelf. The group performed several times during the NQC event, and heard their names a number of times at the