Author: John Lawless

I suppose I should admit to a bias right up front. Billy Hurt, Jr. is a good friend of mine, and one of my favorite fiddlers in all of bluegrass and old time music. We've played a lot of music

MilkDrive is another young string band that uses the instruments and techniques of the old time and bluegrass traditions to create their own unique brand of alternative pop music. They are based in Austin, TX, where the wide and varied arts scene

As promised, Michael Cleveland unveiled his new young banjo player, Gaven Largent, during his set at SPBGMA last weekend. Largest who had been a SPBGMA regular since he was a young teen showed the audience more accustomed to seeing him

We've all heard the sad stories of US military men and women who take their own lives after fighting overseas, while struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Suicide is always a tragedy, but when it comes after a service

Della Mae has announced the newest addition to their group.  Zoe Guigueno, formerly with Joy Kills Sorrow, has joined the group on bass. She takes the spot vacated by Shelby Means at the end of last year's touring season. Zoe will

If you were at Nashville's Station Inn on January 10 to see the world famous Steeldrivers, you might have spied another celebrity in the crowd. Television and movie star, Bill Murray - a huge fan of the band - was in

We heard today from Boxcars mandolinist Adam Steffey with an update following his elbow surgery last week. Fortunately, it seems that the surgery went well to repair an irritated ulnar nerve that was causing pain in the ring and little

It would be the ultimate novelty item for a fan, the definitive bluegrass conversation piece, or just a bit of reliable group transportation for a school or church. Blue Highway is selling their '99 Dodge RAM35000 15-passenger van that they have used on

Punch Brothers took new music from their just-released album, The Phosphorescent Blues, to late night TV, appearing yesterday on Conan. They performed a tongue-in-cheek song of seduction, Magnet, with fiddler Gabe Witcher operating some sort of mechanized percussion.

A new string band has sprung up in Baltimore, taking as their name one of the several nicknames the port city is known by. Charm City Junction plays a hybrid style defined by its diverse members: a bluegrass fiddler (Patrick McAvinue),