Author: Lee Zimmerman

Infamous Stringdusters have always pursued their own muse. While they retain an obvious allegiance to bluegrass, they've never felt obligated to always stay within its parameters. Their latest album, Toward the Fray, finds them confronting the issues that have plagued

Borne from previous years flush with uncertainty and strife, Peter Rowan's remarkable new album, Calling You From My Mountain, on Rebel Records, finds the legendary bluegrass standard-bearer and erstwhile musical pioneer touching on topics that deal pointedly with today's troubling circumstances.

Amanda Gore is a multi-tasking individual, but given her devotion to bluegrass and all it entails, she clearly wouldn't have it any other way. So too, the fact that she's funneled that enthusiasm from an early age, still provides all

New England-based songwriter Rick Lang makes it clear he finds it hard to resist sharing a good story, and indeed, as indicated on his new Dark Shadow Recording album, A Tale To Tell, he's clearly proficient when it comes to

As noted in last month's Bluegrass Today review of their current album, Alegria, FlamenGrass defy the notion that bluegrass and flamenco are mutually exclusive. The Barcelo-based band — Lluis Gomez (5-string banjo), Carol Duran (violin/fiddle), Maribel Rivero (vocals, stand-up bass), and Javier

Founded by Joe Macheret (vocals, guitar, big head banjo, fiddle, percussion), Joe's Truck Stop is a decidedly homegrown affair. Yonderlings, the third album by the Cincinnati-based band — which also includes musicians Andrew McPheters (harmony vocals, 5-string banjo), June Youngblood

Mama's Broke is a duo from Canada's Maritimes that's comprised of two devoted road warriors, Lisa Maria (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, guitar) and Amy Lou Keeler (vocals, guitar, banjo, fiddlesticks). Their sound is borne from a traditional template that encompasses

Even as late as the early '60s, bluegrass was largely ignored by the mainstream folk and country community. Mostly referred to as "hillbilly music," it was a sound confined to back porches and community hoedowns in rural Appalachia in the

Ask the average aficionado with an expressed affinity for flamenco or for bluegrass, and chances are, most will dismiss any similarity between the two. Granted, both demand an advanced level of instrumental dexterity, but given their disparate origins, any other

Hailing from the highlands of North Carolina, the euphemistically named Pretty Little Goat — Josh Carter (mandolin, vocals), J.T. Linville (bass, vocals), Jackson Dulaney (dobro, lap steel), Mallory Carter (washboard, kick drum, vocals), Owen Grooms (banjo, vocals), plus honorary member