Last summer (2016) the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Music Department hired Russell Johnson, the well-known bluegrass singer, songwriter and mandolin player from Cary, North Carolina, to the faculty position of Ensemble Director for what was called the
These four words, somewhat extreme in black and white, have been met with gasps of alarm and incredulity, and much sadness among Bill Monroe's many admirers. The response is understandable given the sudden attempt to dispose of his name and
Until now, there has never been an album of Stanley Brothers live recordings specifically devoted to material from their 1957 shows when the Stanley Brothers were in their prime and making some great music. Whereas collections have focused on performances that
Since reporting last week that bluegrass legend Bill Clifton had been hospitalized in Bristol, TN, we have received another update from his wife, Tineke Marburg. He had been admitted for emergency surgery to cut out several feet of dead and knotted
Graves Mountain has been the site of a mountain resort since 1964, but the history of the Graves family’s association with the location goes back to the early 1600s. In 1857, the family moved to where the farm is currently
Tineke Marburg, Bill Clifton’s wife, reports that he is in the ICU in Bristol Regional Medical Center in Tennessee, to where he was transferred after spending two days in the Beckley Hospital in West Virginia with what she described as
This is fun series in which we ask bluegrass music personalities, some famous, some not so famous, about some of their interests, as well as about the music that they love. Josh Harris is the banjo player with the Trinity River
As previously reported, ground-breaking for the Bill Monroe Museum to be erected on land at a site in the Everett Park in Rosine, Kentucky, took place as scheduled on Tuesday morning, May 22, 2017. The event, more ceremonial than the
His father is the late Jimmy Campbell, a popular bluegrass fiddle player who graced stages with Bill Monroe, Jim & Jesse and The Sidemen, among others. His mother is Marcia Campbell Thomas, a member of the Grand Ole Opry Square
Rick Spinney, banjo player for the Nova Scotia, Canada-based band, The Spinney Brothers, recently announced that he is to leave the band at the end of the summer season. Formed in 1991 as The Spinney Brothers & Close Company they became