• On This Day #25 – Dale Reno

    On This Day ………… On February 6, 1961, Dale Reno was born in Roanoke, Virginia. The second son of banjo ace Don Reno, Dale Reno fell in love with musical instruments at the tender age of ten. Initially he built his first

  • SPBGMA ’14 in the rearview

    I'd just like to go on record as saying that I love the SPBGMA weekend in Nashville, and this past weekend's event was another good one. There's really a lot to love, from the obscure acronym (understood only by insiders), to

  • Sirius XM cuts go beyond bluegrass

    Sirius XM management's decision to cancel most shifts for acclaimed Bluegrass Junction DJ Chris Jones is part of a broader plan to eliminate hosts from some of its music channels. In addition to ending Jones' weekday shifts, the satellite radio giant

  • L.W. Lambert passes

    North Carolina banjo player L.W. Lambert passed away on January 23, 2014, at his home in Olin. He was 87 years old and his health had been declining for a while. Luin Wilford Lambert, Jr  was born April 18, 1926, in

  • Kip Martin, RIP

    The last time I talked to Kip Martin on the phone, we were trying to figure out how to get an Epiphone upright bass from my music room in the DC suburbs into his hands near Nashville. Kip was feeling good,

  • Pete Seeger passes

    Pete Seeger, known to the world variously as a utopian idealist, a communist propagandist, a union agitator,  a passionate environmentalist, or a folksinger, died last night. He was 94 years old. To fans of the banjo, however, he will always be