Excitement is brewing all over the US for the return of bluegrass festivals in 2021. After a forced absence last year, bands, fans, vendors, and promoters are eager to get back outside with the rest of us and hear bluegrass
Bluegrass At Large
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Chris and Stephanie Sorenson take Companion Custom Banjos full time
Bluegrass has always depended on small businesses and entrepreneurs to keep the music playing. Most venues, festivals, or concerts where you hear it played are small businesses, as are the bands, record labels, and retailers that see it recorded and
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Sonny Osborne introduces his KRAKO Banjos
When you're a legendary banjo player and have accumulated a whole room full of spare banjo parts over the years, what do you do? Well, if you're Sonny Osborne, you fool around and put them together until you have a
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Congratulations Melody and Geoffrey!
Another happy bluegrass union has occurred. Melody Williamson, lead vocalist and fiddler in her family's Nashville-based band, Williamson Branch, and Geoffrey Keyes, sound engineer with Morganton, NC's Blue Ridge Sound, were wed on April 11. The ceremony took place in
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Whippoorwill Arts surveying roots musicians about wants and needs
Whippoorwill Arts, an organization founded by Jim Nunally and Nell Robinson to foster opportunities for roots artists, has embarked on an ambitious campaign to survey roots musicians in the United States to discover their wants and needs for post-pandemic careers. Partnering
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Josh Shilling injury update
Josh Shilling of Mountain Heart has shared an update about his recovery after being in a scary ATV accident with his wife and daughter while on vacation last month. Fortunately, their daughter, Bella Kate, was not seriously affected physically, but
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Tim White finishes The Easter Brothers mural in Mount Airy
Last month we shared the news that Tim White, sign painter, radio host, and MC of PBS television series Song of the Mountains, was about to embark on another ambitious project. To wit, a large hand-painted mural of The Easter
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Stephen Burwell engaged to Haley Rhea
Veteran fiddler, Stephen Burwell, is the latest professional bluegrass musician to announce his engagement. The Texas native will be marrying Haley Rhea of Sevierville, TN. Burwell, known for his time as a member of Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, and more recently
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Ricky Skaggs finally gets his high school diploma
Bluegrass icon Ricky Skaggs reached a major milestone last year that he has just shared with the public. Last year, Ricky participated in the virtual graduation ceremony for his school, Lawrence County High School in Louisa, KY, along with Larry Cordle,
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Gold Tone now offering Mastertone brand instruments
After spending a decade defunct, the "Mastertone" banjo is back, and it's no longer a Gibson. Wayne Rogers of Gold Tone Music Group has trademarked "Mastertone," and released a new line of offshore made instruments bearing the name. This first came