Bluegrass Today Profiles

The shocking news about the sudden and unexpected passing of Jeff Austin brought to mind an interview that I did with Austin in February 2015. I had spoken with him before when he was still with Yonder Mountain String Band,

The Bluegrass Unit are right up the road in Canada, but for most of those who reside south of our northern border, they remain relatively unknown. Regardless, the band —  founding members Waylon Robicheau (mandolin/vocals), Jeff Nauss (guitar/vocals), and Justin

Being raised in Rosine, Kentucky, perhaps means one has a pre-ordained musical direction. Sometimes.  Certainly, 13-year-old traditional bluegrass and classic country fiddle player Mackenzie Bell is inspired by the great Bill Monroe.   She started playing in public when she was eight;

Maddie Witler is mandolin player and vocalist in the Boston-based Lonely Heartstring Band, which just released its third album, Smoke & Ashes. Maddie hails originally from La Crescenta, California. She picked up the mandolin when she was 14 and fell

Bluegrass and hip hop are rarely spoken of in the same context. And the fusion of the two forms puts the band Gangstagrass beyond those borders in the strictest sense. Indeed, this intrepid ensemble has managed to make a bold

As you drive down the street on Memorial Day, you will see the brick paved streets adorned with the United States Flag. These flags are distributed by our local veterans, and active military. There is significant difference between Memorial Day

Looking at the lineup for the 2019 edition of the John Hartford Memorial Festival, it may not seem that California is well represented. But in her first appearance at the Hartford Festival, Grammy Award-winning musician, producer, singer, songwriter, fiddler and

Cara Luft and JD Edwards, the prime members of the Canadian combo known as the Small Glories, mine a sound drawn directly from a distinct rootsy regimen. With their close knit harmonies and an archival folk-like feel, their music taps into

Happy Birthday to David Freeman! We hope that you have a wonderful day.  Dave Freeman’s life has been reasonably-well documented in these pages; with this reflective article in February 2008, and an overview of the 50 years of County Sales published

Best known as the writer of the definitive book about the history of bluegrass music, Neil Rosenberg, who recently celebrated his 80th birthday, has contributed to the genre in many ways, besides being an author and historian.  Born in Seattle, Washington,