Bluegrass Today Profiles

In the earliest days of bluegrass music it was the product of an authentically rural culture. The only artists making this new music in the 1940s were country and mountain folks whose lives revolved around the land from whence they

The legendary bluegrass music listening venue in Alexandria, Virginia, The Birchmere, passed its 50th anniversary on April 4. Initially, the bar, with a capacity of between 150 and 200 seats, was located in Shirlington – just down the highway from the

The Martin Dreadnought guitar. It has been said that it has changed the face of popular music. Hank Williams had one (the 1941 D-28 now owned by Neil Young), Bill Monroe had one, so did Gene Autry, Doc Watson, Jerry Garcia,

Here’s the fifth contribution of a periodical feature, where we ask bluegrass personalities to choose their top five Gospel songs. This week we hear from Shannon Slaughter. Gone On Before – Larry Cordle: Pud Marcum’s Hangin’  - (MightyCord Records, 2011)

When I first met Allen Carpenter at SPBGMA earlier this year, I immediately wondered how a racetrack operator found his way to becoming a bluegrass event producer. This was following his first Dinwiddie Music Festival at Virginia Motorsports Park, which was a

This article is a contribution from Cindy Faulkner, a writer and bluegrass fan living near Raleigh, NC.  After Marc Pruett received a North Carolina Heritage Award recently, I had the pleasure of candidly chatting with him about bluegrass, playing the banjo, and

This recent interview with Sister Sadie is a contribution from Nancy Cardwell, long time employee and former Executive Director of the IBMA, and noted bluegrass writer and performer. Although the official release date for the self-titled debut Sister Sadie album from

Samantha Casey’s dad plays the banjo, and both her parents sing. They taught her to sing harmony around the house as a little child. Her mother learned to clog in high school and played the banjo in college but gave

It’s often difficult for artists who play roots music to bridge the gap between traditional and modern styles in a convincing way. If they venture too far from established convention, they sound contrived; if they stick too closely to it,

It just was last year that Nu-Blu’s song That’s What Makes The Bluegrass Blue was the most played song on SiriusXm’s Bluegrass Junction. While it may appear that are a ‘Nu’ band, they are not a new band at all. Daniel and