• Al Ras Bluegrass Festival 2016

    This review of the Al Ras Bluegrass Festival is a contribution from Spanish banjoist, educator, and composer, Lluis Gomez. The fifteenth edition of Al Ras Bluegrass Festival took place this November in Barcelona and Mollet del Vallès (Barcelona, Spain). Al Ras is the

  • Heidi & Ryan… worth the wait

    For this reviewer, the most anticipated album of 2016 has been this self-titled, debut project from Heidi & Ryan on Mountain Fever Records. It's been on my mind since I first saw them perform live at the SPBGMA convention in

  • Colors & Crossroads – Sideline

    Though Sideline was originally formed as a side project for several prominent musicians during the winter bluegrass off-season, the group has become a full-fledged touring and recording act. There have been a few changes to the band’s lineup, but they’ve

  • The Banjo Files – Jacob Underwood

    The banjo is arguably the core of bluegrass music. For many folks, it’s the key to whether or not a song or album can be considered bluegrass. I’ve heard many a traditionalist despair that it’s been all downhill since Manzanita.

  • Over You – Mark Whitt

    It could be fairly said that all bluegrass music has roots in Kentucky. Even new music created a thousand miles and 70 years away still traces back to the commonwealth that gave its name to the sound that Bill Monroe

  • Southern Ohio Indoor Music Festival 2016

    For over 5 decades, Southern Ohio has been a hotbed for bluegrass music, tracing back to the briarhoppers heading north for the industrial boom of the '50s and '60s. Supporting a family sometimes meant leaving your native mountains for the