And. Just. Like. That. Summer festival season is upon us. All burdens and worries lay crumpled on the asphalt behind us as cheery festival staff lasso our wrists with those colorful Charm City Bluegrass bracelets. We are in the grass now,
Reviews
-
-
Mike Bentley & Cumberland Gap Connection
In recent years, country music fans who can’t stand today’s rap-infused “bro-country” sound have found a home in bluegrass. Many modern traditional groups sample from both the songs and sounds of '80s and '90s country, while many male and female
-
Right Beside You – Jeff White
I’ve been grinning like a possum when I hear Stringbean’s Run Little Rabbit Run on Sirius/XM, from Jeff White’s Right Beside You. It’s a blistering traditional bluegrass treatment of one of String’s “big hits”. The CD arrived in the mailbox,
-
Into the Blue – Davis Bradley
For every headlining, nationally touring, IBMA Award-winning group out there, there are a dozen local or regional bluegrass acts keeping the roads hot and the little clubs and community centers packed. In the northern Virginia area, one of those groups
-
Ashleigh Caudill soars with Looney Bird
If you don’t know the music of Ashleigh Caudill or know her mostly as an upright bass player with impeccable timing, her new CD Looney Bird will come as a pleasant surprise. If you already know the work of the Nashville
-
What Goes Up – Deer Creek Boys
The Deer Creek Boys may appear to be 2016's overnight success story, based on the likely success of their Mountain Fever debut project, What Goes Up, but this energetic and youthful group has been together now going on 18 years.
-
Corea and Fleck Sear the Sky and Leave Their Mark
Like two comets, tails a-blazing, chasing each other around the galaxy, dancing, jousting, and matter mixing to create something totally anew, Béla Fleck and Chick Corea jolted the Earth further upright on its axis and stunned the Boston crowd on
-
Del and Woody – a review
Great songwriting teams are an alchemy of negotiated creativity. Regardless of how the team works, an agreement must be struck between the two as to what aspect of a song takes precedence: words or music. Sometimes the teams easily agree
-
Becky Buller at The Emelin Theater
If Becky Buller is modern bluegrass, then I approve. I attended her show at the Emelin Theater in Mamaroneck, NY last Friday (4/8) with a friend, out of curiosity. I like Becky’s new album 'Tween Earth and Sky. I wondered
-
Something Out of the Blue – The Rice-Menzone Alliance
I’m usually excited to see new groupings of my favorite musicians, if just for the chance to hear what artists who normally don’t play together sound like when they do. The Rice-Menzone Alliance, a new duo from Mountain Fever’s ever-growing