It’s hard for me to believe, but this is my 400th column for Bluegrass Today. I had assumed I’d be out of ideas by about number 12 or so, and perhaps I was, but I guess this is a testament
Funny stuff
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Q&A – attending a Virtual Wold of Bluegrass
Well, if you’ve checked your email, yesterday’s Bluegrass Today stories, or just talked to one of your perpetually in-the-know friends (that third one is usually the least reliable of these sources), you’ve already heard that the IBMA World of Bluegrass
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Jack Tottle channels Bob Dylan with Everybody Must Get Masked
I came across comments about COVID protective mask-wearing from two of my greatest musical heroes, Dolly Parton and Sonny Osborne. BE SAFE, BE RESPECTFUL, WEAR YOUR MASK, LEAD WITH LOVE Dolly Parton - From her recent video, When Life Is Good Again YOU ALL STAY SAFE,
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The least interesting bluegrass stories of 2020
Every year I do my best to compile what I believe to be the year’s most uninteresting developments in the bluegrass music world. Sometimes this requires a little digging, as there are some surprisingly captivating stories in our music over
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Anniversary gift suggestions for budget minded bluegrass couples
Do you have a big wedding anniversary coming up? We just recently celebrated our 30th, and I decided to consult the list of year or milestone-appropriate gifts as a guide for my gift (the 60th anniversary gift, by the way,
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The last batch of quarantine songs, or homebound songwriters lament
Some aspects of our economy and our society opened up to varying degrees over the Memorial Day weekend, but the fact remains that we have all spent a great deal of time at home, going pretty much nowhere. I’ve been
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Make any happy song into a sad one – video edition
Can you make any cheerful bluegrass song into a somber - even mournful - number? Let's ask Chris.
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Another song from the mind of Jack Tottle
Jack Tottle at The Pickin' Porch in Bristol, TN (6/5/13) - photo by Dan Krill This entertaining yarn is a contribution from Jack Tottle. Now retired, Jack was the founder of the bluegrass music program at ETSU, and the author of
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What is your pandemic bluegrass band name?
Coming up with some form of alias, whether it be your stage name, your rapper name, or your superhero name, started as a word-of-mouth tradition, then its spread was heavily accelerated by social media, as these kinds of things so
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Crooning and emoting tips for singers… from the birding world
Have you ever played in a band with a lead singer who changes the way he or she sings in the presence of an attractive member of the audience, or what might be called a “potential mate?” You know what