I've just arrived at the IBMA World of Bluegrass and I have a short report that mainly has to do with the check-in process. If you've kept up with social media discussions (something I don't recommend), you may recall there was
Opinion / Humor
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Ask Sonny Anything… what about metal thumbpicks?
Bobby, my dear brother and partner of 52 years... I'm so happy for you because I see you are #1 on the Bluegrass Today playlist chart this week. White Line Fever was a good choice. I didn't hardly agree with the
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From The Side of the Road…. return to live shows haiku
For my band, Labor Day weekend marked the first return to playing in front of in-person audiences. Now, a few weeks later, after more festival dates and some real night-driving thrown in (Bean Blossom to Nashville in the wee hours),
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Ask Sonny Anything… what did you think of the Earl Scruggs Revue?
We just lost one the most prolific songwriters ever in Tom T. Hall. Did the Osborne Brothers ever play any shows together? And did you all record any of his songs? Thanks for your time! Sean M Yes on both counts. We did
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From The Side of the Road… the rejuvenating power of bluegrass
My band's first show in front of real people since March of 2020 (we did an entire tour with pretend audiences in late 2020) was over the Labor Day weekend at Thomas Point Beach in Maine. It's a wonderful event,
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Ask Sonny Anything… why did you play a 6 string banjo?
Sonny is again unable to respond to questions this week, so we are re-running another of his most popular columns. Let’s hope he is back at it next week. Is it true you lifted up your banjo on stage into a ceiling fan
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From The Side of the Road… crossing borders in the age of COVID
As of the Labor Day weekend, I have returned to touring and playing music for people I can actually see. For me this often involves cross-border air travel, and it did this past weekend. I was expecting it to be
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Ask Sonny Anything… did Bill Monroe like electric bass?
Sonny: I once joined a bluegrass band to play mandolin and sing tenor. Not longer after I joined, the bass player quit, so I took over that job. Having never played the bass before, I got an electric bass guitar. At
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From The Side of the Road… not one penny for tribute bands
The tribute band is nothing new to bluegrass music or to any other genre of music, for that matter. "Beatlemania" was the first one I was ever aware of, but I know the concept is much older than that. Sometimes there's
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Kristin Scott Benson – What the banjo means to me today
Anyone who knows her realizes that Kristin Scott Benson is a musician of the highest caliber, as her multiple IBMA Banjo Player of the Year awards can attest, but also that she is among the most thoughtful and intelligent people