Opinion / Humor

I have recently been asked to address the issue of the number system, or as it’s sometimes called, “The Nashville Number System” (note that in Knoxville, it’s always referred to as “The Knoxville Number System”). I was a little reluctant to deal

The biggest recent news in my band has nothing to do with new CD releases, international tours, or our band “bus” failing an emissions test. It’s more in the realm of geological news: the youngest son of our mandolin player

Are you putting together your first CD cover, or are you looking for ways to upgrade the quality of your newest one? Don’t feel any pressure; that’s pretty much a yes or no question, and there’s no right or wrong

In many parts of our society, we place a high value on being positive. “Just stay positive,” we’re often told, even if we’ve just received the news that we have three months to live. Some countries are more positive than others,

Mr. Bluegrass Manners has been away for awhile. First he was dealing with final exams at ETSU where he teaches a class in the bluegrass program there called “Bluegrass Etiquette in a Rude Rude Rude Time.” Then he took a

We in the bluegrass music community have our own vocabulary, like referring to the banjo as “the five,” an instrumental solo as a “break,” a professional bluegrass income as “a living,” etc. I think we could all still stand to

Late December and January are always the time for countdowns and lists of the top “things” of the past year. You know, we have the Bluegrass Today top 30 songs of the year, the top 10 movies no one cares

I have a New Years tradition: I resolve to quit smoking, then realize I didn’t smoke to begin with. That was easy. I also take this time to give an annual bluegrass knowledge quiz. This time around, I thought veteran readers

Merry day-after Christmas. I’m spending the holidays in a somewhat remote area of western Canada, where it was necessary to write and send this column in late November, to allow time for it to be delivered by dog sled (with

I hope you’re having a wonderful holiday season so far. Much of traditional Christmas literature, including, I believe, the first chapter of Matthew (“Like, Really Awesome News for Modern Dudes and Dudettes” translation), refers to this week as “crunch time.”