Opinion / Humor

This is midweek of the IBMA World of Bluegrass in Raleigh, NC. I’m enjoying the week, possibly because my really hard day doesn’t come until Thursday, when I’ll be participating in a morning seminar (“Yoga on a moving bus: healthy

My very first column for Bluegrass Today was written right before the IBMA World of Bluegrass of 2011, held in Nashville. It contained some recommendations for maintaining your health during what can be a very stressful week. I would write something

The IBMA World of Bluegrass is fast approaching, and if you’re planning to attend, you probably still have plenty of questions you may be asking yourself. Let me just say up front that I have no informed answers to give, unless

Do you ever play the name games? I’m referring to the cute methods of generating your own alternate name for a specific occupation. For example, you can arrive at your stage name by combining your middle name with the name

Many people ask me (though I should say that I use a very broad definition of the word “many”) what performers do before a show to get mentally and perhaps spiritually prepared. How do they get in what is often

It’s been a while since we discussed the IBMA breakaway organization, the ABMA, which stands for the Argumentative Bluegrass Music Association. They formed a few years ago and built themselves on the principle that nothing advances our music more than

Some people have difficulty in the music field because they discover too late that they’re in the wrong side of the business for their personality. A person who is a wonderful sideman or woman may be a disaster as a

Another year, and Hazel Dickens is still not a member of the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. This is a slight that must be righted. But here’s the cold, hard truth. It’s possible that she never makes the cut. This year’s inductees,

Last week I promised to give a few tips for band leaders on how to keep band members longer. Or, if that really isn’t a big priority for you (and for some band leaders it isn’t), a few suggestions on

What makes some bands stay together for years and others have perpetual personnel changes? If you answered, “the one that stays together for years has never taken a current band photo or purchased an expensive vehicle together,” congratulations! You’re a regular