Janet and I just got back from Sore Fingers Summer School, a bluegrass camp in the Cotswolds in England—affectionately dubbed by Tim O’Brien, Hillbilly Hogwarts. We taught a week-long class on bluegrass harmony to 30 Brits who spent their hard-earned pounds
In 1992, Bill Clinton grabbed headlines with the phrase “It's the economy, stupid," and used it to unseat George Bush as President. I’m not trying to stir up old political feuds or throw a hissy fit, but my point here should
Lisa McCoury shared this precious photo of husband Rob playing the banjo for their next little McCoury, due to hit the scene in about six weeks. She tells us that he was playing some Don Reno-style banjo, since Lisa is a
The primary purpose of pursuing our musical interest is the music itself, and I enjoy simply sitting in the living room practicing with our group, with no one watching. The process of writing a song, arranging it and bringing it
If you will recall, last week I discussed the holding of a parallel World of Bluegrass purely for the purpose of arguing about various aspects of bluegrass music. Below, I have outlined a proposed schedule of events for the Argumentative
If there’s one thing I love, it’s arguing about bluegrass music. Oh, it’s fun to play it, and it’s great to listen to it, as far as that goes, but it’s just much more rewarding to treat it as a
Let me say up front that this article is not about a night I had on the dance floor in the 80s with the father of bluegrass. It’s about remembering lyrics, but would you have started reading something called “Fun
Before I proceed, I’d like to brace you for the fact that I’ll be telling stories this week that are actually true. I hate to deviate so far from the usual pattern, but in the case of this week’s subject,
I guess I should have known this would happen. I was very clear last week that I was retiring from interpreting bluegrass dreams. I didn’t even want to be in that role in the first place. Allow me to quote
I first saw banjoist Ned Luberecki on stage at an IBMA showcase back in the ‘90s. He made a joke that about ten people in the room got and I immediately bonded with him. It took several more decades for us
