Opinion and commentary

The other night, I had the chance to attend a concert by Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen with a few friends 40 and younger. One was new to bluegrass, one a recent convert from a long dormant classical career, and

Three years ago today I caused a serious car accident driving home to Boulder from the RockyGrass Festival in Lyons, Colorado. At about 2:30 a.m. I briefly nodded off to sleep, and drifted into oncoming traffic. I snapped awake a

A few decidedly subjective thoughts about yesterday’s awards announcement. These sentiments may or may not be shared by anyone else at Bluegrass Today, or maybe even by anyone else in bluegrass today.First and foremost, congratulations to the newest members of

Is this the year bluegrass pioneer Hazel Dickens is inducted into the bluegrass Hall of Fame? It should be. Then again, last year, she didn’t even make the ballot, a head-scratching development that seems to defy explanation. But just as spring’s

In light of the recent success of a similar campaign slogan, I decided to shamelessly adopt it for bluegrass. Hey, if it can do for bluegrass what it did for the President elect, then the music world is about to

This is a column normally devoted to tongue-in-cheek coverage of bluegrass topics, faux advice, and the occasional bluegrass haiku, but one day after the public funeral of Ralph Stanley, I’m not exactly feeling in that spirit. There’s been eloquent writing about

There’s a glaring omission at the Country Music Hall of Fame. The Stanley Brothers deserve to be there, and every year that goes by without their induction devalues those who are enshrined. “I’ve been angry about it. I’ve been perplexed about it.

Leaders of IBMA and the city of Raleigh can breathe a little easier now that another year of MerleFest is in the books. The annual four-day roots music extravaganza in Wilkesboro, NC, was the first major music festival held in the

Since 1927, Time magazine has named bestowed the honor of Person of the Year (formerly Man of the Year) to an individual, group, or idea that "for better or for worse...has done the most to influence the events of the

My opinion, admittedly biased: The flap about SiriusXM’s plans for Bluegrass Junction isn’t just about the upcoming nine-day disruption of Channel 61 to provide a home for Hanukkah. It’s about the long-term survival of the bluegrass channel itself. In other words, it’s