For someone who came of age in the 1970s, one of the things I miss most on the contemporary scene is the old style fiddle albums that were so prevalent in the '60s and '70s. The top bowmen of the
Reviews
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Earth & Wood – Tyler Grant
Guitarist Tyler Grant, a National Flatpicking Champion and winner of the RockyGrass and Wayne Henderson guitar contests, among others, has spent much of his career in the jam band realm, playing with Drew Emmitt and Bill Nershi of Leftover Salmon
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Where I Came From – Nothin’ Fancy
Nothin’ Fancy leans heavily on band originals for Where I Came From, their latest project for Mountain Fever Records. With six songs from mandolin player Mike Andes, and two from guitarist Caleb Cox alongside a few covers from artists like
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Playing Hard To Forget – ClayBank
One thing for sure looking back on this year is that 2016 has been a banner year for ClayBank. The western North Carolina-based band has gone from dominating at band competitions in the early part of the year to their
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TuneFox for iOS helps banjo pickers improvise
Like a lot of people, we are taking some time during the holidays to cast our gaze back over the past year, and finding a few things that we missed or overlooked during 2016. One is a terrific new app for
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East Tennessee Sunrise – Stuart Wyrick
It’s somewhat rare for a banjo player to release a solo album that’s not mostly instrumental, or at least packed full of classic banjo-heavy numbers. Stuart Wyrick, current banjo player for Flashback and formerly of Brand New Strings and Dale
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Bells Of Home – Circa Blue
Every year, National Media Services, a studio and disc replication company in northern Virginia, chooses one of its clients to record a Christmas album in-house. It’s a pretty sweet deal, with the opportunity for media attention on both sides of
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Live In Sweden 1973 – The New Kentucky Colonels
The name Clarence White is uttered in reverent tones in the bluegrass world, and deservedly so. The young guitarist was in the midst of redefining the role of the acoustic guitar in bluegrass, and the electric in the burgeoning field
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Weep Little Willow – Larry Stephenson Band
If you’re looking for clear, high lead vocals in today’s bluegrass community, one of the first voices to come to mind likely will be Larry Stephenson. Stephenson has been producing quality traditional bluegrass music for close to forty years –
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Saturday at Christmas in the Smokies ’17
Saturday at Christmas in the Smokies opened with several instrument workshops. Tommy Long and Morgan Moore led one for guitars. Ben Greene led one for banjo. Stanley Efaw led the fiddle workshop. Mark Templeton and Pocket Change led off the day