Reviews

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

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

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

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

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

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 –

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

Friday at Christmas in the Smokies combined young bluegrass musicians and a legend in the music. The day opened with Salt and Light, the Moore Family Band. The siblings range from twenty one years of age down to eleven. They

Lorraine Jordan opened Thursday at Christmas in the Smokies as the MC. She and Tim White have been sharing the duties. Lorraine’s father, Royce, is usually the emcee, but is home with a case of pneumonia. We all need to

The fires in Gatlinburg have been extinguished, but the flame of hope still burns brightly. This year’s edition of Christmas in the Smokies, presented by Lorraine Jordan and Carolina Road, kicked off Wednesday afternoon. Lorraine announced that the festival will