Growing up, Hogan's House Of Music was where a young Ron Block learned the beauty and variety of popular music. The retail music emporium was owned and operated by his father in Lawndale, CA and the future guitar and banjo virtuoso
Reviews
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Great Northern Railroad – The High 48s
Train songs are a staple of bluegrass and other forms of traditional American music. From John Henry to In the Pines, from Orange Blossom Special to Blue Railroad Train, you can seldom attend a bluegrass show without hearing at least
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Run Away Tonight – Chris Jones & the Night Drivers
In the ever-present debate on tradition vs. innovation in bluegrass music, I feel that the value of consistency is sometimes overlooked. It seems like bands are always seeking to change up their sound from one album to the next –
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Country Livin’ – Big Country Bluegrass
If you ever want to fire up a room full of bluegrass fans, just ask them to define traditional bluegrass. Some will define it as the original 1945-46 Blue Grass Boys. Some will expand it to include a few second
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Miles from the Hard Road – Allen Shadd
Folks in the bluegrass community proudly acknowledge that bluegrass is one of the few popular genres of music in which fans are just as likely to cheer a fine instrumental break as they are powerhouse lead vocals. Nonetheless, many excellent
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IIIrd Tyme Out in Bristol
This review of IIIrd Tyme Out's CD release concert is a contribution from Jessica Boggs. When Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out walked on to the stage in the Birthplace of Country Music Museum’s Performance Theater in Bristol, Virginia, last Friday
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Nothing But Sky – Delta Reign
When most folks think of the Gulf Coast region, bluegrass is not the first musical style that comes to mind. Maybe blues, maybe country, maybe even the easygoing stylings of Jimmy Buffett. For the folks in Mobile, Alabama-based Delta Reign,
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It’s About Tyme – Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out
Is there such a thing as a perfect bluegrass album? I guess that all depends on where you stand on the eternal "what is bluegrass, anyway" debate, and which vocal or instrumental styles are appropriate, and all that nonsense. But I still
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Mac Wiseman – All My Memories Fit for Print
I just picked up this wonderful, DENSELY PACKED bio of Mac Wiseman, All My Memories Fit for Print, from County Sales. It’s just riveting if you’re into the history of bluegrass and country music, radio, recording, promoting, the music “biz,” and the
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David Peterson and The Lindsey Family – two sides of bluegrass Gospel
Two new albums that came in recently cover the wide range of current bluegrass Gospel music so perfectly, that it seems appropriate to review them together. The first comes from David Peterson, whose Old Time Power serves as a classic representation of