For those of you who might be in a hurry, here’s the abridged version right up front: Pretty Good For A Girl, Murphy Hicks Henry’s epic history of women in bluegrass music, is a magnificent and important work, and if
Reviews
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Blue Side Of Me from Jeff Brown
Mountain Fever has another new CD out today, Blue Side Of Me, from Jeff Brown and Still Lonesome. Brown is a powerful vocalist, with a sound reminiscent of Larry Sparks, with whom he once worked, and the great Ralph Stanley, who
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Building Bridges – The Snyder Family
Over the past several months, we’ve written several times about the Generation Bluegrass films, which feature a number of young, up-and-coming bluegrass musicians, including several family bands which have seen their music reach a wider audience since the premiere of
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Gypsy Runaway Train – The Roys
With their past two releases, as well as their appearances on such TV shows as Country’s Family Reunion and Song of the Mountains, The Roys have become known for their light, often uplifting, country-style bluegrass. With their new album, Gypsy
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In With the Old, Out With the New – Kevin Pace
While many new bluegrass bands try to stretch the genre’s lines as far as they can, there are also quite a few which stick just as hard to the classic sounds which first-generation groups such as Flatt and Scruggs made
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New Primitive – Adam Steffey
Not many people can claim to be multi-IBMA award winners; even fewer have nine Mandolin Player of the Year trophies sitting at home. Adam Steffey, currently of the Boxcars and formerly of Alison Krauss and Union Station, as well as
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Blue Ruin – Head For The Hills
There are certain instruments you can always expect to see listed in the credits of a bluegrass album. Banjo, guitar, fiddle, mandolin, and bass are all usuals, along with the occasional dobro, and even drums in more progressive groups. However,
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Toogaroo – Covered Grass
It’s always difficult to know what to expect when you hear that a bluegrass band is made up of people who have no background in bluegrass music. Will the album simply be covers of old classics? Pop music with banjo? Or,
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Second Time Around – Jason Davis
If you've caught a Junior Sisk show this past few years, or heard his last two records, you know what a blistering banjo picker he has in Jason Davis. This month, at the age of 23, Davis is seeing his second
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Powerlines – Mustered Courage
Most artists who make the leap from another genre to bluegrass come from country, old time, or perhaps Christian/Gospel music. It’s not often you hear of a bluegrass band that started out in hip-hop, but for Australian group Mustered Courage,