When banjo players release solo albums, they often choose to showcase their skill and speed with a selection of instrumental tracks. They tear into Scruggs tunes, offer unique originals, and perhaps throw in some more progressive tracks for good measure.
Double Or Nothing is the latest CD from The Rigneys, a family band that is successfully transitioning away from that pigeonhole. Most of the album focuses on the talents of eldest son Andrew Rigney, who plays guitar, sings all but two
Here are a few things you can learn from Love Has Wheels by The Bankesters, their first project with Compass Records and the fifth overall from this charming family band. The Bankester girls are all grown up. What started as four cute
Each year since 1991, new members have been added to the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. Since the inaugural class of Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt, and Earl Scruggs, numerous other bluegrass and traditional music greats have been honored for
We’ve written a lot about the banjo lately at Bluegrass Today, and why not? It is one of the central pillars of the music that we love, even if the instrument and those who play it are the butt of
While bluegrass isn’t a summer-only music, it’s no secret that the warmer months are well suited to the festivals, camping, and late-night jams beside of campfires and picnic tables that bluegrass fans love so well. Many bluegrass artists slow down
James King, whose knack for choosing well-written songs that work their way into listeners' hearts and minds has helped earn him the title of "Bluegrass Storyteller," has a keen ability to wrap his voice around every ounce of emotion in
As a music critic, I’m used to folks occasionally wondering if I’ve been living under a rock. Now I find myself thinking the same thing. How else could I not have heard about Melody Walker, Jacob Groopman and their progressive
It seems that the annual IBMA convention and awards always stir up the familiar argument about whether traditional bluegrass gets its due, or is getting squeezed out by newer, bluegrass-derived music. This has always struck me as a needless and
Bands often mark milestone anniversaries with new collections of their music – greatest hits albums, or in the case of the Lonesome River Band this past year, fresh recordings of their greatest hits. Nu-Blu, which is celebrating ten years as
