Formed by mandolin player, singer and frontman Frank Ray with his uncle over half a century ago, Cedar Hill has a storied history known mostly to aficionados of authentic bluegrass of the Ozark Mountain variety. That’s the place they’ve always called
These days, much of the discussion about bluegrass, nugrass, Americana, and grassicana seems to center on to what extent the influence of vintage trappings appear to impinge on contemporary credence. Consequently, most bands are labelled according to which side of
Paul Williams joins Joe Mullins at the November 2018 SOIMF - photo © Bill Warren This past weekend saw what Tammy Mullins told me was the 29th edition of the March and November Southern Ohio Indoor Music Festival, held in the
Greg Allen has bluegrass music in his veins. As a young man he played banjo behind his famous father, Red Allen, and later with his brothers, Ronnie, Neal, and Harley, as The Allen Brothers. The boys were at the forefront of
It’s always encouraging to hear a new generation of musicians taking up the bluegrass and grassicana mantle, and though they may opt to add new elements to the mix, the devotion and dedication is generally evident immediately. That’s clearly the
Larry Cordle’s connection to his native Kentucky has always been solidly ingrained in his style and sound, but for those unaware, his latest effort, Tales From East Kentucky ought to affirm that legacy as first and foremost as goes his
While it’s a well known fact that traditional bluegrass has always had elements in common with folk music of a vintage variety, it takes an outfit like the Songs From The Road Band to make that connection consistently clear. On
Make no mistake — the Allegheny Drifters have no allusions about being nu-grass, grassicana, Americana, or for that matter anything other that what they are, which is traditional bluegrass. Some might deride them for making no attempt to push the
One of the most underrated female vocalists in bluegrass music today, hands down, is Melody Williamson of Nashville-based family band Williamson Branch. She’s been around the bluegrass world for years, performing on stage with her parents as a kid, showcasing
Based in Lexington, Kentucky, and fronted by vocalist/fiddler Kati Penn Williams and her singer/banjo player husband, Jr. Williams, NewTown produces a sound that typifies today’s new generation of bluegrass bands. Formed in 2009, the band got its start when Williams