This past Thursday during a Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman show, Rhonda Vincent celebrated her 50th birthday! (Yes, it shocked me too.) To celebrate the All American Birthday Girl, this Album of the Week will focus on one of Rhonda’s best:
Music Reviews
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A Better Place – Detour
Fans of contemporary original bluegrass music can’t go wrong with the latest release from Michigan-based band Detour, A Better Place. Detour, led by the clear lead vocals of Missy Armstrong and the inspired songwriting of Jeff Rose, has compiled a
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Waves – Milkdrive
One of the reasons I love bluegrass so much is because it is accessible. Artfully, deftly and masterfully played by virtuosi who weave together pieces of melody, lyric, rhythm, harmony, instrument and arrangement together like spinning straw into gold, the
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Don’t You Worry About Me – Rachel Burge
West Virginian Rachel Burge may not yet be a household name in the bluegrass community, but judging from her debut solo project, Don't You Worry About Me, that could be about to change. She serves currently as mandolinist with Mountain Fever recording artists, No
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Bein’ Country – Acoustic Blue
From their song selection and sound to the vinyl record design of their latest CD, Bein’ Country, New England-based band Acoustic Blue is firmly rooted in the traditions of the early decades of bluegrass and country music. On this album, their
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Sunday Mornin’ Singin’ with Rhonda Vincent
My eyes filled with tears the first time I listened to Sunday Mornin’ Singin’, the remarkable new live Gospel project from Rhonda Vincent and the Rage. Not a typical reaction for a hard-bitten critic, to be sure, but I blame the
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Bobby Osborne’s New Bluegrass & Old Heartaches
After 62 years of traveling the bluegrass road – spanning all but a few years of the music’s rich history – Bobby Osborne could be forgiven if all he wanted to do was sit on the front porch of a
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Nightflyer’s self-titled debut
It is very seldom that a group of accomplished musicians like the ones that make up the new southwestern Ohio band Nightflyer form a new group. However, with the issue of their brand new self-titled release on Kang Records, there’s
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Album of the Week #25 – Alison Krauss & Union Station’s New Favorite
What’s more American than Alison Krauss & Union Station on the 4th of July? Unless you’re eating apple pie with a Cincinnati Reds game on the radio, while watching fireworks light up the sky... not much. Let’s face it: no other
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Pick – Keller Williams and The Travelin’ McCourys
I’m not a big Keller Williams fan. With his reliance on electronic looping and hokey humor, he’s an acquired taste that I haven’t quite acquired. On the other hand, I’m a big fan of Del McCoury’s band, both when they play