There's not much about the fiddle that Laura Orshaw doesn't have an absolute command of, and she demonstrates that to great effect on her new solo effort from Dark Shadow Recording, Solitary Diamond. Arguably one of today's top traditionalists on
Music Reviews
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Black Banjo – Tray Wellington
Sometimes you can look at the name of an artist or a producer and be pretty sure what's coming. Song after song in the same style, often at similar tempos and mostly in one or two keys. Needless to say,
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DobroSinger – Abbie Gardner
It's not typical for a dobro player to sing lead, especially when the musician in question is a soloist. However, that is exactly what Abbie Gardner of the Americana trio Red Molly has done on her latest solo effort, DobroSinger.
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Something You Didn’t Count On – Jaelee Roberts
Over more than a decade of reviewing bluegrass music, I've concluded that the songs that speak to me most directly tend to offer some mix of desire, desperation, and hope. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Something You Didn’t
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Yonderings – Joe’s Truck Stop
Founded by Joe Macheret (vocals, guitar, big head banjo, fiddle, percussion), Joe's Truck Stop is a decidedly homegrown affair. Yonderlings, the third album by the Cincinnati-based band — which also includes musicians Andrew McPheters (harmony vocals, 5-string banjo), June Youngblood
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Alegria – FlamenGrass
Ask the average aficionado with an expressed affinity for flamenco or for bluegrass, and chances are, most will dismiss any similarity between the two. Granted, both demand an advanced level of instrumental dexterity, but given their disparate origins, any other
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Hair & Hide – George Jackson
The combination of the fiddle and the banjo is one of the world's oldest musical traditions, dating back before the beginning of the Civil War. On Hair & Hide, fiddler George Jackson digs deeper into this tradition by presenting a
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Big Storm – Pretty Little Goat
Hailing from the highlands of North Carolina, the euphemistically named Pretty Little Goat — Josh Carter (mandolin, vocals), J.T. Linville (bass, vocals), Jackson Dulaney (dobro, lap steel), Mallory Carter (washboard, kick drum, vocals), Owen Grooms (banjo, vocals), plus honorary member
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Hard Life – Derek Johnson
Recording and producing an album has its own set of challenges. With the rise of COVID and the global shutdown that occurred nearly two years ago, there were even greater obstacles to making a successful project. Derek Johnson guitarist with
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Ronnie Reno reissues Portfolio album from 2002
Twenty years ago Ronnie Reno released an album called Portfolio with The Reno Tradition, which featured he and the band's recordings of songs from Ronnie's long career in bluegrass music. And what a career it has been, starting with his father's