Music Reviews

Fast approaching their tenth year as a successful bluegrass band, The Grascals have just released their second album on the Mountain Home Music label, When I Get My Pay (MH 1485-2). The CD features 13 songs and sees Kristin Scott Benson

As the weather gets colder and lights, tinsel, and garland start appearing at stores everywhere, it's easy to know Christmas is getting closer. And with that also comes Christmas music, and the release of new holiday albums by some of

Over the years, Lexington, KY has served as home to a number of talented bluegrass musicians, perhaps most notably J.D. Crowe and, in the 1970s, the now-famous early incarnations of the New South that headlined at Lexington's Red Slipper Lounge.

On his first trip to the United States a few years back, Richard Cifersky said he absorbed so much about groove and feel from bluegrass musicians he jammed with at IBMA and elsewhere. He also learned, from Ron Block, about

Many of the bands who claim old time influences these days really have more of a folk or Americana style, with traditional songs set to a more modern sound. Brian Vollmer, a banjo and fiddle player originally from Maryland (where

As a reviewer, few things are more satisfying than encountering an artist with whom you are unfamiliar, and finding them to be as strong a contender for headliner status as anyone currently working the circuit. It's also a bit humbling,

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