banjo

Legendary grasser Melvin Goins has brought a new look to his touring band, Windy Mountain, for the 2013 season. "Our new banjo player is Mike French. Mike has been playing the banjo for 40 years and has played with some of

Junior Sisk's crackerjack banjo picker, Jason Davis, is back with his second solo project at the ripe old age of 25. Like his 2008 effort, Steppin' Out, he has enlisted an array of young hotshots like himself, together with a

Joan Harrison has been the banjo picker and lead singer with New York's Too Blue this past 15 years. She has also written material for the band, some of it included on their 2011 CD, Trouble With The Grey. When not playing the

The modern musical arts based on traditional string music divide into many camps. Some use the instruments familiar to old time and bluegrass to push boundaries, while others demonstrate an almost fanatical devotion to the old masters. In between you can

Banjo NewsLetter, published by the Nitchie family in Maryland since 1973, is now publishing online starting with the current April 2013 issue. They will continue to offer a print edition, mailed out just as it has been for 40 years,

The Smoky Mountain Banjo Academy has been held since 2004 in a beautiful mountain retreat near Gatlinburg, TN, hosted by noted banjo instructor and author, Jack Hatfield. The event is an outgrowth of the Maryland Banjo Academy, formerly operated by

We've written many times on Bluegrass Today about country star Dierks Bentley's love for bluegrass music. Even before the release of his 2010 bluegrass album, Up On The Ridge, Bentley had recorded and performed with The Grascals, and shared the

This tribute to Earl Scruggs on the anniversary of his passing is a contribution from Jim Mills, a life-long student of Scruggs-style banjo, and a serious collector of the sort of pre war Gibson banjos that Earl played. Jim also

Banjo man Terry Baucom has a new album coming soon on the John Boy & Billy label. Like his 2011 project, In A Groove, this as yet unnamed record will feature Bauc on the five along with an all-star cast

Mel Bay Publications has released Easy Irish and Celtic Melodies For 5-String Banjo: Best-Loved Airs and Session Tunes by Tom Hanway, available as a book/CD combo or an ebook with MP3s. While Celtic music is more commonly played with a flatpick on