This special anniversary remembrance of Bill Monroe is a contribution from Richard D. Smith, author of the definitive biography of Big Mon, Can't You Hear Me Callin': The Life of Bill Monroe, Father of Bluegrass. We greatly appreciate his essay. On this
Earlier this month during the 25th annual Podunk Bluegrass Festival in Goshen, CT, the winners of their Podunk Songwriters Contest were announced for 2022. First prize went to Stan Keach and Jeff Trippe for Can't You Hear It Callin', a song
Bluegrass singer Brayden Williamson has long appreciated the legacy that Bill Monroe left, and has done much to build on that in his short musical career. Others are now recognizing his desire to keep traditional bluegrass alive, and encouraging the
Over the last few decades there have been several books written about the Father of Bluegrass. While some such as Tom Ewing's Bill Monroe: The Life and Music of the Blue Grass Man dive deep into Monroe's life journey, others
Roland and Clarence White/Roland White and Diane Bouska - photo by Nicole Christianson Pioneer, multi-instrumentalist and singer Roland White, primarily a mandolin player with a career spanning over six decades, passed away on April 1, 2022, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center
We told you in November about the Gibson Bill Monroe Hall of Fame mandolin presented to Doyle Lawson at the Station Inn by David Harvey of Gibson. The mandolin, one of only seven ever made, is an exact replica of
One of the Blue Grass Boys of the mid-1970s, Bill Holden, passed away suddenly in Knoxville, Tennessee on November 15, 2021 at the age of 71. William O'Neal 'Bill' Holden was born on July 25, 1950 in Fort Worth, Texas, and
When, in June 1979, Chicago-born Mark Hembree approached Bill Monroe about taking over as the permanent replacement for Randy Davis, Hembree had hair "to the middle of my back," not an ideal candidate it would appear. However, a trim of
On September 16, 1946, Bill Monroe recorded for the first time with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs. These two evening sessions, 75 years ago today, were the first involving the aggregation acclaimed as the 'original bluegrass band,' comprising Bill Monroe
Very close friend of Bill Monroe's and Bean Blossom attendee for over 55 years, James 'Jim' Peva passed away on May 5, 2021. He was 92 years old. James Richard Peva was born near Evansville, Indiana, on May 7, 1928, spending
