Chris Jones

  • Rules for bluegrass living in 2017

    | by

    “I like the rules. I think you know how I feel about that.” – Fake Santa in Santa Clause 2 In the 1970s, once bluegrass music had evolved into its own genre, with its own festival circuit, its own record labels,

  • Sofar Sounds or Come On-A My House

    | by

    Most readers of Bluegrass Today are by now familiar with the house concert. If you aren’t, I’ll just explain that it’s a concert—and you may want to be sitting down for this—that takes place in a house. Some people like to

  • The view from Germany

    | by

    Greetings from the Night Drivers 2017 European tour. Traveling in places where you don’t speak the language can be challenging. This tour is taking us primarily through German-speaking countries, and while I speak a little German, my knowledge is primarily

  • Niche marketing to bluegrass fans

    | by

    A story ran recently in Bluegrass Today that began, “Are you a bluegrass banjo fan who also traps small game?” It immediately made me feel like I hadn’t really given niche marketing the attention it deserves. Okay, I haven’t given

  • The best it ever was

    | by

    It’s an extremely busy week, as the Night Drivers and I head off to Circa Blue Fest and then a European tour. Meanwhile I’m in the midst of some sort of satellite radio marathon. This is just a sign of

  • Lists, leaks, and IBMA intrigue

    | by

    The arrival of the first IBMA awards ballot is always interesting in one way or another, this year more interesting than most. Still, after having to start over this week with a new and less confusing ballot, folks at the

  • Show me the bluegrass bucket list!

    | by

    You’ve no doubt heard of the “bucket list.” Like “show me the money” and other overused phrases, it has its origins in the movies. If you missed it, the bucket list is a list of things you hope to do