This is a column normally devoted to tongue-in-cheek coverage of bluegrass topics, faux advice, and the occasional bluegrass haiku, but one day after the public funeral of Ralph Stanley, I’m not exactly feeling in that spirit. There’s been eloquent writing about
Chris Jones
Please speak slowly and clearly
There are just a few days left in IBMA second round voting, and some things have surprised me this time around: One is how few “for your consideration” solicitation emails I’ve actually received. Perhaps I’ve dropped off of mailing lists, and
The round 2 IBMA nomination blues
If you follow the bluegrass church calendar at all, you know this week is known as the Feast of the Second Ballot. It’s a time when believers are urged to shun many of their usual worldly activities and spend the
Bluegrass fantasy camp for fans
We’re all adjusting to a world in which recordings and other music projects are being funded in new ways. Even established artists recording for established record labels are now using fan-driven funding campaigns to finance their work. This can either
How many characters does it take to spell out a bluegrass song?
I have to say, as objectively as I can, that one of the things I like best about satellite radio is the display that tells us what artist we’re listening to, and what the song title is. This technology has
Writes a great hook, and can stay back on the change up
Back in the days when I served on the IBMA Board, as I think I’d mentioned in a previous column, it was a simpler and less stressful time, a time before social media and the clip-on tuner. I also pointed
Okay, guys, let’s try the bass
I’m over in Scotland for the next week or so on what is supposed to be an actual vacation (I’ve never taken one of those), so I’ve asked John Lawless if I could rerun the sound series I wrote a
I still can’t hear the banjo
I’m over in Scotland for the next week or so on what is supposed to be an actual vacation (I’ve never taken one of those), so I’ve asked John Lawless if I could rerun the sound series I wrote a
Choose the “option” option and select “select”
Last week’s column about Facebook fan pages generated a few reader questions, and I wanted to field those before moving on to other subjects. I spoke to a young man who considers himself an expert in the area of social media,
Chris Jones & the Night Drivers in Kalamazoo
Bluegrass Today columnist and SiriusXM DJ Chris Jones brought the Night Drivers to the First Congregational Church in Kalamazoo, Michigan for a Great Lakes Acoustic Music Association (GLAMA) concert. The concert was held in the church’s chapel. It is an