• Bluegrass camp survival tips

    Now that March is upon us, it’s only natural to think ahead to the end of winter (if you got any where you live) and the coming festival season. The festival season also means the season of the bluegrass music

  • You didn’t hear this from me…

    I have always loved a good conspiracy theory. I believe almost all of them, too, whether they become discredited in the media or not. When I hear that something has been “disproved,” I believe that’s just what “they” want us

  • What me… serious?

    Recently it has come to my attention that some readers of this column are actually taking it seriously. This concerns me, especially since in the last several columns I’ve been giving out “advice” for new bands. It troubles me to

  • SPBGMA in Nashville this weekend

    This weekend, Nashville will host the annual convention of the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America, which goes by the tongue numbing acronym, SPBGMA (spigma). Like the Fall convention hosted by the International Bluegrass Music Association, SPBGMA holds

  • Bluegrass rules on Music City Roots tonight

    Tonight's (2/1) edition of Music City Roots is bluegrass, bluegrass, bluegrass. Scheduled to perform this evening from the Loveless Barn in Nashville are Lonesome River Band, Chris Jones & the Nightdrivers, Darin & Brooke Aldridge, Special Consensus and Darrell Scott. Jim

  • Choosing material for your new band

    I’ve devoted the previous several columns to the subject of band self-management. There won’t be many more, I promise, because let’s face it: all this management gets tiring after a while. Sometimes you just want to go play the show. Let’s