Akira Otsuka with DCBU President Carolyn Eyerly and his 2023 Washington Monument Award Celebrated capitol area mandolinist, photographer, and producer Akira Otsuka was presented with the 2023 Washington Monument Award by the DC Bluegrass Union on October 29. Born in Japan, Akira
The DC Bluegrass Union hosted a party over this past weekend to celebrate the birthdays of two capitol area bluegrass greats, Tom Gray and Carroll Swam, both of whom are turning 82 years of age. Tom's 82nd was last week,
The DC Bluegrass Union Hazel Dickens Song Contest celebrates the life and muse of one of bluegrass music's most beloved songwriters. Each year since 2014, the DC Bluegrass Union (DCBU) has extended invitations to songwriters in recognition of the enduring influence
The DC Bluegrass Union, which exists to promote bluegrass music in the US capitol region, has announced the winners of their 2022 Mike Auldridge Instrumental Contest. The competition was initiated following Mike's passing in 2012, and is held each year
The DC Bluegrass Union has chosen today, the birthday of the late guitarist Orrin Star, to announce the first recipient of their music scholarship which honors his many contributions to bluegrass music. Marleigh Blackwell of Capon Bridge, West Virginia is the
The DC Bluegrass Union has announced winners of the annual Hazel Dickens Songwriting Contest. The list contains a number of writers well known in bluegrass and Americana circles. First prize and $500 was awarded to John Cloyd Miller for the song
The DC Bluegrass Union has announced the winners of their 2021 Mike Auldridge Instrumental Contest. DCBU holds this each year, both to honor the memory of reso-guitar master, Mike Auldridge, his many contributions to the capitol area bluegrass community, and
The DC Bluegrass Union has announced a change to its annual Orrin Star Scholarship for young music students pursuing bluegrass and old time music in the mid-Atlantic region of the US. When the scholarship was first announced in 2019, following Orrin's
The DC Bluegrass Union has today announced the winners of their 2021 Hazel Dickens Song Contest. The annual competition chooses from among dozens of submissions from writers who receive less than half of their income from songwriting royalties, with proceeds
The DC Bluegrass Union has announced the winners in their 2020 Mike Auldridge Instrumental Contest, an annual event to toast the compositional efforts of bluegrass pickers. Held in honor of the late great Mike Auldridge, who added many new tunes
