• Nobody Knows You from the Rangers

    Rounder has announced April 10 as the release date for Nobody Knows You, the next CD from Steep Canyon Rangers. This will be their first band release since Deep In The Shade in 2010, though they collaborated with Steve Martin

  • Dixie Pals reunion in Roanoke

    Living as I do in Roanoke, VA, I am able to enjoy its vibrant and varied acoustic music scene. Roanoke has a rich bluegrass history, having served as the home for both Flatt & Scruggs and Reno & Smiley on

  • IBMA vs. SPBGMA

    If you think that this article is going to pit one organization against the other, or compare one to the other, then just stop reading now. A friend once told me that for every stone I throw, expect ten stones

  • Sweet Dixie and InMotion

    In my own small brush with posterity, I once exchanged emails with Craig Newmark of Craig’s List back in 1997. I had run an ad on the San Francisco-based bulletin board system that read, “Free beer and Bluegrass in Fairfax this

  • 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

  • Jerry Gray: 1934 – 2012

    This remembrance of popular Washington, DC radio personality Jerry Gray is a contribution from Bill Foster with the DC Bluegrass Union. Jerry Gray (nee Gerald Ralph Poulsen) passed away on February 2, 2012. Jerry and his wife Kay lived in Hardy, VA

  • SPBGMA: Jamming Heaven

    This past weekend at the Music City Sheraton in Nashville, TN, the Society for the Preservation of Blue Grass Music in America (SPBGMA, pronounced "spigma"), held its 38th Annual Convention & Awards. This convention is a multi-faceted event comprised of

  • J.D. Crowe update

    We reported over the weekend that banjo legend J.D. Crowe was taken ill during a show Friday night, and had to leave the stage. Fortunately for the audience and the band, Josh Williams was in the house, and hopped up to

  • SPBGMA 2012 award winners

    Thanks to Gena Britt for this run down of who took home trophies at last night's SPBGMA Awards in Nashville. The awards are chosen by the general public, based on a printed ballot published in Bluegrass Unlimited each year. The organization does