The winners in the 2016 Chris Austin Songwriting Contest at MerleFest have been announced. Finalists competed this afternoon by performing their songs before the judges, and the winners will get the opportunity to sing them again later today on one of the
For every headlining, nationally touring, IBMA Award-winning group out there, there are a dozen local or regional bluegrass acts keeping the roads hot and the little clubs and community centers packed. In the northern Virginia area, one of those groups
The good people with Virginia's Crooked Road have released the schedule for their 2016 Mountains of Music Homecoming, a ten day series of concerts and festivals spread all across the southwestern part of the state celebrating all forms of mountain
This lovely remembrance of Green Hayes, a stalwart of the Cincinnati bluegrass scene for more than 60 years, was shared by his family. Green is the father of Rick Hayes, former mandolinist with The Gibson Brothers, builder of fine mandolins and
The Fossil Creek Band, from northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan, is pleased to welcome two new members as they prepare for a swing through the southern US starting this weekend. Gil Evans has joined the group on bass, as has Darrell Wagner
Hazard Community and Technical College in Hazard, Kentucky has announced that they will be offering their Songwriting I class (PSM 107) online this summer. HCTC houses the Kentucky School of Bluegrass and Traditional Music, which offers an Associates Degree in Bluegrass and
Banjo players all over the world know the name of Frank Neat, Kentucky luthier and builder of banjos and custom banjo necks of the highest quality. Many aficionados of the five string first noticed Frank when Ralph Stanley was marketing a
This month’s Songwriter’s Back Story features the song Wilma Walker, written by husband and wife writing and recording duo, Donna Ulisse and Rick Stanley, recorded by the legendary Doyle Lawson and Quick Silver on their 2015 Mountain Home Music Company
The International Bluegrass Music Association has announced the list of artists invited to showcase during the 2016 World of Bluegrass convention in Raleigh, NC. It demonstrates just how widely the selection committee interprets the scope of the bluegrass community worldwide. Chosen to
Banjo players lost a major supporter earlier this week, one few of them ever thought much about. Remo Belli died on Monday afternoon (4/25) at 88 years of age. His Remo Inc. manufactured the mylar banjo heads they use since 1957. The company
