Larry Efaw

Saturday at Christmas in the Smokies opened with several instrument workshops. Tommy Long and Morgan Moore led one for guitars. Ben Greene led one for banjo. Stanley Efaw led the fiddle workshop. Mark Templeton and Pocket Change led off the day

Friday at the Marshall Bluegrass Festival opened with a newly formed band, The Local Mash, created by Tony Zapolnik and his fiancé, Jennifer Strickland. Jennifer is a well-known bassist/singer/songwriter in the bluegrass world. They are joined by Michiganders Danielle Smith

Sell out crowds enjoyed the holidays early in Pigeon Forge, TN with the Christmas in the Smokies Bluegrass Festival, December 9-12. Lorraine Jordan and Carolina Road served as the host band and Royce Jordan returned as emcee for the 19th annual

The Southern Ohio Indoor Music Festival is hosted In November and March by the Joe Mullins family. The November edition was kicked off by Sugar Creek, a young family band from Columbus, Ohio. Remington Ryde from Pennsylvania graced the stage

Rhonda Vincent and the Rage are a Saturday staple at the Milan Bluegrass Festival. Rhonda always goes out of her way to accommodate all of her fans, but this past Saturday she went above and beyond. A young girl and her

Friday at the Marshall Bluegrass Festival had somewhat of a theme. There were two Michigan based bands and five Ohio based bands. Ottawa County from the Port Clinton, Ohio area took the stage first. The band is a well-established, traditional bluegrass

Daniel Mullins will be reporting from the 2015 Bean Blossom Festival all week, as Internet service in the campground allows. Check back each day for his reports and photos. The remainder of his reports will be after the fact. The sixth day of

Larry Efaw brought his Bluegrass Mountaineers and his “Stanley” brand of mountain music to Buena Vista to open the 2nd day of the Nothin’ Fancy Festival. The crowd enjoyed Bill Yates taking us back in time with the Country Gentlemen

The final day of Bluegrass in Super Class on January 12, 20014 was kicked off by Nitro Ride from Pennsylvania. They were followed by Idletymes, Remington Ryde, The Bluegrass Mountaineers, and Rhonda Vincent & the Rage. The last picture is

It seems that the annual IBMA convention and awards always stir up the familiar argument about whether traditional bluegrass gets its due, or is getting squeezed out by newer, bluegrass-derived music. This has always struck me as a needless and