• New look for The New Hip

    Missy Raines has announced a number of changes with her touring group, The New Hip, and has recently signed with the Nashville-based agency Lost Buffalo Artists for representation. The New Hip has welcomed Jake Stargel in on guitar. A veteran of

  • Southport – A Festival with a Twist

    Louisa Branscomb knows a thing or two about songwriting, for sure. And she has two Grammys, two Song of the Year trophies (IBMA and SPBGMA), nearly 200 cuts, and a long list of hits to prove it. But her newest venture,

  • Helen Highwater to Roe Entertainment

    Roe Entertainment in Maryville, TN has announced the addition of Nashville supergroup Helen Highwater Stringband to their roster of talent. All booking representation for the group will now he handled by Roe. The band consists of four close friends with long

  • Artist2Artist: Meaning Beyond The Verse

    “Right now, I think we need writers who know the difference between the production of a market commodity and the practice of an art.” – Ursula Le Guin There are lyrics which transcend the words that are chosen, rising above the

  • Artist2Artist – Missy Raines

    If you are a touring musician, it happens to you. If you are a new performer, it probably happens more often than you would like. They are the bane of every performing musician: pre-show jitters, on-stage distractions, and getting bummed

  • Missy Raines Explores a New Frontier

    Sometimes, you just have to chase a dream, even if it threatens to push you – or your fans -- out of the comfort zone. That’s what Missy Raines did on New Frontier, the latest Compass Records release from Missy

  • A Stars & Bars Reunion

    It’s a good thing Joe Zauner was hungry one night while visiting his aunt and uncle 35 years ago. It cemented his place in bluegrass folklore. Zauner, a picker from the Washington D.C. suburbs, chose a western Maryland pizza shop that

  • Breaking news from Missy Raines

    If you catch Missy Raines playing a show in the next few weeks, it’ll be hard to miss her newest accessory – a dark sling to help immobilize her right arm and shoulder. Missy fell in a Y gym in mid-January, fracturing the humerus

  • A Few of My Favorite Things

    As a Bluegrass Today correspondent, I get to listen to a lot of music during the year. Some on CDs, some live. Some traditional bluegrass, some most definitely not. Some of it terrific, some of it, well, not so much. But

  • Helen Highwater rises in Nashville

    A new band is set to hit the scene, combining four Nashville superpickers itching to play together. David Grier is on guitar, Missy Raines on bass, Mike Compton on mandolin, and Shad Cobb on fiddle. They have chosen the clever name