1. Flatt & Scruggs: Foggy Mountain Banjo (Columbia LP CS 8364), and Live at Carnegie Hall (Columbia LP CS 8845 /Koch CD 7929 of full concert) from 1961 and 1963 These two recordings have everything you need to know about … Read More
Title of the document This Contest is Closed The winner is Andy Bing!! June 19, 2020 Trivia Question What do the following musicians have in common? Earl Scruggs Charlie Cline Lester Flatt Don Reno Edd … Read More
Having flipped out for High Fidelity after seeing them at the Joe Val Festival in Framingham Mass. in 2019, I was eager to review their new CD Banjo Player’s Blues. At Joe Val I felt they were the most exciting … Read More
We bluegrass music fans know “Molly & Tenbrooks – The Race Horse Song” as recorded by Bill Monroe in 1947 with Earl Scruggs playing banjo. It’s a terrific song, one of Monroe’s favorites, that shows what the banjo can do … Read More
An introduction Are you a picker? A picker & singer? Perhaps you sit and practice at home with CDs or YouTube or mp3s – maybe you study tab books and instructional DVDs. Maybe you’ve found an instructor, maybe you haven’t. … Read More
The first day of spring brings this flower to me, the new CD by Chris Jones & the Night Drivers, The Choosing Road. It’s on the modern side of traditional bluegrass with new tunes written mostly by Chris Jones and … Read More
SURPRISE! I’m a “traditionalist” when it comes to bluegrass music. I literally grew up on it. I love bands who have the chops to re-create the old original numbers, like the Earls of Leicester. I also like bluegrass bands who … Read More
I’m a long-time fan of David Davis — his mandolin playing, his singing, his background (nephew of Bill Monroe’s first Blue Grass Boy, guitarist Cleo Davis), his courtly Alabama manners, his band, and his work ethic. He’s been playing bluegrass … Read More
Gayle Yeomans and I attended the wonderful house concert by Boston’s Mile Twelve at Lynn Rosen’s lovely, comfortable home in Rhinebeck Friday Sept. 8. The room was nearly full; a good, and appreciative crowd. It was Mile Twelve’s final northeastern … Read More
If there is a God in heaven, this heartbreaking recording must win best recorded event, or best instrumental by people who don’t normally appear together, or whatever the hell IBMA has for award categories now. I found it a near-religious … Read More