Between the iconic bluegrass band Hot Rize and his solo or duo releases, Tim O’Brien has more than 30 albums to his credit. It’s an astounding career encompassing bluegrass, Irish music, rockabilly, country, Western swing, and the complete mastery of … Read More
Recorded on Feb 26 over the phone, abridged and edited for clarity. HVBA: Hi Tim, I really appreciate the chance to talk to you on behalf of the Hudson Valley Bluegrass Music Association, which is a fine group of players … Read More
There’s an energy and insistance to Michael Cleveland’s music that sounds fresh yet vaguely familiar- I had to do a little digging into the bluegrass historical archives to figure it out. Before I get to that game of bluegrass band … Read More
Celebrating Bobby’s 60th Anniversary as a Professional Entertainer Bobby Osborne is a bluegrass legend who doesn’t seem to put himself in a box called “bluegrass.” The Osborne Brothers used electric instruments, steel guitar, harmonica and drums on their albums and … Read More
Well, this is a bit different than the usual tear-it-up fare. Before being given this CD, I didn’t know much about Jim Lauderdale, but lo and behold, he’s a major Nashville songwriter, a performer who has shared the stage with … Read More
Many have asked the question: “just what exactly is bluegrass music, and what are its limits?” The argument usually seems to go to the elusive idea of authenticity, which in turn leads to concepts beyond the immediate problem of figuring … Read More
To me, it’s hardly surprising that a Senator from West Virginia would release a fiddle album; politicians will do most anything to get noticed. Rather, what’s surprising to me after several hour in my CD player is that this is … Read More
The Chapmans: Grown Up The John Hartford Stringband: Memories Of John I’m not much of a guitar player, but over the past twenty years I’ve owned guitars by two of the biggest and most famous acoustic guitar companies in North … Read More
There’s a great scene in the movie Crazy Heart where “Bad” Blake, the charismatic, but rather messed up, former country legend, is laying on the bed, playing his guitar, and trying to seduce Jean Craddock, played by Maggie Gyllenhaal. Blake … Read More
The first two times I listened to this CD, I didn’t like it. It struck me as derivative, precious and not particularly interesting. Perhaps that’s because the opening track, “Flowers on the Wall,” hews very close to the original, and … Read More