It’s all about family for plenty of history’s—and today’s—best bluegrass bands. From the proto-bluegrass legends of the Carter Family to foundational groups like the Stanley Brothers, sharing family ties was a key aspect of the genre’s early days. Today, that … Read More
While bluegrass is now enjoyed around the country and around the world, it’s no secret that the genre has deep southern roots. Bill Monroe was from Kentucky, Lester Flatt was from Tennessee, and Earl Scruggs was from North Carolina after … Read More
At the core of most bluegrass songwriting is nostalgia, longing, reverence—whatever you want to call it—for the “old home place.” And for a lot of bluegrassers, that home is in the mountains. Centuries-old Appalachian mountain music was a major influence … Read More
The dobro is sometimes seen as “optional” in bluegrass band lineups, but that reputation can obscure the fact that it is an awesome instrument with many champions. From bluegrass music’s inception, the dobro has been a driving force thanks to … Read More
Hey, you got old-time in my bluegrass!” Old-time music, like bluegrass, is the combination of centuries of influence from Scotland and Africa—yet it’s still uniquely American. In old-time, instrumentalists don’t take solos as they would in bluegrass, meaning that energy … Read More
If you’re a bluegrass fan, you have a memory of seeing a great band play live. Whether at a festival or in a concert hall, live bluegrass has a great energy to it—and live recordings are a great way to … Read More
Who’s ready for some more bluegrass covers? I love bluegrass bands who look to all corners of the musical pantheon to bring in songs that were never intended to be played in a bluegrass style—then they do it anyway! This … Read More
The 2000s were an interesting decade for bluegrass. Riding high off the genre’s revival in the late 1990s and early 2000s from Dolly Parton’s The Grass Is Blue and the Coen Brothers’ O Brother Where Art Thou, artists in this … Read More
The mandolin is an interesting instrument with an interesting history. Though some may associate its gentle 8-string tones with mobster flicks and the music of the 1920s, for us there’s no question—the mandolin is the backbone of bluegrass! Bill Monroe … Read More
