Prior columns mentioned a few bluegrass radio personalities in passing but this is the first column devoted to one. Bluegrass radio has been an important part of the music from the beginning. Bill Monroe joined the Grand Ole Opry in … Read More
This month, to celebrate my 50th column, I exercise one of the prerogatives of a columnist: focusing on the music of two particular favorites of mine-the late banjoist and singer/songwriter Dave Evans, and mandolinist and singer/songwriter Dick Staber. Perhaps their … Read More
“Evening Prayer Blues” is a mandolin tune that Bill Monroe released on “Master of Bluegrass,” his 1981 collection of mandolin instrumentals. Nearly all the tunes on the album were Monroe compositions, many played at lightning tempos, showing that at age … Read More
John Hartford was one of the most talented and unusual musicians to come out of bluegrass in the 1960s and 70s. He excelled at many things. Perhaps most prominently, he was a gifted and quirky songwriter, who gave the world … Read More
An early post in this series, about the evolution of bluegrass banjo styles, devoted a few paragraphs to banjo innovator Don Reno. Although Reno had mastered the three finger banjo style at the same time that Earl Scruggs was coming … Read More
by Andy Bing For fans of the traditional, hard driving, take no prisoners, blood and guts bluegrass singing, it’s hard to improve on Red Allen. Red was an incredibly powerful bluegrass singer and guitarist whose heartfelt and highly personal vocal … Read More
One of the risks of having a bluegrass musician write about the music and its personalities is that the writer will focus on those who play his or her instrument. At the risk of trying the reader’s patience (“What, another … Read More
Bill Monroe, the Father of Bluegrass, is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in addition to the Country Music and Bluegrass Halls of Fame. His presence in the Rock Hall may surprise some folks but on reflection it’s … Read More
In June of this year, bluegrass mandolin players worldwide celebrated the 100th anniversary of the first Loar-signed Gibson F5 Master Model mandolin. OK, “celebrated” may be too strong a word; perhaps “noted” would more accurately describe the festivities. But the … Read More
Many years ago, for several summers running, I attended a bluegrass festival in central New York where I would jam with a particular banjo player. Two things about him linger in my memory. The first was that he was a … Read More