Other than avoiding stale old banjo jokes it’s hard to figure out where to start with Steve Wilson (aka ‘Wilson Banjo Co.’). “Man of many talents” or “multi-talented”? Such overused terms don’t do him justice. A brief glimpse at his … Read More
Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass have just released what is undoubtedly the finest recording of their career – Bluegrass Troubadour. Now I’ve always liked Danny because since he was a teenager he always hauled off and hit his music … Read More
Byron Berline’s second disc of his 3-CD set from 2020, Early in the Morning, introduces 22 original “Old Time” tunes by his pen, or in this case, his bow. Starting off with a beautiful, nostalgic, solo cross-tuned fiddle song called … Read More
It’s a head scratcher, really. I’m trying to figure out Byron Berline. His music shop burned down in early 2019, then a major pandemic shelved most communal music making for 2020. Nobody would blame him for kicking back and taking … Read More
You would be hard-pressed to find a more accomplished and prolific fiddler than Byron Berline. The Oklahoma-based former Blue Grass Boy recently released an impressive three-CD set in 2020 entitled, Early in the Morning. Exclusively available through his music store … Read More
All I can say after listening to this album is: finally. Finally, Justin Moses has struck out on his own and defined his vision, skillset, and identity within the bluegrass genre. Finally, Justin Moses—who a lot of my picking … Read More
(Ed. Note: There were two people who wanted to review this CD and we thought it good to give our readers two takes on the same album. For comparisons, read the review posted last month.) Remember those great old rock … Read More
Here’s a brand new CD of fresh traditional-style bluegrass music from Rock Hearts , a fine 5-piece New England band. It was officially released last Friday, Oct. 30. Rock Hearts named themselves after a great old Jimmy Martin recording from … Read More
In August of 2015 at the Podunk Bluegrass Festival (remember those?) I saw Mark Stoffel (playing with Chris Jones and the Night Drivers band) be spotlighted by performing a tune on the mandolin using purely harmonic tones. That made such … Read More
What brings an artist to bluegrass? Robert Hale shows us with his great new CD, Blue Haze. Over the years, Hale has gained attention for his world class musicianship, performing with countless musicians. His background includes playing at the Grand … Read More