This Contest is Closed The winner is ANDY BING Origin of the Dobro Steel Guitar? Let’s talk about bluegrass instruments again. Where do the big six bluegrass instruments come from, historically? The King Instrument, the fiddle/violin, of course comes from … Read More
March is Women’s History Month—so let’s celebrate bluegrass music’s founding mothers! It’s hard to pinpoint the exact year when bluegrass began, but it certainly wouldn’t have been without the contribution of the earliest female performers of the nascent genre, like … Read More
This Contest is Closed The winner is Andy Bing MARCH 11, 2022 TRIVIA QUESTION Brother Acts – Where Were They From? There have been a heck of lot of “brother duets” in hillbilly music. Focusing on the ones particularly known … Read More
Previous columns including the last one about the Greenbriar Boys have mentioned Frank Wakefield, one of my all time favorite mandolin players. Frank’s achievements merit more discussion than fits in one column. Here is Part One. David Grisman, who is … Read More
A New Landmark in Bluegrass Instrumental Projects This new recording is a Biggie – about as Big as possible. Destined to become a landmark I think. Mandolinist Mike Compton has been collecting and cross-referencing unrecorded mandolin tunes of Bill Monroe … Read More
Live music from the HVBA is back! We’re happy to announce that member band Too Blue will be kicking off our 2022 concert season on Saturday, March 26th at 7:30pm at our new venue, The James Earl Jones Theater, located … Read More
This Contest is Closed The winners are: Andy Bing, Roy Streever, and Diane Winslow click photo to enlarge FEBRUARY 25, 2022 TRIVIA QUESTION Who of the following is NOT a current bluegrass singer? Dale Ann Bradley Brooke Aldridge Pearl Bodine … Read More
Gospel music is a core aspect of bluegrass music. Spirituals, hymns, and other religious music featured prominently in the early days of bluegrass, and it continues to do so to this day. The classic format of four voices with guitar … Read More
Kim started life with an early love for music but got a bit of a late start in the professional music world; college, careers and family can do that to anyone. The advantage of that late start is that all … Read More
New York City has been a folk music center since before the post-war folk revival. The book “Folk City,” by Stephen Petrus and Ronald D. Cohen, published in 2015 to accompany the exhibition of the same name presented that year … Read More