The Artists

Jesse McReynolds and the Virginia Boys at Glenville State College. (Left to Right) Bobby Hicks, Charles Whitstein, Jesse McReynolds, Kent Blanton, Daniel Gridstaff, Luke McKnight and Donny Catron

Jesse McReynolds’ Grandson Takes Us Into The Heart of Bluegrass Music’s First Generation

In the fall of 2022, I explored the region of Southwest Virginia that has produced some of the most famous musicians to ever appear in the long lineage of American roots music.  The 1,435-mile-long highway known as Route 23 makes its way from Jacksonville, Florida, to Mackinaw City, Michigan. About halfway in-between those two destinations…

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Ever Higher

Alan Munde Rises Above Convention with New Record “Excelsior” When Alan Munde was thinking of a name for his new collection of fifteen tunes building on his long-standing penchant for harmonic adventurousness and embrace of the melodic banjo style, he lit on one word: Excelsior. It’s a direct nod to a short Henry Wadsworth Longfellow…

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Jerry Douglas

Photo by  Scott Simontacchi One of the most innovative musicians and gifted producers of his generation, Jerry Douglas is at the point in his career of fifty years when he can do whatever he wants. A fifteen-time Grammy winner and the ten-time recipient of IBMA’s “Dobro Player of the Year” award, Douglas—along with Josh Graves,…

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The Henhouse Prowlers (left to right) Jon Goldfine, Jake Howard, Chris Dollar, Ben Wright

Putting the I in IBMA

Photos by Ben Wright With the release of their latest album Lead and Iron and after more than nineteen years as a band, Chicago-based Henhouse Prowlers has settled on the right combination. They started as a six-piece band playing every Tuesday night at a neighborhood bar on the north side of Chicago. As they started…

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Billy Cardine

Resophonic Explorations Billy Cardine has explored the possibilities of the square-neck resophonic guitar far beyond the genres of bluegrass, folk, country, Americana and blues.   While musical explorations that push the outer bounds of genre are not typically embraced by bluegrass hardliners, Cardine is a musician who knows how to reign in his expansive musical abilities…

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Talent Directory

The Bluegrass Unlimited Annual Talent Directory lists all artists and bands that requested inclusion in this directory. If you are a performing artist or are in a band and would like to be listed in the future, please email [email protected] with “Talent Directory” as the subject. This directory will also appear on our website and will be…

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