Current Issue
April 2021

The Tradition

Clarence Edgar Hall

Notes & Queries – April

By Gary Reid

Bluegrass has been beset with the recent passing of a number talented members of our community. In lieu of our regular “Notes and Queries” column, we use the space this…

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The Industrial Strength Bluegrass Project

By Jordan Laney

Traveling the Hillbilly Highway On January 29, 2021, Smithsonian Folkways, the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution released “Readin’, Rightin’, Route 23.” The song is performed by Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers,…

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Joe Mullins playing a banjo

Joe Mullins

By Jordan Laney

Joe Mullins began to recognize the power of music to bridge traditions and create new communities while listening to his father Paul “Moon” Mullins, a radio broadcaster and accomplished fiddle…

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Paul Mullins holding an instrument for a portrait

Paul “Moon” Mullins, Legendary Broadcaster

By Daniel Mullins

This is an excerpt from Industrial Strength Bluegrass: Southwestern Ohio’s Musical Legacy (edited by Fred Bartenstein and Curtis W. Ellison, © 2021 by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.…

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The Artists

Justin and Sierra laughing and smiling for a photo

A Marriage Made in Music

By Bill Conger

Justin and Sierra aren’t quite sure when their first meeting was. She had seen him play at local festivals with Kentucky Wind. He remembers meeting her at an IBMA convention…

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Sierra Hull smiling for a portrait

Passages of Time with Sierra Hull

By Bill Conger

Photo by Shelly Swanger “There’s something intimate about knowing people in the audience and nerve wracking a little bit,” instrumentalist/singer/songwriter Sierra Hull said, chuckling. The night before her interview with Bluegrass…

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Justin Moses smiling for a portrait with his instrument

Justin Moses

By Bill Conger

The Quiet Assassin Photo by Shelly Swanger Multi-instrumentalist Justin Moses excels at picking anything with strings. As an in-demand sideman, the modest musician lets his unassuming talents do the talking. “I…

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Jack Tuttle playing his fiddle

Jack Tuttle

By Tristan Scroggins

Influencing Generations of Bluegrass Pickers Jack Tuttle is a multi-instrumentalist, author, and teacher based in the San Francisco Bay Area who has the distinction of being one of, if not…

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The Sound

Happy and Jane Traum circa 1980s

Homespun Heroes

By Derek Halsey

For Over 50 Years, Great Homespun Artists Have Taught Us How to Play Music For many bluegrass musicians who have tried to improve their skills over the last 50 years…

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Ben Clark smiling and playing his banjo

Banjo Ben Clark

By Dan Miller

Video Instruction for the 21st Century If you are a banjo, mandolin, or guitar player and spend any amount of time on YouTube, you will know about Banjo Ben Clark. …

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The Venue

Students smile for a group photo at the Monroe Mandolin camp

Monroe Mandolin Camp

By Dan Miller

Building Bluegrass Community  Music camps and workshops provide students with an opportunity to interact with, and learn directly from, professional musicians and music heroes. While at camp, students also have…

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