Current Issue
August 2022

The Tradition

Notes & Queries – August

By Gary Reid

Queries Q: I’ve always liked the song “Swinging A Nine Pound Hammer,” which I first heard from the singing of Mac Martin (from a 1970 album). I later heard live…

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Music In American Life Series

By Dan Miller

I’ll have to confess that the first record album that I owned was not a bluegrass album.  I was a suburban kid listening to rock radio in the 1960s and…

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The Artists

Shades of Blue

By Bill Conger

Photo by Katrina Burgoyne Don’t try to pigeon-hole Kristy Cox into one set category of music. The bluegrass artist/songwriter from the Land Down Under has a colorful singing voice that…

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Smith Brothers’

By Sandy Hatley

Impact on the Bluegrass Industry The brothers grew up in north central North Carolina near the site of the state’s first bluegrass festival, Camp Springs. They played at the first…

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Mickey Harris 

By Chris Thiessen

Preparation meets opportunity Photos by Joseph Tipton For a Murfreesboro, Tennessee-based multi-instrumentalist whose musical roots stretch back six generations and predate the 1927 Bristol Big Bang, Mickey Harris is remarkably…

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Laura (five years old) with Doyle Lawson and her brother Nathan (notice Paul Williams photo-bombing in the background in front of the white van).

Managing the Main Attraction

By Dan Miller

When you visit your favorite venue or festival and watch the bands perform, you may often find yourself in awe of the talent of the musicians on stage and you…

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Donna Ulisse

By Bill Conger

Living Large in Bluegrass Photo by Kim Brantley Bluegrass singer and songwriting ace Donna Ulisse is doing exactly what the title of her new album implies, Livin’ Large. The award-winning tunesmith…

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The Sound

Buddy Michaels

By Penny Parsons

Hometown Hero Of N.C. Bluegrass Broadcasting  Photo by Lee Capps Buddy Michaels loves to talk.  Ask him a question then sit back and enjoy the ride, because he’s likely to…

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It Rains Everywhere I Go

By Casey L. Penn

By Don Cusic Sometimes, it takes a while for a song to find the perfect home. “It Rains Everywhere I Go,” written by Don Cusic in the late 1970s, didn’t…

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The Venue

Way Down Upon the Suwannee River

By Mike Fiorito

The Suwannee Spring Reunion Photos by Frank Serio In March 2022, I went to the Suwannee Spring Reunion to write about the event and interview a few musicians.  I had…

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