Current Issue December 2021
The Tradition
Bluegrass Innovator Seventy-five years ago the Stanley Brothers developed a distinctive sound in country music (a music that would later become known as bluegrass). Carter’s lead voice, sparse rhythm guitar…
Read MoreThe year 2020 was proclaimed by many as the 75th anniversary of the birth of bluegrass, a time that celebrated when the stars aligned in 1945 to provide Bill Monroe…
Read MoreQueries Q: I recently sold off some of my bluegrass memorabilia, including a 1951 Stanley Brothers song and picture folio. The booklet contained a photo of a disc jockey by…
Read MoreThe Artists
Bluegrass veteran Don Rigsby’s reputation speaks for itself. The award-winning musician has been a member of top bluegrass music groups including The Bluegrass Cardinals, JD Crowe and The New South,…
Read MoreIt was a dramatic moment when Larry Sparks walked onto the stage at Ralph Stanley’s funeral in the summer of 2016 to sing a song of tribute. Before he hit…
Read MoreThe Sound
Any tribute to The Stanley Brothers calls for an inside look at a favorite Stanley Brothers song. I’m not the expert some are on The Stanley Brothers or Ralph Stanley,…
Read MorePhotos by Jamie Alexander For many of us, the first-generation bluegrass pioneers were the link that pulled on our heart strings and gave us a lifetime infatuation for bluegrass music.…
Read MorePhotos by Bud Osborne DSecades ago, someone approached me at Bean Blossom and asked for feedback on a mandolin he’d built. The F-5 style instrument looked like a C- grade…
Read MoreThe Venue
Photos Courtesy of Ralph Stanley Museum Nestled in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains about eight miles northeast of Ralph Stanley’s birthplace, McClure, Virginia, sits a bastion of traditional mountain music. Old…
Read MoreHills of Home Bluegrass Festival The Dr. Ralph Stanley Hills of Home Memorial Day Weekend Bluegrass Festival held at the Hills of Home Park in McClure, Virginia is one of…
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