Current Issue March 2024
The Tradition
Q: What ever happened to the person who wrote all of the songs on Reno & Smiley’s Civil War album? – Jerry Steinberg, Salem, Virginia A: The songwriter in question…
Read MoreThe Long Strange Trip of Spud, Dawg, Red, Mule and Vassar Jerry Garcia’s burning ambition as a young musician was to play banjo in Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys. He…
Read More(May 22, 1939 – December 25, 2023) “Dave (Freeman) single-handedly built a company that encompasses record labels, wholesale distribution and mail order to the public. He has made a fair amount…
Read MoreOn January 6, 2024, Earl Eugene Scruggs, the most influential and imitated banjo picker on the planet, would have turned 100 years old. To celebrate the occasion, Jerry Douglas served…
Read MoreThe Artists
The Heartbeat of Golden Highway There is no doubt that Molly Tuttle is extremely talented. This Grammy-winning artist has continually displayed the ability to write songs, sing and play lead…
Read MoreDemigods don’t play the banjo. Scholars can point to a few lyre-playing immortals here and there in the pantheon, but that’s not picking the five-string, is it? And Earl Scruggs…
Read MoreBands Blurring the Lines of Bluegrass “The cool thing about Broke Mountain Bluegrass Band is we thought we were something special,” says Anders Beck with a laugh, “but we were…
Read MoreThe Sound
The Doctor Is In To say that there are a lot of people providing guitar instruction on YouTube is an understatement…there are thousands…maybe tens of thousands. Refine your search to…
Read MoreWe all have days when we could use a good-humored song with a classic feel. If that’s you today, I recommend “End of the End of the World,” written by…
Read MoreAnd the Culture of Roots Music Throughout their career the Grateful Dead loaded their song repertoire with American roots music traditions from top to bottom. The Dead were interested in…
Read MoreThe Venue
A Bluegrass Journey On March 28, 2024, the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum opens its largest and most interactive temporary exhibition to date—Jerry Garcia: A Bluegrass Journey. The…
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