Preserving The Tradition of Bluegrass Into The Future

If you happen to pick up a copy of the album Ghost Stories  by the indie-country group The Whitmore Sisters, brace yourself for some soul-stirring sibling harmony! Three years after their debut together, Eleanor and Bonnie Whitmore say they are still recording, writing, and playing venues together—despite having no plans for a follow-up album. “We have this bi-monthly residency at Gold Diggers here in Los Angeles [venue] called Mastersons & Friends, ” explains Eleanor. The si

“Christmas Time’s A-Comin’” says the granddaddy of Bluegrass holiday songs. And it seems to be a-comin’ sooner each year. As I write this, the first carol hasn’t fa-la-la-ed on the radio. But stores already have hauled out the holly, trimmed the trees, and tempted us with seasonal samples of fruitcake and candy. That’s put me in the mood to track down stories behind a few of my favorite Bluegrass Christmas songs. I once thought some of the more familiar tunes could be traced

Just a few years out of Berklee College of Music, brother and sister Elisha and Aila Wildman, performing as The Wildmans, seem like fresh new faces on the roots music scene. But owing to the vibrant, legendary old-time music scene around Floyd, Va., where they grew up, fiddling, singing, and strumming have always been part of their DNA.   “We grew up kind of going to the Floyd Country store every Friday night for a really long time,” says Aila. “They do the Friday night jambo

Some bands begin with ambition. Ruby Joyful began with love. Dan Rubinoff had played in small local bands most of his life, but he says, "I never wrote a good song until I was 50 years old. Joyce and I met eight and a half years ago. It opened up the creative pathways and all of a sudden I was writing good music." That spark led to more than just a few songs. It led to a new life. Ruby Joyful, the band Dan co-founded with partner and bassist Joice Moore, came together in Paon

If you ask Matt Wallace why he made his new album Close The Door Lightly, his answer comes from years of making music on stages, in studios, and in the quiet moments between gigs—years that have shaped the Knoxville-born bassist into the kind of artist who knows exactly what he wants to play, and who he wants to play it with. The album—out now on Huckleberry Records—isn’t a showcase of original material, and that’s by design. Wallace calls it more of a “jukebox record,” a col

Photo by Lily Shea Long Mama doesn’t ask for your attention — the songs demand it. Stark and searching, cinematic and punk at heart, the music rides the tension between beauty and blunt force like it’s born from both. If you’ve ever had your heart cracked open by a stranger’s voice on the radio, there’s a good chance you already know what Long Mama sounds like. Or at least how it feels. Behind the name — both the band and the moniker — is Kat Wodtke (pronounced “Wood-key”), a

“It’s been an interesting year,” says singer-songwriter Jack McKeon, who, just a few years back, hitched his Honda Civic to a five-by-eight U-Haul trailer and headed to Nashville in pursuit of getting his songs heard. Armed with a talent for storytelling, he left behind his small hometown of Chatham, New York. Three years later, McKeon self-financed his debut album, Talking To Strangers, earning praise for its song lyrics, musical arrangements, and blend of bluegrass, country

The Appalachian Mountains come alive each year with festivals that reflect the region’s deep cultural traditions and creative spirit. From music and storytelling to agriculture and harvest, these gatherings highlight what makes Appalachia one of the most distinctive cultural landscapes in the country. Here’s a guide to uniquely Appalachian festivals worth planning a trip around in 2026. Spring: Big Ears Festival — Knoxville, Tennessee (March 26–29, 2026) Spring in Appalachia

Elephant Revival has always carried a certain mystique. Their music—often called “transcendental folk”—is a blend of Celtic reels, Americana grit, bluegrass tradition, and ethereal tones that drift into indie rock territory. This audience connection stems from the band members’ intention to create not just a set of songs, but an experience. As for the band name, the story begins not with a stage but with elephants in a zoo. “Our bassist, Dango Rose, was busking at the Lincoln

Fulfilling her lifelong ambition, Twin Cities singer-songwriter Clare Doyle enjoys the road alongside her friend and fellow Minneapolis music artist, Michael Gay.   “I’ve been focusing on touring,” shares the native Saint Paul, Minnesota songwriter.  “We’re [playing] New Orleans, Birmingham, Nashville, St Louis, Kansas City and a couple of stops in Nebraska.” Doyle was delighted to be among the star-studded performers at The Blue Ox Music Festival. “It’s just a really beautif

Don’t try to put Mike Savino in a box. He performs as Tall Tall Trees, a name spurred by a tune written by Roger Miller and George Jones. Inspired by the pioneers of experimental banjo music (Rhiannan Giddens, Bela Fleck), Savino is a one-man psychedelic indie-folk orchestra. That box had not been invented until Savino’s experimental nature created it. He plays his music on his “Banjotron 5000,” and has been described as “a new age Cat Stevens with dreamy harmonies.” In other

Photo by Jeff f Daugherty When C.J. Lewandowski was a teenager, he met one of his music idols, veteran bluegrass artist Bobby Osborne. “I got to pick with him, and I was forever hooked,” C.J. says. C.J. worked hard to master the mandolin and was already playing gigs when he enrolled in the Kentucky School of Bluegrass and Traditional Music. “I went because Bobby was teaching there,” he says. “After a few months, Bobby asked me why I was there. I told him it was because he tau

Dig Deep is a unique and powerful force in the roots world with a hard-edged sound far beyond bluegrass. All the band members come from a punk music background, but band spokesman Alex Dalnodar says he got into bluegrass when he walked into a tavern and heard the 357 String Band. “Joseph Huber in 357 is an endless well of inspiration. We would not exist as a band if they had never existed.” The Stevens Point, Wisconsin-based band formed in 2015. “Stevens Point has a vibrant m

In the four years between albums, a lot has happened for the idiosyncratic, boundary-pushing bluegrass/roots band Nefesh Mountain.   “It's hard to pick up the phone and not just feel constantly affected by this world and this growing tension and divide in our country," says guitarist/banjoist/singer/songwriter Eric Lindberg, who fronts the band with his wife, vocalist and songwriter Doni Zasloff. “There's global things going on and there's wars," he laments.   But the state o

Enda Scahill started playing music at an early age in rural Ireland.   “Where I grew up in Galway, on the west coast, most Irish children played the tin whistle in school from age five or so,” he says. “When I was about nine years old, a wonderful music teacher called Bernie Geraghty came to my school. She asked if anyone would like to play the banjo, and my hand shot up into the air. I don’t know why I was instantly attracted to the banjo, and I don’t have a clear memory of

The satisfying sound of live music still has a home at Camp Springs Bluegrass Park thanks to North Carolina’s Coswell County resident Cody Johnson. With a heart full of fond memories and hard work, the park is again a thriving venue for bluegrass music. “I grew up going to festivals, including Camp Springs, which we happen to live near,” shares Cody, who says a sense of nostalgia drove him to buy the once-famous stomping ground. “My mom and dad went up and down the East Coast

Years ago, while our kids were still emptying Trick-or-Treat bags and comparing their Halloween haul, my wife Susan looked at our family calendar and sighed:  “After tonight I feel like we’ve been shot from a circus cannon and won’t land until after the New Year.” We now realize we had a small-caliber schedule, at least compared to the events hitting the calendars of folks in the Bluegrass community. That packed itinerary starts with fun but sleep-deprived nights at IBMA. Bac

"We were asking the big questions," says thirty-three-year-old Them Coulee Boys lead singer Soren Staff, about their latest LP, No Fun in Chrysalis .  "This record was coming from a place where there were huge changes for me and the band." The project felt change-oriented, explains Staff. "I was trying to figure it all out. I was getting to the point in life where I'm asking myself, 'Is this what I want to do?" The band agrees that live streaming poses a financial challenge.

While bluegrass continues to merge with other genres of music, bands like The Tennessee Bluegrass Band are dialing it back to its origins. After one album, an EP, and a handful of singles into their burgeoning career, their latest title track and LP, Nolichucky, further establishes the quintet's knack for revitalizing a song.   Banjoist Lincoln Hensley spoke from his home in East Tennessee.   "We are super psyched! We'll be releasing the full album sometime in July. This is t

Known for its storied recording history, Muscle Shoals, Alabama, is a major player in the music world. It is also home to a bluegrass band bending genres and surprising audiences for over two decades. Iron Horse. "It has been said of this area, 'There must be something in the water,'" says Vance Henry of Iron Horse. "There currently is and has been in the past a lot of music produced in Muscle Shoals, even in the bluegrass genre. We are proud of that heritage." They are also

Bridget Lancaster has become a trusted voice in American home kitchens, but her story begins in the hills of West Virginia. Born and raised in Cross Lanes, just outside Charleston, Lancaster grew up in a culture where food was more than sustenance — it was memory, heritage, and community. Today, as co-host of PBS’s America’s Test Kitchen and Cook’s Country, she translates that Appalachian food wisdom for a national audience, showing millions of viewers that good cooking doesn

"Brian Lillie here, playing some hot rockin' bluegrass hits for ya tonight on the Pickin' and Fiddlin' Show on Torrington Community Radio." Once again, Brian Lillie sings on the air on WAPJ-FM, as he does every Wednesday evening from 7 to 9 p.m. The station is in downtown Torrington, Connecticut, and it's the city's only station hyper-focused on the community. The non-profit, non-commercial station was started by dedicated volunteers and is still staffed by volunteers. Listen

A native of St. James, Minnesota, who proudly settled in the Tennessee town of Manchester, Becky Buller has been stacking up accolades for years. She’s the first woman to win IBMA’s Fiddler of the Year, and the only artist to take home both Female Vocalist and Fiddler in the same year. Her songs have been recorded on three Grammy-winning bluegrass albums, including Laws of Gravity by The Infamous Stringdusters, The Travelin’ McCourys, and Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway’s Crook

After many years on the road—she was with the circus, he hopped freights—husband and wife Keith Josiah Smith and Sparrow Smith, who perform as The Resonant Rogues, have put down roots.   "We live in Western North Carolina," says Sparrow. "It's one of the most beautiful natural places in the world. People can come here from all over the world to experience nature here. We're so lucky to have it in our backyard.”   But as The Resonant Rogues, Sparrow and Keith—sometimes perform