Preserving The Tradition of Bluegrass Into The Future

At this year's IBMA World of Bluegrass festival, many will gather to see the top acts perform, along with rising showcase artists, the annual awards, instrument trade shows, and jam sessions to satisfy even the most ardent bluegrass fan. Boner, a former IBMA Board Chair and longtime board member, is known throughout the bluegrass community for his musical versatility. As the director of East Tennessee State University's Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Roots Music Studies program, Bo

Some of the very best bluegrass songs happen when a man pours out his heart for all to see. It’s deep. It’s meaningful. And often…it’s written by a woman! This dynamic – of listeners thinking a man was behind a song because a male performed it – is what motivated acclaimed bluegrass artist Lindsay Lou to create something that honors women songwriters. This 10-track record released in August was simply titled: Bluegrass Women. The fact that she was able to get artists and frie

“Rrinaco is the place for the full picture of who I am as an artist,” says Corrina Rose Logston Stephens. The project gives the multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter freedom to focus on two things she loves—words and music. For some High Fidelity fans, her new album Little Songs might be a bit of a surprise. “People hear my name and expect traditional bluegrass,” explains Stephens. “The Rrinaco music is definitely that—but it's also much more. It's my creative expressio

The Wee Farm is currently beaming, sporting all the colors of spring on this land Farmer Rick (my long-suffering husband, lol) and I love so much. The knockout roses are actually showing off with bright reds and pinks bursting all over this place. Here’s an interesting observation from a Goat Girl Gone Cat Crazy (that would be me…I nickname everyone on or associated with the Wee Farm Musings). I am not a natural nature girl, preferring the indoor comfort where flying insects

“Don’t just stand there with your teeth in your mouth!” That’s not only the good-natured exhortation Alan Bartram’s dad would offer as a reminder to get busy: it’s the first line of “Gas and Oil,” a song performed by the Travelin’ McCourys that’s gotten a lot of notice, airplay, and positive reaction at concerts. The song is Bartram’s reflection on the value of doing something challenging--in this case, cutting timber--with people one respects and loves. And the song’s stayin

Getting the chance to play with The Grascals and Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers is enough to make any picker happy—but if you ask guitarist and vocalist Chris Davis, going out on his own has brought newfound freedom. With the urging of his record label, Billy Blue Records, Davis, who spent years as a sideman, feels it was time for him to step into the spotlight. “For a long time, Billy Blue kept telling me, ‘Man, you need to do your own band.’ But my confidence level just

A good song often ties back to a real-life experience, and that’s the case with “Sticks and Stones,” the first track on Bronwyn’s new album, Rattlin’ Bones. The album was released on August 14, and with this album, Bronwyn explores a new-to-her musical possibility: songwriting. “I wrote that song when I was touring with Golden Highway,” recalls Bronwyn. “I was trying to sleep on the bus, and I was on a bottom bunk where I felt the bus rattle with each bump. That line kept run

Bluegrass Goes To College It’s been said that the perfect college setting would be a good teacher on one end of a log and a student on the other. These days, it might take a Paul Bunyan-sized log to make room for the student union, rec center, stadium, and other “necessities” on almost any campus. But that nostalgic image does make a point. Beyond all the amenities of college life, learning really comes from the interaction of knowledgeable and caring teachers and talented an

In the middle of the woods during the bleak days of winter, progressive-acoustic band High Horse got together and made a record. From a fiddle suite to Celtic, bluegrass, old time and even “jazz-grass” and indie rock influences, the record runs the gamut. Produced by notable mandolin player Jacob Joliff, the 2024 release was a great showcase of what this Boston-based quartet of classically trained musicians has to offer. The eponymously titled release featured 12 tracks of o

There was a time when buying an album meant committing to a journey. You didn’t simply hear the hit single. You carried the record home, carefully slid the vinyl from its sleeve, admired the cover art, read every lyric, studied the musician credits, and settled into a chair knowing you were about to experience something larger than a handful of songs. Every track had a purpose. The opening number set the stage. The closing song left you with something to think about. Instrume

Andy Leftwich doesn’t deal in nostalgia, even when his résumé invites it. The four-time Grammy-winning instrumentalist could lean on a lifetime that runs from championship fiddle contests to nearly sixteen years inside Kentucky Thunder, but Aced pushes forward instead of looking back. The album captures a musician who has moved past proving himself and now focuses on saying something that lasts. “This latest record is one that I’ve been working on for just over a year,” Leftw

The audience for bluegrass music extends beyond the United States. Every year dozens of bluegrass bands tour in foreign lands, especially Europe and the United Kingdom. Playing abroad can increase a band’s audience and provide members with new travel, culinary, and cultural experiences. But the travel complications can be unexpected and confounding. The Bluegrass Standard invited several musicians to share their experiences traveling and performing abroad. Unsurprisingly, sim

Blue(Grass) Ribbon Dog Songs Congratulate yourself on making it this deep into summertime. We’ve almost reached the tail end of Dog Days—July 3 to August 11. But it seems to me our four-legged friends deserve more than our taking their names in vain for some of the muggiest days of the season. When they named this stretch of the calendar, the ancient Romans had mapped the path of Sirius, the bright “Dog Star.” Because it aligns with the summer sun, that star was thought to ad

Ask thirty-four-year-old North Carolina banjoist and tractor enthusiast Andy Hunt what a 1947 Farmall H and bluegrass have in common, and he'll show you living history. “Our family farm in Archdale, North Carolina, was bought by my great-great-granddaddy in the early 1900s,” Hunt says. Hunt also raises cattle, including one named Mabel. “Hereford cows are my favorite breed!” “I caught classic tractor fever at a very young age. My dad worked as a farrier. He would put me on a

As an industrial hygenist Steven Moore keeps workplaces safe by carefully monitoring dust, vapor, and noise levels, and reducing exposure to protect employees. But on stage he’s audacious and bold. This three-time national banjo champion plays jaw-dropping, inventive arrangements of contest tunes. As a member of The David Mayfield Parade, perhaps the most animated, eccentric, and exciting band in bluegrass, Moore combines his virtuosity with a sense of humor and humility that

Charlie Worsham has been involved with music for as long as he can remember. Growing up in Grenada, Mississippi, as the son of a banker (his dad) and a teacher (his mother), young Charlie was an accomplished musician by the age of fourteen, honored as such by the Mississippi Senate. In high school, he attended a five-week summer program at Berklee College of Music and fell in love with Boston. By the time he graduated from high school, Charlie was ready to pursue his music d

On a June afternoon in New York, the idea of asking permission to step onto someone’s porch carries a certain weight. It suggests entry, humility, and a recognition that music, like conversation, is something shared rather than imposed. That spirit sits at the heart of Porch Stomp 2026, returning June 20 to Governors Island, where bluegrass and its extended folk family continue their unlikely, but deeply rooted, dialogue with the city. Now in its thirteenth year, Porch Stomp

Ten years ago, when he first began writing code for an app that his music students could play along with, Luke Abbott didn’t realize he was revolutionizing bluegrass music instruction and creating a career for himself. But a decade into Strum Machine, it’s clear that’s what happened. Not only does the subscription-based app allow users to play along with approximately 1300 bluegrass and old-time songs in its catalog, they can, among other things, select the key, set the temp

If you think being a full-time musician isn’t a rewarding job, ask Florida-based banjoist Isaac Taylor. Whether he’s teaching someone how to play “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” or touring with rising Florida band Remedy Tree, he enjoys every minute of it. “Oh my goodness. It’s my dream!” said Taylor over the phone during an early morning interview. In 2014, a newly married Taylor traded his banjo for computer systems and data management. “I was about to graduate from college, and

Perception sure can be sneaky on a beautiful day. Wily clouds and shifty blue skies cannot be trusted to tell your eyes the truth. I knew that pretty lie on some level as I held the perfect cup of coffee while gazing out my kitchen window one morning a few days back. I went so far as to have a “Snow White” moment, wanting to start humming a cheerful melody and twirl around, letting my princess dress swing out as little forest creatures danced around my feet because everything

She’s as hot as Tabasco sauce, and as smooth as a glass of good whiskey. With one foot in South Louisiana and one in Nashville, Sara Douga is keeping her musical traditions intact while running an indie career. Her second album, Woman Out of Me, was released on May 26. She’s a music businesswoman who wrote most of the songs, put together a band of A-list Nashville musicians, and self-produced the album at Starstruck Studios. A Solid Beginning Sara grew up in Lake Charles, Lou

For the young members of the DellaValla Trio, building a career in the biz requires full immersion in the bluegrass scene. For these talented teens, experiencing the recent annual SPBGMA convention for the very first time was a great way to dig deeply into the music and culture they love so much. “We went mainly to support friends, to learn, and to jam our hearts out,” explained Joseph DellaValla, 17-year-old banjo player and vocalist for the family group. “We’ve been genuine

The Petersens are first and foremost a family. They also have a family band. And, they all have a hand in running the family’s music business. The band was officially formed in 2004, but they started performing more when they moved to Branson, Missouri, in 2007. As they performed at local churches and festivals, the band gained recognition for their faith-based music, beautiful harmonies, and their instrumental skills. Their music has opened doors and taken them around the w

It’s an unlikely musical love story. Jon and Marina Lindblom took a sidestep from symphonic music to bluegrass, and the result has been something they never could have imagined. Jon, a native of New York, pursued his musical ambitions at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he earned a degree in Trumpet Performance. While in college, he met a violinist, Marina, from Michigan. She was also at Eastman to study Violin Performance. Marina has played in symph