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