From a duo act to individual solo projects, Nashville-based Theo & Brenna MacMillan are exploring many avenues to get their music heard. With the brother-sister progressive bluegrass act Theo & Brenna Band, they’ve recorded two records and honed in on what it takes to work together after growing up together. Even though they each approach their original co-writing of songs in a different way, there’s a definite overlap in how they see things.   “We’re siblings, so we have a lot of the same influences and ideas,” Brenna MacMillan said.   Plus, they’re both singers, songwriters and multi-instrumentalists.   Her brother – Theo MacMillan – said he sees being siblings as “totally an advantage.”   “We grew up singing together,” he said, adding that they were also in the same band while at Berea College in Kentucky.   Their second album, “Dreams for Sale,” released in 2022, included a song about their creative process.   “It’s a song we wrote together about writing songs,” Brenna said. “We both have different approaches to writing that we talk about in the song.”   For example, Brenna’s inspiration comes from the deep, atmospheric spaces of dreamscapes.   “Sometimes I’ll just dream a song or dream a melody,” she explained. “I’d say 70 or 80 percent of our songs come from dreams.” She said the rest of her inspiration comes from nature or “ethereal reflections.”   Her brother takes a different approach, and they’ve learned to combine Brenna’s dreamlike methods with Theo’s more grounded approach to creating.    “I generally write more from real life experience…and from reading and thinking about ideas,” Theo said.   While performing as the Theo & Brenna Band has been a great learning experience, they’re both excited to move away from that as a priority and explore their solo careers instead.    “We still play occasionally, we play private gigs and have a couple of shows coming up in Nashville,” Theo said.   He has released several bluegrass singles as a solo act, but his big new thing will be a rock project. He said it’s still in production but is shaping up to have an “adult contemporary or pop rock” orientation.    “I also write a lot for other bluegrass artists,” Theo said. “I do a lot of bluegrass writing, not just my own stuff.”   Gigging frequently and having opened for the likes of J.D. Crowe and Bobby Osborne, Brenna is staying put in her genre; there are no rock projects on her near horizon. She’s solidly immersed in the world of American roots music. “What’s to Come” – the initial single from her first solo record – has already been released, and another is coming soon. The single features guest contributions by Ronnie McCoury on mandolin, Frank Evans of the Slocan Ramblers on clawhammer banjo, Jake Stargel with guitar, Mike Bub supplying the bass, and Maddie Denton playing fiddle.    “I would say it’s bluegrass/old time/folk/Americana,” she said of the full upcoming record, explaining that part of the album will be straight-up bluegrass. In contrast, other parts have a more inclusive Americana vibe that expands the instruments to include piano, sax and drums. She said 10 of the 11 tracks on the record are originals. The whole album is slated to drop in October.    For more information on upcoming tour dates, record releases and more, follow Theo & Brenna on Facebook at Facebook.com/bentlineproductions or visit their website at Bentlineproductions.com .

The Henhouse Prowlers are more than a crowd-pleasing, Chicago-based bluegrass band. It turns out they are ambassadors-- Bluegrass Ambassadors. And now that they’ve embraced international touring--often on behalf of the U.S. State Department--they are dedicated to showing other musicians how to do the same.   The band has established Bluegrass Ambassadors, a non-profit whose mission is “to educate and inspire through the cultural exchange of music.”   The Henhouse Prowlers have been to more than 25 countries and incorporate music from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and other regions into their unique traditional American music catalog. They say these far-flung travels have generated wonderful experiences and lasting friendships. “The Henhouse Prowlers started 20 years ago now, and we were just a bunch of guys that wanted to play bluegrass music,” says Ben Wright, who plays banjo in the band and serves as Bluegrass Ambassadors program director. “And somebody at some point said, ‘Hey, there's this work the State Department does called cultural diplomacy work. There's a program you can apply for, and you guys should do that.’ And I filled it out, and all of a sudden, we were accepted to audition for this thing. And so we did, and we got it.” For their first trip as State Department representatives, the Henhouse Prowlers toured Niger, Mauritania, Congo, and Liberia. “Despite how hard it was and how difficult it was, it really left this incredible impression on us,” Wright recalls. “We started learning these skills of connecting with people that we don't even share a language with. If you just learn a little bit of music that people know, then you open these doors that you didn't even know existed.” At a workshop at the Folk Alliance conference last February, the Prowlers showed how they do it. In addition to explaining the State Department program to other musicians, they taught everyone in their session a bluegrass version of “Sitya Loss,” a rousing Ugandan folk song they had worked up on a visit to that country. Wright says that making the effort and taking the time to learn a song from the host country creates instant goodwill. Performing a Ugandan, Saudi Arabian, or Rwandan song doesn’t necessarily come naturally to a bluegrass band. But Wright says it’s all folk music, and often, the songs have more in common than one might think. “I definitely remember these moments of sitting down with a song like that and being like, ‘Oh, my God, like, how are we going to do this?’ And then you pull your instrument out, and you're like, ‘Oh, it's G-C-D.’”  Despite the challenges, Wright says connecting with other cultures is fascinating and rewarding. And it makes sense for bands to make these trips. “One of the things I love about those tours is that I just need to go, and I have to do my homework about the music, but I don't have to worry about promoting the shows. I don't have to worry about all the stuff that is part of being a band these days because the embassy takes care of all that, and if they're doing their job well, every show you play is packed with people, and all you have to worry about is performing.”  The Henhouse Prowlers will travel to Bolivia in October. Later this year, they’ll be in the Czech Republic. “We're going to be there on the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution when communism fell, and that really was an impetus for the Czech people to embrace country and bluegrass music. We're going to do some education work at some schools. And then we're going to do this symposium where we're going to gather stories from Czech people about bluegrass history there. And really, one of the main goals is that I want Americans to understand more how profound bluegrass is to Czech people and how they not only embraced it, but they made it their own.” The Prowlers continue to perform about 100 shows a year in the United States and are beginning work on a new album. However, holding workshops about connecting people and cultures through music and travel as Bluegrass Ambassadors has become essential to their identity. “There’s several goals to it,” Wright explains. “One is making people realize that these tools we've developed are available to everybody. You just need a little bit of curiosity and a desire to learn. But it’s also to ideally encourage people to think about visiting these places and ultimately recognize the things that we have in common with people, no matter where they are, no matter what language they speak, no matter what color their skin is. We actually share these fundamental things as human beings, which is wanting to be artists, celebrating music, and culture. It's part of who we are as a species. Because those are the exact feelings we get when we're on these tours.”

Clint Holley has always had a thing for vinyl. “I bought my first record around 1979 or 1980,” he recalls. It seems you always remember your first. “It was Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall  album.” Clint says his parents were big flea market people. “They used to get my sister and me out of bed at 6 am to drag us to flea markets.” During those flea market forays, Clint discovered he could buy stacks of records for ten and twenty-five cents each. “I started buying records in the 1980s when CDs came out. Everyone was eliminating their record collections, and I started buying them.” He got into sound engineering by working in the historic Beachland Ballroom and Tavern in Cleveland, Ohio. “I ran sound for the bands that played there,” he says. “I learned on the job.” He spent a decade running audio at the bar during the 2000s. In 2009, someone opened a pressing plant for vinyl records in Cleveland. “His name was Vince Slusarz, and he put a help wanted poster up in the bar where I worked. I applied for the job, but he didn’t hire me. But because I had an audio background, Vince invited me to go with him to a studio that owned a machine called a mastering lathe.” Clint went home and told his wife, Bonnie, about the machine. “She told me I should buy one of the machines, and that started a year and a half odyssey to find out more about the machines, including their history, who owns them, and who sells them.” People had destroyed a lot of the equipment from the fifties, sixties, and seventies. Most of what was left was mothballed in warehouses, and most were in bad condition. His quest led him to a man in New Jersey who had stockpiled the mastering lathes when the record companies were getting rid of them in the 1980s. “His name was Albert Grundy. He was 82 at the time, and he had bought a lot of machines that he restored and sold. He called one day and told me he had one for me. He made me a deal on a Neumann VMS-70 lathe system, and I brought home my first machine in 2010 and set it up in my mother-in-law’s garage.” With Grundy on call as a mentor of sorts, Clint taught himself the craft of cutting records. “He talked me through a lot of things. It put me in touch with an older generation and a new one, too.” “I think there is a kind of bond that can’t be broken when people enjoy the experience of listening to music,” says Clint. “There’s something special about listening to an album and looking at the cover art and liner notes. There is a stronger connection with the music that way.” Clint established his business, Well Made Music, in 2010, where he serves as the Chief Mastering Engineer. “Back then, it was manageable. Now, it has exploded. “I would say it was an industry that wasn’t ready for its own success.” Clint explains that Covid hurt the vinyl industry to a certain extent due to supply chain issues. But it also helped. “People had more time at home to listen to music, and many used their stimulus checks to buy records. At the same time, artists weren’t touring, so they had time on their hands to create more music, which increased the demand.” Clint pressed mastered his first album 14 years ago. “It was a local Cleveland band called The New Lou Reeds.” He earned GRAMMY Awards as a lacquer-cutting engineer for Bobby Rush’s Porcupine Meat  (2016) and Otis Readding’s Live at the   Whisky A Go Go  (2016). Dave Polster joined Well Made Music in 2014 as a Senior Mastering Engineer. He learned the craft of vinyl record manufacturing and has spearheaded the digital mastering services at Well Made Music. “ We are privileged to work on Grammy award-winning projects,” says Clint. Dave worked as the lacquer-cutting engineer for Billy Strings’ Home  (2020) and Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway’s Crooked Tree  (2022). The clients for Well Made Music range from independent artists to record labels and pressing plants. “Each has their own challenges. Working with artists is more personalized, I suppose. I like to invite them in so they can see their record being pressed.”

Helen White was a musician and school guidance counselor in Sparta, North Carolina, in 2000 when she noticed a gap in generational learning, particularly music. “She didn’t see local kids at community events,” says Brett Morris, who serves as the executive director of Junior Appalachian Musicians, Inc. (JAM). “Not only did Helen want to preserve old-time and bluegrass music and dance for future generations, but she also cared deeply for people. She always believed music was a way for people to connect and to form meaningful relationships.”  Helen advocated for underserved youth, wanting to provide them with safe and healthy activities.  Playing mountain music gives people from Central Appalachia a sense of pride, and Helen introduced kids to traditional instruments, including fiddles, banjos, guitars, and mandolins, as well as to the culture of their local communities. “Helen was inspired by the former Mount Rogers Combined School in Grayson County, Virginia,” Brett says. “They didn’t have a marching band. Instead, the school’s music program focused on old-time music.” Helen founded Junior Appalachian Musicians, Inc. (JAM) in 2008 as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Her partner was well-known musician and luthier Wayne Henderson, whose name recognition helped promote the program.  JAM began to spread throughout Appalachia, with affiliates in North Carolina and into South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, and West Virginia. “We have nearly sixty affiliates,” says Brett. “Some counties have several JAM programs. We also have some affiliates known as YAM (Youth Appalachian Musicians) instead of JAM. It can get a little confusing, but we are all working towards the same goals.” Brett says Helen wanted the program to be “effective, sustainable, and high quality.” Helen gathered people and funding to ensure the regional parent organization was strong and offered resources and help to others. Brett, a musician, has been with JAM for twelve years. She worked for Helen for a couple of years and then assumed her role as executive director of JAM when Helen retired. Sadly, Helen passed away in 2019. “She is sorely missed.”  Brett works from the JAM headquarters in Independence, Virginia. There is a satellite office in Knoxville since 2021. “That’s how our footprint has recently expanded into East Tennessee and adjoining areas,” says Brett. The organization continues to grow in its resources and locations.  The model for the program is simple: JAM is designed for children beginning in fourth grade, and the after-school program introduces old-time and bluegrass music through small-group instruction. “We provide instruments at no cost to the kids,” says Brett. “We have created a bit of a curriculum to avoid reinventing the wheel, although we want our teaching artists to rely on their local oral traditions as much as possible.” Instructors are encouraged to teach students to learn music by ear. Children not only learn traditional music, but they have opportunities to perform in small and large groups. Program offerings are enhanced with field trips, and visiting artists help introduce the rich music history unique to each local community. Advanced students also have instructional opportunities, and many JAM alumni become teaching artists and musicians.  JAM's funding comes from private foundations and donors. “We work with other arts organizations, including South Arts out of Atlanta.” Each JAM program is individually funded and operated. JAM affiliates are eligible to receive a wide variety of free support and resources.  In addition to the work being done in each affiliate, JAM creates new programs, provides resources for existing programs, and partners with many prominent festivals to feature performances and offer learning and networking connections to current students and program alumni. Festival partnerships include the Earl Scruggs Music Festival, IBMA’s Wide Open Bluegrass, The Old Fiddlers Convention in Galax, FloydFest, and many others.  JAM’s Traditional Music and Education Summit was held for the first time this spring in Little Switzerland, North Carolina, for nearly 80 JAM teachers and music education professionals. This professional development and JAM certification event for teachers provided methodologies and instructional skills. “Pre-covid, we had many regional day camps for kids,” says Brett. “We are just about back to normal now.”  JAM has a YouTube channel, and several instructional videos are available on its website . The JAM Songbook was created by Pete Wernick, an internationally recognized music educator and musician, along with JAM Ambassador Liam Purcell. The book is used in classes by JAM students and Wernick Method students. Perfect for all jammers, the book features 39 bluegrass/old-time standards, most with two-and-three chord songs that can be played in any key. Chord diagrams for guitar, banjo, and mandolin are included, as are positions for fiddle and bass.  Visit the JAM website at www.jamkids.org .

Kicking off their tour, contemporary bluegrass fiddle player Mark O’Connor and his wife, Maggie O’Connor, took the stage with a sold-out performance at the CSI Fine Arts Center in Twin Falls, Idaho. “We started our pre-release gigging,” says the Grammy award-winning couple promoting their new album  Life after Life.  “People in Idaho responded to these new songs they haven’t heard before,” says Mark, excited about the show’s turnout.  “I have to pinch myself that we came up with this recording,” the former Grand Master Fiddle Champion admits. “People are not recording as much anymore. Most people are doing singles or EPs. I can totally see why, because the whole music industry is turned upside down. There are no CD stores anymore.” Reuniting with the guitar and mandolin, the renowned violinist reminds some of his older fans that he is still a picker.      “For a long time, I didn’t play the guitar or mandolin at all,” says Mark, who replaced guitarist Tony Rice in the David Grisman Quintet. “I laid off for twenty years. People might not remember I played these instruments.” His wife and music partner, violinist/lead singer Maggie O’Connor, says forming the Grammy Award-winning Mark O Connor Band in 2017 helped re-sharpen Mark’s playing. “When we had our [family bluegrass band], we got our feet wet with all these instruments again.”  “I’m probably playing guitar only because of Maggie’s encouragement,” explains Mark, a two-time national guitar flatpick champion. “It took me months to get my calluses back [laughs]. I still feel like I’m learning every day I pick up the instrument.” Writing songs during their weekly live stream called Mondays with Mark and Maggie, the couple could experiment in front of a live audience. Maggie recalls, “The pandemic gave us the opportunity to have that extra time for creativity. We did seventy Mondays in a row because we didn’t know how long the pandemic would last. We ran out of our repertoire, fast, and we needed to expand!”   Mark has a name for their style of music, “We’re building our brand and calling our music Americana Bluegrass,” says the multi-instrumentalist, adding, “We’re tapping into the Americana style, but we are using a lot more poetry in our lyrics.”  “They are kind of pleasantly surprised,” says Maggie about their fans, “because they didn’t realize we sang.” As a duo, Mark and Maggie are known for virtuosic fiddling. Mark adds, “We sang some on The O’Connor Band stuff. Maggie was singing some lead in that group, and now on this album, she is singing all the lead.” Talking about some of the highlights on Life after Life, Mark announces, “We do the Stevie Wonder song ‘Love is in Need of Love Today,’ from [his] Songs in the Key of Life  album. We turn it into our Americana Bluegrass.” Mark describes the arrangement, “You hear the acoustic guitar, the mandolin and the fiddle, and then all of a sudden, these strings come in.” Maggie includes the Dolly Parton song Wildflowers. “I really liked the song and the fiddling on it,” adding that she was surprised to discover Mark played on the original.  “That was back in 1987 on the trio album,” remembers Mark, “All these years later, we are looking for a few songs to sing by greats like Dolly Parton, and Maggie landed up on ‘Wildflowers.’” Maggie shares that she loves the song’s message. “It’s such an empowering song for women.” Although Mark’s collaborations with country stars Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, and Steve Wariner on the hit song ‘Restless,’ along with Nashville sessions work, placed him at the center of Music City, it was a new musical idea that opened the next chapter of his life. Mark explains, “I wanted to expand my horizons and had the musical talent to explore new environments, so I started writing concertos and full-length symphonies. What was great is the Nashville Symphony embraced it.” The former Nashville sessions player describes the situation: “Here I am, a bluegrass and country type fiddler, and I’m coming up with pieces like the ‘Fiddle Concerto.’ They ended up premiering my next three or four major pieces.” Maggie shares that starting as a musician, she was inspired by Mark’s work with cellist Yo-Yo Ma. “His projects with Yo-Yo Ma showed me that you can do different styles of music.” Maggie explains, “You can have that bluegrass-Americana background and do classical and create something new with it. Mark crossed that bridge and opened doors for everybody.” Mark says he is still inspired to try new things. “I love piano, and I have written a lot for piano, so I think that could be a future project. I have always been involved with cross-pollinating to the extreme.”

Identifying a problem is the first step to finding a solution. That’s what Donald Cohen did when he created The Fan Alliance. “I have always been a music fan, and like many, I stream music to listen to some of my favorite artists. One day, I was listening to music on Spotify and began to wonder if doing so was actually hurting the artists.” After doing his research, Donald identified the problem for artists as threefold: Streaming music for free has replaced purchasing albums.  Because of that, artists must look to other revenue sources, including touring and selling merchandise, and depend on direct support from their fans. And touring is tricky – it’s not unusual for a touring artist to do 150 shows a year, and with the high travel cost, they can lose money on a tour. Artists regularly see their music shared without adequate – and sometimes even no - compensation . Tech companies are shielded from responsibility by the existing laws. Payment rates from digital platforms, including Spotify, YouTube, and others, are far too low. And finally, hidden ticket fees and predatory resellers hurt artists and fans . Promoters, ticket companies, and venues often add high costs on top of the concert ticket price, and predatory resellers buy up the best inventory to resell for profit. Some of the worst offenders sell “speculative tickets” – or, in plain speak, tickets that don’t exist. That is money fans want to go to the artists to offset the high cost of touring. Because of these problems, artists are having an increasingly difficult time earning a living creating, recording, and performing their music. “That’s where The Fan Alliance comes in,” says Donald. “We can help.” Donald says that many fans don’t understand that artists are people who have families, mortgages, and bills and that if they aren’t touring and selling merch, they aren’t making money. “I did a workshop for fans in 2018 or 2019 on the working life of musicians.” Joining Donald on the panel were members of the folk-pop band Birds of Chicago and singer-songwriter Amythyst Kiah. A few years ago, Donald met Roseanne Cash, who sat on the Artist Rights Alliance (ARA) board. She introduced him to the executive director of the ARA in Washington, D.C. “We said we can be helpful on some of the issues that artists have today, whether that is updating copyright protections or other policies that could raise incomes for artists. I saw the need for a fan organization, and that’s what I did. I created The Fan Alliance.” The organization is volunteer-run and operates from Donald’s home in Los Angeles. “I worked with a website designer to get our website  up and running and we talked to more artists about how Fan Alliance could help artist-led initiatives. When we launched, I emailed my personal lists, including artists like Rhiannon Giddens and others. Rhiannon posted about The Fan Alliance on her social media, and it took off.” The Fan Alliance deals with issues including artificial intelligence through the Human Artistry Campaign, which supports the No AI Fraud Act; ticketing reform through Fix the Tix, a campaign that supports bills to reform live event ticketing; and streaming royalties. It recognizes that while creators have little power standing alone, collectively, they can negotiate on a level playing field to secure fair licensing rates for their work. Simply put, The Fan Alliance exists to add the power of fans to support these and other projects to help music creators – and the entire independent music ecosystem – so they can earn a decent livelihood to create and share the music. The Fan Alliance works to build a network and community of fans that can work together to pass new laws and industry practices that will create a fair, sustainable ecosystem for artists. The Fan Alliance launched in November 2023, and Donald continues to spread the word and learn about the issues facing artists, songwriters, independent music venues, and others who are part of creating a vibrant music scene. He attended the National Independent Venue Association conference in New Orleans in June to learn about the challenges independent venues face while working to keep their doors open. “It’s hard for artists to reach new audiences these days unless they tour. They are like all workers; they need places to work, and venues need workers (aka artists) to fill seats. It’s simple: music needs fans, and fans need music. Our goal is simple. We believe that there are a lot of people who would do better if they were better educated on this topic. We want to encourage those fans to be actively involved in helping support the artists and the entire independent ecosystem.” The only requirement to join is to agree with The Fan Alliance's pledge to be a music fan who supports the future of music. Members support fair pay for all music creators, fair compensation, transparency, and accountability for artists from online platforms, the rights of artists to control and receive compensation for the use of their work, and efforts to ensure that live music is a fan-friendly concert experience free from predatory ticket selling prices. To join The Fan Alliance, visit their website at thefanalliance.org .

Touring and session bass player Mike Bub has done a lot over his decades in the business. From playing on Molly Tuttle’s first Grammy-winning album – to spending 13 years touring with Del McCoury – to even performing with classics of the past, such as Bill Monroe – Bub has had a full and impactful career in bluegrass. “As a bass player, people are drawn to it like a moth to a flame,” he said, recognizing the unique role the upright bass plays visually and sonically onstage. “It sort of stitches everything together,” he said, of the way the deep undercurrent of his instrument unites the whole composition and, in a way, guides it. “You can kind of change the feel of a song by playing long notes or short notes,” he said. “You have to be intuitive.” When Bub first hit the stages in Nashville, he played bass, but it wasn’t his main instrument at the time.  “I started out as a banjo player, which was my primary direction,” he explained. “I really arrived in Nashville as a banjo player. I ended up getting more work playing the bass; I don’t really know why.” He’d eventually become bass player for Del McCoury, where he remained for 13 years. From then on, it was bass all the way. He said his fingers are so accustomed to bass today that they don’t want to acquiesce when he picks up the banjo. When he made the transition, Bub said he “knew the repertoire already from playing banjo,” which gave him an edge in mastering his new role. “It just gives you an awareness from the other perspectives.” Although he also plays electric, Bub said upright bass is where it’s at. “I have two primary instruments that I play. I have a ‘50s S-model Kay bass and a late 1930s American Standard. I go back and forth between the two, depending on what the music is. I just like playing solid, country, bluegrass bass.” In addition to Tuttle’s notable album, Bub has been an in-demand studio musician, and his work can be heard on the first record of Wyatt Ellis, “Purgatory” by Tyler Childers, and the Sturgill Simpson bluegrass albums. He’s been featured on “four or five” Tim O’Brien records and has done studio work for Marty Falle, Daniel Crabtree and Donna Ulisse. The names are many, and making records fills the time when he’s not performing locally or touring on the road. In addition to his lengthy stint with Del McCoury, he’s done some touring with Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley and has “played on all of their albums.” This year, he’ll be touring with Peter Rowan and Tim O’Brien. “I play every Monday night at the Station Inn with a band called New Monday,” he said of one of the most prominent live music spots in Nashville. New Monday joins Val Storey, Carl Jackson, and Larry Cordle for some “country, bluegrass and swing instrumentals.” “This is what I’ve wanted to do my entire life since the time I was 15 at my first bluegrass festival,” Bub said. He considers himself fortunate that he arrived on the scene when the pioneers of the bluegrass genre were still around. It was near the end of their performing days, but Bub got to the scene at just the perfect moment. “It was a time when all the first-generation bluegrass musicians were still alive and kicking,” he said. Bill Monroe. The Osborne Brothers. Jim & Jesse.  “I was really here at a prime time to get to see – and play with – some of these guys,” Bub said. At this point, decades in, the musician looks back at a fulfilling life in the business. He said he’s gotten to a pretty good place. “It takes that long to elevate yourself where you can make a pretty good living,” he said, of the years he’s spent on the road and in the studio. However, is there anything else he’d like to do? Any stages he’d like to appear on that he’s not tackled thus far? “The summer I left Del [McCoury], they were booked at Carnegie Hall and Newport Folk Festival,” he said. Bub just missed being onstage at those coveted venues. “But I have this saying…if you stay in the business long enough, you’ll play them all.” Sounds as if he plans to “keep on keeping on” with his plucking and strumming, so there’s no doubt he’ll eventually “play them all.”

The end of the New York Musicological Society in 1934 resulted in the beginning of the American Musicological Society (AMS). When the New York organization disbanded, several of its former members met under the direction of Gustave Reese, a young faculty member at New York University. The group was a mix of scholars, teachers, and performers who wanted to grow and strengthen the study of music as an aspect/element of culture (i.e., musicology) with its history, economies, sociologies, material cultures, etc. They decided that day, on June 5, 1934, to create the AMS and to elect Professor Otto Kinkeldey of Cornell as its president. Richard Crawford, president of the AMS in 1984, wrote about the event in an essay to commemorate the organization’s fiftieth birthday. “The field of musicology was still nascent then, and as it developed and gained legitimacy, the Society grew,” explains Siovahn A. Walker, PhD, MPA, who serves as the R.F. Judd Executive Director of the American Musicological Society, Inc. “That is why and how the AMS started.” Now, 90 years after that fateful meeting, the AMA is going strong under Walker’s leadership. Based in New York, the Society is dedicated to advancing the study and teaching of music through a broad array of programs, including grants, fellowships, awards, publications, and events.  “What we do today is much more expansive and testifies to the huge importance of music -- all types of music -- in culture and everyday life,” says Walker. “Basically, we give away money for research, teaching, publication and performance; we convene meetings and conferences in music studies where people teach, learn and connect; and we try to find engaging ways to deliver  accurate  information about music history, repertoires, and cultures that comprehends the full complexity and diversity of music and sound, including the ways that different musical cultures have influenced each other or become intertwined.”   Walker states she is not an academic but a humanist and historian by training. “I have an MPA and a business degree in running nonprofits.” She is not a musician but admits to playing the viola “badly.” Entering the nonprofit world, Walker worked for several organizations before starting a consulting business for nonprofit management. One of those organizations was the AMS. The unexpected death of the previous executive director, Robert Judd, left the AMS in a lurch. “He had been with the AMS for twenty years. The Board asked if I would step in as interim director, which I did. Then the pandemic hit.” The organization made it through, and during that time, Walker realized that she was working with a group of  “lovely people.” She explains that it’s not all about getting on stage and performing in the musical world. “Many musicologists are also performers, but many also study how music has developed over time, how instruments were developed, the economic impact of music, music industries, and social structure. Really, it’s everything about music, and there is always some kind of interpretive content.” Walker talks about music as an experiential art and says that music is essential in this complicated political moment. “We can connect people and tell our history through music.” The AMS is a nationwide organization with 15 chapters in different regions of the country, many of which hold public lectures and events. Membership in the AMS is heavy with people who are academics in one way or another. “There are a lot of members who are in music study or music history departments at universities and conservatories. We also have students who are interested in musicology. As part of “Many Musics of America,” a project of the AMS, the Kennedy Creek Old Time Music Festival is held each fall. This year’s festival will be held September 5 through 8 at Kennedy Creek Resort in Suches, Georgia. “It’s a wonderful event,” says Walker. “We got involved three years ago as a sponsor, and now it is part of our Many Musics of America series. The festival will have workshops and performances, with something for music scholars and the general public.” The AMS also holds an annual meeting, which will be held this year on November 14 through 17 in Chicago. www.amsmusicology.org

Photo by Molly McCormick   Crooked Still is one of those bands that can’t be put in a specific box. A string band, but not in the traditional bluegrass sense, their style has been described as progressive bluegrass, folk-country, and even Americana. They have a unique way of continuing the bluegrass tradition that began with Bill Monroe and Jimmy Martin. While they use the traditional stringed instruments commonly found in bluegrass music – the original lineup was vocals, bass, and banjo - adding a cello created a different dynamic, and that’s exactly how the members of Crooked Still like it. A fiddle has been added to the current lineup. The band began in 2001 when Aoife O’Donovan and Corey DiMario were classmates at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. Rushad Eggleston, who attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, soon joined them, followed by Greg Liszt, the only non-musical student in the bunch, who had earned a doctorate in biology from MIT. Crooked Still had a loyal following in Boston-area clubs, and local music journalists began to take notice, giving them great reviews. The Boston Globe  raved about the band, saying Crooked Still is “the most important folk group to emerge from Boston since the early 1960s.” It wasn’t long before they began playing festivals, including huge events like the historic Newport Folk Festival and the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. The band gained a reputation as equal parts musical innovators and cultural ambassadors. They thrilled audiences with their high energy on stage combined with an old-time mountain soul. Their technical skill and unusual instrumentation (that cello!), along with their innovative acoustic style, helped them stand out. Ben Levin with Good Harbor Music manages the band. “Rushad left the band at the end of 2007 to pursue his own music,” says Ben. “Brittany Haas and Tristan Clarridge joined the band in January 2008, and the lineup has remained the same since.” The band comprises Aoife O’Donovan, Greg Liszt, Corey DiMario, Brittany Haas, and Tristan Clarridge. Aoife, an American singer with a crystal-clear voice, is the lead singer for Crooked Still. She is also a Grammy award-winning songwriter. An accomplished musician, Aoife has performed with traditional orchestras, including the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Kansas City Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Louisville Orchestra, and the Utah Symphony Orchestra. She co-founded the powerhouse female folk trio, I’m With Her. She has also recorded, collaborated, and/or toured with artists including Jim Lauderdale, Sara Watkins, Chris Thile (with both Nickle Creek and Punch Brothers), Greensky Bluegrass, Kronos Quartet and Yo-Yo Ma. Aoife has also recorded many albums on her own. Greg Liszt is the band’s banjo player. He is also an associate professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Greg has created a unique four-finger picking style, and in addition to his work with Crooked Still, he is a member of the Seeger Sessions Band and the Deadly Gentlemen, recording with both bands as well as with Bruce Springsteen. Corey DiMario plays double bass with Crooked Still, bringing a diverse musical background to the band. He has performed extensively with fiddler/singer Lissa Schneckenburger and the Brittany Haas/Dan Trueman Band, performing old-time and Scandinavian music. He has also played in Bela Fleck’s house band for his New York Banjo Summit. Corey’s home base is Brattleboro, Vermont. Northern California native Brittany Haas is regarded as a world-class fiddle player – one of the most influential of her generation. She grew up attending string camps, releasing her first album at age seventeen. She is a sought-after session musician and has performed on Late Night with David Letterman  and Saturday Night Live  as part of Steve Martin’s bluegrass band. She has also performed with Bela Fleck, Abigail Washburn, The Waybacks, Yonder Mountain String Band, and Tony Trischka. Brittany currently resides in Nashville and shares her passion for music at string and fiddle camps worldwide. While Tristan Clarridge is a five-time Grand National Fiddle Champion, he plays cello with Crooked Still. He began his music studies at the age of two. He comes from a free-spirited family who lived in a tepee in the mountains of northern California. He was homeschooled, and the family traveled great distances for young Tristan to attend music camps. He now directs the Shasta Music Summit with his sister, Tashina, and teaches at other music camps and workshops along the West Coast. The band celebrated the fifteenth anniversary of its album Shaken by a Low Sound  (initially released in 2006) in 2001. Each song on the album is a delight – as is evidenced by “ Railroad Bill .” Ben says the band doesn’t have any new releases coming up, but they will be headlining at the Green Mountain Bluegrass Festival  in Manchester, Vermont, on August 18. “Brittany will be touring with Hawktail and Punch Brothers over the summer, and Aoife will tour with Hawktail this summer and fall.”

Whether you have a birthday, anniversary or housewarming party coming up, these Appalachian gifts help you share your love for the region with the recipient.  Appalachia is home to various unique food brands that reflect the region's rich culinary traditions and artisanal craftsmanship. Here are some foods from Appalachia that make excellent gifts: 1. Muddy Pond Sorghum Mill Muddy Pond Sorghum Mill in Tennessee produces high-quality sorghum syrup using traditional methods. The family-owned operation has been crafting this sweet, molasses-like syrup for generations, making it a wonderful gift for anyone who appreciates traditional Appalachian flavors. 2. Broadbent's Hams In Kentucky, Broadbent's Hams is renowned for its country hams, bacon and sausage. Their dry-cured, aged hams offer a savory taste of Appalachian tradition, perfect for the carnivores in your life and those who enjoy artisanal charcuterie. 3. Yoder's Apple Butter Yoder's Apple Butter, produced by the Amish community in Ohio, is a staple in many Appalachian households. Slow-cooked and spiced to perfection, it is a delicious spread for toast, biscuits, and more, offering a comforting taste of home. 4. Shady Grove Botanicals Shady Grove Botanicals in North Carolina offers a range of ramp products, including ramp salt and ramp-infused oils. These wild leeks are a prized ingredient in Appalachian cuisine, and their products capture the unique flavor of this seasonal delicacy. 5. The Old Mill The Old Mill in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, provides stone-ground cornmeal and grits, essential ingredients in many traditional Appalachian dishes. Their products are milled using time-honored techniques, ensuring a superior taste and texture. 6. Blue Smoke Salsa Blue Smoke Salsa, based in Ansted, West Virginia, offers a range of salsas made from locally sourced ingredients. Their salsas come in various heat levels and flavors, from mild to extra hot, and even include unique varieties like black bean and corn salsa. These salsas are great for anyone who enjoys bold, fresh flavors. 7. Meadow Creek Dairy Meadow Creek Dairy in Virginia is known for its artisanal cheeses, such as Grayson and Appalachian, which have garnered national acclaim. These handcrafted cheeses reflect the region's terroir and make a luxurious gift for cheese lovers. “Each of our cheeses has its own original recipe and its own specialized make process; our seasonal raw milk means no two makes are the same. Unwavering attention to detail, decades of cheese-making experience, and our hand-picked, dedicated team of cheese makers keep our cheeses at a consistent level of excellence. Still, every day brings something new to learn,” reads the website. 8. Dancing Bear Apiary Dancing Bear Apiary in North Carolina produces wildflower and sourwood honey, both known for their distinctive flavors. Their honey is a delightful natural sweetener and a lovely gift for those who enjoy a little sweetness. Raw honey varietals include wildflower honey, orange blossom honey, buckwheat honey, basswood honey and berry blossom honey. 9. J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works is a family-owned company in West Virginia that produces small-batch, hand-harvested salt from an ancient ocean trapped below the Appalachian Mountains. This gourmet salt, known for its purity and rich mineral content, is perfect for food enthusiasts and home chefs. Their products include finishing salts, flavored salts, and bath salts, all beautifully packaged and ideal for gifting. Finishing salt varieties include ramp, applewood smoked, bourbon smoked, mushroom herb and ghost pepper. 10. French Broad Chocolates Based in Asheville, North Carolina, French Broad Chocolates creates artisanal chocolates using local ingredients and sustainable practices. Their bean-to-bar chocolates and truffles are an indulgent treat and a perfect gift for anyone who appreciates fine, handcrafted confections. Some of their signature bonbon flavors include fresh raspberry, wildflower honey caramel, lemon cheesecake, hazelnut crunch, cafe au lait, rose, cardamom, and pistachio. 11. Mississippi Cheese Straw Factory Located in Yazoo City, Mississippi, the Mississippi Cheese Straw Factory produces one of Appalachia’s gems: cheese straws. Cheese straws are “a delectable combination of perfectly aged cheddar cheese, flour and spices shaped into narrow ‘straws” which we bake to perfection to create a crispy snack-of-art,” according to the website. In addition to the classic cheddar flavor, the business offers many more, including lemon, sriracha, sea salt caramel, peppermint cookie, red velvet, three cheese, cinnamon pecan and toasted almond. These are just a handful of the delicious delicacies that are not only delicious and unique but also embody the rich cultural heritage and artisanal spirit of Appalachia. Each item offers a taste of the region's traditions and makes a thoughtful and memorable gift.

As a child growing up in Front Royal, Virginia, Gina Furtado was surrounded by music. “My mom was a little bit musical,” she says. “She always loved music, and she got me and my siblings started in classical music early – I started playing piano at age five. We were homeschooled, and our main focus was music. We all started with the Suzuki method.” Gina’s musical direction took a turn when she discovered the banjo at age eleven or twelve. “I started doing fiddler’s conventions, like Galax Old Fiddlers Convention and became a bluegrass superfan. I loved the focus of the conventions – jamming at campsites and competing.” Soon, Gina and her siblings received invitations to play up and down the eastern seaboard from Virginia to Florida. “I got really serious about banjo and took lessons from Murphy Henry, which was wonderful.” Gina began earning ribbons at fiddlers conventions and building a solid reputation in the regional bluegrass scene. Gina didn’t plan on becoming a professional musician. “It just sort of happened,” she laughs. “When I was 16 or so, I began playing professionally. I was getting some pretty good-paying gigs. I played with a local group, and we played for parties and weddings, that kind of thing.” She played in several regional bands, including Blue Light Special, New Girls Nite Out, On the Run, and Bud’s Collective. “I decided I was going to buckle down and do this. That’s when I started playing with Chris Jones.” Gina began contacting people she knew, asking if they might need a banjo player. “I spoke with Jon Weisberger, who played with Chris Jones and the Night Drivers, and as it turned out, they were looking for a banjo player.” Playing with Jones gave Gina international touring exposure. Her talent has been recognized with awards and media exposure. When Gina’s album True Colors  was released in 2017, it debuted at #13 on the Bluegrass Billboard  charts, with two number-one songs on the Bluegrass Today  charts. In 2017, she was featured on the Banjo Newsletter cover and was nominated for the IBMA Banjo Player of the Year in 2018. The Gina Furtado Project, the band she fronted as a singer, songwriter, and banjo player, heavily emphasized original, catchy, and relatable material that spanned from bluegrass to gypsy jazz, swing, and beyond. “We still have several tracks recorded that have not yet been released.” In addition to performing, Gina was a much sought-after teacher for online banjo lessons from her home in Winchester, Virginia, and she taught at many banjo camps. These days, she keeps a full calendar with dog training. “I adopted a basket-case dog that required extensive training. I worked with her, and now she is awesome. I have now started training dogs for other people.” That lifestyle suits her since she has three children. “Traveling is hard to do with a family.” Gina says she still finds time to write. “It’s important for me to write. Whether it’s journaling, poetry, or songs. The words help make sense of things to me.” While stepping back from music to be with her family, Gina says she hopes to return when the time is right.

Colorado-based Downey Chase reflects the rich landscapes and clear skies of the Rocky Mountains.  A new single – “I Spin” – marks the beginning of Downey Chase. The moniker defines a solo breakaway project by musician Nic Lussier. A member of the indie rock group The Brazen Youth, Lussier finds time to tour with the band while pursuing his own quieter folk vision. “I’d classify my music as folk because it’s what comes from the deepest parts of my soul. Hope that’s not too corny,” Lussier said. His upcoming Downey Chase EP includes songs he said “felt so simple and natural while writing.” “All I was trying to do was capture whatever I was feeling without any masks, shiny things, or grandiosity,” he explained. “To me, that’s what folk is.”  Lussier said his biggest influences for Downey Chase have been Bob Dylan, Adrianne Lenker and Gregory Alan Isakov.  “They’ve set a standard that I feel I’ll never live up to,” he confessed, “but will keep me going forever because I know that such a high level of beauty can be created.” Lussier tried to record music that reflects that beauty, which is available in ample supply in Colorado. “I recorded this EP from a closet in my apartment here in Boulder,” Lussier said. “I’d often go for a run or a drive in the mountains when I’d want to listen back to my mixes. Most of these songs are inspired by little ‘Colorado moments,’ too.”  He said the new single was “inspired by a trip my partner and I took to the Sand Dunes back in September. It’s considered an International Dark Sky place, with some of the best star views in the world. Lucky for us, the night we camped was a new moon. I’ve never seen anything like that in my life.” Before tackling solo work, Lussier put out several records with The Brazen Youth and “toured all over the country.” He sees that band’s tone and sonic quality as quite different from that of Downey Chase. This venture allowed him to do something new. “I’ve always felt this strong connection to folk music and the lifestyle it promotes, but I’ve never seen The Brazen Youth as a ‘folk’ band – we hover more in the indie-rock sphere,” he explained. “It’s been a dream of mine to put music like this out – something that feels deeply personal and uninhibited.” Lussier has been involved with music since childhood. “I grew up singing with my family and playing guitar. As a kid, I spent a lot of time gigging around town with my [The Brazen Youth] bandmate, Charlie. We’d play at farmers' markets, town events, and birthday parties – whoever would let us play, really. He used to play a singing saw and keys, and I’d sing and strum the guitar and pedal away at a kick drum.” He’s spent the last seven years traveling with The Brazen Youth, but now, an additional chapter will be added to his ongoing journey. “This new project has been a big challenge for me,” he said, “forcing me to rely on myself playing instruments I’m not too comfortable playing, like piano, mandolin and banjo.” The new single, “I Spin,” features Lussier’s brother, Joe, who performs under the stage name of “Shower Beer.”  “He guided me through this song and played banjo on it,” Lussier said. “Carson McHaney, a fiddler who also lives in Colorado, really brought this song to life with his additions. I gave him such a mishmash of thoughts, and he took them, polished them, and added something beyond my wildest dreams. Anna Frick, over at Ally Sound in Longmont, Colorado, mastered the track.” Lussier said a few more Downey Chase singles will be released over the summer, and the full EP is expected to be released sometime in autumn.