At age ten, Larry Efaw first got on stage with a bluegrass band in his home state of Ohio. When he was seven, he started playing the mandolin and grew up watching his dad’s band, Ed Efaw and the Bluegrass Mountaineers. “He put me on stage with the band when I was ten years old, but I stood in the background and picked a little when I knew something. Every now and then, he’d bring me up to the mic for a solo, but I returned to the back as soon as I could.” Larry got the hang of it, and he’s made a lifelong career of playing and promoting bluegrass music. While he had opportunities to join national bluegrass bands through the years, he remained loyal to his father. Even so, Larry’s musical career has afforded him the pleasure of playing with many bluegrass greats, including Dr. Ralph Stanley, Jim and Jesse, Doyle Lawson, Bill Monroe, Del McCoury, and Rhonda Vincent. “I was fortunate to have played with the first generation of bluegrass artists, and I learned something from all of them. They were all so nice to me.” Because of the support, he got growing up, Larry has always made a point of encouraging young people. “If I see young folks jamming at a festival, I stop and join in with them. I learned from other people helping me on my way up, so I try to do the same.” Ed Efaw started the band in 1962. “Dad knew three chords on the mandolin,” recalls Larry. “When I told him that’s what I wanted to play, he brought a mandolin home and laid it on my bed. He told me not to touch that mandolin. Well, that’s like giving a kid candy and telling him not to eat it. I taught myself to play.” Sometimes, being in the right place at the right time can change your trajectory. It happened to Larry when he was playing a show in 1987. “We opened for Ralph Stanley. His lead singer didn’t show up, and he asked me to join him on stage. I ended up doing two shows with him. Then he asked me if I’d put on a show.” Larry told Ralph he knew nothing about putting on a show, but Ralph wouldn’t take no for an answer. “I started calling around and talked with a lady who worked at the O.J. Work Auditorium in Wadsworth, Ohio. She was really nice, and she told me they had held a few shows there, but they didn’t have good attendance. That scared me even more.” The auditorium rented for $25 an hour. They booked the show in March 1987. Jim McReynolds said he’d like to come, and between Bill Monroe, McReynolds, and Larry’s band, they sold out the 1200-seat venue. “It was standing room only, and we had to have local police help escort people out. “Ralph called me and said, ‘You drew a pretty good crowd, didn’t you?’” Ralph told Larry to plan another show in April, but Larry wasn’t so sure about it. They had the show, and the Lewis Family played, then they did a show with Charley Waller and the Country Gentlemen, and they brought in Doyle Lawson. “Pretty soon, we started having the Ralph Stanley birthday celebration there every year. One year, I called Jimmy Martin to come play, but he said he takes off in the winter to hunt. I don’t know how, but I convinced him to come play anyway.” Larry got so good at running shows that he was asked to run the Coonhunters Club Festival in Greenwich, Ohio. “I ran that festival for a long, long time.” Over the years, Larry and his wife, Lisa, have worked to promote shows and festivals, including the Maumee Bay Bluegrass Festival, Lake Wapusun, Play Pen Park, Clay’s Park, Paradise Lakes Park, and shows in Springfield High School’s George E. Tombaugh Auditorium. Now Larry and Lisa plan bluegrass cruises. “We’ll be taking our eleventh cruise at the end of October,” says Larry. “It should be the thirteenth, but Covid knocked us out for a couple of years. We were the first to do a cruise after the pandemic.” The cruise idea started at a show when Lisa was talking backstage to Ralph Stanley’s wife, Jimmi. Both wives said they’d always wanted to cruise to Hawaii, but Ralph had no desire to go because he had seen enough water in the service. “Jimmi told Lisa to book it, and she’d get Ralph to go.” As fate would have it, Ralph got sick and couldn’t go on the cruise, but Larry says the performers sang some of Ralph’s songs each evening as a tribute to him. Larry and Lisa have cruise planning down to a science. “Lisa has a travel agency, so she books all the passengers and works to get them the best cabins,” says Larry. “I book the talent. We never do shows when at port because we want folks to enjoy their time off the boat, but when we are at sea, we have an early dinner, then about three hours of music every night.” This year’s Bluegrass Cruise to the Caribbean will depart from Port Canaveral in Orlando, Florida and set sail to the Bahamas, stopping at Half Moon Bay, Grand Turk, and Amber Cove. Performers on the cruise will be Larry Efaw and the Bluegrass Mountaineers, Ralph Stanley II and the Clinch Mountain Boys, The Baker Family, Edgar Loudermilk Band, Corey Zink, and Deeper Shade of Blue. “It’s fun to see people who come back year after year for the cruise,” says Larry. “But it’s just as much fun being with first-time cruisers. A lot of them were like me – I was scared to death the first time I got on a cruise ship. But now I love it!”

For a guy who never stepped onto a stage until he was thirty years old, Tony Kamel has made up for any lost time over the past decade or so. The bluegrass band he founded in 2011, Wood and Wire, made four studio records and a live album, plus they snagged a Grammy nomination. That’s an impressive record for Tony, who says he wasn’t exposed to bluegrass until around 2005. Tony was born and raised in Houston and was into athletics throughout high school. He took up guitar at age 12, but just for fun. “Athletics always came first, with music behind that. I never joined a band; I just played around with my cousins. I am pretty much self-taught.” Tony also began writing songs as a teenager. “Stupid stuff, really, but it was a start.” At the University of Texas in Austin, Tony studied psychology and Italian. “I wasn’t a good student in high school, and I knew if I was going to make it in college, I’d need to study something I was interested in. I studied Italian because my mom’s parents are from Italy. I had the opportunity to study abroad in Italy and got by pretty well with my Italian.” After college, Tony moved back to Houston, where he took a traditional job as a sales rep for a medical company. “I did that for seven years before moving back to Austin.” When he arrived in Austin, Tony realized many of his friends were gone. Looking for something to do, he became interested in bluegrass. “I found it through jam bands,” he recalls. “I also learned that UT had a large music library. I looked up bluegrass records and discovered recordings from the Newport Folk Festival, which started in 1959. “I listened to recordings by Ralph Stanley, Bill Monroe, and Doc Watson, who is one of my favorites because he played guitar.” Tony dug in, listening to all he could, and he tried to learn to play bluegrass style by watching YouTube videos. “I then went on Craig’s list to find someone to play with.” Tony found his community and went to his first music festival in 2007. “I went to the Old Settlers Music Festival in the tiny town of Tillman, Texas. I camped out and jammed all night and loved every minute of it.” The more he hung around the bluegrass scene, the more people he met. He eventually met the guys with whom he would form Wood and Wire in late 2011. “Eight years later, we had a lot of records under our belt, and we were nominated for a Grammy. It was like a dream.” Being in that band was a wonderful education for Tony. “Our bass player, Dominic Fisher, was a great help to me.” A highlight was playing a concert at Luck, Willie Nelson’s ranch in Texas. “We were one of three acts that played that night, and one of them was Willie and his band. Willie Nelson is one of my favorite guitar players, and it was a real honor just to be in his orbit.” Wood and Wire has been on hiatus since 2020, and Tony says he misses it. In 2021, he recorded a solo album, Back Down Home, for Bruce Robison’s label, The Next Waltz. He recorded at The Bunker in Lockhart, Texas, Robison’s all-analog studio. “It was a great experience.” He will go into the studio again this month to record a new album. “I’m writing all the songs,” says Tony. “Before I’m a flat picker or a clawhammer banjo player, I’m a songwriter and singer. I really like making and creating new music, although I am more than open to playing other people’s songs.” Tony says he gets inspiration from a number of artists. “When I have a hard time coming up with something, I think of John Hartford. He is so unique and always did whatever he wanted. I also like a lot of modern music, including Willi Carlisle, out of Arkansas. “I think he’s fantastic.” While music is his passion, Tony says he supplements his income by acting, mostly in television commercials. “I’m also pretty handy. I know how to build things like decks and such. It’s difficult to be an artist on your own. I now have to deal with keeping up with social media and such. But I don’t mind. I like keeping things small and maintaining total control.” With a wife and a two-and-a-half-year-old, Tony says he can’t gig every night, and he limits touring. “I will do a regional tour when my new album is released.” Tony is also working with Kim Warren, “a phenomenal mandolin player who was in The Greencards. We are working on material we can do as a duo.”

Yasmin Williams released her first EP when she was in the tenth grade. "It was a project for my music class," she says. Her high school in Woodbridge, Virginia, had a music technology program. "They had their own little record label. I stayed after school to record and mix the record, and I also did the album art." The EP, released in 2012, was titled Serendipity. Not bad for a kid who fell in love with the guitar while playing the Guitar Hero video game with her brothers. Growing up with four brothers (two younger, two older), Yasmin says music was a constant in her family. "We sang together in the car and in the house. We had a lot of song battles. We were exposed to a lot, music-wise, from jazz and hip-hop to R&B and gospel." She began singing in the church choir at age four. "I started playing in the concert band in the fourth grade and played the clarinet from that year through college." She begged my parents for an electric guitar and amp, then taught herself to play by ear. Yasmin's first guitar was followed by an acoustic guitar, then a bass, twelve-string, and classical guitars. Yasmin attended New York University, earning a Music Theory and Composition degree in 2017. "I played a few solo shows in New York, and that was a big learning curve for me. I played on campus a lot at receptions and other functions as well. The deans liked me." She self-released her first album, Unwind, in May 2018 to critical acclaim. Her next album, Urban Driftwood, was released on SPINSTER in January 2021. The album is a look back at 2020. Finishing the songs during the Covid lockdown, she felt the weight of the social and political climate at the time. "I finished the album's final track, 'After the Storm,' feeling drained, but not wanting to become numb to what was happening in the world." While you might assume the album would sound heavy, the all-instrumental songs are surprisingly light and joyful. "I wanted the album to serve as a welcomed respite from 2020's unpredictable and sometimes demoralizing events." When asked to describe her style of music, Yasmin calls it "folk adjacent, maybe a bit Americana. I don't feel that I'm tied down to any particular genre or tradition. I am open to all sorts of multicultural influences." Her playing style blends inventive fingerstyle techniques and lap-tapping, where she turns her guitar facing up and plays with it on her lap. She somehow creates a layered effect, with her fingers tapping a percussion beat as she plays. Jonathan Bernstein wrote about Yasmin in Rolling Stone: "When Yasmin plays guitar, she captures new possibilities and stories from the instrument." Her playlist is eclectic, from jazz to old-time, with artists such as Doc Watson, Virgil Anderson, Christian Scott, and Emily King. Watching her videos makes it apparent that Yasmin is fearless. Growing up, she had no reference for guitar music. "I tried taking lessons because my parents wanted me to have structure. But that didn't last long - I wanted to do my own thing." She has an inquisitive nature, and because of that, she is willing to go out on a limb to try new things. There isn't just one way to play an instrument in her world, and her resulting sounds are hauntingly beautiful, mystifying, and full of joy. Yasmin was eventually influenced by artists including Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana, and Elizabeth Cotton, "my favorite guitar player ever. All are very experimental." That probably helped form her own unorthodox style of guitar playing. Yasmin also plays the kalimba, a type of African thumb piano, and the harp guitar. "Mine is a Timberline parlor-size harp guitar with six floating bass strings. I really like the sound of it." In addition to her EP and albums, Yasmin has released five singles, including her newest, Dawning, released in September 2023. The single features Aoife O'Donovan on vocals, Kafari on rhythm bones, and Nic Gareiss on flat foot percussion. "The song came quickly to me," she says. "I knew I wanted bones on it. And I was excited to have Nic add the flat foot." Currently in the studio working on her next album, Yasmin says it is set to be released in August or September of this year on Nonesuch Records. "This album has been a lot of work, as there are a lot of guest artists on it," says Yasmin. "It will have varying genres, from jazz to bluegrass to world music. I'm super excited about it." When she isn't making music, Yasmin says she loves being outdoors. "I love hiking and tennis, and I've dabbled in rock climbing." She also loves to cook and bake. "I also enjoy making craft cocktails, and I've gotten pretty good at it."

What's it take to keep a bluegrass band thriving in Virginia's Tidewater, a region known more for beach music than banjos fiddles and guitars? The experts on the subject might be The Code Blue Bluegrass Band, which formed in 1995 and is still going strong. Part of the secret may be their broad catalog of songs. "Down in this area, we found you have to kind of do that because it's not such a staunch, hard-edge bluegrass area," says Bud Finch, who sings, plays guitar, and does most of the emcee work in the band. "If we were from Kentucky, I don't know that we would get by with some of the stuff we do. They probably wouldn't want to hear 'My Girl' or something like that. But you have to set your music as to what the area calls for." Code Blue is a seasoned bluegrass band with breakdowns and spirited fiddle tunes in its set. But it's also known for its tight harmonies, strong singing, and engaging stage presence. "We feel our strength is in our arrangements and in our presentation," Finch explains. "We're able to relate to a crowd and connect with people. You have to put on a show. But I think it's got to be an honest show. It can't be conjured. An audience can read through that." Other members of the band include E.T. Firth (mandolin, guitar, vocals), Mike Beaver (banjo, vocals), Paul Anderson (fiddle), and Bucky Beauchamp (bass, vocals). "Other than Bucky, who's been with us seven years now, we've all been together for the last 24 years," says Finch. Learning how to relate to the audience goes beyond the music. Finch says their presentation on stage reflects who they are. "I just think it's the makeup of the people that are in the band. I come from a sales, and marketing, and business background. It's what I did in my career. Michael, the banjo player, has been a real estate broker by trade for 40 years. He's a very outgoing guy. He comes from a family of commercial watermen here in the little town where the two of us live. The main prerequisite for joining the band is that we want you to be a good person, and I think all that shows when we're on stage." Audience members may be surprised that a Virginia Tidewater band that includes "Under the Boardwalk" and "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" in its shows also plays bluegrass standards such as "Roll On, Muddy River" and "Big Spike Hammer" with authority. "I get asked a lot, 'How do you sing bluegrass as well as you do when you don't really come from bluegrass?' Well, I don't think you necessarily have to come from those rural roots in order to feel the music and get the message," says Finch, a longtime Tidewater Virginian. "I think bluegrass is soulful music. I used to listen to Temptations-type music all the time. I just think if it's heartfelt music and if it comes from the soul, it's relatable." Code Blue shows might remind listeners of earlier bands that stretched the definition of bluegrass to include songs with a folk or rock pedigree. Finch also cites the influence of The Bluegrass Album band and Tony Rice. "We can get traditional. No doubt about it. But if we're playing to an audience that we think is not strongly rooted in traditional bluegrass, we'll just stretch it out a little bit and do 'Great Balls of Fire' or 'Love the One You're With' or something that we think they can relate to. And then, as we kind of get them circled in, we can throw the bluegrass back in there." Finch says the band has seven or eight festivals booked for the coming season. They play most of their gigs in Central Virginia, with occasional trips to Maryland and North Carolina. They've had opportunities to play elsewhere, but Finch says they like staying close to home and that traveling is too big of an expense." The lure of being on a stage just for the sake of being on the stage went away in about the first five years we played. We've been at this for 24 years now, and we all had careers. So it's got to make sense from a financial standpoint to be worth our time. So that does limit us." As the band members reach the age where other people retire, they, too, sometimes discuss Code Blue's future. "Every year for the last five or six years, we look at each other and say, 'Guys, are we going to give this a go again? And then by the end of the year, we've already got seven, eight, nine, ten things on the books for the following year. I take a lot of pride in the fact that the places that we do play, well, I don't know of many that we've ever played that we don't get requested back. We enjoy entertaining, and we enjoy each other. So I guess we'll just keep doing it as long as we can do it!"

It is said that necessity is the mother of invention. If that's the case, then Doc Sigmier, with the help of his father, created the guitar slide of his dreams. And what a dream. "I never dreamed the slides would be so popular, and this would become a full-time business." Rocky Mountain Slides Company, headquartered in Concha Springs, Colorado, was "born" when Doc complained to his dad that he didn't have a slide he liked. "I grew up in Southern California and saw all the bands that played in Los Angeles in the 1960s and 70s," he says. "From Buffalo Springfield to The Byrds, and so many more. I grew up loving music." While Doc describes his family as "artistic," he says they weren't very musical. "They were visual artists. I was the black sheep because all I really wanted to do was music. I always volunteered to play the parts in the band that required a slide – a lot of Marshall Tucker and Allman Brothers tunes. I would play records over and over to learn sound-tuning. But I always had a love-hate relationship with slides." Doc worked in radio off and on but really wanted to make his own music. "When I complained to my dad that I didn't have a slide I liked, he said we should make one." Doc's dad was a potter, mainly selling functional pottery in art galleries. "He played with the slides as a side project for a number of years until one day, BAM! I told him that was the one." They started with one color and one size. "I realized there needed to be different sizes to fit different-sized hands," Doc says. "Otherwise, it could be like pulling off a Chinese finger puzzle in between songs that didn't require a slide." Doc began talking to other artists. "I loved listening to blues and jam bands, and also Americana. I would ask if they wanted to buy a slide, and most people I asked wanted one to try. And people liked them." Explaining the majority of slides that are considered ceramic are porcelain slips. "The clay is poured into molds. They look good, but no R&D went into those slides. A friend gave me one, and it was OK, but not very resonant." Doc says he went in another direction. What makes Rocky Mountain Slides different is they are made of stoneware, a dense clay. Doc pairs them with custom glazes he and his dad created. "Between the two of us, we were able to get it right. Once we did, we never looked back. We worked together for 13 years." Each slide looks like a work of art. "They not only look good, but the sound they provide is exceptional," Doc says. "Some of the biggest changes in your tone can come from the smallest additions." In addition to ceramic slides, Doc has stone and brass slides available. "The stone slides are from our Element series. We made finger slides and tone bars from moonstone, a kind of smoky quartz that makes colors fragment when under light. It's amazing." Rocky Mountain Slides also offers handcrafted guitar picks made from various materials, including buffalo bone, buffalo horn, brass, graphite, mother of pearl, tiger eye, coconut husk, and polysynth (a nylon/resin material). And once again, Doc saw a need and created a new kind of pick. "I had the idea after I kept dropping my guitar picks. I created a new kind of pick I call the Bear Claw. It's a tri-pick, and the center of the pick is thicker and tapers down towards the edges. It's ideal for people with arthritis, tendonitis, carpal tunnel, or people who have had strokes. A lot of folks like them to prevent fatigue. With the Bear Claw pick, you don't have to grip it as tightly. I thought it would work, and when I got the first samples in, I realized it did the job very well." Doc says he likes to keep his prices reasonable. "Bluegrass, Americana, and folk artists all spend a lot of money on guitar picks and other additions. I try to be cost-effective for musicians." As a musician, Doc says he loves to experiment. "I love hearing the variations that different materials can provide. For example, one material can give a bright tone while another gives a warm tone. It just depends on the sound you prefer. Steel-on-steel was the go-to from the early days of the Hawaiian steel guitar. I offer a non-traditional, artisan-made alternative. I design tools for musicians, and I offer them in a variety of materials. I have been fortunate through the years to have a number of loyal artists who have supported my business. My mantra has always been, 'Try it. You may like it.' I am always experimenting." www.rockymountainslides.com

Up-and-coming singer and multi-instrumentalist Bella White is said to have brought “old soul” insight and “intense self-awareness” to her debut album, Just Like Leaving. Her sophomore release dropping this month – the bluegrass-steeped Among Other Things – promises yet another evolution of this young artist. “Among Other Things is a record that I’m very proud of,” White said. “I didn’t write all the songs in the same chapter of my life. It spans over the course of a couple years of writing, and I think that’s partly what bridges the gap from my last record lyrically.” This performer from Calgary, Canada, said she experienced what many other artists have reported, that she was “inspired by spending a lot of time alone during the pandemic and inspired by watching the world around me and looking at the world within me.” “I think that listeners have really liked it, and I think it’s exciting to evolve musically,” she explained. “I am very grateful that people were wanting to evolve with me.” White – now in her early 20s – has been writing music for many years. When she talks about that creative process that drives her work, it sounds almost therapeutic. “I think that because I was so young when I started writing, I didn’t really think of it as a craft as much as a way to process my feelings,” she said. “I still definitely use it as an outlet for processing, but I think now, I’ve also started exploring the depth of a single song and how I can write in ways that cover more ground and broaden the subject matter I’m writing about.” White said anyone who wants to hear the new music live might want to catch a show this spring. She’ll be doing a few opening sets for Ashley McBryde and “playing a few headline shows as well.” In reminiscing about what drew her to bluegrass, she cites what most folk performers mention – early childhood exposure to the music at home. “I truly grew up on bluegrass and classic country due to my parents’ musical taste,” White said. “A huge part of what draws me to it is the comfort that I find in listening because of that.” Her father was a bluegrass musician who hailed from Virginia. The roots of her connection to the music run fairly deep for a young Canadian gal. “I also love how ‘straight up’ it is,” she added, describing the genuine, unassuming honesty of bluegrass that attracts so many. “The lyrics are very clear in what they are trying to communicate, which is often a lot of yearning and longing.”

The Slocan Ramblers may be Canadian, but they've carved out a solid place in the world of American bluegrass. They were selected as the IBMA 2020 Momentum Band of the Year Award winners and were nominated for a 2019 Juno Award. This past November, these ramblin' men took a special moment to be still, finding themselves with a sure and perfect grounding in a place they probably never expected they'd ever land: On the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. "It was kind of an amazing experience to play music in a setting where everybody we learned from got their footing in that same place," explained The Slocan Ramblers banjo player and vocalist Frank Evans. The appearance followed a period of support of the band's 2022 record, "Up the Hill and Through the Fog." Evans said the 12-track recording – filled with "honest and heartfelt" compositions – was a bit of a departure from their previous records. The process – and its resulting sound – were driven by something over which they had no control: Covid-19. The end result, though, has served them well. "It was a little bit of a departure from how we normally do it, and that was basically because of Covid," Evans explained. In the past, they'd shape records around what were essentially live performances. In this case, they had to do their parts in-studio. Live recording simply wasn't in the cards. "We didn't have that luxury this time," Evans said. "It really is kind of a studio album…but we had a lot of fun creating music that way." Evans is joined by fellow "ramblers" Adrian Gross (mandolin) and Darryl Poulsen (guitar and vocals). Although not an "official" band member, Charles James (bass and vocals) is a somewhat permanent fixture attached to the Ramblers, adding his talent to recordings and live shows. Evans said something new is on the horizon; fans can already start looking forward to new music. "We're planning on recording a record this year and will probably do it in Nashville," Evans said. He explained that they'll be aiming even higher for this forthcoming record. He said they've "always tried to make as big a sound as possible with four instruments," but the next record will include guest musicians who will "fill in to make the sound even bigger." Evans has been at it for a long time; he started on banjo around age nine or 10. His parents took him to a concert in Toronto where he was introduced to the variety of sounds made by different variations of his instrument, including Irish tenor banjo, gourd banjo and bluegrass banjo. He ended up taking lessons for a year from a clawhammer banjo player who had participated in that show. Evans said his influences – and, in part, the band's inspirations as a whole – run the gamut. He said his listening preferences over the years have "kind of gone from one end of the spectrum to the other" and have included everything from "old time, archived music on old scratchy recordings" to more modern bluegrass, such as Ricky Skaggs. He said a lot of the old music still affects what The Slocan Ramblers perform today. "Sometimes the classics are what get people excited," Evans said. "Everybody goes crazy for the Monroe stuff." On the West Coast, fans might be able to catch a show in April when The Slocan Ramblers head out for a California tour. They're also excited to return for a second time to teach at the RockyGrass Academy at Colorado's RockyGrass Festival in July. While the group appears to be making the western U.S. its ramblin' territory this spring – and will be recording here in the U.S. in Nashville – they're still Canadian. This fact hasn't stood in their way. "Being a Canadian band playing American music, It's not always clear where we fit in," Evans admitted, "but it's always been completely welcoming. It's always blown us away how welcoming the community is."

If you have yet to hear Town Mountain, their newest release, Dance Me Down Easy: the Woodstock Sessions EP, will be a perfect place to start. Delving into their musical influences, the roots-driven quintet trekked from their hometown, Asheville, NC, to upstate New York to record at The Barn, the famous studio built by the late Band drummer Levon Helm. Each song is recorded live with one take; their second effort under New West Records follows their label debut, the highly acclaimed Lines In the Levee (2022 Best American Album of the Year, PopMatters.) "The creative juices got started with a buddy of ours, John Allen, who is also president of New West Records," Town Mountain guitarist/singer Robert Greer stated about their new EP. He felt that with seven or eight studio albums of original material, recording a covers album would be a good idea. "We jumped on it! If el presidente wants this to happen," he joked, "it's going to happen! We thought it was a really cool idea." Greer takes the lead vocal on Dire Straits 80s mega-hit "So Far Away." "That song has been on my brain for years," said Greer. "Being a road- musician," the guitarist added, "that song just hits to the core. It's being frustrated about what distance does to two people." Expressing high regard for songwriting legend J.J. Cale, whose song "Devil in Disguise" is the first track on the EP, the Town Mountain frontman said that he wasn't only impressed by the man behind the rock classics "Cocaine," "After Midnight," and "The Breeze," but also his stage attire. "Where other guys had their stage clothes, Cale would come out in a white T-shirt, sunglasses and a pair of blue jeans -- he just exudes cool!" Mandolinist Phil Barker added a personal favorite by introducing his bandmates to The Kinks song "Strangers." "Phil has been singing that song for at least three or four years," explained Greer. "We always would ask him, 'Hey man, what's that song?' And he would say, 'It's a cool Kinks song.' So, with this album, we had the opportunity to record it." Taking center stage on the EP is the title track, "Dance Me Down Easy," written by Levon Helm. Greer, perhaps the most influential musician of them all, expressed how much Levon means to Town Mountain. "We have always listened to The Band and other ensembles that Levon has been involved with. He is one of the guys, along with Jerry Garcia, that everyone in the band can agree [was] a major influence." When asked about the famous recording location, "It's been a dream of ours," explained Greer about Levon Helm's Studios. "Not only did we get to play there, but we also got to record." The guitar picker described the studio vibe. "Soon as you walk in there, man, you can tell it's not corporate. The high ceilings, the rough-cut lumber. … We get why [Levon Helm] built it here! Other highlights on the EP include the traditional "Flannery's Reprise," featuring Town Mountain fiddle player Bobby Britt. "We (Town Mountain) recorded it more like the traditional version on our Steady Operator album, but Bobby started toying around with it again -- really slowing it down. I was like, 'This is not going to work.' I remember being in rehearsal and asking him, 'What is your goal here?'" After recording the song, Greer was surprised by the result, "It ended up being cooler than I thought!" Giving credit to their fiddle player, "Bobby came up with the brilliant idea." Through various personnel changes, Town Mountain continues gaining fans. Forming in 2004 in Asheville, NC, a small music landscape compared to the bustling Nashville or LA music scenes, Greer described the original lineup as a "partying drunken mob." "We were young and spinning our wheels," adding, "We didn't have a booking agent for years." Reminiscing about the lean times, "We would look out at the crowd and ask if there are any generous souls who have a place where five knuckleheads with sleeping bags can stay." Seven albums later, Town Mountain, which now features band members Zack Smith (bass) and Devon Neil (drums), along with Greer, Barker, and Britt, is proud of what it created. "For a small band that started in a grassroots kind of way, to still be going and employing other people who have families, helping them provide…," the guitarist paused, "We're proud of that man."

White linens drape the tables, and champagne-filled flutes line the bar. Soft classical music plays in the background. The featured menu item of the day is escargot - cocoa and chamomile cure, plum compote, chamomile sauternes jelly and toasted brioche. But this isn't Paris. Or Marseille. Or Nice. It is The French Goat in Lewisburg, West Virginia. This small, French-style bistro is located in a historic mountain town of about 4,000 people and serves a menu of classic French dishes - that originated some 4,000 miles across the Atlantic - with a twist. "I love classic dishes and flavor combinations, and I try to pay homage to the classics by recreating them with available local ingredients and my own spin," said Hannah Reid, chef at The French Goat. "Trying to keep in mind that simple food is often my favorite, I seek to balance being true to the ingredients and concepts while still having a bit of fun." Take, for example, the restaurant's Crisp Duck Confit, accompanied by barbecue sea island red peas, cauliflower whipped potatoes, charbroiled carrots, and winter cress in warm maple-bourbon vinaigrette. "We feel that Duck Confit is one of the classic French dishes that should be on a bistro menu, and this recipe is a classic confit preparation of the duck and a playful and tasty use of vegetables for the accompaniments," she said. Other classic dishes include Foie Gras Torchon with onion marmalade, cornichon, toasted brioche and sauternes gelee; Croque Madame with griddled farmhouse bread, country ham, gruyere cheese, mornay sauce, fresh hen egg and frites; and Tuna Nicoise with seared ahi tuna, haricot verts, hard egg, fingerling potatoes, olives, baby greens and balsamic vinaigrette. Delectable desserts include the chef's daily creme brulee, chocolate mousse with whipped cream, and an apple and almond cake with butterscotch sauce, calvados, and whipped creme fraiche. "Whenever I get a chance to travel, I try cuisines, restaurants, and ingredients that are new to me, and I get an urge to replicate some of these things in my kitchen," Reid said. "It's not that I copy exact dishes, but I get excited to try and recreate some of the flavor combinations and techniques that really stand out to me. I want to reproduce for our diners the same sense of euphoria that I experience when I have a truly memorable meal." At a young age, Reid enjoyed her first life-changing bites that would ultimately feed her life's passion. "I was a dishwasher at a French bistro when I was a teenager, and the chefs were always feeding me 'exotic' dishes and ingredients that I assumed I wouldn't like," Reid, who grew up in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Albemarle County, said. "However, I did not want to be rude and turn down food, and I realized that I loved everything I tried. Between this epiphany and a newfound love of the frenetic atmosphere of the kitchen, I was hooked!" After years of ascending the ranks across kitchens in Appalachia, Reid began leading the culinary team at The French Goat fairly in recent years - though the restaurant itself has been open for nearly a decade. In 2015, The French Goat proprietors Debbie Porter and Arthur Forgette pursued their lifelong passion for French food and wine. They realized their dream of opening a restaurant after leaving the hustle and bustle of Washington, D.C., in favor of returning to family roots in the rolling hills of West Virginia. "Arthur and Debbie combine his vast knowledge and 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry with Debbie's New York marketing and sales background to open The French Goat," according to the restaurant's website. Today, Porter and Forgette's vision pairs perfectly with Reid's culinary execution - like Bordeaux and Camembert. Chablis and oysters. Sauvignon Blanc and chevre. "An excellent mentor and teacher, Chef Hannah Reid sets the tone for excellence and consistency within her team. She brings a wealth of culinary knowledge and experience to The French Goat, and her creativity and talent have positively impacted the culinary team," according to the website. It is a match made in almost heaven. Or France. The French Goat is at 290 Lafayette Street, Lewisburg, West Virginia, 24901. The restaurant is open for dinner Wednesday through Sunday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. It is open for brunch on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The phone number is 304-647-1052. For more information, visit https://www.thefrenchgoat.com

As one of the founding members of Blue Highway, Shawn Lane has nearly 30 years of experience playing in one of the most acclaimed modern bluegrass bands. But now the multi-talented singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist is exploring a very different, pared-down, and powerful sound working in a duo with Richard Bennett, an equally respected and compelling musician. “You can just hear every nuance of the song and the music because there's only two instruments,” Lane says. “And because there's only two of you, there's nothing to hide behind. You can have a closer relationship with a song if there's fewer of you.” Lane and Bennet began writing together in 2017. Their 2019 EP, Land and Harbor, was well-received and encouraged the collaboration. A new song is scheduled for release in 2024, and a seven-song EP will follow. “We’ve always been good friends, but we started talking more on the phone and writing a few songs here about four or five years ago,” Lane recalls. “And we like playing with one another. His rhythm is like a wall of good music coming at you, so it makes you play better to have rhythm like that behind you. It's just like a crosscut saw. Two men sawing a tree down. It's kind of like you're working with one tool.” Blue Highway is still very much a going concern, but the band has cut back on touring. Last October, the band released a single, "The North Side," written by Lane with his brother Chad Lane and Gerald Ellenburg. "And we had Grayson, my oldest son, sing tenor on it. That's the third single from this album we have done with the band, and that will probably be the last one before the whole record is released." Lane's remarkable career includes stints with Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, and he's performed with The Earls of Leicester. Bennett was on the road at age 15, performing with Flatt and Scruggs fiddle player Benny Sims. After a regular spot at Dollywood, he joined J.D. Crowe and The New South. He also toured with Mike Auldridge, Bobby Osborne, and Jimmy Gaudreau. Lane's first instrument was the fiddle, and his primary instrument during his long tenure with Blue Highway has been the mandolin. But he turns to the guitar for writing and performing with Bennett. "We write the songs on guitars to get the chord structure. So I just thought, 'Well, I'll just stay on here because that's the way we wrote them. But they feel good this way, and there's no need to change it." Lane and Bennett’s songs might be described as introspective, evocative, and textured. Lane says the elegant chord structures have several influences. "That comes from the piano of Michael McDonald (of the Doobie Brothers) and Bill Labounty. As a songwriter, he's kind of unsung. He didn't really have a glamorous career, but he's done a trainload of stuff and put out a bunch of good records. And I guess Tony Rice is our number one influence. If it wasn't for Tony's records, I wouldn't be in music. And it's not just his guitar playing, but his song selection and the way he made those records." Richard Bennett's credentials as a Tony Rice devotee are impeccable. He performed with Rice and filled in for him with The Tony Rice Unit and The Bluegrass Album Band. “Richard’s also a great singer,” Lane explains. “He just doesn't care about singing all that much. He'd rather just play and support the song. So I do most of the singing when we perform. He's a great person, too. That's one of the main reasons I play with him. And we hang out together because he's just a fantastic human being.” Lane enjoys playing in a duo after years in a full-blown bluegrass band and appreciates that this configuration can work in different venues. “You can play in more places and in quieter rooms. And, of course, you don't have to make as much money to go out and have a good show. It takes less for two people to go through all the overhead out here than it does for five or six people. So you can work smaller rooms and more intimate places, which is good for acoustic music. "You don't have to play at 'ten' the whole time, and then you have nowhere to go after that. You can play softly, and you can play a little harder. And both things get noticed in a duet situation where they don't so much in a four or five-piece band. It really fires you up to do more because you feel that. You feel you're deeper into the song, you feel more from it. I love it."

It is well known that business acumen and creative sensibilities don't always coexist in the same person. In fact, these two things are often strange bedfellows. Most performers are more oriented toward creative expression and consider business – whether marketing, promotion or legal issues – one of the most dreaded parts of choosing a career in the arts. For artists in Tennessee, however, there's a resource that provides exactly the support many musicians lack. The nonprofit Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville lends a helping hand so creatives – ranging from musicians to visual artists to everything in between – can focus more on what they are passionate about. “We exist to provide educational resources and opportunity that artists need to survive and have a sustainable career,” summarized ABC Nashville Executive Director Jill McMillan Palm. Funded primarily by donations and corporate sponsorships, what McMillan Palm calls the "flagship" program of ABC Nashville consists of volunteer lawyers and other professionals who provide pro-bono legal assistance. This includes things vital to artists, such as contract review, contract creation, intellectual property questions, etc. “We think of ourselves as the fuel for the creative engine,” she explained. “We want to make sure all the administrative, legal and business end is taken care of so they [artists] can focus on the creative process.” McMillan Palm said she has "dabbled" in music, dance, and theater herself in the past, but since she studied business in school, she found herself in an art career that was more behind the scenes instead of in the limelight. It was a perfect fit that aligned with something she has always been passionate about. “I’ve been a lover of the arts my entire life,” she said. “I realized I could be that person behind the scenes that helps artists make their art happen.” Just as she gives huge amounts of time to ABC Nashville, she said artists can also join her in helping to create a support community. In addition to taking advantage of what the nonprofit offers, participants can also give back through the organization. In a sense, they can pay it forward when it comes to goodwill. “We have opportunities all the time through our education programs, especially for musicians, to lend their expertise,” McMillan Palm said. She specifically highlighted mentorship of other musicians, participation in expert panels, and speaking opportunities. ABC Nashville also offers an “Arts Board Matching Program,” which she said, “trains folks to be good nonprofit board members if they’re interested in serving on an arts board. We want to be the hub for creatives in the Greater Nashville area.” That being said, the geography covered by this group isn't strict; ABC Nashville also helps connect artists to legal and business resources and opportunities in more rural communities with less accessibility and in places such as Memphis and Chattanooga. Every May, the organization puts on its biggest fundraiser event to support the charity's volunteer lawyers. The "Arts Immersion" event includes pop-up performances, a silent auction, "local fare and lively libations," and more. McMillan Palm said while many charities faced hard times during the pandemic, the opposite happened here; the downtime caused many artists to re-evaluate the level of support they required, and those who believed in the mission saw, even more, the need for the work ABC Nashville does. "We really kicked it into high gear during the pandemic," she said, explaining how they grew from having just two full-time staff members in 2017 to a staff of six full-time employees, one part-time, and several additional contractors. McMillan Palm said collectively, they serve approximately 8,000 artists and arts administrators annually. “I hope we are serving in the right way,” she said, “and serving in the way artists need.” If the success and growth of the Arts and Business Council of Greater Nashville is any indication, what this group is striving for is precisely what Nashville-area creatives need.

Locked away in a bank vault are typically bundles of cash, valuable heirloom jewelry or essential legal documents. In Summersville, West Virginia, one particular bank vault contains fries and mussels in a garlic and white wine broth and a bone-in pork chop brined in cider and served with risotto, roasted Brussels sprouts and a smoked apple and cranberry chutney. At least, that's the case at The Vault on Main - a former local bank turned restaurant in the center of town. It has repurposed the marble lobby into a dining room, the charming wooden dividers into a bar, and the main vault into a wine cellar. The architecture of the landmark building, coupled with Chef Libby Nolle's unique culinary background, helps shape The Vault's dishes. “When I was 4, I put a bunch of plastic play food in a pan, turned up the heat and made breakfast for my mom. Needless to say, she didn't like the surprise, and I ruined a good pan,” Nolle said. "Though that wasn't the last pan I ruined, my choice of ingredients improved.” Ingredients like garlic, shrimp, fresh basil, sundried tomatoes, goat cheese, grass-fed beef and marinated artichoke hearts highlight the menu in dishes inspired by Nolle’s globetrotting. "My parents were 'foodies' before 'foodies' were a thing. They lived in Paris in the late 1960s, where my dad was finishing his degree at the Sorbonne. He then got a job with the federal government and traveled extensively for work, always seeking out local places to eat. We joined him when possible, but even when we couldn’t, my dad always brought his culinary adventures home,” she said. “All of these experiences have had a huge influence on the flavors I use and the ingredients that I seek out.” Her travels throughout Europe have inspired dishes like the Italian “Pasta Allo Scoglio," with clams, mussels, shrimp, garlic, white wine, and pomodoro, and the Belgian "Les Moules Frites," with fries, mussels, and butter. Nolle’s dishes have helped create a one-of-kind dining experience that curates global flavors in a landlocked state. And the community can’t get enough. “I love to eat good food. I love thinking about food, shopping for food, and cooking food. Often, when I am eating lunch, I am thinking about dinner. So, food makes me happy, and I love to see my food make other people happy.” RECIPE: Ramp Kimchi This ramp kimchi dish is a signature of Nolle’s, who usually serves it with pork belly tacos. “I am not a native West Virginian. I transplanted when I came here for college, and now I never want to live anywhere else. When I first moved to Elkins to attend school, I was introduced to the Ramp Festival,” she said. “When I figured out that we were not celebrating highway ramps or skateboard ramps, I was intrigued. Ramps were my first introduction to native Appalachian cuisine; the first time I tried them was in a ravioli with a ramp pesto cream sauce. So, I love creative ways of using ramps as much as I love the traditional way of eating them with fried potatoes. I think I do bring a different perspective on how to use the flavor with my kimchi, and it's something I'm really proud of.” Yield: Makes 1 quart Ingredients: ●      1 medium Napa cabbage, about 2 pounds ●      ¼ cup plus 1tb sea salt ●      6 cloves of garlic ●      1 tsp ginger ●      1 tsp sugar ●      2 TB Fish sauce ●      3 TB Samb olek ●      8-ounce Daikon radish Julienne ●      2 carrots, peeled and Julienne ●      ½ pound early ramps. If later in the season, cut off the tops. Directions: Cut the cabbage in half through the stem, cut each ½ in 1/4s, then slice crosswise into 1-inch slices Put the cabbage in a large bowl. Sprinkle ¼ cup salt on the cabbage and mix well, rubbing the salt into the cabbage. Then add enough water to cover the cabbage, cover and set out at room temp for 2 hours While the cabbage rests, put the garlic, ginger, some olek, fish sauce, and sugar in a food processor and blend to a paste. Peel the carrots and Julienne (matchstick) Chop the daikon radish Julienne (matchstick) Clean the ramps under cool water, removing the roots and all dirt and debris. If using late-season ramps, cut the tops off After the 2 hours, drain and rinse the cabbage under cold water and let sit for 15 to 20 min Add all veggies to the cabbage bowl along with the spice paste. Mix well with your hands Pack kimchi into a quart jar, layering the salt 1 teaspoon at a time and press firmly till the brine comes to the top and covers the veggies Cover set in a bowl and set in a cool, dark place for 1 to 5 days, checking daily for flavor.