Preserving The Tradition of Bluegrass Into The Future
Our Staff
Keith Barnacastle
Publisher
The Bluegrass Standard is a life-long dream of Keith Barnacastle, who grew up in Meridian, Mississippi. For three years, Keith brought the Suits, Boots and Bluegrass Festival to Meridian. Now, with the Bluegrass Standard, Keith’s enthusiasm for the music, and his vision of its future, reaches a nationwide audience every month!
Stephen Pitalo
Writer
Stephen Pitalo has written entertainment journalism for more than 35 years and is the world’s leading music video historian. He writes, edits and publishes Music Video Time Machine magazine, the only magazine that takes you behind the scenes of music videos during their heyday, known as the Golden Age of Music Video (1976-1994). He has interviewed talents ranging from Ray Davies to Joey Ramone to Billy Strings to Joan Jett to John Landis to Bill Plympton.
Jason Young
Writer
A Philadelphia native and seasoned musician, has dedicated over forty years to music. Starting as a guitar prodigy at eight, he expanded his talents to audio engineering and mastering various instruments, including drums, piano, mandolin, banjo, dobro, and bass. Alongside his brother, he formed The Young Brothers band, and his career highlights include co-writing a song with Kid Rock for Rebel Soul.
Susan Marquez
Writer
Susan Marquez is a freelance writer based in Madison, Mississippi and a Mississippi Arts Commission Roster Artist. After a 20+ year career in advertising and marketing, she began a professional writing career in 2001. Since that time she has written over 2000 articles which have been published in magazines, newspapers, business journals, trade publications.
Donna Ulisse
Writer
Donna Ulisse is an award-winning American singer-songwriter known for her powerful voice and deeply rooted bluegrass and acoustic music. A Hampton, Virginia native, she first gained national attention in the early 1990s as a country artist on Atlantic Records before finding her true artistic home in bluegrass. Ulisse has earned multiple honors, including the International Bluegrass Music Association Songwriter of the Year award, and her songs have been recorded by leading artists across the genre. Today, she is widely respected as one of bluegrass music’s premier songwriters, performers, and educators.
Rebekah Speer
Creative Director
Rebekah Speer has nearly twenty years in the music industry in Nashville, TN. She creates a unique “look” for every issue of The Bluegrass Standard, and enjoys learning about each artist. In addition to her creative work with The Bluegrass Standard, Rebekah also provides graphic design and technical support to a variety of clients.
David Lauver
Writer
David Haley Lauver is a songwriter and freelance writer from Knoxville, Tennessee, who is a columnist for The Bluegrass Standard magazine. Three songs Lauver has co-written topped national Bluegrass charts. Along with Jerry Salley, Karen Bowles, and Bobby Johnston, Lauver was a co-writer of “The News That Never Changes,” a 2025 Bluegrass Gospel #1 for The King James Boys. “Appalachian Blue,” created by the same writers, was an international hit for recording artist Kristy Cox and received a “Roots Music” Grammy nomination.
Kara Martinez Bachman
Writer
Kara Martinez Bachman is a nonfiction author, book and magazine editor, and freelance writer. A former staff entertainment reporter, columnist and community news editor for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, her music and culture reporting has also appeared on a freelance basis in dozens of regional, national and international publications.