Reviews
So Much For Forever
East Tennessee’s Authentic Unlimited was formed by three former members of Doyle Lawson’s Quicksilver upon Lawson’s retirement. They are Eli Johnston (banjo), Stephen Burwell (fiddle) and Jerry Cole (bass). Joining the trio are Jesse Brock (mandolin) and John Meader (guitar). Besides working with Lawson’s Quicksilver, members have gained previous experience with such groups as Pine…
Soft Soothing Fiddle
This meditative 15-song album and accompanying 20-song video by Bluegrass Hall of Fame and Museum educational director Randy Lanham is a true labor of love with a fascinating story behind it. A while back, Lanham’s father was in the hospital and Lanham noticed how hard it was for him to relax or sleep amidst all…
Mountain Lily
Donna Ulisse is an award-winning singer-songwriter who lives in Nashville, Tennessee. She was influenced by the bluegrass sounds of the Stanley Brothers, and spent time in the Clinch Mountains of Virginia and other areas, learning the source of those sounds of the music that she has come to love. Her songs have brought her renown,…
Highlander
Missy Raines grew up in the northeastern corner of West Virginia near the Pennsylvania and Maryland borders. She came of age listening to and working the festival circuit with other performers from the greater Mid-Atlantic and Washington, D.C. Regions. And she’s included some of them on her latest album. Danny Paisley, for instance, really tears…
Trees
Sometimes, an album comes along that is such a mix of genres and influences, it’s hard to find exactly how to describe it. Laurie Lewis’s forthcoming album, Trees, is just such a work that blends influences of bluegrass, country, old time and folk, but with a contemporary voice. Maybe it’s just easier to say this…
Passages
California-based guitarist Ethan Sherman has long been a leading light on the new acoustic scene and, as this all-original, all-instrumental collection attests, he’s well-versed in the progressive bluegrass idiom. The melodies and the picking here are exquisite and largely based on improvisation. As Sherman explains in the liner notes:“I don’t view Passages as a showcase…