Reviews

FARM HANDS GOOD THINGS Pinecastle Records PRC 1225 The same four veteran musicians have constituted the Farm Hands, SPBGMA’s 2018 Band Of The Year, for four years. Tim Graves on resonator guitar, guitarist Keith Tew, bassman Daryl Mosley, and Don Hill on banjo share distinguished resumes going back more than 30 years. The fourth release…

THE BANJO PILOT BY BARRY R. WILLIS Covenant Books 9781643002934. Paperback, 294 pp., $29.95. (www.covenantbooks.com) This novel is the story of a banjo-picking pilot and his life. He faces great personal loss, he picks with Bill Monroe, and he teaches younger people about what it is that makes bluegrass music work. While dropping names and…

JOHNNY & JEANETTE WILLIAMS THIRTY YEARS LATER Grass Tank Music No Number Johnny and Jeanette Williams’ aptly titled Thirty Years Lateris a celebration of two full careers in the music business. Jeanette owns more than ten SPBGMA awards and has been Female Vocalist Of The Year three times, with the most recent in 2013. She’s won…

THE FAMILY SOWELL FROM TEXAS TO TENNESSEE Poor Mountain Records No Number The Family Sowell—a young, talented group of musicians—writes in the liner notes of their debut album about faith and how hard waiting can be. Listeners will find From Texas To Tennesseeto be worthy of the wait and a solid effort from the youngsters who…

CINDY G MOONSHINER’S DAUGHTER Blueroad Records CD03-070118    Cindy G (last name Geijda) is a Pennsylvania native who grew up playing folk and bluegrass. Her father, a fiddle player, encouraged her to learn guitar. In her late teens, she spent a few years playing in rock bands, touring from New York to LA. During this time,…

BROADCAST: A MAN AND HIS DREAM DIRECTED BY JORDAN NANCE. (Produced by Beth Crookham for Dreamer Productions, $15, www.broadcastthedream.com.) This hour-long video documentary on the career of Ralph Epperson, founder and director of WPAQ radio in Mt. Airy, N.C., is not only a loving tribute by director Jordan Nance to Epperson and WPAQ, but it’s…