Reviews

Singer/songwriter Rick Lang follows up his IBMA award-winning CD, Gonna Sing, Gonna Shout with another all-star ensemble of musicians on Blue Collar Gospel (Billy Blue Records). The magical vocal pairings for the 11-cut project including Becky Buller and Nathan Woodard (“Rise Above It All”), Dave Adkins with Alecia Nugent and Jerry Salley (“Old Rugged Me”), Barry Abernathy featuring John…

If you’re a bluegrass purist looking for an album that sounds like it just wandered from the Appalachian foothills, look no further. Ancient Songs et al is heavily fortified with evangelical hymns, Woody Guthrie, Townes Van Zandt, AP Carter, and of course, Bill Monroe. Dry Branch Fire Squad seeks to preserve the essence of these…

At the end of May, Jacob Jolliff released his latest album, Instrumentals, Vol. 2: Mandolin Mysteries on Adhyaropa Records. If you are familiar with Jolliff, you have probably listened to Instrumentals, Vol. 1, released in 2018 when Jolliff was a youthful 27 years old. Now in his mid-thirties, this new album of originals reflects Jolliff’s…

At age 16, Mei Lin Heirendt, lead singer and fiddler with this northern California-based quartet, is already a veteran of sorts. She started playing the violin at age 7, and has simply never stopped.  Since she was a child, she’s been involved with and nurtured by the California Bluegrass Association and is currently the organization’s…

For those unfamiliar with this Santa Cruz, California-based band, it is an off-shoot of what was once the Tuttle Family Band, which included Molly Tuttle, her father Jack Tuttle, her brother Sullivan and AJ Lee. Now, with Lee at the helm and guitarist Sullivan Tuttle on board, along with Scott Gates (also an excellent guitarist)…

Mohavisoul is based in the San Diego area and takes its name from California’s Mojave Desert. While the band’s musical approach is contemporary, it recognizes its bluegrass roots in both the song writing and arrangements of covers.  The band consists of Randy Hanson (mandolin), Mark Miller (guitar), Orion Boucher (bass), and Jason Weiss (banjo). They…