Reviews

BLUEGRASS IN BALTIMORE: THE HARD DRIVIN’ SOUND AND ITS LEGACY BY TIM NEWBY—McFarland 9780786494392. Softcover, b&w photos, 244 pp. (McFarland & Co., Inc., P.O. Box 611, Jefferson, NC 28640, www.mcfarlandbooks.com.) Baltimore is not one of the first cities that comes to mind when you think about bluegrass. Yet, as Tim Newby’s Bluegrass in Baltimore reveals,…

SCOTT TACKETT LOOKING BACK Kindred Records KR15004 It’s surprising this terrific album apparently sat on the shelf for some four years, and there might be a double meaning to its name. The title song, “Looking Back,” is a great rowdy-life-to-prison-cell bluegrass burner, but singer/guitarist Scott Tackett also may have been looking back to the great…

OLD MAN LUEDECKE DOMESTIC ECCENTRIC True North Records TND605 Old Man Luedecke creates an aura of mystery by never mentioning his full name anywhere on this CD or in the liner notes, but a web search quickly finds that his name is Chris Luedecke and that he’s a singer/songwriter who lives in a cabin in…

THE STETSON FAMILY TRUE NORTH No Label STET-004 The Stetson Family, out of Melbourne, Australia, is not a family band, except in spirit and the broader meaning of the word. Blood or no, however, they are a good band making good music. This is their second recording. The members of the band include lead vocalist/guitarist…

DONNA ULISSE HARD CRY MOON Hadley Music HMG1016    Donna Ulisse has become one of our music’s most solid, consistent, and prolific songwriters, as this new project shows. Like most writers, many of her songs are based on personal experiences, her faith, remembrances, and life’s observations. She is joined on this project by Bryan Sutton (guitar),…

THE LINDSEY FAMILY CROSSES AND STONES Lindsey Family Records LFR 0011 Eleven kids explains how the Lindsey Family can have a 13-year-old on banjo as they release their eighth album. They do it by having, as they write, “several kids in the bullpen.” Some move on. Others are brought up. The current lineup consists of…