Reviews

TONY TRISCHKA GREAT BIG WORLD Rounder Records 11661-9143-2    I have always enjoyed the music of Tony Trischka, as he represents the bubbling up of banjo music from more urban climes. Trischka is steeped in Scruggs-style banjo playing and can rip some traditional bluegrass with the best of them. Yet, he’s always followed his own…

INFAMOUS STRINGDUSTERS LET IT GO High Country Records HCR-003  The Infamous Stringdusters once again step forward with a new CD of crisp forward-thinking bluegrass music with Let It Go. I still wouldn’t call the Stringdusters a newgrass band, but they’re definitely a sharp-edged contemporary bluegrass group with an open mind who have sought to come…

CROSSPOINT WE’RE GONNA RISE Rural Rhythm RCH-2021    This is a great new contemporary gospel group from East Tennessee that really rises to the occasion on this new project produced by Steve Gulley. The band is Steve Partin (mandolin), Gary Kidwell (guitar), Alan Powers (banjo), Cleve May (resonator guitar), and Daniel Oxendine (bass). All the…

LIZZY HOYT NEW LADY ON THE PRAIRIE Blue Crown Productions BCPCD-1004 Lizzy Hoyt is an award-winning Canadian artist from the Alberta area. She has an angelic vocal which suits the Celtic, folk, and bluegrass selections on this project. She’s accompanied by John Reischman (mandolin and also co-produced), Joe Phillips (bass), Becky Moonen (harmony), Nathan McCavana…

VARIOUS ARTISTS THE 1861 PROJECT, VOLUME 3: FRANKLIN Cohesion Arts No Number    It’s not often that historical research is recommended before listening to a bluegrass album. Here is one such case. So factually driven are the stories in Thomm Jutz and The 1861 Project’s Civil War trilogy, the listener can’t help but benefit from…

BREAKING GRASS JUST AS STRONG Mountain Fever Records MFR140708 When I reviewed the second Breaking Grass CD a couple of years ago, I was overwhelmed by a song called “Strings.” Though it didn’t generate the national response it deserved, it is still one of the best songs of the last ten years. Nothing here packs…