Reviews

NU-BLU NAIL BY NAIL Pinecastle Records PRC-1181 The music business is constantly changing in both delivery, format, packaging, presentation, and expectations. Bluegrass is no exception. With fans able to go to iTunes and Amazon and cherry-pick favorite songs by artists, it is becoming more and more the norm that there is no set number of…

DARIN AND BROOKE ALDRIDGE LIVE AT RED, WHITE AND BLUEGRASS Mountain Home Music MH14522 For their third release on Mountain Home, Darin and Brooke Aldridge take us to the stage of the Red, White and Bluegrass Festival in Morgantown, N.C. During what sounds like a complete set featuring 12 songs (plus a bit too much…

NIALL TONER ONWARDS & UPWARDS Pinecastle Records PRC 1182 This is the American debut on Pinecastle for one of music’s great stories. Niall Toner is an excellent, 68-year-old American country and bluegrass composer and singer who happens to be Irish. His fourth CD, Onwards & Upwards is Toner’s first recorded in the U.S. On Airplay…

TIM O’BRIEN & DARRELL SCOTT WE’RE USUALLY A LOT BETTER THAN THIS (LIVE) Full Light Records 478923 Well, if these two popular and talented bluegrass-country-folk singer/songwriters are ever better than this, I doubt if we could much stand it. Tim O’Brien and Darrell Scott previously teamed up in 2000 for the Grammy-nominated studio album Real…

ROSIN IN THE AIRE A COLD FROSTY MORNING Rita Records 0101 This enjoyable debut album by Rosin In The Aire reveals a highly versatile band. Based in the Puget Sound region of Washington State, the ensemble’s love of music and its cumulative years of experience shine through. Leanne Cardinale (bass, hammered dulcimer), Tim Cardinale (guitar),…

A DEEPER SHADE OF BLUE NO MORE BLUES TTB Records No Number The problem with being a “best kept secret” is, well, remaining a secret. In a genre of music with so much talent, the step from regional favorite to national band is enormous. For Monroe, N.C.’s A Deeper Shade of Blue, they are hoping…