Reviews

This is the sixth project from this Athens, Georgia-based duo of Jason Cade and Rob McMaken. Cade plays fiddle, and McMaken plays lap dulcimer and mandolin. Since forming in 2013, the two players have combined their love of Appalachian old-time music traditions with the historical contributions of many of the area’s older fiddle masters. To…

The Groundbreakers are a band from Finland who were formed in 1995 by leader Jussi Syren (mandolin, vocals). Over the years, the group has traveled all over Europe and the US, and they have even showcased at the IBMA World of Bluegrass in 2020. They are also featured frequently on Finnish radio. The current band…

In my opinion, John Reischman does everything that relates to playing the mandolin extremely well.  His tone, timing, dynamics, phrasing…you name it, he does it at the level of mastery.  A few other things that he can do extremely well—which proves to me that he is not only a phenomenal mandolin player, but also an…

The Horsenecks hail from the western Oregon area of Astoria. They are the duo of Gabrielle Macrae (fiddle, bass, banjo, harmonium, guitar, vocals) and Barry Southern (guitar, banjo, resonator guitar, vocals). This new project, their fourth, is a mix of mostly original tunes from Macrea along with a few from Southern. They are joined by…

[Editor’s Note: We ran this review in the September 2025, however, there were some inaccuracies in that review.  Because of those inaccuracies, I decided to run the review again with corrections included.  Our apologies to Volume Five for the previous inaccurate review.] Mississippi fiddle player Glen Harrell founded Volume Five in 2008, originally as a…

Ever since Earl Scruggs stepped on stage with Bill Monroe and His Bluegrass Boys in December of 1945, banjo players have been interested in learning how to play the five-string banjo like Earl.  Early banjo players slowed down recordings and went to watch Earl play in order to figure out how he was executing those…