Reviews

This Mid-Western group is led by Joe Macheret (guitar, banjo, fiddle, percussion), who is also the songwriter of all the material except “Midnight On The Ohio,” co-written with Joe Wunderle (piano, harmonica). Macheret is also ioined by Andrew McPheters (banjo), June Youngblood (bass), Scott Risner (mandolin), Stephen “Tebbs” Karney (pedal steel guitar, resonator guitar), John…

As the tape rolls on Bill Evans’ one-man show, The Banjo in America, it’s clear that one thing Evans loves about his instrument of choice is that it contains multitudes.  Evans, a highly-regarded bluegrass professional with five decades of performing, teaching, and recording under his belt, covers a lot of musical ground in little more…

For a number of years, Pennsylvania-based bluegrass veteran Gary Ferguson made musical sojourns to Ireland where he forged fast friendships and enduring musical bonds with some of the Green Isle’s most talented singer-songwriters.  This exquisite bluegrass/Americana-tinged album marks the culmination of these partnerships. On many cuts, Ferguson generously steps back into a supporting role, thereby…

Bell Buckle Echo Valley is the Anderson family based in Western Pennsylvania. They are Lizzy on vocals and guitar, Emily on vocals and fiddle, Isabelle on vocals and mandolin, Olivia on vocals, banjo and fiddle, Emmaline on bass (also plays mandolin and guitar), Dolly on mandolin, and brother David on banjo.  Sister Emily is the…

Peter Rowan was working on a project during the pandemic that was supposed to be a tribute to Hank Williams and his alias, Luke the Drifter. He changed gears and the reimagined product is Calling You From My Mountain.  It’s hard to imagine that the original idea could have topped this one. Rowan wrote seven…

Shannon Slaughter offers a little bit of everything and almost everybody on his new album, Ridin’ Through the Country.  One thing is unchanged from his previous efforts, though—it is dyed-in-the-wool bluegrass to the core. There are 15 songs on the album and Slaughter wrote or co-wrote nine of them.  There is a long and impressive…