Reviews
Back In Again
This impressive young band from Owensboro, Kentucky, home of the Bluegrass Hall of Fame and Museum, is starting to get some well-deserved attention beyond the banks of the Ohio River. Kentucky Shine’s members—JB Miller on guitar, Steven Stewart on fiddle, Ross Clark on bass and Jordan Riehm on banjo—are just as at home playing traditional bluegrass as they…
Things Are Simple
Bill Evans is one of those figures whose name is almost synonymous with the American banjo. He’s not just an innovator (one fan described him as “the same thing to the banjo that Van Gogh was to color”); he’s also an instructor, student, author (Banjo for Dummies, among other titles) and historian of his chosen…
The Chisels are Calling
Although their prominence in bluegrass and roots music has receded and grown over the decades, archtop guitars (and their brethren in the mandolin family) have played a significant role in our music. Mother Maybelle Carter legendarily played a classic Gibson L-5 created by Lloyd Loar. Miscellaneous rhythm players in many early mountain, Western and folk…
Lost & Alone
Anyone who has followed Junior Sisk’s career knows what a wonderful traditional bluegrass singer he is. From Virginia’s Blue Ridge area, Sisk cites influences like the Stanley Brothers, Larry Sparks, Dave Evans, and The Johnson Mountain Boys. Sisk was the founder of the successful and award-winning Rambler’s Choice, and he was awarded SPBGMA’s 2017 “Male…
Karma
Volume Five is based in Mississippi and since 2008 has become quite a popular band with a unique approach to bluegrass music. The group on this new project consists of Patton Wages (banjo), Aaron Ramsey (mandolin, octave mandolin, bass), Jeff Partin (bass, resonator guitar), Jacob Burleson (guitar), and Glen Harrell (fiddle). Collectively the band has…
Railroad Town
There is a reason why some country and bluegrass songs have endured and become favorites. There’s nothing wrong with collecting a couple of handfuls of them and giving the people what they want from time to time. That’s what bluegrass veteran Junior Williams has delivered with Railroad Town, his first release for Mountain Fever records. …