Reviews
Looking For An Old Fashioned Church
I hazard to say that this gifted and inspired Italian bluegrass band could teach a lot of us here on the other side of the pond quite a bit about the deep history of early bluegrass music. The Truffle Valley Boys’ latest album, a gospel outing, could easily serve as lesson 101. Leaning heavily on…
Mountains of Home
This is a family-based unit from the Glasgow, Kentucky area. Managed by Terry O’Neal (keyboards), the group includes Kacey O’Neal (fiddle, guitar, mandolin, bass, keyboards), Caleb Isaac O’Neal (guitar), Shelane O’Neal (bass), Jesse Meador (banjo), and Justin Meredith (guitar). The project includes a number of familiar tunes from a variety of sources like Larry Cordle,…
Murmurations Vol 2
This group from the Colorado/Wyoming area is Alex Paul (guitar, mandolin), Eric Shedd (bass, guitar, mandolin), Jack Tolan (guitar, mandolin), and Anneke Dean (violin). This project is a follow-up to their Murmuration Vol 1 released in September 2021. The group collaborates on all the material and they state their mission to “…to making this world…
Yonderings
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…
The Banjo in America
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…
Ferguson’s Farewell: The Irish Connection
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…