Reviews
Glade
Reckoner Records Guitarist Courtney Hartman first came to prominence on as a member of the bluegrass band Della Mae. Hartman distinguished herself as an elegant picker in the light touch tradition of Tony Rice and Bryan Sutton. In 2018, she left the band and began to reevaluate the sound of her songwriting and playing. Following…
One-Ring Circus
This eclectic instrumental exercise from celebrated maestro Tristan Scroggins is an intriguing exploration of melody and rhythmic fusion conducted on a 1920s-era four-string Paramount Style C-tenor banjo. This is a bit of a departure for Scroggins, who’s best known for his mandolin prowess. Though eminently listenable on its surface, the copious liner notes to One…
The Nashville Banjo Company’s Pocket-Dial—Banjo Head Tension Measuring Device
Obtaining your optimum tone preference from your banjo is something that can be influenced by number of variables. One of those variables is banjo head tension. If your banjo head is too loose, the tone can be too tubby. If the head is too tight, the tone can be too bright. Some players will…
Like A Flowing River & Soundtrack Album
Like A Flowing River is a 2-Disc project from James Reams, guitarist, songwriter and long-time leader of his band, the Barnstormers. This outing includes songs from his many albums along with many of the songs included in his DVD, Like A Flowing River: A Bluegrass Passage, in which Reams relates his musical odyssey from his…
Texas Bluegrass History: High Lonesome on the High Plains
In recent years there have been a number of books written that cover the history of regional bluegrass. Kip Lornell’s Capital Bluegrass focused on bluegrass music in the Washington, D.C. area. Tim Newby’s Bluegrass in Baltimore covered the legacy of bluegrass in that city, and—most recently— Industrial Strength Bluegrass, edited byFred Bartenstein and Cutis Ellison,…
The Complete Tune Playing Toolkit For 5-String Banjo: A Comprehensive Guide to Mastering Traditional Melodies
This new banjo instructional book by Jamie Francis could have easily been titled “Fiddle Tune Boot Camp for the 5-String Banjo.” The 120-page book is an extremely comprehensive approach to learning how to play fiddle tune melodies—including old-time tunes, reels, jigs, hornpipes, polkas, slip jigs, and airs (41 tunes in all)—on the 5-string banjo. …