Reviews

It’s always nice when a familiar bluegrass face that’s been lying low for a while returns to the scene.  Well-regarded Darren Beachley, who pulled service with Bill Harrell and The Virginians, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver and fronted his own Legends of the Potomac (as well as some other groups) is back with a new album….

This talented Arkansas duo masterfully inhabits an antediluvian musical “folk, bluegrass, Americana” realm similar to that of, say, Norman Blake. This fine 10-song collection magically revisits American styles that were popular in the 18th and early 20th centuries. Brad Apple’s and Pam Setser’s self-titled album (produced by Apple) opens with a smooth-as-silk rendition of “Hand…

Joe K. Walsh, who has collaborated with everyone from the Gibson Brothers to Darol Anger, is, to use a well-worn cliché, a musicians’ musician. He is a world-class mandolin player and accomplished composer and arranger whose formative influences run the gambit from Del McCoury to David Grisman. Walsh, who serves on the faculty of the…

Mickey Galyean hails from Low Gap, Surry County, North Carolina. He is the son of Cullen Galyean whose deep bluegrass legacy helped form young Mickey’s music. Galyean formed the Cullen’s Bridge band to continue and honor the traditional mountain music that has become his own style.  On this project, Galyean (guitar, vocals), is joined by…

I’m not going to lie—when I grabbed the newest CD in the stack for review, I didn’t think much beyond that the woodcut cover art was unique.  When Put All Your Troubles Away by the Foreign Landers started spinning, it only took a few seconds to grab my attention and it never let go. It…

ToneSlabs is the biggest advance in flatpack technology since the launch of BlueChip picks 14 years ago. That’s a bold statement, to be sure, and we don’t make it lightly.      For months, Bluegrass Unlimited has been testing a variety of ToneSlabs picks in various shapes and thicknesses in the field at Winfield and…