Reviews

It is hard not to think of Darren Nicholson’s sense of humor not far into his latest solo album, Man on a Mission.  The opening bars of the first song, “Love is War,” start with hard driving banjo and fiddle and the sound Nicholson is known for with Balsam Range and his main side-gig, the…

Derek Johnson, who has spent more than a decade with Monroe Crossing, has released a new solo project entitled Hard Life.  Johnson calls his “band” on the album Hardgrass, but it is a collection of 19 guest musicians from Minnesota—where he’s based—and Wisconsin. Johnson, who has also performed as part of The High 48s and…

Restless Wanderer is R. Wesley Carr’s first full-length project. Carr is the 2019 winner Winfield, Kansas’ National Mandolin Championship and the title song won the New Song songwriting contest. Carr studied classical music at Northern Illinois University and is a graduate of East Tennessee State’s music program. This collection is a mix of originals and…

“Flamen Grass” is a collaboration of four great Spanish musicians from the Barcelona area. Headed up by banjo player Lluis Gomez, he is accompanied by Javier Vaquero on guitar, Carol Duran on violin and vocals, and Maribel Rivero on double bass and vocals. Combining a mix of bluegrass and flamenco traditions, the group presents a…

In 1988, a tool and dye maker named Bryan Paige couldn’t find a capo that kept his guitar in tune. So he used his machining skills to design and make his own. Paige’s affordable, practical design caught on, and soon, his Michigan-based company found international success with its understated but innovative design. Today, you can…

From time to time a reviewer runs across an album that is a good listen, but in the big tent that is today’s bluegrass world, is hard to identify for the listener.   Fortunately, Mohavisoul offered extensive notes for their latest album, Stories and Memories. They refer to their sound as “California Bluegrass.” Cool. Wait,…