Reviews

Touring with Bill Monroe was notoriously difficult. Still, with Monroe’s foundational place in the history of bluegrass, it was a rite of passage that many musicians were not only willing but eager to endure.  Monroe’s death in 1996 has of course shut the door to any future opportunities to tour with the “Father of Bluegrass.”…

Susan Nikas is a singer-songwriter from the San Dimas area of California. Her career began in 1987 when she joined the band Clay County as their singer. Clay County was founded by banjoist Jim Dawson, and mandolinist Frank Abraham. Bassist Jim Logue joined them in the studio but was soon replaced by Leslie Spitz. It…

Donna Ulisse is a superb, celebrated and oft-covered singer-songwriter whose ears and heart are finely attuned to the bluegrass mainstream.  On her twelfth album her magic touch with lyrics and melody continues to impress.  Ulisse wrote or cowrote eight of these 11 songs, and their power lies in the way she cuts straight to the…

If you are a bluegrass banjo player, you are probably already searching the internet for a place to buy this book simply by reading the title (if you don’t have it already).  I’m not sure that I could say anything in this review to change your mind.  So, my job in writing this review is…

Writing about Balsam Range is like trying to write about George Washington or Robert E. Lee or Abraham Lincoln—it takes a minute to find something to say that hasn’t already been said.  After all, they’ve turned out nine albums over the last 14 years and have won so many group and individual awards that’s so…

This North Carolina-based powerhouse band, which marks its 20th anniversary with this impressive album, has just about everything going for it, including four talented lead singers, robust harmonies and a strong in-house supply of original material.  Deeper Shade of Blue also represents a delightful and valuable throwback to the formative mainstream bluegrass styles of the…