Reviews
The Hard Road Trio
This veteran New Mexico-based trio brings a captivating Southwestern perspective to its bluegrass and fleshes it out with some sophisticated songwriting and spirited picking and singing. The southwestern flavor shines through vividly on cuts like the nostalgic story-song “Weary Cowboy,” a rollicking cover of Guy Clark’s and Verlon Thompson’s “Hurricane Time In Texas” and “Adobe…
He Walked On
Howdy Skies Records One of the many thoughts that came into my head as I isolated myself in the western North Carolina Mountains during the pandemic was a hope that musicians would step up and document these crazy times of half a million Covid-19 deaths, social unrest and the higher priority put on technology during…
Tennessee Heart
Patuxent Music Some albums grab a listener’s attention from the get-go and don’t let up. Sometimes, in a first listen of a CD, you just know “this is something special.” Tennessee Heart, the debut from Shannon Bielski & Moonlight Drive checks both of those boxes and then some. Bielski and her band bring some bonafides…
Swingbilly Swagger
Patuxent Music If you were to listen to this album from Five Mile Mountain Road, you’d find yourself moving, thinking it was different, knowing you like it, but also thinking “Someone should name this style.” They did—it’s called “swingbilly,” a term Charlie Poole’s son James used in the 1930s. Hailing from Franklin County, Virginia—the self-proclaimed…
The Complete 5-String Banjo Method—Beginning, Intermediate & Mastering
Published by Alfred Music Self-directed learning can be a challenge, even in a resource-richenvironment. When there’s so much good stuff to study and so many ableteachers willing to provide guidance, questions abound. Where do Istart? What direction should I take? What’s important to learn at whatpoint in the process? How do I recognize landmarks and…
Just in Time
The Bing Brothers are West Virginia legends, a rare band that plays with true drive and power. That is proven yet again by their latest album Just In Time, a rollicking mix of upbeat string band music done in their particular, impressive style. In the Mountain State the division between old-time music and bluegrass is…