Reviews
Traitor
Marcel Ardans is right up front about his new album, Traitor, which he refers to as “alternative bluegrass.” Information with the album’s release states, “Marcel has no trouble abandoning bluegrass convention for the good of a song.” Ardans is best known for his YouTube channel “Lessons with Marcel” where he offers lessons in flatpicking guitar….
Rare and Fine: Unknown Tunes of Bill Monroe
Don’t be fooled by the overalls and Mississippi River-stained drawl, Mike Compton is actually a hard-boiled, gum-shoed detective on a relentless cold case to uncover as much of Bill Monroe’s music legacy as possible, both his compositions and Monroe’s playing style. His ongoing comprehensive book of Monroe transcriptions, last we heard, was around 500 pages…
On the Bus with Bill Monroe: My Five-Year Ride with the Father of Bluegrass
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.”…
Too Late Now
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…
Livin’ Large
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…
Masters of Tonewood: The Hidden Art of Fine Stringed-Instrument Making
Many bluegrass musicians love to “geek-out” about their instruments. They talk about the make, the model, the builder, the year it was built, the woods used, the dimensions, the strings, the bridges, the tuners, the nuts and saddles…it is not uncommon for anything and everything about the instruments to be studied, analyzed and discussed. Since…