Reviews

University of Illinois Press Don’t let the subtitle of this important book possibly turn you away. Yes, potent blends of electrified country and rock provided cornerstones for the “Americana” genre, a comparatively recent musical edifice. (The Americana Music Association wasn’t founded until 1999, and a matching Grammy Awards category had to wait another decade.)  But…

East Nash Grass is one of a growing number of bands composed of young pickers trying to elbow their way onto the scene, offering sounds that provide yet another wrinkle to the question, “What bluegrass is?” With a debut album of the same name, East Nash Grass not only shows fresh playing, but original music….

Leave all expectations at the door, put on Hell on Church Street and let the Punch Brothers take you on an unique tribute to the late legend Tony Rice with an inspiring take on his classic record; Church Street Blues. Hell on Church Street by the Punch Brothers brings to bear what Tony Rice always…

Bluegrass veteran Chris Jones has an incredibly appealing voice. It conveys soulfulness, dignity and integrity. It’s a voice you can trust as he shares his exquisitely crafted and deeply felt original songs with us. Many of Jones’s songs approach age-old themes from fresh and slightly elliptical angles, and they’re often tinged with a sense of…

If you loved the New Acoustic music catapulted into the stratosphere by David Grisman, Tony Rice, John Reischman and others exploding out of the Bay Area in the 1970s and early ’80s, you know the legacy of the Gasoline Brothers. At small concerts and close-quarter gigs around the Bay Area and beyond, the interaction between…

Dark Shadow DSR 202101 The is Rick Faris’ newest release on which he is joined as the core group by Laura Orshaw (fiddle), Russ Carson (banjo), and Zak McLamb (bass). While Faris plays guitar and sings lead, he is also joined on various cuts by Sam Bush (mandolin, vocal), Ronnie McCoury (mandolin, vocal), Jason Carter…