Reviews
Radio Days
It’s rare for bands to stay together for long in any genre or to keep a franchise going through multiple generations of listeners. However, the Chuck Wagon Gang has defied that pattern. The group has been around for 80 years, obviously with many, many band changes. It started during the golden age of radio and…
Somewhere Beyond The Blue
This powerhouse, multi-IBMA Award-winning band bounds out full-tilt on this soulful 11-song bluegrass gospel collection. Aside from the Ramblers’ commanding gospel quartet vocal arrangements and top-notch picking, Beyond the Blue is informed with an inspired balance of traditional material and newer compositions by some of the music’s most celebrated composers. The rousing opening track, “Hear…
I’ll Come Back
Maybe it’s a double-edged sword to call someone a prodigy, so I won’t use the word here. Even so, 23-year-old AJ Lee, singer/songwriter/mandolin player/bandleader extraordinaire is something special. For starters, she launched her bluegrass career at age 7, along with her guitarist Sullivan Tuttle, who was then 9. They started out as members of The…
Walkin’ The Blues
Lori King and her husband Joe front this rustic and robust veteran band that’s based in Iowa and has been plying its craft on the midwestern bluegrass scene for years. The Kings, veterans of the band Bluegrass Addiction, are both commanding vocalists and they get sure-footed backing from Kevin Amburgey (mandolin and vocals), Mark Hargrove…
Adeline
From the depths of the winter season in Ontario, Canada, and created during the equally-bleak depths of the covid pandemic comes a wonderful album called Adeline. Long story short, this is an all-star collaboration between musicians that normally play for other Canadian bluegrass and old-time bands. To further describe the atmosphere behind this recording, these…
Hair & Hide
George Jackson is a New Zealand native who now resides in Nashville, Tennessee. He grew up hearing bluegrass music and started learning fiddle at an early age. He moved to Australia at 16 and soon became the three-time Australian National Bluegrass Fiddle Champion. Now residing in Nashville since 2016, he has established…