Reviews
John Hartford: Pilot of a Steam Powered Aero-Plain
Andrew Vaughan Henry David Thoreau said “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.” After reading John Hartford: Pilot of a Steam Powered Aereo-Plain, I would say that John Hartford was…
Ned Luberecki’s True Fire Banjo Lessons
Bluegrass Bajo for Beginners Bluegrass Bajo Jam Survival Guide 30 Bluegrass Banjo Licks You Must Know Bluegrass Banjo Backup Banjo Lessons Taken as a whole, Ned Luberecki’s four True Fire video courses cover the bread and butter of beginning and intermediate bluegrass banjo playing in a way that’s fun, engaging and approachable. What makes these…
Distance and Time
Becky Buller Dark Shadow Recording DSR202002 It’s exhausting reviewing a Becky Buller album — a writer has to lug out a thesaurus to keep all the superlatives straight. Buller, the only performer to win IBMA vocalist and instrumentalist awards in the same year (2016) is at it again with her latest release, Distance and Time….
Hillbilly Maidens, Okies, and Cowgirls: Women’s Country Music, 1930-1960
By Stephanie Vander Wel University of Illinois Press The years 1930 to 1960 saw remarkable changes in country music from Jimmie Rodgers, The Carter Family, Chet Atkins and Patsy Cline appeared on the scene. New musical styles—bluegrass, honky-tonk, Western swing—and new media such as radio, TV, and LPs emerged. Stephanie Vander Wel of the University…
The Jamboree In Wheeling
By Ivan M. Tribe and Jacob Baptist Arcadia Publishing In 1924 the “National Barn Dance” began broadcasting at WLS in Chicago. Soon after, “Barn Dance”, “Jamboree’, and “Hayride” radio programs began appearing in cities like Nashville, Dallas, Shreveport, Cincinnati, Knoxville, and Wheeling. These programs served as a prominent source of live and radio entertainment for…
Diamonds & Flowers
Oly Mountain Boys The Oly Mountain Boys make their home in the city of Olympia, Washington, from where they get their name. The band is Tye Menser (banjo, vocals). Phil Post (bass, resonator guitar, vocals), Josh Grice (fiddle, vocals), and Eric Schweizer (guitar, vocals), and they are joined by guests Derek McSwain (mandolin, vocals) and…