Reviews
The John Hartford Fiddle Tune Project – Vol 1
Fiddle aficionados and students of the work of John Hartford should be delighted with this recording. Note, these seventeen tracks do not contain “the lost” performances of Hartford, nor is this a tribute album. It is the first effort in documenting some of his work that was found in his archives by family members and…
Old Time Fiddle Tune Favorites
By Tristan Scroggins In the introduction to his instructional book for mandolin, Old Time Fiddle Tune Favorites, Tristan Scroggins discusses an issue that many bluegrass players face when they attend a jam session and someone calls out an old-time fiddle tune. Tristan writes, “I grew up playing bluegrass music so I was always intimidated when…
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…