Reviews
Echo in the Valley
Abigail Washburn and Bela Fleck bring the kind of missionary zeal and unshakeable confidence to double-banjo albums that Sam I Am brought to his evangelizing for green eggs and ham. The duo’s second full-length recording, Echo In The Valley (2017), is instrumentally sparce— two banjos at any one time, two voices, a pair of dancing…
Markology II
OMAC Records Mark O’Connor’s original flatpicking guitar album Markology, recorded after winning Winfield twice as a teenager, inspired countless bluegrass guitarists. Backed by Tony Rice, Dan Crary and Sam Bush on a couple of tracks, O’Connor simply leapt off the recording into every flatpicker’s consciousness, eventually landing the role of filling Tony Rice’s guitar chair…
Narrowing The Gap
Mountain Fever Records Amanda Cook was born and raised in Florida and cut her teeth playing with her father in a band called High Cotton. Since then, Cook, in both musical and geographic terms, has made the greater Appalachian and Blue Ridge region her adopted home. Songs such as “West Virginia Coal,” “My Used To…
Chasin’ After the Wind
Daisy Caire It’s inspiring and heartwarming to encounter a young emerging talent like Northern Californian Daisy Caire. This 16-year-old is not just an enchanting singer and songwriter; she’s a fine fiddle player and guitar flatpicker to boot. Caire possesses a lovely sense of innocence and playfulness that’s simply irresistible. It comes through clearly in both…
American Fiddle Method Online School
Brian Wicklund began his journey of fiddle love at the age of 7 and hasn’t looked back. Early on he realized the value of having a village of friends to commune with, and learn from, and how it enhanced his passion. This passion turned into a career revolving around touring bands, studio work and eventually,…
At ArtistWorks, Feedback Is A Good Thing
ArtistWorks (AW) takes pride in being different. The interactive digital platform employs proprietary technology invented by co-founder David Butler, a tech savvy IT industry pro, that gives AW students direct access to their teacher via user-submitted videos. The artist replies directly with taped personal critiques delivered to the student’s account. These back-and-forth interactions—what the company…