Reviews

Mel Bay Publications There are relatively few books on the market today that teach you how to play the upright bass in the context of bluegrass music, so Nate Sabat’s new book Dirt Simple Upright Bass is a very welcome addition to the world of bluegrass instructional material.   In this 46-page book, which also…

It’s no empty figure of speech to say this Canadian mandolin/mandola master’s debut album was nearly two decades in the making. Maybe you could call it perseverance, or maybe you can call it procrastination, or maybe you could call it both. But in his liner notes, McNulty, who spent 40 years as a journalist, explains…

Englehardt Music Group One thing is for sure — Eddie Sanders didn’t sit idly by during the pandemic last year.  He’s followed up 2020’s all gospel album with a new bluegrass release, That Kind of Lonesome.  Sanders co-wrote all 12 tracks on the album, sharing credits with Glen Duncan, Adam Englehardt, Jon Weisberger and Shawn…

This veteran New Mexico-based trio brings a captivating Southwestern perspective to its bluegrass and fleshes it out with some sophisticated songwriting and spirited picking and singing. The southwestern flavor shines through vividly on cuts like the nostalgic story-song “Weary Cowboy,” a rollicking cover of Guy Clark’s and Verlon Thompson’s “Hurricane Time In Texas” and “Adobe…

Howdy Skies Records One of the many thoughts that came into my head as I isolated myself in the western North Carolina Mountains during the pandemic was a hope that musicians would step up and document these crazy times of half a million Covid-19 deaths, social unrest and the higher priority put on technology during…

Very Jerry Records — VJR-005 Since 1982, Jerry Salley has become one of the most accomplished and sought-after songwriters in country, bluegrass, and gospel circles. His songs have been recorded by many, many artists from such as Travis Tritt, Reba McIntire, and Brad Paisley to Chris Stapleton, Rhonda Vincent, Doyle Lawson, Patty Loveless, The Talleys,…