The Archives

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine April 2013, Volume 47, Number 10 Among the better-known but under rated bluegrass musicians who have more than paid their dues, the name Billy Baker must rank as one of the more significant. At one time or another, this Virginia native worked as a regular or fill-in with about every…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine April 1985, Volume 19, Number 10 Marc Pruett’s office tells at least half the story. A ten by fifteen foot corner of his Pick ‘N’ Grin music store in Asheville, North Carolina, it exudes warmth and frenzied activity. Banjo parts lie scattered about wherever he could find space for a…

Reprinted fromBluegrass Unlimited Magazine June 1981, Volume 15, Number 12 In a musical field where “an overnight success” simply does not exist and many years of “paying your dues” is the normal course for the fortunate few who attain top drawer status, as well as for the many others who don’t, The Bluegrass Cardinals have…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine August 2003, Volume 38, Number 2 Ronnie Bowman wants to make one thing perfectly clear. He is not bailing from bluegrass music. The former front man for the popular and influential 1990s Lonesome River Band has made several changes in his life since the turn of the millennium clock, but…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine March 1976, Volume The Great Midwestern Bluegrass Music Hall, 118 West Washington Street, in Louisville, Kentucky, is the new home base of the Bluegrass Alliance—when they are at home. The former warehouse is only a few blocks from where the famous sternwheeler “The Belle Of Louisville” docks on the Ohio…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine October 1973, Volume 8, Number 4 “Who is Norman Blake?” “One of the best pickers in the whole country. He’s got a lot of notes here and there, and puts them together in a very unpretentious way.” Such runs the opinion of those who know him. But a recent sampling…