The Artists

Just one more year. That mantra still runs through the mind of Special Consensus co-founder Greg Cahill. The banjoist and band leader who started the long-running bluegrass group wanted to play music for a living, but for many years, he had more bills to pay in one hand than dollar bills brought in from the…

The best. Proclaiming someone as the best this or that is a highly subjective and contentious undertaking, almost certain to create heated debate. So, to hedge the bet a bit: if twenty-five-year-old Trevor Holder is not the best banjo player on the scene right now, he’s in the top two or three. And if he’s…

Now Touring with Molly Tuttle Molly Tuttle showed up at the ROMP Festival in June of 2025 with a new band (it was their fifth performance).  The configuration of the band she traveled with during the previous few years, Golden Highway, included acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, and upright bass.  Her new band was a…

Bluegrass fans are always impressed by the musicians who can play blistering fast solos with accuracy, clarity and tone. This skill is certainly impressive and a guy like mandolin player Josh Rilko knows how to do it. However, the thing that impresses me the most about Josh’s mandolin playing is his ability to play solos…

Two Masters of Flatpicking Join Forces Photos by Joshua Black Wilkins Years ago I wrote an article about Norman Blake and stated that if there were a Mt. Rushmore for flatpicking guitar, the players whose faces would be carved in that mountain would be Doc Watson, Clarence White, Dan Crary, Norman Blake and Tony Rice….

Photo by Laci Mack Ashleigh Graham is a new source of inspiration in the bluegrass music world that has been a lifetime in the making. Originally, her desire was to follow her heart in music, but life took a detour, sending her on the practical journey of marriage and motherhood. Along the way, she battled…