The Artists

Photos by Johnny Calcagno There is no groove in American music quite as deep as the one laid down by a hard-driving old-time stringband in full roar. It doesn’t require trickeration or effects pedals or fancy lighting. It can’t be faked. The groove comes from the heart, and it comes from the soul.  The Onlies,…

The Entertainer Photo by Gary Hatley Legendary performer, Ronnie Reno, readily agreed, “Little Roy Lewis is probably the best entertainer in bluegrass and gospel music. You never know what he’s going to do, but you know it will be wild and entertaining. He knows how to get your attention and brings out the funny side…

“Wha’d I Miss?” Photo by Lance Velarde Photography David Parmley gained a reputation as one of the strongest lead vocalists in bluegrass music while working with his father, Don Parmley, for many years in The Bluegrass Cardinals—and then later continuing with his own bands Continental Divide, followed by Cardinal Tradition.  Due to a health issue…

Two Decades  of Roads Traveled Edgar Loudermilk…Edgar Loudermilk…you might be thinking to yourself—I know I’ve heard that name but can’t quite place him.  (The Louvin Brothers’ real surname was Loudermilk, so perhaps that’s what you’re thinking.)  Often the case for band leaders is to start as sidemen in prominent bands.  Loudermilk stepped out in 2013…

 “I discovered bluegrass because of the banjo,” says banjo-picker Chris Pandolfi from the Grammy-Award winning Infamous Stringdusters.  “I got into playing the banjo because of Béla Fleck.  I was a Flecktone fan and really inspired by the music.  That is what led me to buy my first banjo and of course everything points back to…

Continuing the Scruggs Style Banjo Tradition Earl Scruggs helped define bluegrass music as we know it today and he originated the style of playing the five-string banjo that formed the foundation for banjo players in bluegrass music.  Many banjo players feel that there has been no one that has matched Earl’s mastery of this style,…