The Artists

Photo by Brad Holbrooks Baseball has a player dubbed utility infielder.  Such athletes are typically substitute players who can be used at more than one infield position and are useful members of a roster as they allow a manager to replace several different players on the team to either give them a rest, or because…

Be Different, Stand Out & Work Your Butt Off Photo by Mickey Stroud Loyal to tradition, yet comfortable with innovation, North Carolina’s Lorraine Jordan might seem like a contradiction and you would be right. Those who know her best acknowledge that she is a total contradiction.  Lorraine’s contradictory lifestyle has afforded her much success, earning…

A 50-year career of the “Hired Gun” of Bluegrass and Country music Photo by Brian Auburn It has been an amazing ride for Warren Blair in the bluegrass world. Hailing from the Baltimore area, Blair’s career with a fiddle in his hand has seen him play with many bluegrass legends since his prowess on the…

Photo by Melanie Lunden Montz is a fascinating character. He lives off the grid, four miles up a mostly gravel road on Cradoc Hill, which is approximately 30 miles southwest of Hobart, Tasmania. His one-room house with a loft is solar powered, and he uses a rocket stove for heat when needed. Montz is a…

Photo by Amy Richmond Michael Cleveland is a well-recognized bluegrass fiddle master. Originally from Henryville, Indiana, Cleveland was born completely blind. Later, a childhood ear infection caused him to lose 80% of his hearing in his left ear and some in his right. Even with this diminishment in hearing, to paraphrase Vince Gill, Cleveland hears better…

No Boundaries Photo by Russ Harrington She has been called a Renaissance woman and a trailblazer and Alison Brown’s groundbreaking accomplishments certainly live up to those claims. While she is widely known as a banjo player, calling her a banjo player is like calling Picasso just a painter.  Over the course of her distinguished career,…