The Artists

California Bluegrass Pioneer Herb Pedersen’s life was utterly transformed—in the blink of an eye—in a record store on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, California. There he was, a fresh-faced, guitar-playing teenager flipping through records in the folk music section, studying the newest release by the Kingston Trio. Suddenly, a stranger was standing by his side. He…

Bluegrass Blessings & Music Milestones Photo by Lori Stoll As agreed, the two mandolin players met up at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. They opened their instrument cases and brought out their vintage Gibson F-5 instruments while a professional photographer stood by to capture their meeting.  One was Bill Monroe, the Father of Bluegrass…

Progressively Traditional Bluegrass “Pioneers” Formed in 2014, the group brought together four talented young musicians in their twenties, from different parts of the country, with a desire to make a living doing something they loved while having a stable home life. Although their original expectations were low, their passion, energy, enthusiasm, and work ethic were high,…

Tad grew up in a suburban area of Philadelphia. At a young age he heard music playing inside his head without the aid of a radio or phonograph. He recalls that as a child he would skip along the sidewalk, avoiding the cracks, and hum the tunes he was hearing. He is sure that he…

Photo by Laura Ridge On the cover of the May 1976 issue of Bluegrass Unlimited there appears a group of unknown bluegrass musicians along with the words “Bluegrass Cardinals.”  The title of that cover story, written by Frank Godbey, was “Who in the World are the Bluegrass Cardinals?”  The world would soon find out. The…

DobroSinger Photo by Neale Eckstein You may think that DobroSinger must be a typo, however rest assured it is not.  Not only is it the title of Abbie Gardner’s new release, but it also serves as an excellent description of the style she has carved out for herself.  Dobro is an instrument that is largely…