The Artists

Although it’s taken him five albums to put out a project with the bluegrass arrangements to match, this is exactly what Sturgill Simpson has done on Cuttin’ Grass – Vol.1 and 2 (The Butcher Shoppe Sessions).  Bluegrass music has long been a part of Simpson’s upbringing—something he credits to his paternal grandfather. However, it took…

Master mandolin player Nate Lee of the Becky Buller Band (B^3) is flying sky high with the debut of his full-length album, Wings of a Jetliner. But before we board the plane to find out more about his new release, let’s soar back in Lee’s history. Pre-Flight Check List Growing up in Texas, Lee was…

A Perfect Fit Between Nashville and Baltimore “I wanted to help bridge the connection between Nashville and Baltimore,” explains fiddler Patrick McAvinue about his latest album, Perfect Fit released in 2019.  For many the relationship between the two cities might seem odd at first, but for Baltimore native McAvinue—who first cut his teeth as youngster…

Before the Carter Family or Jimmie Rodgers ever stood in front of a microphone to record for Ralph Peer, another “hillbilly” artist had already solidly established himself.  Starting in 1924, Ernest Stoneman, the “Unsung Father of Country Music” had recorded a multitude of songs and had a hit record with his self-penned “Sinking of the…

Who is the big man in the white shirt, black slacks and two-tone shoes, crowned with a homburg hat? And is he really a pioneer and living legend of the bluegrass banjo? The answers are: Roger Sprung, and yes, yes indeed. Roger was a central figure in the Folk Music Revival of the 1950s and…

Pushing The Boundaries Of Bluegrass Photos By Scott Simontacchi A modern day pioneer consistently pushing the boundaries of bluegrass, Lindsay Lou‘s music is truly ahead of the times, but she isn’t the first in her family to push the limits. Lou’s “radical grandmother,” Nancy Timbrook, a hard-working mother of eight was working as a school…