The Artists
Bluegrass Power Couple
The award-winning banjo picker Kristin Scott Benson and her husband, mandolin great Wayne Benson, are what you might call a bluegrass power couple. After all, Kristin is a 5-time IBMA Banjo Player of the Year and a recipient of the prestigious Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass as well as a long-time…
It’s The Music
Those lyrics were penned and recorded by North Carolina resophonic guitarist, Frank Poindexter, in 2004 (Dex Records – CD 001). “It’s The Music” was the title and first cut on his solo project that was re-released by Mountain Fever Records in 2022. Frank said, “I want to acknowledge Mark Hodges (Mountain Fever Records). He’s a…
Aynsley Porchak
Any dyed-in-the wool fan of bluegrass fiddling will instantly recognize the names of such legendary fiddlers as Chubby Wise, Jim Shumate, Fiddlin’ Arthur Smith, Kenny Baker, and Bobby Hicks. The list goes ‘On and On,” as Bill Monroe would say. One name you might not yet be familiar with is Aynsley Porchak. This young Canadian…
Shades of Blue
Photo by Katrina Burgoyne Don’t try to pigeon-hole Kristy Cox into one set category of music. The bluegrass artist/songwriter from the Land Down Under has a colorful singing voice that can cover traditional to contemporary to country. Born in Adelaide (capital city, 800,000 people), Australia, Cox grew up in a nearby mountainous country town of…
Smith Brothers’
Impact on the Bluegrass Industry The brothers grew up in north central North Carolina near the site of the state’s first bluegrass festival, Camp Springs. They played at the first bluegrass festivals in Fincastle, VA, and appeared on Arthur Smith’s TV Show in Charlotte. Terry elaborated, “We played as the Smith family. At Fincastle, I…
Mickey Harris
Preparation meets opportunity Photos by Joseph Tipton For a Murfreesboro, Tennessee-based multi-instrumentalist whose musical roots stretch back six generations and predate the 1927 Bristol Big Bang, Mickey Harris is remarkably low-key. That simple acceptance of a musical heritage is the basis for his career with High Lonesome, Tim Graves and Cherokee, Larry Stephenson, Sally Jones…