The Artists
A Half-Century of High Country with Butch Waller
There aren’t many people who have led a working bluegrass band for 50 years. Bill Monroe did it, with his Blue Grass Boys. Mac Martin did it in Pittsburgh, with his Dixie Travelers. And Butch Waller has done it in San Francisco, with High Country, an outstanding traditionally oriented bluegrass band now in its fifty-third…
AJ Lee: Back to Bluegrass
“We started out right/Pickin’ in the pines/It’s a music that stays in your soul.” Although AJ Lee is currently only twenty-four years old, she has been turning heads at California bluegrass events for nearly two decades. AJ attended her first festival when she was five years old and, as part of the Kids On…
Herb Pedersen
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…
Chris Hillman
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…
Abbie Gardner
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…
The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys
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,…