The Artists

Photo by Jay Strausser Visuals

Chris Pandolfi and the Evolving Nature of Bluegrass

 “I discovered bluegrass because of the banjo,” says banjo-picker Chris Pandolfi from the Grammy-Award winning Infamous Stringdusters.  “I got into playing the banjo because of Béla Fleck.  I was a Flecktone fan and really inspired by the music.  That is what led me to buy my first banjo and of course everything points back to…

Read More »

photo by kim brantley

Lincoln Hensley

Continuing the Scruggs Style Banjo Tradition Earl Scruggs helped define bluegrass music as we know it today and he originated the style of playing the five-string banjo that formed the foundation for banjo players in bluegrass music.  Many banjo players feel that there has been no one that has matched Earl’s mastery of this style,…

Read More »

Photo By Joe Shymanski

Mike Munford and the Soulful Machine

“I had no natural inclination towards music, beyond being drawn to the instrument through this one song that brought me in,”  explains banjo picker Mike Munford, the 2013 IBMA “Banjo Player of the Year,” about his discovery of the instrument that would change his life.  That one song was the Flatt & Scruggs’ classic, “Foggy…

Read More »

Tray Wellington

Proud to Continue the Two-Century Tradition of Black Banjo Players When Bill Monroe was a young man, he befriended, played with and even did gigs with the Black guitarist Arnold Shultz. Shultz’s influence on Monroe is clear and obvious, and yet there is sadly no recording of the legendary guitarist. IBMA Hall of Famer Doc…

Read More »

Hawktail: Brittany Haas, Paul Kowert, Jordan Tice, Dominick Leslie Photo by Shelby M’lynn Mick

Hawktail

String Driven Adventures Those well-known words written by poet Robert Frost from “The Road Not Taken” could have been written with the group Hawktail in mind.  Listening to their music you quickly realize without question they chose the road less traveled.  Hawktail is a musical quartet that has been called a supergroup, and after you…

Read More »

The Stillhouse Junkies (left to right): Alissa Wolf, Cody Tinnin, Fred Kosak. Photo by Renee Cornue

Stillhouse Junkies Release Small Towns as They Ride the Momentum

Stillhouse Junkies recently returned from a European tour—just a couple of years later than they had planned. Back in early March of 2020, they played a big release party for Calamity, the album they recorded in Austin in November 2019. They planned to leave for England in March 2020, with tickets bought, shows booked, and…

Read More »