The Artists

Deeply Traditional, Highly Original The saga of the musical careers of Jody Stecher and Kate Brislin—both individually and as a duo—spans seven decades, 20 albums, thousands of performances and more than a few twists and turns. The two started working as a duo in the 1980s, earning a legion of devoted fans, a comfortable measure…

Bands Blurring the Lines of Bluegrass The idea of the grand voyager can invoke many images in your mind. It invokes the idea of travel, exploration, discovery and a journey. For Baltimore’s Dirty Grass Players it holds all those meanings and more. “Grand Voyager” is a track from their first album, Beneath the Woodpile. The track is…

The Past Kim Robins—singer, songwriter, band leader, entrepreneur, nurse, mother, grandmother and all-around busy woman—produced her first recording in 2013. It is still available and titled Forty Years Late. “What’s the fuss” you might wonder? The buzz is that Kim was somewhat “late” in life in getting to the point where that CD was created…

Bands Blurring the Lines of Bluegrass For Pixie & the Partygrass Boys, one of the most important pillars of bluegrass is what drives the band. “Community is everything for us,” says Zach Downes. “It’s the reason we sit in a van for hours each day. To be able to connect with fans and different bands…

If you haven’t already heard about the Crying Uncle Bluegrass Band, you soon will!   Based in Northern California, the band consists of four members: Teo Quale on mandolin, Miles Quale on fiddle, Andrew Osborn on bass and Ian Ly on guitar. The band embarked on a ten-day tour of Japan in March/April of 2023,…

with Greg Cahill and Ben Wright To understand how bluegrass in Chicago has changed over the years, I had the pleasure of chatting with two of the best banjo players based in the city. I spoke with Ben Wright of the Henhouse Prowlers, a progressive-leaning bluegrass band with an international and educational focus entering its third…