The Sound

By Jack Shannon “Same Old Moon,” written by Jack Shannon, stands out from more traditional bluegrass subject matters of trains, murder, and whippoorwills. Sweet, thought-provoking, and a touch whimsical, the song was recorded most notably by Jim Hurst (Looking Glass, 2014). Shannon also recorded it on his album, The Bloomingdale Boys (2018), which Hurst produced….

Béla Fleck Signature Banjo I am excited about the new Béla Fleck Model from Gold Tone that today’s top 5-string banjo player, Béla Fleck and Wayne Rogers from Gold Tone have designed. Now anyone can take advantage of Béla’s expertise in tone and set up, which is extensive. Wayne explained to me all the detailed…

Prior to the COVID lockdown, Canadian mandolin player Andrew Collins had spent the majority of his time performing live, recording and producing (audio and video).  Other than teaching at music camps (Kaufman Kamp, Old School Bluegrass Camp, Nimble Fingers, and others), he was not doing a lot of private teaching due to his other commitments. …

A New Guitar Brand From China Kepma Guitars is a Chinese company fresh to the New World that aims to compete in the hotly contested global market for quality acoustic guitars selling for around 2,500 US dollars, in addition to models under $500. The company claims to be the best-selling acoustic guitar brand in China,…

By Liz Hengber, Tammy Rogers, Jerry Salley Some songs demand to be written. That was the case with “The Falling Man,” cut by The Steeldrivers (Bad For You, 2020) and written by Liz Hengber, Tammy Rogers, and Jerry Salley. Inspired by the famous 9/11 photograph also titled “The Falling Man,” the song describes the haunting…

It’s every picker’s nightmare scenario: having a treasured instrument stolen. That happened to me back in 1972. My basement-level Chicago apartment was broken into while I was away from home, and when I returned, I immediately discovered that my 1947 Martin D-18 guitar was missing (along with some valued audio equipment). I called the police,…