The Sound

Photo by Joe Worthem It’s been a few years since Volume Five cut the poignant “Tell Me You’re Not Leaving” for Milestones, the band’s seventh record for label Mountain Fever. Far from a traditional bluegrass barn burner—something this band can get around—the slower, reflective song reached #2 on Bluegrass Today charts. Lead singer Glen Harrell…

Photo by Snap Jackson Photography One constant in Bill Evans’ 40-plus-year banjo career is helping others learn to play and listen to music. He began teaching in his hometown, Norfolk, VA in the 1970s, while still in high school, not long after he picked up the five string. Evans remembers sitting in the living room…

In the world of songwriting, finding the right co-writer can be a difficult task. Finding the right fit and building a relationship with other writers requires patience and is often compared to a marriage.  Many songwriters today prefer to spend time together in person creating lyrics to a melody. Publishing companies often unite writers in…

Photo By Natia Cinco Tristan Scroggins started playing professionally in a full-time touring bluegrass band when he was only fourteen years old (2009).  It was his father’s band—Jeff Scroggins and Colorado—and they loved to be on the road.  Tristan said, “I grew up in a strange situation of touring all of the time.  We started…

Leading Others  to Bluegrass Success Photo by Shelly Swanger Longtime performer turned business owner Andrea Roberts lived an enviable existence as a bluegrass musician the first part of her life. Her impressive resume includes fronting one of the first all-female bluegrass bands Petticoat Junction and playing alongside some of the genre’s most legendary figures including Bill…

Photo By CarsonPhotography Young kids are often asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”  I would guess that a fairly low percentage of adults actually end up fulfilling those childhood dreams.  For musicians it might be different though.  I have interviewed many bluegrass musicians who became enamored with a musical instrument at…