The Sound

Fiddler Justin Branum was one of these musicians.  Before the pandemic, Justin was on the road with Lee Ann Womack, but it wasn’t just the pandemic that prompted him to come off the road.  In 2019 he got married, had already been teaching fiddle for many years, and he had also had success producing a…

Sound systems are an integral part of any musical event. No matter how talented the musicians, they are dependent on competent sound engineers to make sure their instruments and voices are heard in the best possible way. North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Sound, owned and operated by John Holder, is a valuable commodity for promoters and…

My love for everything mandolin started 60 years ago at age 16, when I bought my first Orpheum A model .  Since that time I have bought and sold many mandolins through the years. Oddly enough, my playing doesn’t come close to what it should be after all that time!  This story is not about…

Written by multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Darrell Scott (“You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive,” “It’s A Great Day To Be Alive”), “Kentucky Morning” is a decidedly southern song that oozes family—and Kentuckian—pride. Scott has just released the song on his album Old Cane Back Rocker (August 2023). It was also released by the late, great Kentucky native…

Photo by Jessie Bell Photography/Adrift Dinosaur Background Tyler Grant has been a name familiar to flatpicking guitar players since he emerged onto the acoustic music scene in the early 2000s performing with bands like Adrienne Young, the Two-Stringers (with Christopher and Casey Henry), Canadian fiddler April Verch, old-time banjo player Abigail Washburn, and the Drew…

It’s never too late to chase a dream. Dave Maggard turned a retirement hobby into a full-fledged recording studio and independent label, focused on bluegrass and Americana artists. A sculptor by trade, Maggard now extracts the art of music from wood and wire at his Sound Biscuit Studio in Sevierville just off Tennessee Route 66….