The Sound

Oh, Me Of Little Faith

In my continuous journey to find and highlight exceptional songwriting, I arrived this month on “Oh, Me Of Little Faith,” a song written for the contemporary Christian genre and successfully introduced to bluegrass fans by the husband-and-wife team of Wayne Benson (Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out) and Kristin Scott Benson (The Grascals) as part…

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RBR Entertainment  Rises Like A Phoenix

A new record label launched by longtime songwriting collaborators Billy Droze and Chris Myers is turning heads in the bluegrass music industry.  RBR Entertainment is churning out hits on bluegrass radio these days by an ever-growing roster of talented newcomers and established veterans. Droze is the label’s creative director and founder who produces projects at…

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Larry Rice with J.D. Crowe and the Kentucky Mountain Boys—Left to right) Bobby Sloane, J.D. Crowe, Larry Rice, Doyle Lawson. photo by Jack A. Cobb

Larry Rice and His 1959 F-5 Gibson Mandolin

This article provides an insight into Larry Prentis Rice and his mandolin, and contains anecdotal recollections about him from friends, family, and bandmates. As the oldest of the four Rice Brothers, and born into a musical family, Larry Rice wrote, played, recorded and produced memorable music. Born on April, 24, 1949 in Danville, Virginia, he…

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Kimber Ludiker

Introducing Kids to Bluegrass Music One of the best ways to ensure that bluegrass music continues to grow and blossom in the future is to introduce the music to young children.  Time has proven that when kids are exposed to bluegrass at an early age, it is likely to stay with them the rest of…

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photos by David McCarty

Picker’s Paradise Celebrates

A Half Century of Great Music For fifty iterations since 1972, the legendary Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas, has crowned national and international champions in instruments as diverse as hammered dulcimer and fingerstyle guitar, banjo and autoharp, and of course the event’s crown jewel, the National Flatpicking Guitar Championships. But the real champion is…

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The ProPik changeover from Jim Mapson to Deering (left to right): Janet Deering, Greg Deering, Jamie Deering, Jim Mapson, Chad Kopotic, and Jamie Latty.

Deering Banjos and the ProPik Finger and Thumbpicks

The ProPik brand of finger and thumb picks that are used by banjo, Dobro, fingerstyle guitar, and autoharp players have been available for forty years.  The story of how the company got their start is an interesting one.  It begins in 1982 when a guitar-playing design engineer named Jim Mapson, who lived in Orange County,…

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