The Sound

by Molly Tuttle and Melody Walker “It’s about embracing what makes us unique,” said Molly Tuttle of her hit song, “Crooked Tree,” which, among other accolades, is this year’s winner by a large margin in the Bluegrass Unlimited Reader’s Poll (Favorite New Song Category).  Cowritten by Tuttle and Melody Walker (Front Country), “Crooked Tree” is the…

The phrase suggests a mystical or wizardly sort, surrounded by banjos and the tools used to bring them closer to the ideal. Marc Horowitz is THE Banjo Whisperer. While researching this story about Marc, everyone I approached (banjo players, designers, builders, and musical contemporaries) quickly responded with effusive praise. Marc’s daughter Leah Horowitz (an accomplished…

At a recent concert, after her sound check, bluegrass veteran Murphy Henry heard music over the house speakers that stopped her in her tracks. Bewildered, she was hearing one of her original songs being sung by the Queen of Bluegrass Rhonda Vincent. Running through her mental bluegrass database, there was no notion found anywhere in…

Photos By Chris A. Courogen Paul Beard hasn’t always made squareneck resonator guitars. It just sort of seems that way to him after almost 40 years doing it.  “I’ve been doing this for so long,” says Beard, who built his first one in 1985, after a peak at the insides of the second hand OMI…

“I open every set with it, just about,” said Irene Kelley of “You Don’t Run Across My Mind,” her song released in 2014 (Pennsylvania Coal) and cowritten by the late Peter Cooper. “It sets everything up well for me, ‘Here’s what I write, here’s how I sing.’ I do a lot of reminiscing, and this…

Builds Successful Bluegrass Label “If you build it, they will come.” That signature line from the 1989 sports fantasy film, Field of Dreams is part of the core philosophy behind Billy Blue Records, one of the most successful record labels in bluegrass music. Based just outside of Nashville, the company boasts a successful roster of…