The Venue

Garner, North Carolina The late Dixie Hall characterized Lorraine Jordan as “the hardest working woman in bluegrass.” And that was before Jordan opened Lorraine’s Coffee House and Music in her hometown of Garner, North Carolina. Since founding Lorraine Jordan and Carolina Road in 1999, Jordan has maintained a hectic schedule, taking her traditional bluegrass music…

Indy’s Bluegrass Heart Walk into Arthur’s Music in southeast Indianapolis’ artsy Fountain Square neighborhood, and you’re immediately struck by how seriously this music store takes serving the area’s bluegrass customers. On an average day, a customer will find 30-50 banjos ranging from less expensive Deering Goodtime models to a vintage 1999 Gibson Earl Scruggs Signature…

Photos by Arlin Geyer The mountains of Western North Carolina have long been a hotbed for old-time and bluegrass music. Names like Doc Watson or Earl Scruggs come to mind for many, while there have been many more beloved players to emerge in the generations since. Particularly in Asheville, the place where Bill Monroe named…

Website Opens Up Doors to Heart of Bluegrass Bluegrass music was basically created in Nashville in 1945 when Kentucky native Bill Monroe asked North Carolina fiddler Jim Shumate if he knew of any powerful banjo players who could keep up with his up-tempo music. That is when Shumate introduced Monroe to the innovative three-finger banjo…

Photos Courtesy of The Earl Scruggs Center It’s no exaggeration to say Earl Scruggs changed the course of music globally with his innovative 3-finger style of banjo playing. “Scruggs Style,” as it is universally known, is a cornerstone of bluegrass music, and has served as inspiration for latter-day banjo innovators, including Bela Fleck, Tony Trischka,…

And the Louisville Folk School A big part of the reason many of us enjoy bluegrass music is because of the tight-knit bluegrass community.  Getting together with other bluegrass fans to listen to, or play, bluegrass music is part of the appeal.  People gathering together to play music in a private home; at a school, church…