The Venue
Biscuits & Banjos
Exploring the Black Roots of Bluegrass, Old Time and Americana The first Biscuits and Banjos festival took place in Durham, North Carolina during the weekend of April 25th-27th, 2025. The festival was initiated by Rhiannon Giddens and is dedicated to the celebration and exploration of Black music, art, and culture in her home state of…
Way Down Upon the Suwannee River
Beth and Randy Judy’s nationally recognized music festivals have changed the lives of many and changed names from MagnoliaFest (held in October) and Suwannee SpringFest (held in March) to Suwannee Roots Revival and Suwannee Spring Reunion respectively. While I’ve always considered all four of these festivals to be one and the same, I used to…
From Stages to Campgrounds
Old Settler’s Music Festival Sustains a Robust Community Photos by Steve Levine/stl.images The 38th Annual Old Settler’s Music Festival, happening this year over the final weekend in April, was not just the latest installment of the longest-running festival anywhere near Austin, Texas. It was not just an eclectic mix of beloved and outstanding “roots”…
The Telluride Bluegrass Festival
Over 50 Years of Broadening Bluegrass Boundaries Although bluegrass traditionalists may disagree, I feel that bluegrass music would not be as vibrant as it is today had the roots of the music not branched out in so many different directions. Had the music remained bound to the repertoire, presentation, and style of the founding fathers,…
Bluegrass Gospel
From Brush Arbor To Bean Blossom And Beyond Within the expansive genre of bluegrass, gospel music is arguably more popular today than at any time in its history. Most of today’s bluegrass bands include gospel music on recordings and in stage shows, and some record all-bluegrass gospel albums. While the melding of bluegrass with spiritual…
The Bluegrass Unlimited
Workshop Weekend Over the weekend of February 7-8-9, the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky held its first Bluegrass Unlimited Workshop Weekend. Eight instructors traveled to Owensboro to teach a group of 50 eager students how to improve their picking and singing skills. The instructors included Alan Munde (banjo), Maddie Denton…