Articles

John Cowan, formerly of the Newgrass Revival, is one of the most distinctive and versatile singers to emerge from modern bluegrass. In recent years, he’s kept a high-profile touring with the rock band, the Doobie Brothers. Andrea Zonn, with whom Cowan partners on this album, is an equally impressive and versatile vocalist and fiddle player….

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…

The Pursuit of a Passion A decade ago Taylor Mullins decided to replace the pickguard on his treasured Takamine dreadnought.  Solving that seemingly simple problem subsequently immersed Taylor in a world of celluloid manufacturers, swirl patterning, adhesives, CNCs, and pickguard design – as well as marketing – that has coalesced into Holter Pickguards (www.holterpickguards.com).  “I…

Talk About Their New Album Wall Dogs, and Give Us A Master’s Class in Songwriting For 30 years now, Tim Stafford has been a member of the world-class bluegrass band Blue Highway.  Tim has also become one of the best songwriters in the business, winning three International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Songwriter Of The Year…

An American Mandolinist Living, Performing and Teaching in Europe Photoby Mark Evenhuis I found out about Kylie Kay Anderson—a young female mandolin player who originally comes from Utah but now lives in The Netherlands—through a  YouTube search.  Although I should have known about Kylie (more on that later), I had never heard of her before…

Balsam Range’s longtime bassist Tim Surrett has worn plenty of musical hats over the course of his career. Vocalist/sideman/singer/producer/sessions player/record label owner, but these days he’s soaking in the joy of fatherhood. At age 60, he spends as much time as possible with his only child, Braden, 15, a junior on the high school baseball…