Articles

written By Derek Halsey This past December, the news of the death of the great Texas singer and songwriter Joe Ely reminded the world once again of the previously little-known disease called Lewy Body Dementia. The bluegrass scene faced its Lewy Body Dementia moment when the news came out about two-and-a-half years ago that the…

For many years, John D’Agostino has been a prominent force in the music scene of Columbia, Missouri—a town smack dab between St. Louis and Kansas City. Columbia was home to the Roots and Blues Music festival, which hosted an array of blues, folk, country, and soul artists.  Being a college town, Columbia is also home…

In 1975, John Cowan, the newest member and lead vocalist of New Grass Revival, a band that would come to forever alter people’s perception of an entire genre of American music, walked into the Doo Wop Shop in Louisville, Kentucky, picked up a 1962 Olympic White Fender Jazz bass and immediately fell in love with…

For the past 20 years, this band has become true bluegrass ambassadors. They have traveled to 30 countries on 5 continents, bringing their love of bluegrass to many other cultures through concerts, workshops, seminars, and showcases. The current band consists of Ben Wright (banjo, vocals), Jon Goldfine (bass, vocals), Chris Dollar (guitar, vocals), and Jake…

One could say that Sourwood is truly an international band. While based in Ontario, Canada, other members are from Chicago and Los Angeles in the US. From Ontario are Lucas Last (vocals, guitar), Larry Johnson (banjo), and Last’s wife, Aubrey (guest vocals). Liam Lewis (mandolin) and Olivia Briedenthal (fiddle) come up from Los Angeles, and…

The name T Bone Burnett may not be familiar to the general public, nor even to a sizable number of music fans, but he has had a remarkably influential presence in the country, blues, bluegrass, and rock music worlds for almost six decades. Born in 1948 in St. Louis, Missouri, and raised in Fort Worth,…