Articles

Headwaters of a Legend Born December 30, 1937, in New York City, John Cowan Hartford grew up in St. Louis, Missouri where he cultivated a passion for the Mississippi River and music.  Upon seeing Flatt & Scruggs perform live at the Chain of Rocks Amusement Park in St. Louis in 1953, John was immediately drawn…

Let Time Ride “I’m very, very thankful to be a jack of all trades and a master of none,” says Joe Mullins, smiling. “I’ve had to do everything to get anywhere.” He’s only halfway correct here: over a career spanning more than three decades (and with no end in sight), he has certainly done everything….

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…

Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers were clearly taking a shot that there’s still a place for a good old fashioned, traditional bluegrass album. They hit the bullseye. In a time when bluegrass is growing and experimenting and crossing over into other genres, this group of consummate professionals has stuck with what they know best…

David Peterson, a bonafide purveyor of the bluegrass spirit, delivers just that in his latest work Losing Game. There are stories of heartbreak, the country life, and many other facets to this album. Within all those things we find Peterson giving a pure transmission of Monroe’s spirit paired with the essence Hank Williams, while the…

As John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers were to British rock guitar, Muddy Waters was to electric blues, and Miles Davis was to modern Jazz, West Virginia’s Lonesome Pine Fiddlers (LPF) were to bluegrass music. The group was a training ground, a triple A ball team if you will, for a genre that has grown exponentially since its beginnings…