Articles

IBMA 2022 Momentum Instrumentalist of the Year Nominee Anthony Howell from Mississippi is one of those versatile artists who can fulfill a variety of roles in a bluegrass setting.  He released an independent recording in March 2023, which contains fourteen tracks.  He plays all the instruments and wrote three instrumentals.  If that isn’t enough,  he…

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….

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine March 1982, Volume 16, Number 9 They call him “The Old Man of the Mountains.” At the spry age of forty-two, that makes Raymond Fairchild a rather youthful “old man.” No matter. The mountains can age you before your time and Raymond has lived far enough back in the Smoky…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine June 1984, Volume 18, Number 12 Good as Gold and fine as diamonds, worth its weight in waiting for …” The sounds that ring through the capacity-filled hall are familiar to the cheering fans. The sounds have been produced, recorded, and enjoyed for over 26 years. There have been several…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine January 1986, Volume 20, Number 7  He’s rarely played in public over the past two decades, and he’s not on many records, but Porter Church remains among the most eloquent of five-string banjo players. I may as well say it: in my opinion, when it comes to “golden era” bluegrass…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine January 1980, Volume 14, Number 7 The family band is a noble, long-standing tradition in bluegrass and traditional country music, extending back even further than the Carter Family, quite possibly as far back as the beginning of the string band itself. Today, the family unit is as strong as ever…