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Has Eastman Brought Affordability TO Bluegrass Guitars?
Photos by Bud Osborne Eastman Music Company, over the last decade or so, has quietly but unmistakably risen to the challenge of building guitars that can satisfy discerning bluegrass players, while retaining the affordability that is the hallmark of APAC (Asia-Pacific) instrument manufacturing. Case in point is the well-crafted and luxuriously appointed…
Andy Leftwich
Photo courtesy of Crossroads Label Group During the latter part of 2023, four-time Grammy-winning fiddler Andy Leftwich spent several of his nights at churches alongside his wife, Rachel, a talented vocalist and niece of his former boss, Ricky Skaggs. The couple and Leftwich’s award-winning band conveyed the spirit of Christmas with their annual show, “’Tis…
Jody Hughes
Online Lessons for Guitar and Banjo While researching an article that I wrote about Allen Shelton in the December 2023 issue of Bluegrass Unlimited, I ran across a YouTube lesson on Allen Shelton “ideas” by Jody Hughes. I was not familiar with Jody, but he mentioned in the video that Allen Shelton was his “largest…
Bluegrass at the Lucketts Community Center
Fifty Years and Counting Photos courtesy of Jeff Ludin, Lucketts Community Center For many bluegrass fans living outside of the Northern Virginia/Metro DC environs, the Lucketts, Virginia, Community Center and its long-running series of bluegrass music concerts is known as the location for the much-heralded farewell concert by the Johnson Mountain Boys. The 1988 event…
I’ll Take Love
Louisa Branscomb and Dale Ann Bradley A song can create an out-of-body experience, not only for listeners upon hearing it but also for songwriters as they write. This according to renowned songwriter, psychologist, and performing artist Louisa Branscomb, PhD, who had such an experience while strolling the hills of her famous (and now former) Woodsong Farm….
Terry Baucom
The Duke of Drive Leaves Behind a Powerful Legacy in the Bluegrass World The old mill town of Elkin, North Carolina, is an oasis for folks who want to live in a rural area located between the mountains and the big cities of the Piedmont. It exists about 44 miles from Winston-Salem, 75 miles from…