Articles

This West Coast band from the Tacoma, Washington area is made up of four musicians who come from a variety of backgrounds and who have formed together to produce their progressive sound based on bluegrass, but with modern touches of punk, jazz and folk. There is Luke Sumerfield, who is a pipe-organ maker with a…

Although he left us when he was far too young, at the age of 58, Don Reno made an enormous impact on bluegrass music.  His work with the Morris Brothers, starting when he was just fourteen years old, his work with Bill Monroe after Scruggs left Monroe’s band, and his time spent with Arthur “Guitar…

The Brooklyn-based trio Damn Tall Buildings has crafted a deep roots sound that, while tight, has enough rough edges to keep the music fresh, honest, and relatable. The band uses the soulful grooves of bluegrass and roots music to sing about the search for where we’re going, who we are, leaving home and coming home,…

There is a sound that belongs to Raleigh each fall. It rises from downtown streets and echoes between brick buildings. It carries the bright ring of mandolins, the warmth of fiddles, and the rhythm of a hundred tapping feet. It is the sound of bluegrass, and it is the sound of Raleigh Wide Open. Every…

Bands Blurring the Lines of Bluegrass “I’m just proud that we got something down on tape that really captures the vibe of the Keel Stickley Duo,”  explains guitarist Jon Stickley about he and fellow guitarist Larry Keel’s recently released self-titled EP.  “It’s a monumental live act, but had we never gotten the recording done, it…

Introducing Billy Strings as the keynote speaker for the IBMA World of Bluegrass, Executive Director Ken White called him a “generational talent” and acknowledged the kind of “watershed moment” that comes along every twenty years or so, putting “bluegrass music in the center of popular culture.” Along with such phenomena as Will the Circle Be…