Articles

Joins Alison Krauss and Union Station Featuring Jerry Douglas for their 2026 Tour Photo by Thomas Crabtree One of the most memorable things to come from my many interviews with friend and IBMA Hall of Fame musician J.D. Crowe centered on what he learned from Earl Scruggs. With Crowe and Scruggs both playing the banjo,…

‘I know him, but he don’t know me’ Bill Monroe was properly regarded as the very model of a traditional American musician. However, he could also be full of surprises, whether poking fun or providing unexpected revelations about life and music.  Part One of this coverage included my experiences seeing, hearing and talking to Monroe…

“One of the Best Tenor Singers in the Business” Paul Brewster grew up around music and has been a part of several influential bands in bluegrass. He was a founding member of the highly regarded band, Knoxville Grass, during the 1970s and has since become known as a unique and influential tenor singer in bluegrass…

Dr. Ted Olson, professor of Appalachian studies at East Tennessee State University, has compiled an album of previously unreleased tracks from banjo master Carroll Best, who played an essential role in the evolution of the melodic banjo style in the 1950s.  Best referred to his technique as “fiddle style,” which certainly fits, as it was…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine January 1988, Volume 22, Number 7 The parking lot of a shopping center in Carney, Maryland, is neither the choice site to spend a damp Saturday afternoon nor the best place to interview an emerging force in bluegrass music. It doesn’t appear to be a great venue for the sparsely…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine May 1977, Volume 11, Number 11 Northern Bluegrass — A Tangle of Roots and Contradictions The whole idea of Northern bluegrass sounds like a contradiction in terms. Bluegrass is the essence of the rural music of the traditional South. It seems impossible that Northerners, especially those from city and college…