Articles

Bands Blurring the Lines of Bluegrass For Pixie & the Partygrass Boys, one of the most important pillars of bluegrass is what drives the band. “Community is everything for us,” says Zach Downes. “It’s the reason we sit in a van for hours each day. To be able to connect with fans and different bands…

Jody Stecher has been around forever—or at least since the 1960s when he emerged from the remnants of the folk music revival.  On his latest album, a collaboration with the distinguished Boston-based string band Mile Twelve, he sounds better than ever. His warm, lived-in voice and his intriguing original songs bring to mind a West…

Maryland’s Roger Cline has put together a nice collection of mostly original material on this new project of stories about bravery, courage, tenacity and about those who have it. He is joined here by a host of musicians including: Scott Freeman (mandolin), Debbie Durant & Tom Hensler (bass), Gary Hultman (resonator guitar), John Scott Walker…

When it comes to the nearly all-original material on this Milwaukee-based band’s second album, the term youthful exuberance comes to mind. The MilBillies’ (that’s with a CAPITAL “B,” mind you!) music is shot through with humor, rowdiness, wild times and angst. There’s an almost punkish, hard-partying edge to some of the ragged vocals, frenetic playing…

Originally from Michigan, Jeremy Rilko relocated to Asheville, North Carolina, after serving in the Air Force and graduating from Western Michigan University. It was while in the service and at college that he became enamored with bluegrass music. He has been a banjo player since he was 24, and was influenced by the likes of…

This Owensboro, Kentucky-based band’s second album is one of those projects where all the pieces fall almost magically together. This owes to Kentucky Shine’s fine singing, playing and songwriting as well as their sure-handed grasp of the music’s thematic and instrumental traditions. Night Watch features two covers. One is a revival of the Osborne Brothers’…