Articles
IssueM Articles
Cup of Loneliness
The modern bluegrass artists of today still stand out as the old souls of America, and David Peterson and 1946 are still carrying the torch with their eighth project Cup of Loneliness. This album is a concentrated focus on the classics that are highly relevant in the 2020’s. It echoes the emotions felt by millions…
Long Hill To Climb
Wolfpen Branch is a Kentucky-based quintet formed by former members of the Wooks, 23 String Band, and Vince Gill’s band. The group includes Arthur Hancock IV (guitar, vocals), Chris Shouse (mandolin, vocals), Roddy Puckett (bass, vocals), Jeff Guernsey (fiddle), and Aaron Bibelhauser (fiddle). Focusing on tight harmonies and driving arrangements, the five artists present a…
Losing Game
David Peterson, a bonafide purveyor of the bluegrass spirit, delivers just that in his latest work Losing Game. There are stories of heartbreak, the country life, and many other facets to this album. Within all those things we find Peterson giving a pure transmission of Monroe’s spirit paired with the essence Hank Williams, while the…
Annie Savage
And the Free-Strings Curriculum Several weeks ago I received a press release from Turnberry Records announcing their launch of a new “Education Division.” The release explained that the first launch of the new division was called “Free Strings—Join The Jam.” They stated that in initiating this curriculum they were partnering with fiddler Annie Savage, veteran performer…
Greensboro’s Bass Violin Shop
If you take an ailing bass fiddle into Bob Beerman’s shop for repairs, you feel as if you are entering an operating room. The instrument is gently laid upon a table in the back room then one employee examines the patient while another hovers with a clipboard jotting down its diagnosis. Beerman is the veteran…
The 2023 West Virginia Music Hall of Fame Inductees
As John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers were to British rock guitar, Muddy Waters was to electric blues, and Miles Davis was to modern Jazz, West Virginia’s Lonesome Pine Fiddlers (LPF) were to bluegrass music. The group was a training ground, a triple A ball team if you will, for a genre that has grown exponentially since its beginnings…