Articles

Mourning the Loss of a Legend  Photo By Scott Simontacchi The world of bluegrass music mourns the loss of one of its iconic figures with the death of Bobby Osborne. He passed away on June 27 at the age of 91 just four days after his friend—and another legend of the genre—Jesse McReynolds, died. For…

C.J. Lewandowski of the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys says that at fifteen years old, when he met Bobby Osborne, one of his heroes, he would never have dreamed of the friendship that would develop between the two musicians. Over the years that followed, Lewandowski, also a mandolin player, learned from Osborne—music lessons and life lessons. In…

Coulee Creek features singer-songwriter Sarah Jackson and poet Rita Mae Reese. The group also includes Beth Becker (fiddle, cello), Michael James (resonator guitar), David Strudthoff (banjo), Tom Baker (guitar, bass), and Cori Vought (vocals). Guest artists are Brett Huus (harmonica), Terry Nirva (cajon), and Josh Rabie (mandolin). Most of them hail from the Wisconsin/Minnesota area…

Written by multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Darrell Scott (“You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive,” “It’s A Great Day To Be Alive”), “Kentucky Morning” is a decidedly southern song that oozes family—and Kentuckian—pride. Scott has just released the song on his album Old Cane Back Rocker (August 2023). It was also released by the late, great Kentucky native…

Photos by Haley Gjertsen Mandolin whiz Ashby Frank who lays down the groove for progressive bluegrass group Mountain Heart has spent a quarter of a century recording and touring for other people. But in all that time he hasn’t used his abundance of talent as a singer/songwriter/instrumentalist to showcase his own music until now. His…

By Ivan M. Tribe and John W. Morris Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine January 1980, Volume 14, Number 7 Between 1958 and 1968, Bill Napier established himself as one of the top musicians in bluegrass. Beginning as a sideman with the Stanley Brothers and then as half of the Moore and Napier team, Bill displayed…