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Feeling the Joy Of Playing Together Again Photo by Sandlin Gaither It was March 2020. (Cue ominous music.) The Foghorn Stringband was looking forward to their East Coast tour. Reeb Willms and Caleb Klauder were flying in from Portland West (Oregon); Nadine Landry and Sammy Lind were flying in from Quebec. Nadine: “We were starting…

Releases Songs of the Sunrise Fox Photos by Molly McCormick North Carolina native Andy Thorn had traveled to Colorado for the outdoor activities since college, so when he had the opportunity to join a band there, he said, “that was a no brainer for me.” After moving there, in 2008, he had the opportunity to…

Moving Forward with a Vision to Showcase the Roots of a Truly American Genre of Music Photos by Erick Anderson When I first heard the news of the creation of Appalachian Road Show, the idea of bringing together these five musicians made perfect sense. Yet, there was also a sense of their formation being too…

Bluegrass is a genre of music that’s been evolving since it first came out of the oven.  The original recipe created by master chef Bill Monroe had five cornerstone ingredients:  mandolin, guitar, fiddle, banjo, and bass.  When Josh Graves joined Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs in the Foggy Mountain Boys in 1955, he introduced a…

When watching a musical performance, people generally focus solely on the artist(s). Little thought is given to the promoters, the sound/technical crew, the songwriters, the managers/booking agents, the bus drivers, and everyone else behind the scenes that make it all happen. It takes a village. In bluegrass music, Fred Bartenstein is a mayor of one…

Queries Q: I have a question about the photo of The Traveler album by the Country Gentlemen [Rebel SLP-1481, 1968]. According to my friends, the photo was taken in the Shenandoah River in 1968. I think this photo was modified later because it’s hard to believe that four big men with very expensive instruments would…