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The Evolution of Jamgrass

On June 22, 1989, at the Roma in Telluride, Colorado, during the annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival, the seeds of what would become the modern jamgrass scene were first planted.  On stage was Vince Herman’s Cajun jug band, the Salmon Heads.  Joining them were a couple of friends from the Left Hand String Band, Drew Emmitt…

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The Del McCoury Band on stage at the Earl Scruggs Music Festival, 2025. // Photo by Dale Cahill

The Earl Scruggs Music Festival

IBMA’s 2025 Event of the Year Winners Written By Dale and Darcy Cahill Being lifelong lovers of bluegrass and thirty-year veterans of attending bluegrass festivals in New England: Grey Fox, Thomas Point, Podunk, and many others, we have never attended a festival in the southern states. When we saw the Earl Scruggs Music Festival lineup…

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Jan Johansson with Bobby Hicks at Lorraine’s Coffee House in 2018. // Photo by Wilson Herlong

Jan Johansson

Follow Your Dreams Photos Courtesy of Jan Johansson Jan (pronounced “Yahn”) Johansson is a man who has defied all odds. A true connoisseur of bluegrass, he is a player, teacher, historian, collector, and much more. What makes him truly amazing is that he achieved all this by overcoming huge obstacles along the way: being born and…

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The Kody Norris Show performing at the Backbone Bluegrass Festival. Photo Courtesy of Kaitlyn Briggs.

Backbone Bluegrass

Iowa’s Oldest and Largest Bluegrass Festival In Northeast Iowa, around 4 miles south of a small town called Strawberry Point (home of the World’s Largest Strawberry) and a few miles north of Backbone State Park, lies a picturesque 20-acre wooded site. During the last full weekend of July, this beautiful location is full of campers…

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New World In The Morning

The Groundbreakers are a band from Finland who were formed in 1995 by leader Jussi Syren (mandolin, vocals). Over the years, the group has traveled all over Europe and the US, and they have even showcased at the IBMA World of Bluegrass in 2020. They are also featured frequently on Finnish radio. The current band…

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Little Songs

Rrinaco is a nickname that singer-songwriter Corrina Rose Logston Stephens acquired while in middle school in the 1990s. Growing up in Missouri, Stephens spent time listening to music, learning the fiddle, singing, and enhancing her efforts as a songwriter. She played and jammed locally with her parents and other artists.  Now living in Nashville, Tennessee,…

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