Articles

The award-winning banjo picker Kristin Scott Benson and her husband, mandolin great Wayne Benson, are what you might call a bluegrass power couple. After all, Kristin is a 5-time IBMA Banjo Player of the Year and a recipient of the prestigious Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass as well as a long-time…

Queries Q: We’re having a little controversy in our bluegrass community regarding the definition of the title of the fiddle tune “June Appal.” Is it simply a misspelled reference to certain apples that will bloom early or is it a reference, somewhat in abbreviation, to the word Appalachia? Or is it something else? Hope you…

Those lyrics were penned and recorded by North Carolina resophonic guitarist, Frank Poindexter, in 2004 (Dex Records – CD 001). “It’s The Music” was the title and first cut on his solo project that was re-released by Mountain Fever Records in 2022.  Frank said, “I want to acknowledge Mark Hodges (Mountain Fever Records). He’s a…

Prior to the COVID lockdown, Canadian mandolin player Andrew Collins had spent the majority of his time performing live, recording and producing (audio and video).  Other than teaching at music camps (Kaufman Kamp, Old School Bluegrass Camp, Nimble Fingers, and others), he was not doing a lot of private teaching due to his other commitments. …

A New Guitar Brand From China Kepma Guitars is a Chinese company fresh to the New World that aims to compete in the hotly contested global market for quality acoustic guitars selling for around 2,500 US dollars, in addition to models under $500. The company claims to be the best-selling acoustic guitar brand in China,…

By Liz Hengber, Tammy Rogers, Jerry Salley Some songs demand to be written. That was the case with “The Falling Man,” cut by The Steeldrivers (Bad For You, 2020) and written by Liz Hengber, Tammy Rogers, and Jerry Salley. Inspired by the famous 9/11 photograph also titled “The Falling Man,” the song describes the haunting…