Articles

 “We started out right/Pickin’ in the pines/It’s a music that stays in your soul.”   Although AJ Lee is currently only twenty-four years old, she has been turning heads at California bluegrass events for nearly two decades.  AJ attended her first festival when she was five years old and, as part of the Kids On…

Roland White passed away on April 1, 2022, at age 83. All who knew him remember the standup guy he was—a warm, welcoming, humble, generous man of wide smile and sleeve-worn heart. And we all remember what an outstanding, innovative mandolinist he was. Having played for decades with many famous bands— with his brother, Clarence,…

California Bluegrass Pioneer Herb Pedersen’s life was utterly transformed—in the blink of an eye—in a record store on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, California. There he was, a fresh-faced, guitar-playing teenager flipping through records in the folk music section, studying the newest release by the Kingston Trio. Suddenly, a stranger was standing by his side. He…

With A Lot of Help from Its Friends Shaken by tragic personal loss and global economic turmoil, the Santa Cruz Guitar Company and its founder, legendary luthier Richard Hoover, have come through a perfect storm of emotional and business challenges over the past two years and emerged stronger than ever as the company celebrates 45…

An instant classic for The Seldom Scene and widely recorded by artists across many genres, “Wait A Minute” was written in 1972 by Herb Pedersen, who at just 20 years old was already a notable songwriter and contributor to the American music scene. He would go on to earn significant renown through his solo artistry…

Derek Johnson, who has spent more than a decade with Monroe Crossing, has released a new solo project entitled Hard Life.  Johnson calls his “band” on the album Hardgrass, but it is a collection of 19 guest musicians from Minnesota—where he’s based—and Wisconsin. Johnson, who has also performed as part of The High 48s and…