Articles

This article provides an insight into Larry Prentis Rice and his mandolin, and contains anecdotal recollections about him from friends, family, and bandmates. As the oldest of the four Rice Brothers, and born into a musical family, Larry Rice wrote, played, recorded and produced memorable music. Born on April, 24, 1949 in Danville, Virginia, he…

Introducing Kids to Bluegrass Music One of the best ways to ensure that bluegrass music continues to grow and blossom in the future is to introduce the music to young children.  Time has proven that when kids are exposed to bluegrass at an early age, it is likely to stay with them the rest of…

A Half Century of Great Music For fifty iterations since 1972, the legendary Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas, has crowned national and international champions in instruments as diverse as hammered dulcimer and fingerstyle guitar, banjo and autoharp, and of course the event’s crown jewel, the National Flatpicking Guitar Championships. But the real champion is…

The Challenges of Running and Starting a Bluegrass Festival After over thirty years of attending bluegrass festivals, more than once we have heard the saying, “Friends don’t let friends start bluegrass festivals.” While it is meant playfully, we wondered if there is some truth in it and decided to look at the complexity of starting…

This is Charlie Treat’s first foray into bluegrass, and with its austere, hard-charging guitar-banjo-bass-fiddle arrangements, it’s definitely very on-the-edge, and very compelling. As he explains in the accompanying press material, Treat has been steeped in traditional sounds since he was a kid growing up on a farm in New England, though along the way he’s…

Sessions, Volume 1 Formed over 16 years ago, this Chicago-based foursome have become true Bluegrass Ambassadors, having toured 25 countries, both on their own efforts and also as cultural representatives working with the US State Department. Tours include the US, Europe, Asia, Africa, Middle East, and others, where the band offers concerts, workshops, and teachings…