Articles

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,…

Bluegrass Blessings & Music Milestones Photo by Lori Stoll As agreed, the two mandolin players met up at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. They opened their instrument cases and brought out their vintage Gibson F-5 instruments while a professional photographer stood by to capture their meeting.  One was Bill Monroe, the Father of Bluegrass…

Promoting Bluegrass Music in The Golden State for Nearly Fifty Years California is a long way from the heartland of bluegrass music, however, the California Bluegrass Association (CBA) represents the largest organized community of bluegrass enthusiasts in the United States.  Regarding the popularity of bluegrass in California, Keith Little, one of the forty charter members…

Restless Wanderer is R. Wesley Carr’s first full-length project. Carr is the 2019 winner Winfield, Kansas’ National Mandolin Championship and the title song won the New Song songwriting contest. Carr studied classical music at Northern Illinois University and is a graduate of East Tennessee State’s music program. This collection is a mix of originals and…

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…

It is hard not to think of Darren Nicholson’s sense of humor not far into his latest solo album, Man on a Mission.  The opening bars of the first song, “Love is War,” start with hard driving banjo and fiddle and the sound Nicholson is known for with Balsam Range and his main side-gig, the…