Articles
IssueM Articles
Ferguson’s Farewell: The Irish Connection
For a number of years, Pennsylvania-based bluegrass veteran Gary Ferguson made musical sojourns to Ireland where he forged fast friendships and enduring musical bonds with some of the Green Isle’s most talented singer-songwriters. This exquisite bluegrass/Americana-tinged album marks the culmination of these partnerships. On many cuts, Ferguson generously steps back into a supporting role, thereby…
Wildest Dreams
Bell Buckle Echo Valley is the Anderson family based in Western Pennsylvania. They are Lizzy on vocals and guitar, Emily on vocals and fiddle, Isabelle on vocals and mandolin, Olivia on vocals, banjo and fiddle, Emmaline on bass (also plays mandolin and guitar), Dolly on mandolin, and brother David on banjo. Sister Emily is the…
New Kid on the Block of Traditional Music Programs
Warren Wilson College While it has only been around for a short time, Warren Wilson College’s Traditional Music program is well on its way to being a go-to destination for Appalachian culture immersion. Now offering a major (BA) and a minor in music with a concentration in Traditional Music, the program features “a unique concentration…
Calling You From My Mountain
Peter Rowan was working on a project during the pandemic that was supposed to be a tribute to Hank Williams and his alias, Luke the Drifter. He changed gears and the reimagined product is Calling You From My Mountain. It’s hard to imagine that the original idea could have topped this one. Rowan wrote seven…
Ridin’ Through the Country
Shannon Slaughter offers a little bit of everything and almost everybody on his new album, Ridin’ Through the Country. One thing is unchanged from his previous efforts, though—it is dyed-in-the-wool bluegrass to the core. There are 15 songs on the album and Slaughter wrote or co-wrote nine of them. There is a long and impressive…
Mescalito Riding His White Horse
Mescalito Riding His White Horse: Insipred by The Musical Adventures of Peter Rowan is part Rowan biography, part author Mike Fiorito’s autobiography, part Peter Rowan interview, part Fiorito dream journal, part song lyric analysis, and part exploration of Buddhism. All of that makes this book a fairly wild ride, but Fiorito is able to weave…