Articles

John William Hall was born on November 29, 1933 near Front Royal, Virginia and grew up on a small family farm. He went to the Washington, D.C. area in 1951 and soon became an important part of the area bluegrass scene. In 2005, Tom Mindte spoke with John in connection with a book he and…

It’s not often that bands go on a 10-year hiatus and decide to give things another go.  Traditional bluegrass fans should be glad an old gravestone inspired Maine-based Breakin’ Strings to make the trek to Nashville to produce Hangovers & Heartaches. Cliff Gelena, a third generation bluegrass performer, heads up the group with lead vocals,…

Based in the New York area, the band is led by Ed Krizni (guitar), and is joined on this project by Ron Trotta (banjo), Bill Turner (resonator guitar), Travis Wetzel (fiddle, mandolin), Alice Harmon (dulcimer), Larry Greybill (bass), Joe Fili (fiddle), and Justin Sitler (banjo, guitar).    This release is a 2-CD 40-song collection of…

Daniel Crabtree, a gifted and divinely inspired songwriter with an engaging roughhewn vocal style, is a man on a mission.  As he explains in the press material accompanying his fifth album: “I believe a spiritual battle is going on inside man and the world …. As Christians, we should be willing to take on the…

The Matchsellers are a mid-Western group based on the duo of Andrew Morris (guitar, vocals), and Julie Bates (fiddle, vocals). They are joined on this new project by Brian McCarty (mandolin, vocals), and Brandon Day (bass, vocals). The “Wishful Thinkers’ Hall Of Fame” is an imaginary collection of characters which the project purports to be…

Horseshoes & Hand Grenades have crafted a modern take on bluegrass featuring all the elements of traditional bluegrass you would expect to find, tight vocal harmonies, inventive soloing, and strong instrumental interplay, but delivered with a youthful energy, an engaging honesty, and a loose sense of fun, allowing them to exist as something new, a…