Articles

Life’s Work: A Retrospective creates an audio documentary of Doc Watson’s musical career from his early days to the end of his career. Over 101 tracks presented on four CDs and extensive liner notes, Life’s Work shows the astounding musical range and guitar innovative that made Arthel “Doc” Watson an international star in folk music…

Chicgoland’s Eric Lambert has distinguished himself over his career as one of the top flatpickers in the Midwest. A devotee of Clarence White and Tony Rice, Lambert creates bold, clear-voiced guitar solos that capture the spirit of his heroes without parroting them. On his new CD, Beating The Odds, Lambert recruited some of the area’s…

Don’t think that it is hype or marketing hyperbole to read that Sideline’s latest album, Ups, Downs and No Name Towns is their best project to date.  For a group that literally started as a part time gig for a group of outstanding pickers—hence the name, Sideline—it is a big statement to claim “best.” After…

We live in a golden era for flat picks, with custom and boutique pick makers producing beautifully fashioned plectrums in a truly bewildering range of space age materials, shapes, and bevels. Into that market comes C.F. Martin with its newly introduced Luxe Contour Pick. Using a shape similar to the Blue Chip TP-1R, it features…

A concept album of 16 songs focusing on stories and characters from the Cumberland Gap area of Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia takes the listener back in time. Twenty-seven artists whose familes are originally from the region are featured, with lead vocals from Teddy Cosby, Bryan Turner, Phillip Powers, James Clark, Joseph Wilson, Randall Massengill, Jason…

Website Opens Up Doors to Heart of Bluegrass Bluegrass music was basically created in Nashville in 1945 when Kentucky native Bill Monroe asked North Carolina fiddler Jim Shumate if he knew of any powerful banjo players who could keep up with his up-tempo music. That is when Shumate introduced Monroe to the innovative three-finger banjo…