Articles

Tad grew up in a suburban area of Philadelphia. At a young age he heard music playing inside his head without the aid of a radio or phonograph. He recalls that as a child he would skip along the sidewalk, avoiding the cracks, and hum the tunes he was hearing. He is sure that he…

Photo by Laura Ridge On the cover of the May 1976 issue of Bluegrass Unlimited there appears a group of unknown bluegrass musicians along with the words “Bluegrass Cardinals.”  The title of that cover story, written by Frank Godbey, was “Who in the World are the Bluegrass Cardinals?”  The world would soon find out. The…

Hatfield Delivers the Real McCoy It’s an age-old conundrum for anyone trying to learn a new instrument.  You first buy a cheap banjo, guitar or mandolin to see if you even enjoy playing it. The further you progress, and the more time you put in, the more your instrument’s shortcomings become apparent. Pretty soon you’re ready…

Photo by Elliot Carter, Courtesy of ROMP Festival Anyone that has spent a long weekend at an outdoor bluegrass festival knows the importance of being well-equipped and well prepared. Whether you are baking under the hot sun, getting drenched from a torrential downpour, or finding yourself ankle deep in mud, it is essential to have…

This young, award-winning fiddler and long-time bandmate of Darin and Brooke Aldridge makes a confident and impressive solo debut with this fine outing.  Arrowhead, who was once a featured musician in the IBMA’s annual Kids on Bluegrass program, also proves to be an accomplished singer and songwriter with wisdom and artistry beyond her years. You…

Best known for his songwriting of jam band style music for his St. Paul, Minnesota-based group Big Wu, Chris Castino took advantage of the COVID isolation over the past two years to rework and rearrange some of his catalog into bluegrass tunes. For this new project he has gathered together his friends in the Chicken…