Articles

On her first release as a bandleader, Molly Tuttle displays all the talents and traits that have helped her rise to the summit of the modern bluegrass pyramid. On Crooked Tree, she’s also invited most of her peer group including Billy Strings, Sierra Hull, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, Ketch Secor, and Dominick Leslie, as well as grizzled…

Joshua Rilko’s debut album, Lost Soul/Rock & Roll, is modern is all aspects of the word. It began as a Kickstarter project that exceeded the goal and has two distinctly different “sides” — one is bluegrassy and the other, while labeled “rock & roll,” really is more Americana-ish. A mandolin player, Rilko was formerly with…

It’s obvious on Truman’s Ridge’s fifth album, Beyond the Ridge, that this group is having fun and comfortable in presenting their version of bluegrass. The regional band that mainly plays in the Midwest and down into Tennessee and Kentucky wears retro outfits complete with fedoras and gathers around a single mic at shows.  They refer…

This eclectic instrumental exercise from celebrated maestro Tristan Scroggins is an intriguing exploration of melody and rhythmic fusion conducted on a 1920s-era four-string Paramount Style C-tenor banjo. This is a bit of a departure for Scroggins, who’s best known for his mandolin prowess. Though eminently listenable on its surface, the copious liner notes to One…

Obtaining your optimum tone preference from your banjo is something that can be influenced by number of variables.  One of those variables is banjo head tension.   If your banjo head is too loose, the tone can be too tubby.  If the head is too tight, the tone can be too bright.  Some players will…

Like A Flowing River is a 2-Disc project from James Reams, guitarist, songwriter and long-time leader of his band, the Barnstormers. This outing includes songs from his many albums along with many of the songs included in his DVD, Like A Flowing River: A Bluegrass Passage, in which Reams relates his musical odyssey from his…