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Addie Levy
The Brothers Have a Sister Photo By Shana Leigh The Brothers Comatose is a San Francisco, California based five-piece bluegrass band that have headlined festivals such as Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, High Sierra Music Festival, and the Kate Wolf Music Festival and toured with Yonder Mountain String Band, Lake Street Drive and A.J. Lee and Blue…
Wood Box Heroes
The Secret Behind 444 Photos by Eric Ahlgrim Individually, the four musicians of Wood Box Heroes are the super powers of their instruments, a veritable acoustical Justice League with their masterful musical skills. As a combined force, Josh Martin, Matt Menefee, Barry Bales, and Jenee Fleenorbring a wealth of knowledge and experience with their newly…
Kelley Mandolins
Banjo Slayers Today, many small-shop mandolin builders produce what have come to be called “boutique mandolins.” The mandolins of one of those craftsmen, Thomas “Skip” Kelley, have been mentioned on the online blog, MandolinCafe.com in conversations with other high-end names. The website, Mando Mutt, is the exclusive dealer for Skip Kelley mandolins. Mando Mutt’s owner,…
Jim Rooney
Photos and article by Jim Carrier Long after Jim Rooney is gone, the sounds of bluegrass that he recorded will remind us of the beauty of acoustic stringed instruments played with taste and subtlety. Not famous as a performer — although he was one, certainly — Rooney’s lasting contribution to bluegrass music is embedded…
A Fresh Look at Crockett’s Kentucky Mountaineers
The histories of old-time country music are pretty clear on the subject: everything important happened in the southeastern part of the U.S. Except it didn’t. The music was everywhere. In fact, one the most popular and celebrated old-time stringbands of the late 1920s and early 1930s came out of California. This band toured widely on…
Red Camel Collective
Photos by Angie Reed If one word can describe Red Camel Collective, it’s momentum. It’s no coincidence that Heather Berry Mabe, the lead singer and guitarist for the band, won the 2024 IBMA Momentum Award for Vocalist of the Year. She is also nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year by the Society for the…