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Up the Hill and Through the Fog
It’s no surprise that this youthful, effervescent Toronto-based trio (joined on this outing by bass player and vocalist Charles James) won IBMA’s 2020 “Momentum Band of the Year” trophy. These twelve original songs bristle with intelligence, immediacy and innovation in the form of captivating lyrics, compelling melodies and nonpareil vocal and instrumental arrangements that feature…
River Wild
This exquisitely conceived and rendered third solo project by Jeremy Garrett, best known for his membership in the award-winning band The Infamous Stringdusters, is chock-full of finely textured and nuanced arrangements and original songs informed with sometimes urgent emotional intensity. Garrett, who wrote or cowrote all but one of these twelve cuts, of course serves…
From the Bluegrass Cardinals to Carolina Road
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…
Preparing for Festival Season
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…
Goin’ Home Comin On’
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…
Fresh Pickles
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…