Articles
IssueM Articles
Cole Quest and the City Pickers
Woody Guthrie’s Grandson and his NYC-based Bluegrass Band Woody Guthrie has a strong legacy in American music. Part of the reason is obvious—the music and the lyrics speak for themselves. Additionally, musicians such as Bob Dylan, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Pete Seeger, Woody’s son Arlo, and others, have praised Guthrie as an influence and mentor and…
Way Down Upon the Suwannee River
Beth and Randy Judy’s nationally recognized music festivals have changed the lives of many and changed names from MagnoliaFest (held in October) and Suwannee SpringFest (held in March) to Suwannee Roots Revival and Suwannee Spring Reunion respectively. While I’ve always considered all four of these festivals to be one and the same, I used to…
Highfalutin Hillbilly
With their ten-gallon hats, rhinestone suits and boots, and high-energy, Jimmy Martin-style sass, there’s little understated about the Kody Norris Show. The band’s new album, and third for Rebel Records, really captures the band’s high-energy, good-timey live vibe, which is shot through with a bit of tongue-in-cheek. This is exemplified by a delightful, rapid-fire cover…
Presenting Carolina Bluegrass Style
The members of Carolina Bluegrass Style are based in the Columbia, South Carolina area, but spend most of their performing time in the venues around the area of Ashville, making them true to their Carolina name. The band consists of founding member Tommy Thomas (bass), along with Don Ashley (fiddle, vocals), Tyler Chasteen (guitar, vocals),…
Kentucky Troubadour: The Rebel Collection
Don Rigsby has had a distinguished, if rather nomadic career over the four decades covered by this retrospective. He’s released a half dozen or so solo albums and been in and out of as many bands – J.D. Crowe, the Bluegrass Cardinals, the Lonesome River Band, Rock County, and Longview among them. This rock-solid song…
One More Thing
Fred Carpenter is a well-known and well-respected fiddle player. While starting out on the classical violin, he spent time studying the styles of folks like Kenny Baker, Vassar Clement, Byron Berline, and others. He has played with bluegrass artists like Tony Rice and The Dillards, and others like Emmylou Harris, Kathy Mattea and George Strait….