Articles

This is a band from Norway that started out in 2012 as a trio, with Magnus Wiik (banjo, resonator guitar, mandolin, vocals), Espen Bjarnar (guitar, mandolin, vocals), and Aksel Jensen (bass, vocals). They performed extensively around Scandinavia and Europe and became quite popular with their mix of jazz, bluegrass, and Americana.  In 2022, Siril Malmedal…

2025 IBMA Momentum Vocalist Ali Vance shows why that award was more than appropriate with the first track on the new album, a fierce gospel song that whispers and growls called “Heal These Hands”. The recording opens with the sound of tuning in a distant gospel radio show and incorporates some bits of preaching, sounds…

It had been a while since I heard something with vigor and style, until this humdinger landed on my lap. Hot off the press, The Seven comes to us from newgrass sensation, Fireside Collective. This group hails from beautiful Asheville, North Carolina, where these musicians have been shaped by the culture and artistic integrity of…

This West Coast band from the Tacoma, Washington area is made up of four musicians who come from a variety of backgrounds and who have formed together to produce their progressive sound based on bluegrass, but with modern touches of punk, jazz and folk. There is Luke Sumerfield, who is a pipe-organ maker with a…

Although he left us when he was far too young, at the age of 58, Don Reno made an enormous impact on bluegrass music.  His work with the Morris Brothers, starting when he was just fourteen years old, his work with Bill Monroe after Scruggs left Monroe’s band, and his time spent with Arthur “Guitar…

Bands Blurring the Lines of Bluegrass “I’m just proud that we got something down on tape that really captures the vibe of the Keel Stickley Duo,”  explains guitarist Jon Stickley about he and fellow guitarist Larry Keel’s recently released self-titled EP.  “It’s a monumental live act, but had we never gotten the recording done, it…