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IssueM Articles
All Roads Lead To The Birchmere—America’s Legendary Music Hall
If it wasn’t for the Birchmere, I probably would not have had a career in bluegrass music. I grew up in Springfield, Virginia and my childhood home was exactly ten miles door-to-door from the second Birchmere, located on Mt. Vernon Avenue in Alexandria. I then went to college at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis,…
Mountaintop
Don Schlitz (guitar) is an award-winning songwriter who has garnered two Grammys as well as being inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame. These are just few of his awards as he has written songs for such as Kenny Rogers, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Randy Travis, Keith Whitley, The…
Desert Heart Mountain Soul
New Englander Chris Brashear is a performer, teacher, and recording artist who plays guitar, fiddle, mandolin, and bass. While living in Arizona he met Peter McLaughlin with whom he has collaborated on a few projects including this one. McLaughlin is also a performer, recording artist, and instructor. He plays guitar and mandolin. Both sing and…
Bil VornDick
Putting Together The Pieces Photos Courtesy of Bil Vorndick Bil VornDick, audio engineer/producer to the stars, summarized his role in the studio and music industry, “I’m there to help people and I’m good at putting together puzzles. I like putting it together so people will enjoy listening to it.” VornDick’s puzzles have garnered him…
Rebuild
The voices of John Cloyd Miller and Natalya Zoe Weinstein, long-time veterans of Asheville, North Carolina’s roots music scene, blend together seamlessly and soulfully on this compelling collection of mostly all original songs. These 11 cuts range from high-lonesome honky-grass heartbreakers (“Everything But Me”) and old-timey gospel (“That Home Far Away”) to a haunting crime…
Chimney Swifts
Students and aficionados of the clawhammer-style banjo will love this sparkling and captivating debut album by lifelong Baltimore resident Brad Kolodner. Kolodner, who in the past has performed and recorded extensively with his father Ken (founder and long-time member of the group Helicon) and with Charm City, his own “old-time bluegrass fusion” band, really mixes…