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IssueM Articles

Headshot of Carl Jackson

Carl Jackson: Musical Dream Maker

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited MagazineApril 2018, Volume 52, Number 10 Carl Jackson is a musical architect, bridge builder, and dreamer. He’s a one-of-a-kind man; a humble networker who enriches the lives of others. Jackson’s mantra is, “With each dream that becomes a reality, a new dream lies ahead.” Many of his dreams have come true….

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Carl Jackson singing with his banjo

The Jackson Five—Bluegrass Style

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited MagazineJuly 1972, Volume 7, Number 1 Imagine, if you can, a big-name bluegrass band—one which usually has a superior banjo player—stepping out onto the stage to greet their cheering, enthusiastic fans. With them is a new banjo player—very new—like, 14 years old, and a complete unknown. The fans are more than…

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Archived Bluegrass Unlimited magazine cover

Hylo Brown: The Bluegrass Balladeer

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited MagazineAugust 1974, Volume 9, Number 2 Some two decades ago, a young Kentucky-born factory worker from Springfield, Ohio, went to Nashville, in hopes of getting an established country singer to record a song he had written. Although he had made something of a reputation as a part-time performer around local radio…

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Mike Smith with Rodney Dillard at the Ozarks Public Television station. Mike is holding a freshly autographed Bluegrass Unlimited issue featuring Rodney's cover story. Photo by Steven Spencer.

Mike Smith

A Music Seldom Heard Written By Dale McCurry with Bambi Grinder “Make it about the music,” Mike Smith implores. “Don’t make it about me. It’s about the music.” Mike said this in preparation for a story I was to write about him a decade or so ago. I remember he followed me to the parking…

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Annie Staninec

Photo by Amanda Rowan Annie Staninec (featured in Bluegrass Unlimited, May 2017) is a stellar bluegrass fiddle player of Japanese/Czechoslovakian descent who grew up in San Francisco, California and currently lives in Portland, Oregon.  She learned to play the fiddle at a young age and became interested in bluegrass because her father played the guitar…

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Sav Sankaran

Photo by Sandlin Gaither A resident of Asheville, North Carolina, Sav Sankaran is an upright bass player and vocalist with the bluegrass band Unspoken Tradition.  Previously, he toured with the Dixie Bee-Liners, Kristy Cox and other North Carolina bands.  He is a first-generation American of Indian descent who points to Bob Paisley & Southern Grass…

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