Articles
IssueM Articles
Tony Rice: East Meets West
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine October 1977. Volume 12, Number 4 It was a hot September evening in Louisville, Kentucky seven years ago when I first met a skinny teenage guitar player named Tony Rice. He had just landed his first job with a full-time bluegrass band and was obviously totally immersed in music. Tony’s…
Back to Cuttin’ Grass
Although it’s taken him five albums to put out a project with the bluegrass arrangements to match, this is exactly what Sturgill Simpson has done on Cuttin’ Grass – Vol.1 and 2 (The Butcher Shoppe Sessions). Bluegrass music has long been a part of Simpson’s upbringing—something he credits to his paternal grandfather. However, it took…
Donna and Roni Stoneman and The Legendary Stoneman Family
Before the Carter Family or Jimmie Rodgers ever stood in front of a microphone to record for Ralph Peer, another “hillbilly” artist had already solidly established himself. Starting in 1924, Ernest Stoneman, the “Unsung Father of Country Music” had recorded a multitude of songs and had a hit record with his self-penned “Sinking of the…
Gaven “Gravy” Largent
Modern Day Dobro Construction from a Traditional Perspective Photos By Jake’s Visuals In our world of bluegrass and acoustic music, the news travels quickly when a young master emerges on the scene. The sound of the Dobro1 in this artist’s hands puts the icing on the cake, or in this case the Gravy (self-penned moniker)…
A 21st Century Bluegrass Guitar From Oregon’s High Desert
The D-MA from Preston Thompson Guitars in Sisters, Oregon has almost no interest in impersonating a vintage D-18. And that’s exactly what makes it such a compelling and distinctively modern flatpicking guitar. Even though it shares the basic D-18 DNA of a mahogany dreadnought body with a forward-shifted, scalloped-braced, tap-tuned Adirondack top, the Thompson D-MA…
But…It’s Never Been Done Before!
Joanne Gardner, John Lowell, and the Virtual 2020 IBMA Bluegrass Awards Show The performance centerpiece of the annual IBMA conference is the IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards show, where – selected by the membership – the IBMA showcases and celebrates the best performers of the year. In a year of social distancing and facemasks, Paul Schiminger…