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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…
Bill Monroe’s Gouged Headstock Veneer
If you look at any photo of Bill Monroe holding his mandolin taken between 1950 and 1980, you will notice that the company name, which usually graces the instrument’s headstock, is noticeably missing. Most die-hard bluegrass fans will know that very early in the 1950s, Bill Monroe shipped his mandolin to the Gibson company for…
Cuttin’ Grass
Sturgill Simpson comes by his bluegrass honestly. Introduced to the style by his paternal grandfather, Simpson emerged a total bluegrass freak by his 20s and was writing bluegrass songs even while making a living playing punk rock. Simpson’s latest CD confirms that passion. In his letter on savingcountrymusic.com explaining his return to his bluegrass roots,…
Sally Ann Forrester
The Original Bluegrass Girl Pulling Her Own Weight With the Blue Grass Boys Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine June 2000, Volume 34, Number 12 One of the standard beliefs about bluegrass music is that, in its formative years,bluegrass was “almost completely a male domain,” as Bufwack and Oermann describe itin Finding Her Voice: The Saga…