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Open Up Your Mind & Free the Music
“For the first little while you have to find something to keep yourself busy,” explains guitar-wizard Larry Keel on how he approached the time at home forced upon us when the world shut-down due to the Covid-19 outbreak. “Even going to take the trash out was a big day in the neighborhood. It was something…
The Five of a Kind
40 Years of Picking Traditional Bluegrass For 40 years, the Five of a Kind bluegrass band has been entertaining audiences up and down the Northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Based in Strasburg, Virginia, the group’s personable and involve-the-audience approach to a traditional blend of bluegrass and classic country gathered a large following throughout the area….
Daryl Mosely Flies Solo
Photos by Shelley Swanger Despite his lengthy career in music, veteran bluegrass artist Daryl Mosley had his doubts that people would recognize his individual talents. “Even though I’ve been in bluegrass music professionally for 30 years, you never really know who knows who you are,” Mosley said. “I’ve always been part of a band. I…
Electric Bluegrass
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited MagazineMarch, 1969, Volume 3, Number 9 I was a witness to the Osborne Brothers recent debut in my area with all electric instruments. Sonny had a super secret pickup inside his banjo that no one was allowed to see. To make certain of this, he actually had his resonator attached with…
The Return of Donna Stoneman—First Lady of the Mandolin
Re-printed from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine June, 1983, Volume 17, Number 12 Back in 1971, Bluegrass Unlimited conducted a poll asking readers to list their favorites among pickers of standard bluegrass instruments plus lead, and tenor vocalists. Significantly, when the results were announced that December, all but one who placed in the top ten in…
On The Road with Tony Rice
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine April 2006. Volume 40, Number 10 For several years, Tim Stafford (songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist for Blue Highway) has been working on the authorized biography of flatpicking guitar pioneer Tony Rice, collecting interviews with dozens of Tony’s peers and friends in the bluegrass community. In 2003, journalist Caroline Wright asked…