Articles

The Life  of a Musician on  PBS Appalachia When Brandon Adams called me several years ago and told me that he was getting ready to produce a new television show for PBS Appalachia, I’ll have to admit that I was hesitant to jump in with a story about it because many times these kinds of…

Since forming in 1978, the Italian group Red Wine has become one of Europe’s premier bluegrass bands. They have extensively performed not only in Europe, but also in Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Austria, Germany, Holland, and Switzerland, just to name a few, including the United States. Based in the city of Genoa, Italy, the current band…

Billy Strings’ impact on bluegrass and guitar flatpicking has triggered tens of thousands of fans to attend his concerts and buy his records and merch. For bluegrass guitarists, he’s probably had more impact on the flatpicking scene than any of his modern peers, raising the bar with his facile, deeply rooted picking and singing. But…

In our May 2025 issue, we printed an article by Jack Bernhardt introducing us to a bit of the history of bluegrass gospel music.  Bernhardt, an anthropologist and journalist, researched the history of gospel bluegrass while preparing this new book, which focuses on the gospel bluegrass of Jerry and Tammy Sullivan, father and daughter bluegrass…

Spreads the Love of Our Music To Southeast Asia Photos By Sunny Sachdev Bluegrass music has always existed within this overall modern age of technology. While the roots of bluegrass music go back centuries, the genre solidified when Bill Monroe brought Earl Scruggs into his Blue Grass Boys band in late 1945. At that point,…

On their latest, Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers serve up a box of treats that seem destined to please old fans as well as new ones.  The album opens with the philosophical “Time Adds Up (If You’re Lucky)” (co-written by Missy Raines and Tim Stafford). Next up is “Something To Look Forward To” (Ronnie…