Articles

Celebrating 25 Years of Success Photos By A. Pierce Bounds As early as 1802, Pennsylvania was referred to as the Keystone State. This designation was placed on Pennsylvania due to its location and providing stability in holding the original 13 states together, architecturally speaking, similar to that of the function of a keystone in an…

A Diverse Genre Celebrates Both Ends of the Spectrum While Honoring A Legendary Venue In one of the most eventful years in history, a time that has seen the onset of the covid-19 pandemic, nationwide protests, a comet, a 5.1 Southeastern earthquake and the Backline bluegrass band releasing a single titled “If The Corona Don’t…

Jimmy Cox Defines Quality And Craftsmanship Photos By Jamie Alexander 1,100 miles and 60 years perfecting a craft. From Wolf Creek, Kentucky to Topsham, Maine, banjo maker and innovator Jimmy Cox left his boyhood home in the bluegrass state for a life in the northeast, carrying with him a love of bluegrass music and the…

Gibson Master Luthier Photos By Jake’s Visuals The Father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe, is legendarily linked to a Gibson F-5 mandolin. Its label was signed on July 9, 1923 by Acoustic Engineer Lloyd Loar. Loar implemented violin F-holes and raised fingerboards, and he introduced long maple necks to the fretted-instrument world. He took the existing,…

Pushing The Boundaries Of Bluegrass Photos By Scott Simontacchi A modern day pioneer consistently pushing the boundaries of bluegrass, Lindsay Lou‘s music is truly ahead of the times, but she isn’t the first in her family to push the limits. Lou’s “radical grandmother,” Nancy Timbrook, a hard-working mother of eight was working as a school…

Powerful Original Bluegrass Music Photos By Jason Myers For most of her life, eight-time IBMA award winner Becky Buller has been in a band, but she has been sidelined since mid-March when the pandemic forced the cancellation of shows.  “It’s been just awful,” the fiddler/vocalist said from her Manchester, TN home. “Things you probably wouldn’t…