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Photo by Scott Simontacchi Harry Sherile “Buck” White (December 13, 1930 – January 13, 2025) was the patriarch of the popular acoustic, bluegrass-friendly group The Whites. Although known primarily for his mandolin playing and vocals, he was also an amazing piano player. White’s career as a musician got its start in the late 1940s and…

If there was a bluegrass mandolin hall of fame, there is no doubt that John Reischman would have a plaque on the wall.  He is not only an extremely innovative player, but his clean notes, rich tone, fluidity and expert use of dynamics are what every serious mandolin player strives to achieve.  He has set…

How does a band with a legendary status continue to live up to the mythology that inevitably grows and threatens to overshadow any new recording? The legendary Seldom Scene answer the question with their new album that positively glows with the same causal brilliance that has always been a hallmark of the group. The line…

One thing that fiddle player Betsy Heron, banjo player Gretchen Bowder, guitar player Whitney Roy and bass player Lindsay Lassonde have in common, is their love of Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerard’s music as well as a mutual respect for the women themselves. In March of 2020 when they began to enjoy casually getting together for an…

Q: I have been playing bluegrass music for at least five decades. The Stanley Brothers are one of my favorites to listen to and get inspiration from. It was recently brought to my attention by a friend, who was acquainted with Henry Dockery, that the wordage, “Get down boys, go back home…” is incorrect in…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine August, 1988, Volume 23, Number 2 If someone were to say “weary hearts” to you, you’d probably think that they were referring to a new romance novel or day-time soap opera. However, anyone familiar with bluegrass music knows of the song, “The Weary Heart You Stole Away,” recorded by the…