Articles

ROOTS MUSIC IN AMERICA: COLLECTED WRITINGS OF JOE WILSON—EDITED BY FRED BARTENSTEIN—Univ. Of Tenn. Press 9781621903154. Paperback, $29.95. LUCKY JOE’S NAMESAKE: THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE AND OBSERVATIONS OF JOE WILSON—EDITED BY FRED BARTENSTEIN—Univ. Of Tenn. Press 9781621903161. Paperback, $29.95. (Univ. of Tenn. Press, 110 Conference Ctr., 600 Henley St., Knoxville, TN 37996, www.utpress.org.) Who was Joe…

DONNA ULISSE BREAKIN’ EASY Mountain Home MH16932 In May of 2016, I was walking the streets of Asheville, N.C., when I unexpectedly came across Ty Gilpin of the Mountain Home Music label. While catching up on things, I had some fun with the fact that I had multiple IBMA nominations with no wins, calling myself…

JOE MULLINS & THE RADIO RAMBLERS THE STORY WE TELL Rebel Records REB-CD-1869 If you’re looking for sublimely solid, no-frills heartland bluegrass, you need look no further than Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers’ sixth album. The Story We Tell is charged with top-notch yet understated picking and singing. The songs—written or co-written by Alton…

THE MOLLY ROSE BAND WITH ALL DUE RESPECT Patuxent Music CD-285 Patuxent Music continues its welcome promotion of bands that hold to the traditional sound of the first generation of bluegrass bands. This latest find is The Molly Rose Band from the Danville, Va., area and led by banjoist Lynwood Lunsford. Lunsford is the most…

THOMM JUTZ CRAZY IF YOU LET IT Mountain Fever MFR-171006    This is the golden age of bluegrass songwriting. Not that many years ago, you could name every bluegrass songwriter worth hearing. Thomm Jutz has distinguished himself among the many excellent writers today. Besides his work with Peter Cooper and Mac Wiseman on I Sang The…

MASONTOWN IN THIS TIME No Label No Number Good liner notes are a blessing for reviewers. They make it easy to tell you where a band is from, who’s in it, who plays what and when, and the band’s musical focus. In the case of this debut from Masontown their notes reveal a hometown of…