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Q – What can you tell us about “Those Two Mirthquakes of Fun” called Shufly and Buckeye Sneezleweed who appeared with Bill Monroe at several shows in 1949? Joe Ross, Roseburg, Oregon. A – An advertisement for an October 21, 1948, show by Bill Monroe in West Helena, Arkansas, revealed Buckeye Sneezleweed to be Mac…

Listening to the new duo CD from Mike Compton and Joe Newberry feels like reading the manuscript of a lost Faulkner novella discovered at a flea market in Mike Compton’s native Lauderdale County, Mississippi. The stories are real and raw, but disclosed in measured doses, through voices at times tortured and others reverent. It’s music…

This accomplished band was founded by three alumni of the final line-up of Doyle Lawson’s Quicksilver: Jerry Cole, Eli Johnston and Stephen Burwell.   Most of the song choices here are utterly familiar: “Let It Snow,” “Holly Jolly Christmas,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” etc. But the results are…

Photo by Scott Simontacchi After fifteen years playing together, Mike Compton and Joe Newberry are releasing their first studio album Home in My Heart. The project combines new arrangements of old standards and original songs with a traditional flavor, delivered clean and spare. The result showcases their unique blend of vocal harmony and instrumental virtuosity….

Photos by Lily Jack Photography Grammy-nominated songwriter Rick Lang has created not one, but now two staples of bluegrass gospel music with the release of Blue Collar Gospel on the heels of Gonna Sing, Gonna Shout. The New Hampshire native received a Grammy nod for Best Roots Gospel Album for GSGS. The title track was…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine August 1988, Volume 23, Number 2 If the term “Morgan Thoroughbred” makes you think of horses, and not banjos, then you haven’t met Tom Morgan yet. If you already know that the Thoroughbred banjo is a superb instrument designed and built by Tom and hand-crafted at the Morgan Company, you…