Articles

Part 1: Jim Lunsford: Growing music from the mountains and beyond At a Charlotte, North Carolina, studio in April 1954, 26-year-old Jimmy Lunsford cranked up wild fiddle solos on “Dixie Breakdown,” a tune he’d written with banjo innovator Don Reno. Lunsford’s presence on Don Reno & Red Smiley releases was just one of the creative…

Q – I am a big fan of Ernie Thacker and know that he was in Ralph Stanley’s band from 1988-1994. I am trying to find all the albums that feature him singing lead with Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys.  Do you happen to know the titles of the albums that Ernie was…

Celebrating 25 Years The Minnesota-based bluegrass band, Monroe Crossing, is celebrating its 25th year in the entertainment business. Three founding members, Matt Thompson-mandolin, Lisa Fuglie-fiddle, and Mark Anderson-bass, were joined by Derek Johnson-guitar in 2011. The group utilizes a cadre of very talented banjo players, all of whom are alumni of the group, most recently…

In a bluegrass world where bands see regular turnovers, Mark Stoffel is an anomaly.  For the past 16 years, the mandolin ace for Chris Jones and the Night Drivers has been laying down a solid chop on tours across the country and with his creative innovations on sevenof the group’s CDs. After growing up in…

There’s more to harmony than simply playing the right notes. Some musicians have that special something, hard to name but impossible to overlook. Jason Carter and Michael Cleveland’s latest project Carter and Cleveland—their first collaboration of its kind—is Exhibit A.The friendship between the two fiddlers began back in their teens. When Cleveland was about thirteen,…

The Newest Punch Brother For many reasons, bluegrass music is a unique genre amongst the various forms of music performed and recorded in the United States.  One reason is that a relatively high percentage of the fans of the music also play the music.  At any given bluegrass festival, the main reason many of the attendees…