Articles

Annick Odom, lead singer and principal songwriter of this trio—named after a wild flower that proliferates in Appalachian West Virginia—grew up in two cultures and spend her formative years in both West Virginia and the Netherlands, where she formed this band.  Sweet Joe Pye currently divides its time between Europe and the Morgantown, West Virginia,…

The “Pickin’ On” series has been running for nearly three decades now, cranking out over forty records. They have successfully bridged the gap between traditional bluegrass and popular music of the 20th and 21st century. The series first began to captivate bluegrass audiences with the Pickin’ on the Grateful Dead album in 1997 and went…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine August 1991, Volume 26, Number 2 New grass, bluegrass-fusion, country-rock, new-country, super- picker. All these terms and more have been used to describe or explain the new breed of hot pickers such as Jerry Douglas. They are usually in their late ’20s or early ’30s. Their parents were born in…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine October 1976, Volume 11, Number 4 Bluegrass banjo’s ever-widening popularity, both here and in Europe, has been greatly broadened through the innovative efforts of one 29 year old native of Norman, Oklahoma, Alan Munde. As an integral component of The Country Gazette for almost five years now, Al has more…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine December 1976, Volume 11, Number 6 While there are plenty of lightning-quick banjo pickers around, only a handful have directly contributed to the stylistic development of the instrument. Earl Scruggs, of course, is the giant in the field. Scruggs took the raw style he picked up in North Carolina from…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine October 1997, Volume 32, Number 4 After nearly 25 years away from bluegrass, Cliff Waldron has reformed his band. The band features former New Shades of Grass banjoist, Bill Wheeler, and new members Nevin Lambert and Steve Spence on mandolin and bass respectively. The band is playing the same kind…