Articles

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…

A Year-Round Folk Festival If Hollywood was the place to be, the place to be in Hollywood was the Ash Grove coffeehouse. Between 1958 and 1973, the Ash Grove was, arguably, the premier music venue in the country when it came to presenting folk, bluegrass, old-time country, blues and other forms of traditional American music. John…

Béla Fleck, Casey Driessen and Bryan Sutton Lead Their Own Music Camps in the Western North Carolina Mountains  The mountain town of Brevard, North Carolina, is located less than a half hour’s drive from Asheville, and while the latter city still provides the bigger music scene known worldwide, Brevard is rising as well. Some of…

Doni Zasloff and Eric Lindberg the husband and wife duo known as Nefesh Mountain have sent a love letter of hope and possibility to the world with their new album. The release is a double disc set of songs that exemplify the old adage of “Three Chords And The Truth” and while there may be…

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…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine June 1989, Volume 23, Number 12 Even to its strongest supporters, bluegrass isn’t usually seen as a solution to the world’s problems. But in Dan Crary’s opinion, the enduring popularity of bluegrass and other forms of traditional music is one of the few reasons to remain optimistic about the future…