Articles

BLUE HIGHWAY ORIGINAL TRADITIONAL Rounder Records 1166100108 During its remarkable two-decade-plus career, Blue Highway has steered a steady course of melding vital originality with a sturdy devotion to tradition. The title of the band’s 11th album attests to this vision. This time around, the band’s members raised the bar by challenging themselves to deliver new…

DOYLE LAWSON & QUICKSILVER BURDEN BEARER: BLUEGRASS GOSPEL AND A CAPPELLA FAVORITES Mountain Home MH16692 Doyle Lawson’s credentials and credibility in the bluegrass world go back half a century and more than 40 albums. It would take way, way more space than I have here to chronicle his innumerable milestones and accomplishments. On this generous…

REBEKAH LONG HERE I AM LUK Records LUK 1001 Rebekah Long is one of the folks that the old saw applies to that goes something like this: “After nearly decades in the music business, she has become an overnight success.” She has just released her first solo album, Here I Am, but has known her…

ILYA TOSHINSKIY RED GRASS Hadley Music Group HMG1017 Ilya Toshinskiy is a banjo player from Russia and a founding member of the band Bering Strait. Learning to play banjo in Russia for a young lad was a difficult endeavor requiring a serious commitment and perseverance. He was training as a classical guitarist, but when he…

THE EARLS OF LEICESTER| RATTLE AND ROAR Rounder Records 1166100001    It’s ironic that the man who stole the spotlight from Buck Graves as the most influential resonator guitar player produces recordings today that pay tribute to Graves and the band that brought him the most fame. He does this while forgoing his own style, emulating…

SPECIAL CONSENSUS LONG I RIDE Compass Records 4668 If you want to know how Special Consensus has managed to stay in business for 40 years, all you have to do is pick up a copy of Long I Ride. Many bands in many genres offer up all kinds of commemoratives and anthologies upon reaching a…