Articles

LORRAINE JORDAN AND CAROLINA ROAD COUNTRY GRASS Pinecastle Records PRC1197    Bluegrass tributes to country (and other forms of music) are not rare. Those that work in a convincing manner are. A country song can’t always be forced, unadjusted, into a bluegrass form or vice versa. Thought must be taken, and the necessaries of both styles captured….

DAVID PETERSON OLD TIME POWER Zion Mountain Music No Number Is it the songs or is it the performances/performers that make this 15-song gospel CD from David Peterson such a joyful, powerful experience? Is it having material drawn from legendary songwriters such as the Louvins, James Rowe, Lewis E. Jones, Charles A. Tindley, Ira Stamphill,…

THE ROLAND WHITE BAND STRAIGHT AHEAD BLUEGRASS No Label No Number    It’s impossible to accurately tell the history of bluegrass music without including the contributions of Roland and Clarence White, their band the Kentucky Colonels, and the lasting impact made by Roland through his soft-spoken yet brilliant contributions to bands such as Country Gazette and…

STUART MASON TRADITION Native Home Music No Number Stuart Mason is a West Virginia native who now lives on the central coast of California. He has won awards for singing, songwriting, and mandola. He has played with bands such as Molly’s Revenge, Story Road, and Little Black Train, and this is his second solo release….

SUSIE GLAZE & THE HILONESOME BAND NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL No Label No Number  The Hilonesome Band is based around the vocals of Susie Glaze. The music here is not bluegrass, but it’s first-rate. There is humor and more than a touch of class to the project. There are some strong original numbers augmented…

BIG COUNTRY BLUEGRASS COUNTRY LIVIN’ Rebel Records REB-CD-1858 Big Country Bluegrass’s sheer longevity (two decades, 18 albums and counting) comes as no surprise to anybody. This southern Virginia-based band, fronted by mandolin master Tommy Sells and his wife Teresa (guitar and lead and tenor vocals), is steeped in what the press release accompanying their new…