Articles
IssueM Articles
Mike Clark Memorial Scholarship and the Oklahoma International Bluegrass Fest Help Bluegrass Students Achieve Their Dreams
Photos By Cassidy Wayant Photography In many parts of the country, the wonderful roots music genre known as bluegrass continues to flourish due to targeted efforts to keep the music alive and flowing into the future. In some states, it is the Junior Appalachians Musicians program that facilitates the teaching of over 1,000 students in…
Addie Levy
The Brothers Have a Sister Photo By Shana Leigh The Brothers Comatose is a San Francisco, California based five-piece bluegrass band that have headlined festivals such as Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, High Sierra Music Festival, and the Kate Wolf Music Festival and toured with Yonder Mountain String Band, Lake Street Drive and A.J. Lee and Blue…
Notes & Queries – 2025
Fiddling Gopher Addis (or, More on Don Reno Sidemen) In last month’s column, we fielded a query concerning two musicians who worked with Don Reno and Red Smiley in the early 1950s: Chuck and Jay Haney. The Haneys had the distinction of appearing on Reno & Smiley’s first recording session together, on January 15, 1952…
Woody Platt
Brings The Culture of the Mountains of Western North Carolina to the World Photos By Bryce Lafoon Before Woody Platt officially left the Steep Canyon Rangers in 2022, some hard inter-band conversations had to happen. The Steep Canyon Rangers formed down in the Piedmont of North Carolina where everyone in the original lineup was in…
Kelley Mandolins
Banjo Slayers Today, many small-shop mandolin builders produce what have come to be called “boutique mandolins.” The mandolins of one of those craftsmen, Thomas “Skip” Kelley, have been mentioned on the online blog, MandolinCafe.com in conversations with other high-end names. The website, Mando Mutt, is the exclusive dealer for Skip Kelley mandolins. Mando Mutt’s owner,…
Daggomit
Max Wareham, who’s spent the last several years in Peter Rowan’s band, really knows his way around the banjo, as his debut album attests. Rowan produced Daggomit, and contributes generously, with several cowrites with Wareham and two lead vocals. Though Wareham only sings on a couple of tracks, including “Hard Times Are Far Behind” (cowritten with…