Articles
IssueM Articles
Wall Dogs
Tim Stafford’s and Thomm Jutz’s sophomore album is kind of like a songwriting class on CD. They really show how it’s done. Jutz, a prolific writer and former IBMA Songwriter of the Year, does in fact lecture on songwriting at Nashville’s Belmont University. Stafford, also a an IBMA Songwriter of the Year, is a former…
A Direct Report From Ground Zero in the Thousand Year Storm
After Hurricane Helene Hit The Mountains, The IBMA Trust Fund and The Bluegrass Community Took Action It is not every day that Chinook helicopters land in the mountains of Western North Carolina delivering much-needed supplies to a disaster zone, but that is what happened when Hurricane Helene struck the Nature Coast of Florida and then…
The Never Ending Years
A former IBMA Momentum Instrumentalist of the year and national mandolin champion, Thomas Cassell has performed with everyone from Billy Strings and Jim Lauderdale to Missy Raines, Becky Buller and Bryan Sutton. His latest album, and follow-up to his 2028 instrumental collection Voyager reveals Cassell’s impressive talents as both a singer and lyricist. There’s a…
That Old Mountain
Songwriter Byron Hill is originally from the Winston-Salem area of North Carolina but settled in Nashville in 1978 where he had been pitching his songs since 1976. Since then, his songs have been picked up and recorded by a long list of both bluegrass and country artists to include Special Consensus, Lonesome River Band, Seldom…
Appalachian Smoke
The members of Appalachian Smoke all hail from the area of Southern Appalachia and their music invokes both the traditional and contemporary feelings and styles of the region. The band is BJ Taylor (mandolin, octave mandolin, vocals), Mikel Laws (banjo, guitar, vocals), Jamie Mason (guitar, banjo, vocals), Kenneth Rymer (resophonic guitar, vocals), and Tim Williams…
Jake Tullock—The “Forgotten” Foggy
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine July 2015, Volume 50, Number 1 In bluegrass, as in many other kinds of music, the accolades most often go to the singers and instrumentalists that occupy the spotlight. The bass player, who stands in the shadows, often receives little recognition for his or her talent, even though he’s providing…