Articles

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,…

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…

Photos and article by Jim Carrier Long after Jim Rooney is gone, the sounds of bluegrass that he recorded will remind us of the beauty of acoustic stringed instruments played with taste and subtlety.   Not famous as a performer — although he was one, certainly — Rooney’s lasting contribution to bluegrass music is embedded…

Photos by Angie Reed If one word can describe Red Camel Collective, it’s momentum. It’s no coincidence that Heather Berry Mabe, the lead singer and guitarist for the band, won the 2024 IBMA Momentum Award for Vocalist of the Year. She is also nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year by the Society for the…

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…

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…