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BYRON BERLINE: A FIDDLER’S DIARY—BY BYRON BERLINE WITH JANE FROST—New Forums Press 9781581072457. Paperback, 410 pp., $25.95. (New Forums Press, Inc., 1018 S. Lewis St., Stillwater, OK 74074, www.newforums.com.) Readers of this magazine should be well familiar with Byron Berline’s music, but many of us have not had the privilege and pleasure of knowing him…

SIDELINE SESSION 1 Mountain Fever Records MFR130611 Pull together musicians from bands such as the Cherryholmes, IIIrd Tyme Out, the Darrell Webb Band, and Mountain Heart, give them a chance to work up a CD’s worth of traditional, straight-from-the-still bluegrass, mix it all together with a heaping dollop of creativity, and you get the new…

RON BLOCK WALKING SONG Rounder Records 1166191672 Ron Block’s first two solo albums were religious-based offerings, thoughtful, challenging and compelling. Both were of high quality all around. For his third, he has switched to a more secular offering, though no less thoughtful, challenging, and compelling, and spiritual. And, of course, the results are what you…

TRINITY RIVER BAND TODAY DON’T LOOK LIKE RAIN No Label No Number From the State of Florida hails the Trinity River Band with their third release in less than three years. This is probably their best effort yet. The band is the Harris family consisting of Mike Harris (guitar), Lisa Harris (bass) and siblings Sarah…

CUMBERLAND GAP CONNECTION ANOTHER SONG Mountain Fever Records MFR130212 Eastern Kentucky is blessed to have a group like this among its native sons. The bandmembers on this project are Mike Bentley (guitar), Rod Smith (banjo, resonator guitar, pedal steel), Bryan Russell (bass), Albon Clevenger (fiddle), and John Messer (mandolin). As of this writing, Matt Hiser…

MIKE SCOTT AND FRIENDS HOME SWEET HOME: CIVIL WAR ERA SONGS Rural Rhythm RUR-1113 In these times of the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War, Rural Rhythm Records continues its series of releases honoring the legacy of the conflict. Next up, banjoist Mike Scott and a 14-song collection of 13 tunes popular from that era,…