Articles

Fifty-Seven Years on Stage and Still Going Strong When a writer for the Wall Street Journal reviewed Rhonda Vincent’s first Rounder release, Back Home Again (2000), proclaiming Vincent to be the “New Queen of Bluegrass,” that reviewer could not have predicted how long the “new” queen’s reign would last.  The music industry tends to be…

Even early in his life, John Cowan’s vocal talents surprised and impressed those who heard him. As Cowan, now 70, recalls in his memoir Hold To A Dream, it was the cute sister of one of his friends telling him—“You sing really good!”—that scotched his interest in playing football and motivated him to give his…

By Rhonda Vincent and Terry Herd “Kentucky Borderline,” written by Rhonda Vincent and Terry Herd, was first released in 2003 on Vincent’s One Step Ahead (Rounder). In January 2004, it hit #1 on Bluegrass Unlimited National Bluegrass Survey and later that year was named “Song of the Year” by the International Bluegrass Music Association.  The…

This veteran East Tennessee banjo maestro has performed and toured with just about everyone over the years, including, for starters, the Osborne Brothers, Jim & Jesse, Marty Raybon and Tim Raybon. And he’s gained a slew of friends and admirers along the way. He’s called upon many of these friends while producing his star-studded debut…

For those unfamiliar with this Santa Cruz, California-based band, it is an off-shoot of what was once the Tuttle Family Band, which included Molly Tuttle, her father Jack Tuttle, her brother Sullivan and AJ Lee. Now, with Lee at the helm and guitarist Sullivan Tuttle on board, along with Scott Gates (also an excellent guitarist)…

This sweet-voiced veteran Australian songbird has been called Australia’s “Queen of Bluegrass,” and it’s hard to argue with that handle, based on her latest release. It’s a masterful mainstream bluegrass outing full of fine performances and memorable songs. Cox, who topped the Billboard bluegrass charts with her seventh album back in 2020, kicks things off…