Articles

JESSE GREGORY FAULTLINE No Label No Number There is always a new batch of singers coming onto the bluegrass scene every few years or so. What’s cool about the bluegrass genre is that you usually hear about them when they’re young, most likely when they’re playing in family bands. When they grow up, they either…

MIKE MITCHELL DEAD CENTER No Label No Number This is fine debut release by the Floyd, Va., fiddler Mitchell. He has lined up some very good support from the likes of Sammy Shelor on banjo and Wyatt Rice on guitar, who’s guitar playing is tastefully just right throughout. Jacob Eller lays down solid bass and…

TRIMOUNTAIN SESSIONS SLOTH, INDOLENCE & TORPIDITY No Label No Number This EP consists of six cuts that sound like the final examination for a Berklee College bluegrass class. The playing is topnotch, smooth as silk, and layered like a triple-decker chocolate fudge cake. It is well recorded and is wonderfully rich. The ensemble playing is…

RAYNA GELLERT OLD LIGHT: SONGS FROM MY CHILDHOOD AND OTHER GONE WORLDS StorySound Records SSR 161-006 You may have heard of Rayna Gellert as an extraordinary old-time fiddler on her first solo CD or with the band Uncle Earl. You might also have seen her play guitar with the Freight Hoppers. In this recording, she…

DEWEY FARMER & DERWIN HINSON Patuxent Music CD-233 With only occasional help from Steve Thomas on fiddle, Dewey Farmer (mandolin, guitar, and bass) and Derwin Hinson (banjo, lead guitar, and bass) have put together a nice variety of tunes on this 13-cut all-instrumental release, between them providing all the instruments except the fiddle. While there…

DEWEY FARMER & DERWIN HINSON Patuxent Music CD-233 With only occasional help from Steve Thomas on fiddle, Dewey Farmer (mandolin, guitar, and bass) and Derwin Hinson (banjo, lead guitar, and bass) have put together a nice variety of tunes on this 13-cut all-instrumental release, between them providing all the instruments except the fiddle. While there…