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Heather Berry Mabe

Red Camel Collective

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…

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Addie Levy

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…

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Daggomit

Max Wareham, who’s spent the last several years in Peter Rowan’s band, really knows his way around the banjo, as his debut album attests.  Rowan produced Daggomit, and contributes generously, with several cowrites with Wareham and two lead vocals. Though Wareham only sings on a couple of tracks, including “Hard Times Are Far Behind” (cowritten with…

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Bread and Butter

North Carolina born and raised fiddler Amy Kassir has a deep affection and powerful affinity for old-time fiddle music. Recently, she’s been a member of several California-based bands, which is where she now resides. On these nine-cut all-instrumental collection of old-timey music, she is joined by Carter Eddy (bass), Fred Levine (fiddle), Jake Eddy (guitar,…

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Wood Box Heroes

The Secret Behind 444 Photos by Eric Ahlgrim Individually, the four musicians of Wood Box Heroes are the super powers of their instruments, a veritable acoustical Justice League with their masterful musical skills. As a combined force, Josh Martin, Matt Menefee, Barry Bales, and Jenee Fleenorbring a wealth of knowledge and experience with their newly…

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Skip Kelley playing one of this mandolins. // Photo courtesy of Skip Kelley

Kelley Mandolins

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,…

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