Articles

A former IBMA Momentum Instrumentalist of the year and national mandolin champion, Thomas Cassell has performed with everyone from Billy Strings and Jim Lauderdale to Missy Raines, Becky Buller and Bryan Sutton. His latest album, and follow-up to his 2028 instrumental collection Voyager reveals Cassell’s  impressive talents as both a singer and lyricist.  There’s a…

Tim Stafford’s and Thomm Jutz’s sophomore album is kind of like a songwriting class on CD. They really show how it’s done. Jutz, a prolific writer and former IBMA Songwriter of the Year, does in fact lecture on songwriting at Nashville’s Belmont University. Stafford, also a an IBMA Songwriter of the Year, is a former…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine July 2015, Volume 50, Number 1 In bluegrass, as in many other kinds of music, the accolades most often go to the singers and instrumentalists that occupy the spotlight. The bass player, who stands in the shadows, often receives little recognition for his or her talent, even though he’s providing…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine April 1988, Volume 22, Number 10 In the December 1986 issue of Bluegrass Unlimited, we ran an obituary of Art Wooten, who past in October of that year.  Then, in April of 1988 we ran a story remembering Art Wooten.  Here, we are first reprinted the short obituary, and then…

With interview by Curly Seckler Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine May 1986, Volume 20, Number 11 It’s a worn out cliche, but sometimes I think that the phrase, ‘‘There was only one of him. And after he was made they threw away the mold,” was invented for Lester personally. His very presence of that laid…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine November 1979, Volume 14, Number 5 “Lives of great men all remind us  We can make our lives sublime,  And, departing leave behind us  Footprints on the sands of time…         —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow “It’s just not going to feel right without Lester Flatt,” Little Roy Lewis said to no one…