Articles

The “Pickin’ On” series has been running for nearly three decades now, cranking out over forty records. They have successfully bridged the gap between traditional bluegrass and popular music of the 20th and 21st century. The series first began to captivate bluegrass audiences with the Pickin’ on the Grateful Dead album in 1997 and went…

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…

Although Sally Jones is fairly ubiquitous in the world of bluegrass music, this album travels a little off the beaten path. These recordings start in the earlier years of Sally Jones’s transatlantic tour with the Sidewinders, featuring Kristin Scott Benson on banjo, Mickey Harris on bass, and Brad Meinerding on mandolin. The rest of the…

Mohavisoul is based in the San Diego area and takes its name from California’s Mojave Desert. While the band’s musical approach is contemporary, it recognizes its bluegrass roots in both the song writing and arrangements of covers.  The band consists of Randy Hanson (mandolin), Mark Miller (guitar), Orion Boucher (bass), and Jason Weiss (banjo). They…

I’ve had the immense pleasure of seeing Beppe Gambetta perform live at a cozy venue in Harrisburg, Missouri. He is a master of his craft; a one man orchestra. His playing is strongly influenced by the great flatpickers of our time, but also has elements of classical and contemporary music of the world. I’ve also…

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…