Articles

One thing that fiddle player Betsy Heron, banjo player Gretchen Bowder, guitar player Whitney Roy and bass player Lindsay Lassonde have in common, is their love of Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerard’s music as well as a mutual respect for the women themselves. In March of 2020 when they began to enjoy casually getting together for an…

A Year-Round Folk Festival If Hollywood was the place to be, the place to be in Hollywood was the Ash Grove coffeehouse. Between 1958 and 1973, the Ash Grove was, arguably, the premier music venue in the country when it came to presenting folk, bluegrass, old-time country, blues and other forms of traditional American music. John…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine August, 1988, Volume 23, Number 2 If someone were to say “weary hearts” to you, you’d probably think that they were referring to a new romance novel or day-time soap opera. However, anyone familiar with bluegrass music knows of the song, “The Weary Heart You Stole Away,” recorded by the…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine June 1989, Volume 23, Number 12 Even to its strongest supporters, bluegrass isn’t usually seen as a solution to the world’s problems. But in Dan Crary’s opinion, the enduring popularity of bluegrass and other forms of traditional music is one of the few reasons to remain optimistic about the future…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine May 1992, Volume 26, Number 11 To David Grisman, bluegrass is more than just an itch that he needs to scratch occasionally; it’s an integral part of his being. Each encounter is like a passionate reunion with a first lover. He fondly recalls the first kiss: “It was a record…

Reprinted From Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine December 1975, Volume 10, Number 6 This article came from information compiled by Tony Trischka, noted banjo player in his own right, in preparation for his forthcoming book “Melodic Banjo” to be published by Oak Publications in the early part of 1976. Bill Keith is what you might call an…