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IssueM Articles
The Long And Lonesome Letting Go
Jim Lauderdale has earned his reputation as the consummate collaborator over the course of his career and his latest collaboration with bluegrass powerhouse The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys (PRB) banks as one of his best in his extensive 36 album discography. The album is one of the best traditional bluegrass albums I have heard in a…
Try To Make It Fly
According to the accompanying press material, this Toronto-based band recorded an album’s worth of material, then set it aside because it lacked the live immediacy that the trio was after. Whatever John Showman (vocals and fiddle), Chris Coole (vocals and clawhammer banjo), and vocalist/upright bassist Max Malone missed on that first go-round, they certainly captured…
Bringing Bluegrass in the Future
IBMA World of Bluegrass 2023 Photos by Ricky Davis “I hear banjos.” Even Sir Walter Raleigh was wielding one. But music lovers sought no deliverance. The sound was coming from the streets of downtown Raleigh, North Carolina that were bursting with bluegrass during the last week of September for the IBMA conference and World of…
Music in My Soul
In the southern gospel tradition, High Fidelity proves that “church music” doesn’t have to be stodgy or sedate. “Music in My Soul” is a heaping helping of thigh-slapping, camp meeting music, with dinner on the grounds. It’s sure to bring out the listener’s inner Pentecostal. The opening track, “I’m Ready to Go” is a gleeful…
Bloom
From the twin cities of Minnesota come this interesting trio who formed around five years ago. They are Isabel Dammann (violin), Krissy Bergmark (tabla), and llan Blanck (guitar). Along with guest Olivia Diercks (cello), the group has produced a very pleasant all-instrumental project that has its roots in tradition but is quite modern in approach….
Because It’s Christmas Time
If you’re one of us who sometimes requires a significant attitude adjustment to get into the Christmas spirit, this old-time Yuletide collection is bound to give you one. Mullins, a six-time IBMA Award-winner, including 2019’s Entertainer of the Year, has, along with his talented bandmates, mined the past and revived some delightful holiday gems of…