Articles

Bluegrass Radio Show Hits the 50 Year Mark While various areas of the Appalachian region are considered the main hotbed for bluegrass music, there are other faraway parts of the U.S. where the music is appreciated and thrives. One excellent example of this is Orin Friesen’s bluegrass radio show, which has been broadcast from Kansas…

Dives Into No Fear You might think it would send shivers down the spine of a teenaged Maddie Dalton joining one of bluegrass music’s hottest acts, Sister Sadie, and that’s exactly what it did. On top of auditioning for the 3-time IBMA “Vocal Group of the Year” and making her Grand Ole Opry debut on…

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…

Annick Odom, lead singer and principal songwriter of this trio—named after a wild flower that proliferates in Appalachian West Virginia—grew up in two cultures and spend her formative years in both West Virginia and the Netherlands, where she formed this band.  Sweet Joe Pye currently divides its time between Europe and the Morgantown, West Virginia,…

For those unfamiliar with this Santa Cruz, California-based band, it is an off-shoot of what was once the Tuttle Family Band, which included Molly Tuttle, her father Jack Tuttle, her brother Sullivan and AJ Lee. Now, with Lee at the helm and guitarist Sullivan Tuttle on board, along with Scott Gates (also an excellent guitarist)…

By Rhonda Vincent and Terry Herd “Kentucky Borderline,” written by Rhonda Vincent and Terry Herd, was first released in 2003 on Vincent’s One Step Ahead (Rounder). In January 2004, it hit #1 on Bluegrass Unlimited National Bluegrass Survey and later that year was named “Song of the Year” by the International Bluegrass Music Association.  The…