Articles
IssueM Articles
Preserving & Presenting the First Family of Country Music
Photos by Jack Bernhardt It’s 3 p.m on a comfortably warm October 4, 2024. Rita Forrester is hard at work, getting food and concessions in order before fans arrive for the evening’s show featuring Marty Stuart and the Tennessee Mafia Jug Band. Tonight’s concert is part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the Carter Family…
The Persistence of Brick and Mortar
Photos by Elizabeth Harris Photography For the last 45 years Fret Mill Music (www.fretmill.com) has been a continual and stable presence in the Roanoke bluegrass music community. While the internet age now enables us to order anything from anywhere with the click of a button, finding a music shop that still encourages a hands-on approach…
Around The Clock
Daniel Patrick, host of a popular podcast called Mandolins and Beer, traveled far and wide, to five different recording studios in nearly as many states, to put this project together. The outcome is a series of vocal and mandolin duets with 11 of his favorite players on distinctly non-bluegrass songs—“because,” Patrick explains in the media…
Daniel Patrick
Much More Than “Mandolins and Beer” Photos by Doug Julian Over the course of the last five years, Daniel Patrick has made a name for himself in the mandolin world by hosting the very popular “Mandolins and Beer” podcast. Having produced and published over 250 podcast episodes, he has interviewed most all of the top…
Never Gets Old
After moving to Nashville in 1987, Irwin set to developing his songwriting talents. It took a few years while working as a bartender and collaborating with other writers, that he finally landed some songs that were recorded by folks like Randy Travis, Alan Jackson. Tim McGraw, Blake Shelton, and Jimmy Buffett. It was Alan Jackson’s…
The Never Ending Years
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…