Articles

Just a stone’s throw from Rosine, Kentucky — the birthplace of Bill Monroe — Owensboro has long been known as an important landmark on the road map of bluegrass music. The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) was born in Owensboro and the spectacular Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum and ROMP music festival both…

The past academic year has been marked by top-shelf performance experiences for members of Belmont University Bluegrass Ensemble. On April 9, the group made their debut on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry, an ultimate musician’s bucket list item. Ryan Joseph, director of the ensemble and coordinator of strings at the university, has played…

Harry Carpenter “Junior” Sisk, who has been penning, playing and singing songs modeled in the truest fashion of traditional bluegrass music for many years, has brought us another great record. Known for his tremendous vocals and locomotive sound, Sisk is sure to please the diehard purist. His 2020 album Load the Wagon, won the IBMA…

That may be the understatement of the year, when assessing the ways which Tony Trischka has been spreading the Gospel of Scruggs in the 100th year of Earl’s birth. Not only was Tony an integral part behind-the-scenes of the new exhibit Born of the Broad River: The Life and Career of Earl Scruggs in His…

Photos by Jeromie Stephens Franklin Delano Roosevelt “Frank” Wakefield (June 26, 1934 – April 26, 2024) was an “authentic certified musical genius. He is the only man to build a complete, original mandolin style on the Monroe base.” Columnist Bill Vernon made that assessment in the pages of Muleskinner News magazine in 1972 when he…

A Banjo Master Gone Too Soon James Robert “Jim” Mills (December 18, 1966 – May 3, 2024) was one of the most celebrated bluegrass banjo pickers from the last forty years. His early resume included stints with several regional bands such as Summer Wages and the Bass Mountain Boys while later entries observed high-profile jobs…