Articles

With interview by Curly Seckler Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine May 1986, Volume 20, Number 11 It’s a worn out cliche, but sometimes I think that the phrase, ‘‘There was only one of him. And after he was made they threw away the mold,” was invented for Lester personally. His very presence of that laid…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine November 1979, Volume 14, Number 5 “Lives of great men all remind us  We can make our lives sublime,  And, departing leave behind us  Footprints on the sands of time…         —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow “It’s just not going to feel right without Lester Flatt,” Little Roy Lewis said to no one…

Kentuckian Michael Prewitt (mandolin, guitar) is a former member of Special Consensus and has toured with them both nationally and internationally. He also has been nominated a couple of times for IBMA’s Momentum Instrumentalist Of The Year.  On this, his second album, Prewitt features not only his instrumental prowess, and his clean baritone vocals, but…

This top-notch quintet out of southern New England has been around since 2013, and on their third album (produced by Scott Vestal) they are in top form with stalwart lead vocals and harmonies, fine picking and provocative songwriting. The band, which was the official IBMA Showcase Band in 2021, consists of: Billy Thibodeau on mandolin,…

If there’s a complaint to be made about the Steep Canyon Rangers’ 2021 live album North Carolina Songbook, it’s that it was too short. At eight songs, the album covered a range of artists from Thelonious Monk to James Taylor to Ben E. King to Doc Watson. It met rave reviews and was nominated for…

This accomplished band was founded by three alumni of the final line-up of Doyle Lawson’s Quicksilver: Jerry Cole, Eli Johnston and Stephen Burwell.   Most of the song choices here are utterly familiar: “Let It Snow,” “Holly Jolly Christmas,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” etc. But the results are…