Articles
IssueM Articles
Carrying On Without Lester
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…
Something He Can Handle
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…
Unfinished Bridges
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,…
Journey of Faith
Photos by Lily Jack Photography Grammy-nominated songwriter Rick Lang has created not one, but now two staples of bluegrass gospel music with the release of Blue Collar Gospel on the heels of Gonna Sing, Gonna Shout. The New Hampshire native received a Grammy nod for Best Roots Gospel Album for GSGS. The title track was…
Compton and Newberry
Listening to the new duo CD from Mike Compton and Joe Newberry feels like reading the manuscript of a lost Faulkner novella discovered at a flea market in Mike Compton’s native Lauderdale County, Mississippi. The stories are real and raw, but disclosed in measured doses, through voices at times tortured and others reverent. It’s music…
Collings’ Hill Country Guitars
Formally announced at this year’s IBMA, Collings’ Hill Country Series of guitars continues the company’s move to stretch the acoustic guitar envelope by re-instituting labor-intensive hand-building construction components. The product of more than 24 months of research and development (resulting in multiple prototypes for both the D and OM sizes), the Hill Country line is…