Articles

At age 16, Mei Lin Heirendt, lead singer and fiddler with this northern California-based quartet, is already a veteran of sorts. She started playing the violin at age 7, and has simply never stopped.  Since she was a child, she’s been involved with and nurtured by the California Bluegrass Association and is currently the organization’s…

Even early in his life, John Cowan’s vocal talents surprised and impressed those who heard him. As Cowan, now 70, recalls in his memoir Hold To A Dream, it was the cute sister of one of his friends telling him—“You sing really good!”—that scotched his interest in playing football and motivated him to give his…

This veteran East Tennessee banjo maestro has performed and toured with just about everyone over the years, including, for starters, the Osborne Brothers, Jim & Jesse, Marty Raybon and Tim Raybon. And he’s gained a slew of friends and admirers along the way. He’s called upon many of these friends while producing his star-studded debut…

I’ve had the immense pleasure of seeing Beppe Gambetta perform live at a cozy venue in Harrisburg, Missouri. He is a master of his craft; a one man orchestra. His playing is strongly influenced by the great flatpickers of our time, but also has elements of classical and contemporary music of the world. I’ve also…

The “Pickin’ On” series has been running for nearly three decades now, cranking out over forty records. They have successfully bridged the gap between traditional bluegrass and popular music of the 20th and 21st century. The series first began to captivate bluegrass audiences with the Pickin’ on the Grateful Dead album in 1997 and went…

Jake Leg, based on Colorado’s Front Range is the kind of band that could easily fill up an album with mind-bending hot licks played at extreme speeds. Fortunately for us all, they chose to fill up an album with powerful songwriting, memorable melodies and picking that serves the song first and foremost.  The three original…