Articles

Q: I was just listening to Bill Monroe’s recording of “Christmas Time’s a-Comin’” and I would swear I could hear the unmistakable voice of Del McCoury in the harmony. The song was recorded in 1951, can you shed some light on this? Dallas Hudson, Charlotte NC A: You are correct that Bill Monroe recorded the…

In June, the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum unveiled a new exhibition highlighting the history of the bluegrass festival. The culmination of a collaborative effort with the Appalachian Fiddle & Bluegrass Association (AFBA), the exhibition explores the roots and evolution of bluegrass festivals. The idea for this project stems from an offer to…

The Duke of Drive Leaves Behind a Powerful Legacy in the Bluegrass World The old mill town of Elkin, North Carolina, is an oasis for folks who want to live in a rural area located between the mountains and the big cities of the Piedmont. It exists about 44 miles from Winston-Salem, 75 miles from…

Bands Blurring the Lines of Bluegrass The idea of the grand voyager can invoke many images in your mind. It invokes the idea of travel, exploration, discovery and a journey. For Baltimore’s Dirty Grass Players it holds all those meanings and more. “Grand Voyager” is a track from their first album, Beneath the Woodpile. The track is…

Deeply Traditional, Highly Original The saga of the musical careers of Jody Stecher and Kate Brislin—both individually and as a duo—spans seven decades, 20 albums, thousands of performances and more than a few twists and turns. The two started working as a duo in the 1980s, earning a legion of devoted fans, a comfortable measure…

Photo courtesy of Crossroads Label Group During the latter part of 2023, four-time Grammy-winning fiddler Andy Leftwich spent several of his nights at churches alongside his wife, Rachel, a talented vocalist and niece of his former boss, Ricky Skaggs. The couple and Leftwich’s award-winning band conveyed the spirit of Christmas with their annual show, “’Tis…